Erasmus Experience in Dusseldorf, Germany by Aziza

Why did you choose to go to Dusseldorf, Germany?

Before my Erasmus, I searched a lot about universities on the websites and later I decided to come to Germany because I think that Germany has one of the best education systems in Europe. After I analyzed agreements of my university, I started to search the cities. I liked Dusseldorf and I decided to come here because before I didn't know this city. I looked at the photos and I got a lot of information about this city.

It is the capital of NRW in Germany. Here there are a lot of international students. I think it is the best choice to come here. The coordinators and tutors in the Hochschule Dusseldorf-University of Applied Sciences are perfect and they always help the students.

Source

How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

I came here from Turkey, Ondokuz Mayis University. They paid us the 80 percent of our scholarship. It is for Germany totally 1920€ for one semester. But this money is not enough to live here. I got money from my family too. Min 500-Max 750 is enough to live.

What is the student lifestyle like in Dusseldorf?

If you are erasmus student, you will have a lot of parties here. Many weekends we do also some travels to neighbour cities. The transport is free with our student ID. We can travel free all NRW cities with student ID. And during the week after 19:00 and the weekends all day we can take someone with us in Düsseldorf for free. The erasmus student lifestyle is good. You study, travel, entartain, etc. Alles klar!

Would you recommend the city and the University of Dusseldorf to other students?

Yes, I recommend. I had explained above.

What is the food like?

The currywurst is special for Germany. It is sausage with special sauce. And you can see some special things during Christmas Market times as well. But anyway, I`m sorry, I prefer turkish meals. It is the best one in the world.

Did it cost you to find your accommodation in Dusseldorf?

I have it found online, wg-gesucht.de. I recommend, if there is a number, write on Whatsapp or call them because if you write an email, a lot of them they don't answer. Also try join the university groups on Facebook and try to find your future Erasmus classmate. It will be easier and fast to solve accommodation problems.

How much does it cost to live in Dusseldorf?

Dusseldorf is not cheap city. But if you can manage your money, 500-700 euros is enough per month.

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the University?

Yes, my university has a lot of foreign languages courses. All of them are free. You can join. But if you don`t speak German, it is better to join in German courses and English courses to improve. If you want to join in Spanish, Russian or Italian, it is difficult without German, because the teachers explain the rules in German language.

What's the easiest or most economical way to travel to Dusseldorf from your city?

I came from Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. Try to buy your ticket very early, it will be cheaper than. I bought my coming back ticket 65 euros, but when I came, I bought the ticket for 200 euros. The reason is that it was few time for my flight. In Germany when you want to travel, look at the tickets Onebus.de, Megabus.com, Flixbus.com, