5 minutes' hints while in Munich

Hi there,

Since this is one of the last posts about what or how to do in Munich, I decided to borrow the idea of the famous “5 minutes’ crafts” guys who are managing this online account at different social networks. I believe you all have seen at least one of the videos they usually share on a daily basis and which are really great thou. I think I used a lot of their small, practical pieces of advice for many things, but there is so a lot, that I really envy them where do they find inspiration for creating those every day.

However, this is their job and mine is to project something similar here so I decided to write several more hints on things you can do, or how you can do them during your stay in Munich. I believe that you will not need more than five minutes to read each of these hints separately which is why I gave my post a name “five minutes’ hints”. Also, you will be able to skip those you already did yourself and read only things that you did not do and consider them potentially useful or beneficial. As you may see, these are pretty much diverse and range from some basic stuff to some more complicated or even impossible to manage tasks. Before I continue, I will point out that there are always better options or “do it another way which suits you better” and I will encourage you to try them yourself. If it happens that my writing gives you at least a suggestion or insight into something, my mission will be considered successful and I will be happy that I served as an inspiration for you. Again, all the below written is my personal experience and it is subject to a change due to different interests, national-international varieties, and personal persistence and motivation. Ok, so here we go with this one:

Visa extension

This, of course, refers to the people who are coming out of the European Union. For some, even to enter Germany you need a visa, others are able to come and stay a specified amount of time but you will find everywhere that is advisable, if not even mandatory to come in Germany with a valid student visa. This is the one which you, naturally, obtain in your home country. Among the variety of documents that you get from the University, one will be the enrolment latter and confirmation that you are successfully enrolled in your first semester which most probably last from October until the end of March. That further on means, that those guys in the embassy will almost hundred percent surely give you the visa with the limited duration of six months, not a day longer.

This is completely fine, you will be able to come to your study destination without major problems, but you will still need to extend that visa and sooner you do better it will be for you.

As you may assume, you will need to go again to Kreisverwaltungsreferat (KVR). Luckily, these lines are a bit shorter and queueing time is way more bearable compared with the one you encounter at the registration day. So, be sure to prepare all documents you need for visa extension and those are:

• Filled application form for residence permit extension.

(You can see on an image how does it look like. I did not want to print screen it whole since it is quite long and it is available online so you will easily find it. )

• Your passport and biometric photos of appropriate size.

(You will find those photo boxes everywhere in Munich, there is one in Theresienstrasse subway station, very close to the university if you do not own yours. If you have yours, you can go to DM or some other printer shop and just print it out, but DM is the cheapest and it is done in a few seconds. ).

• Proof of financial needs.

(For scholarship holders this is just your contract which is valid for the two years and which says the amount and duration of your sponsorship. For others, it is usually your bank account statements with enough amount of money to support yourself during studies or your parents/other sponsors' statement that they are eligible and entitled to support you. )

• Proof of health insurance.

(This is something that you already have o you just need to submit it again, maybe new document, up-to-dated. For scholarship holders, again, the program coordinator takes care of it so you get the document per email, for others you have to do it yourself. Keep in mind that you will definitely go for one semester abroad and that it will be good to have one which is valid not only in Germany but in another county you do your external semester. I had so-called Marsh Insurance and appeared to be quite ok. My other friends suggested Care Concept as a good one also. These both are private ones, just as information for you. )

• Support letter from your university.

(This is important to have with you, otherwise, people working in KVR will be why did you come to extend it when you are still in the same semester and have a valid visa for it. Ask your program coordinator to write you one and you will have the job done swimmingly. )

• Documents for your spouse and children.

(I hope you will not blame me for not knowing this topic more precisely, but I did not have to think about it since I do not have first nor the second. There are few documents that you have to enclose, surely but those are mostly related to the proof of your marital status and enough fond to support your family, I think. )

Other than this, you will need to wake up earlier, go to KVR, take your number and wait a bit. If you have all the documents mentioned above, you will get it in a few minutes, so really make sure you have them, it is better for you. As a scholarship holder you will need to pay only five euros for this, since Erasmus covers the visa fees, for others you need to pay around sixty euros plus five/ten for administration taxes. So, be well prepared and good luck with your visa extension.

Studying and working

This is one of the topics, surely interesting for many of you. It was for me also, since I wanted to know can I and how much I can work during my studies. I was interested in this mainly because of the internship I took during the summer and the same regulations are for both regular student jobs and internships so it is good to inform yourself on time. As an international student, you are allowed to work either one hundred and twenty full days-120 (that means eight hours per day) or two hundred and forty-240 half days (which is obviously part-time job). However, keep in mind that you have that stated in your visa label, otherwise, you will need to go again to KVR, for the third time to ask them to put that additionally in your passport so that you have written proof that you are eligible for work. With this, you need to go to Finanzsamt in Munich, or equivalent place in any other city to register yourself there as a working student so that you can get the social security number and income tax number.

Basically, you need to have all that stuff in order for the state to follow up on your incomes. If they appear to be higher than eight thousand euros per year, you will need to pay for taxes and pension insurance (which will be already deducted from your salary). If it is less than you will get the taxes back and only pay for pension insurance. There are also several options depending on whether you work during your lecture time or you work in a lecture-free time. Also, some taxes are lower if you work only two months per year and I think, but maybe that even depends on an employer and some other regulations, that in that case you are not supposed to pay anything, no pension nor taxes.

German working law is really strong and even a bit complicated for us international people, but if you really want to work for a while or do an internship you will need to find yourself in dealing with this stuff and reading a lot about steps you have to do and places you have to go. That is usually going to be more than once in the same place, but luckily people working in these offices are patient and comprehensible even with your low-level German, so you will be able to find your way out and get what you need, just be persistent and listen carefully.

The other option is to find this, so-called “neben job or mini job”, where you get four hundred and fifty euro-450 maximum and you can skip all of the aforementioned steps (I mean tax payments, not the procedure. ) This type of the job is usually very easy to find, just look up at StudentJob.de or ask at the cashier at any grocery store do they need somebody (you can get it even with the lower level of German language).

But, from my personal perspective you should not work, at least not during your lecture periods. After all, you are one of the privileged people who got the chance to become an Erasmus student and you should enjoy it as much as you can. If you really need money for a living or for something, then, I cannot say anything. But if you have enough funds for normal living, try to spend time with your friends, or exploring the city, or even traveling somewhere else. You will have plenty of time to work after you finish your studies so where is the rush? Internships are ok, but apart of that focus more on yourself and do the things that make you happy.

Internships

Since I was talking about the jobs, and how to get one and, well, everything that you just read up there, maybe it is good to continue with this story of an internship. It is still a job, of course, but it is related with your professional development and most importantly it can take place during the off-lecture time. That further on means that you will need to sacrifice your summer and planned holidays but after all you know they say “no pain, no gain”. Ok, this was just a joke, of course, and naturally it will be nicer to chill around and spend time with your friends, family, boyfriend or whoever else you have, rather than sitting in the office and learning some new stuff, just after you finish very hard year of lectures, exams, deadlines, and last minutes’ submissions. However, there is something “precious” in all this internship thing. For those of you who never worked before, literally anywhere, it will be the first time to fill out a job application, send it and impatiently waits for the results. It is both nice and weird feeling at the same time. Later on, if you happen to be invited for an interview, you will need to prepare yourself, present yourself in the best manner and try to convince them why are you that person they should take. This is something that all of us will need to do eventually, and most probably repeat several times until we get our desired positions and dream jobs, so starting with an internship is great training for it. What I would advise you as an Erasmus student is to take care of the time and start your search and application submission in due time. If you want to do your internship during summer, which is usually in July and August, perhaps part of September, you will need to start your search with the beginning of the year. Naturally, this is the time when your lectures end up and the exam period starts, so you will be stressed enough to have additional stuff on your mind. However, if you indeed want this, just a few organization steps can solve all potential obstacles and you can get your desired opportunity within a couple of weeks. That way you will know from when to when your contract will last, where you will work, you will be able to look for accommodation if the company is in the other city and similar. But of course, this is pretty much case-specific topic and even within the same master program people will have different experiences, so I can only imagine what is with different profiles. Of course, this is all up to you so I would finish this five minutes’ hint paragraph with sharing my personal thought on the importance of an internship. After I finished with mine, I was asked to describe it and point out its benefits, so here is what I had to say:

“… During my two-month internship, I got a chance to challenge myself in different fields and experience some stuff that I, as a student, would not be able to learn from a book. I had my own clients, my own projects. I contributed to the team by doing small assignments and sharing my own ideas and suggestions. I was able to show my existing skills through my work, but as well to gain some new ones which are priceless in this period of life, when we, students, develop both professionally and privately. This was a great opportunity in the sense that I made many new contacts, I was introduced with many important and creative people, I had the chance to fallow their work and see in person how they develop all these great stuff that I used to read about previously. This experience also gave me a chance to publish my work as a professional article and to participate in the summit of young professionals. It “opened so many doors” and enabled so many opportunities and insights into further steps of my studies. It also shaped my professional interests and gave me an idea of what I would like to do and what is possible for me, as a future cartographer, to go towards. I got an idea of what is “attractive” and “wanted” there on the market which is, I believe, quite important since we all want at some point in our lives to find a good and proper job.

I truly believe that any type of internship and professional engagement is important for each individual on his/her way towards a successful career. It is the first step into the world of real business and a great chance to develop yourself professionally and privately. To see and become aware of what is actually that you want to do or that you perhaps do not want, to make conclusions and some crucial decisions that might influence the whole perception of what you will become after finishing your studies. I would recommend it and even integrate it into the studies so that everybody who is interested has an equal chance of getting one and enjoying its benefits and personal growth…”

So, it is only up to you? What would you do?

Student discounts and discounts in general

This could be a post itself, but I will try to focus only on the offers I found to be useful, at least for me. I am not even sure where to start, so let us see chronologically what I needed and for what I got discounts. Semester ticket is one of the things, it used to 156 euros when I just arrived, but now they raised it to 193 euro, but still, it so affordable compared to the regular price. I think I checked once, just for curiosity reasons how much does it cost on normal tariff for all MVV network, and it was something around 200 euro or a bit more. So, you get six months of student ticket validity for only one month of normal fare. Insane, isn’t it?

What else is pretty cool is that you can eat in several places with the students discount ranging from ten to thirty percent (10%-30%), and I am not talking only about Mensa and StuCafe which are directly related with the university, but about random restaurants, coffee shops and so. Just dare to ask, there is no need to be shy. I remember that I had around 20% discount in one burger house, smaller one thou, but I cannot remember the name. However, you can google or just ask directly at the place where you find yourself, and use it.

The other great offer you can get, in case you need computer for school, is at Apple shop. I do think there are many other stores offering student discounts way more affordable than Apple, but if you want to poses iMac, MacBook or iPad it is possible to get those for 12% less than regular price. It is still expensive, but, but…

Then, if you are more a person who likes buying online then going directly to the store, you can make, for example, Amazon student membership and be up-to-date with very good deals, free shipping or some occasional gifts.

You can also put yourself to track grocery shops deals. For example, Lidl releases new, cheaper products every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, Aldi the same, I think. If you buy something in Müller, be sure to save the receipt, depending on the amount of money you spent they give you a small contribution. It is usually less than a euro, but nice of them surely.

Back to the student discounts, some low-cost airlines have it too. WizzAair has some group student discount, if there is more of you travelling together you can book it that way and pay less, Ryanair has some discounts if you have ESN (Erasmus Student Network) card. I linked it here so you can check it out.

Very good one also is this one https://www.isic.de/home-en/ which is the International Student Identity Card, so-called ISIC. It has many benefits and it lasts for a year from the date you activate it. You can get discounts to museums, theaters, cinemas, car rentals, some hostels and many more. Be sure to check the web site and see whether is there something for you.

And I think I would stop here. I pretty much gave you the idea that there are discounts which you can easily use, all you need is to ask or inform yourself a bit better prior to your plan something. So, good luck and happy buying J

Driving licence

Hm, this is something that I almost missed out myself so I would encourage you to think of it and do it on time. I suppose that all of you who are drivers or like driving or even just have a license but not so into driving, would and should inform yourselves whether your driving license is acceptable in Germany or not. In my case, as an example, it was possible to drive the first six months upon my arrival in Germany. Do not get me wrong, it is not that I had a car, nor I planned on buying one, nor renting at that moment, but it happened several times during that first semester that I had the opportunity to drive. Naturally, I needed to know am I actually able to, do I need some additional documents perhaps and whatsoever. Apparently, I did not need anything for the already mentioned period of time, but after that, I needed to either switch my license to a German one or constrain myself on sitting in the left seat of a vehicle (driver’s seat in Germany). At that time, I was already in my second semester, in another city, another country to be more precise and I wanted to go to a small excursion with my roommates when we figured it out that none of them actually poses a license and that we have not checked for mine. We called the competent office immediately and asked and they told us exactly the same that I was told almost six months before in Munich. So, we went to the excursion calmly but I also went the other day back to Munich. It was few days before full six months that I arrived in Germany for the first time so if I did not do it at that time, I would just lose the chance to obtain one which will further on mean that I have to do all over again. And that, my dears, is not something I had in mind. I have a license for about ten years now which means that I am shaped driver, so to say. Going back to the school of driving will really be a pain in the …., plus doing it in Germany, especially Munich costs no less than two thousand euros. So in case you consider staying in Germany for a while after completing your studies, or even if you just want to have the ability to drive during your studies (in case of need or just for your own) it would be good to do this short procedure, but while you are still in your first semester. Try to avoid my mistake.

The procedure itself is quite straight forward. You take your old license, go to ADAC, they will translate it for you (you have to pay this naturally but it is about fifty euros, at least it was) and then you take all these documents with you and go to the Kreisverwaltungsreferat. There, they will take your old license, translation and biometric photo, I forgot to mention that, and everything will last less than five minutes’. You will get paper which is called Bestätigung über dies vorübergehende Abgabe eines ausländischen Führerscheins which is more or less just a statement that you did the exchange and that you are waiting for the new one to arrive. The processing time will be around two weeks, after what you will be informed by mail that you can come and pick it up. I skipped to say that there in ADAC they usually offer a variety of services that they offer in general, so keep in mind not to sign something additional which will tie you to pay on a yearly level. I am saying this because that happened to me, I accidentally and when I say that I mean due to my very low knowledge of German at that time, signed and paid for additional insurance while driving a car, even though I did not have one. However, that did not end up that bad because no matter which or whose car you are driving, as an insured person, you can call for ADAC assistance in case the car stops on the street or something similar happens. It can be your friend’s car, rented one, borrowed one or whatever. But, in case you want to end up the contract you need to contact them at least three months in advance prior to the official contract end. Ok, I think you got the point and more or less picked up the steps on where, how and when to do it. Good luck and stay safe while driving!

Smart booking home

As we speak about all these cool and interesting things and places at which you can go or which you see, the time is passing by and very soon you will find yourself in December. That would be approximately two months after you first arrived at the master's and the first time you can think of a short break from your studies. This is of course, Christmas break which usually starts in the third week of December and ends up with the first week of January (more or less). It always depends on many things which either happen to benefit you or they are complete disasters. In some cases you plan your holiday and then you realize that some lectures are left which you have to attend or somebody moved something in January and now you have to come back earlier then you planned to or you have a gap in between some lectures which you cannot fulfill by any means or whatsoever.

But, keep in mind to organize yourself on time with your future tasks. One of them is to plan your trip back home or wherever you want to go to during your Christmas break. Early bookings are always great but usually, we are not able to predefine dates at which we can travel. So for most of us, it is waiting until the last couple of days and then doing fast booking and Christmas shopping. I’m talking for myself now and the situation I had recently. It happened that my flight back home was three times more than usual one so I decided that it is just absurd to give that much money for such a short trip, considering that Bosnia is compared to China, the USA or some other countries very short distance from Germany. What is even greater absurd is that this miss-booking happened in my second year of masters, not first, so you are never too old to learn something new, as spoken.

In general, I would advise you to start searching and finish the booking at the beginning of December, again for people traveling within the European continent. Also, activate notifications and alerts on last minute, check low-cost deals (very popular in Europe are EasyJet, Ryanair, WizzAir, GermanWings), and smaller airports, not just international, big ones. If a possible book with flexible dates, it will pay off surely and be ready to enjoy your first deserved break; ).

Applying for a second country visa

This small story is useful for those dudes who are not lucky enough to have Schengen visa free entrance. Btw, Schengen stands for the countries which are members of the European Union and whose passport holders are able to travel and live within the whole EU without any visa requirements. However, people coming from countries outside, among which my home country is, are supposed to issue a visa if they plan to stay in any country for longer than three months. I believe the procedure is the same for “across the see” countries as well, but definitely inform yourselves and look for the list of documents and any additional specifications regarding your country of origin.

I decided to write about this topic since I saw that some of my international friends had some issues which could, perhaps, have been prevented if some steps were done on time. So, as an Erasmus student, you will, most probably, have to spend one semester abroad, so they say. In my case, that was Austria, in the beautiful city of Vienna. That means that I needed an Austrian visa as well, for this period of stay which happened to be from March 2016 until July the same year. I started my Austrian visa application even before our Christmas break, and on my surprise I got it done in one day. However, as I already said, many people had issues and were not that lucky, so doing it few months in advance will not cost you anything and can save you a lot of troubles afterward.

The procedure itself is pretty much straight-forward. Luckily, we all have a temporary residence permit in the country where are host university is, in my case Germany, so we can issue a visa from there. It would be very inconvenient if we had to go to our native countries and do it from there. So, what you need to do, or what I did was next:

1. Prepare the necessary documents

You will need good documentation to shorten the process of visa approval. First thing was to download the visa application form which you need (in my case that was Visa D type and fills it up. You need to bring your passport and two biometric passport photos with. Then you will need proof of accommodation during your stay in Austria (that can either be a signed contract for the room or apartment you rented, or dormitory agreement, or whatever else that states where you will be situated during that semester abroad). Of course, you will need again proof that you can financially support yourself during your life in their country, either your scholarship agreement or any other form you already submitted for the German visa (if you still have money coming from the same sources). Health insurance is also a must, but since you, by now, have this private one which is valid in the whole EU, I think that should not be a problem. When it comes to the university, you will need to ask for the confirmation latter which says from when to when are you enrolled to one of the Austrian universities or if they can provide you with the enrolment letter, even better. And finally, they asked for travel ticket as well. I remember that I did not have it at the moment of application but that did not make any problems, as I said, everything was done in just a few hours.

1. Make an appointment

This is important to do, otherwise, you will not be able to come in Consulate. It is pretty easy to make one, just call the number they provided on their website and state the nature of your call. They will tell you when and where you need to come. That way you will not need to wait nor go way early to be among first to enter. In Munich, the General Consulate of Austria is situated in Ismaningerstrasse, but much more you can find on their web site https://www.bmeia.gv.at/gk-muenchen/.

1. Submit the application and get your passport back

Well, this is the last step which goes quite smoothly if you have all the above-mentioned documents ready and correct. You will be invited in, the small procedure will be done, in which they take your fingerprints, signature and similar (I cannot remember everything perfectly), and you will be said when are you supposed to come to pick it up. If it is done immediately that day they will tell you, otherwise they will call you by phone when you can come. So, be sure that you provide correct phone number, again to avoid some additional troubles.

This was, if I recall well, everything that I did during my visa application for the semester in Vienna. Luckily, this administration went without major issues and I got to focus on some other things that captured my attention during that time, like booking, exploring Vienna through a web browser and so on.

Accommodation for the next semester

Maybe I should have switched these stories with the visa application and accommodation in next semester since I already said that you will be needing the proof of accommodation when you apply for the visa, but I believe you will find information this way as well. So, let me share some sources which I have when it comes to Vienna accommodation finding but also let me tell you the interesting story on how I found great accommodation in the city center, very affordable and with the best roomies ever.

Even though the rental market is not as crazy as it is in Munich, Vienna is still a very nice destination for many people which means that accommodation finding is getting more and more tricky. Again, be sure to start on time and you should not have too many troubles. When I say on time, I mean with the beginning of December, just prior to your visa application. I know how annoying that can be, I went through all that, but this is a great chance for you to master your organizational skills. After all, you will need them in the future when you start working J. This was just a joke, clearly, but the part is true actually and that is the part with start time.

Be sure to put yourself into all of these facebook groups like WG Zimmer in Wien Gesucht or WG Zimmer frei in Wien. There are tons of new ads every day and you never know, maybe one just gets to be perfect for you. Be sure to send as much as possible, the more you send the greater chance somebody will fit you and you will fit somebody. Try to write your application in German, if the ad is in German naturally. Everybody really appreciates it more than writing in English, and you get to chance to try your German skills. Be sure not to pay anything in advance, nor to transfer any money to some accounts that seem to be suspicious. By this time, I suppose you mastered this since you already went through the same story when applying for Munich's accommodation.

The other option is to apply for a dorm room, which is also great and most probably you will get one. But the thing with the dorms is that they are pretty expensive in Vienna and a little bit further from the city center. Now considering that Vienna is bigger than Munich you will most probably want to be close to your classmates so that you can go out, hang out and so on, so maybe dorms are not a that good solution. At least that was from my perspective, it does not necessarily mean that everybody feels the same. So, in case you want to try dormitories, here is the place where you can find a lot of information about each one such as location, availability, rent and whatever else you want to know http://www.studieren.at/wohnen-im-studentenwohnheim/studentenwohnheim-wien

And finally, let me tell you my story about accommodation finding. A friend of mine contacted me at the beginning of December. We had not heard from each other for very long and he did not even know that I went to study in Germany. So, we started talking and I told him how am I struggling with accommodation finding and how, I suppose, it is going to be annoying, expensive and never-ending. I was afraid due to the experience from Munich. He was like yeah I can only assume, well keep on going, there will be something and soon after we finish our chat and I even forgot about it. But then, several days after he called me saying “Oooh I completely forgot to tell you, I have a friend living in Vienna and I think she is looking for a roommate. Would you like me to contact her? ” I was like “no way, why did not you tell me that the other day and he simply replayed that it did not cross his mind”. Imagine that. Naturally, I said yes and I got in touch with the girl immediately the other day. She was and is my age, studying architecture in Vienna, and she seemed to be very cool, at least on the phone. She told me that there are two of them living there, but they search for one more girl so if I am interested I can join anytime. Heavens yes, I think I said yes even before she finished the sentence. The apartment was just five stops from Vienna’s Karlsplatz where, among other convenient stuff, my university is located. So don’t be jealous :P but rather get in touch with some old friends, you never know who carries valuable information. J I wish you lots’ of luck with this step.

Here is me, happily drinking with my roomies :)

Exploring new city through a web browser

Vienna is just a few hours driving from Bosnia and I have never been there, neither as a tourist nor in transit, literally never. Of course, I heard of it as a nice city, very green, with a great transportation network but still, I could not imagine how beautiful it is. It was definitely love at the first sight. I do not get amassed with cities, I prefer what nature has built rather than mankind, but in this case, I have to admit they did a great job.

Since I did not know anything about the city, I started googling a long time before I even came to Germany, I did that actually for all three cities, but let me talk about this one. I wanted to know where is my university, how the city is organized, where it would be good to live and so on.

Vienna is organised in districts, so-called Bezirk(s). There are more than twenty, I think and I used to live in twelfth. You will perhaps think how come I was central then and the answer is because they have completely irregular shapes and the numerations reminded me of snail carves. The other thing which I would really point out is their perfect public transportation. It is so easy, simple and straight-forward. Underground trains also called U-Bahns run every few minutes, so if you miss one no worries, the other will be there in just less than five minutes. Also, they have the policy of waiting for each other. For example, if you want to go from one place to another and the places are being connected with two U-Bahns, if one comes first it will wait for the other so that people who exit from that one can come into this one and vice versa. Pretty useful and cool. And I found all that on the Internet, I just could not believe that many what I had read were indeed true.

Another thing that I found out was that I cannot obtain student transportation ticket, which was not that cool, actually, because I was twenty-six at the time I had to go there. They have a policy that student status and more benefits can have only people under twenty-six. But I got to find a solution for this also, you will read more about it in some of the future stories, this is just to see where do you stand at the moment.

Also, I noticed people saying that life in Vienna is more expensive than in Munich but I have not noticed that, at least not at the extent at which I would comment that myself. Than I read that summer is reserved for Danube river and since I am one of these people who were “born on the river”, so to say, I was more than happy that I would have the chance to go swimming and that is possible to swim in a river in such a big city. I am telling you, heaven on Earth J.

My point is, get to know the city which is going to be your home in the next few months for several next months. You should be ready and know your first steps and of course, use all of your time to walk around and admire the beauties in spring and what new environment has to offer. I just hope your second semester will be as great as mine was. I cannot wait to share so many different stories and situations with you.

Don’t forget the exams

I promise this is the last paragraph of this post. It has been a lot that I wrote here, but I really hope you will find it useful and shorten some processes which will happen in your near future. The other thing which I would like to tell you, and which is the last one here, is do not forget about your exams.

I know that all this writing sounds like we are here just to have fun and enjoy life, cities, our international friends, food and drinks, but there is also the other side of the story. Do not get me wrong, I am not talking here of something dark and bad, I am saying that, after all, we come here to master ourselves in different fields and disciplines. Having that in mind we should embrace our duties and do it as much love and passion as we enjoy all the other stuff. Yes indeed, sometimes it is just so boring and annoying to get up early, go for lectures, spend almost a whole day sitting there and listening various topics that were scheduled for that day, but remember you are Erasmus only once in a lifetime and it is not that many had nor they will have this opportunity you got. So be positive, take out all the knowledge you can, study, put yourself in projects, seminars or whatever else you have. Be sure to take more courses that are being offered. That does not necessarily mean that you will need to take all the exams, after all, you need only thirty credits per semester. But maybe you will get some additional information from some other courses which were your electives only and maybe those will be the ones who will give you some new ideas or point out towards some new directions.

Whatever you do, do it with passion, do it because you want to do it. Knowledge and education is something that nobody can take out of you nor anybody can give you, you have to earn it yourself and be proud of yourself since you are on a good way, starting with the fact that you are here, doing your masters.

But, aside of this motivation speech of mine J I would like to point out few things to the future students of the same program which I am attending, Master of Cartography. Your Munich semester might seem pretty easy, especially because you have only lectures. The semester is more theoretical and it is meant to provide you with a good background for your future semesters. This means that many of you, the same happened with me and my intake, will start postponing many things that you have to do on a daily basis since you know that it is not mandatory, or not graded. At some point, you will find yourself at the end of lectures, with some of the notes and completely not ready for the exam period. What is even worse, due to a very early start of Vienna semester you will have your exams in February only and they will be pretty dense because everything has to be done with the end of the month. And we all know that, unfortunately, this month is the shortest in the year.

So consider starting real and series studying even before your Christmas break. You can enjoy the first month upon your arrival, explore the city and get to know your new friends a bit better, but with the first rain and cold weather consider starting a new relationship, this time with your books. What I highly recommend is to focus on a mandatory subject called Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing an Image Processing. This is the block class and the exam as well, and most of the students from every intake had a lot of problems with it. It is hard, extensive, the lectures in my case took place every Wednesday morning at eight o’clock (it could not be worse), and the exam is very late in February which makes you think “I have time for this”. Unfortunately, you do not and you have to start with the lectures, follow them literally and then you should not have greater problems in passing this one, which happens to be the hardest one from many perspectives and speaking from most of the students of all intakes, not just mine.

Ok, I am finally done. I hope this content will serve you well and will help you to sort out some of your things. If you need more or less time than five minutes' for reading each of the paragraphs, you will excuse me, I happen to write a lot and read/speak very fast so I shaped it according to my own preferences. Hope you will not mind. Be sure to stay tuned for the upcoming stories which are left to be said about Munich, and of course, be ready for a summer semester in Vienna.

Cheers!

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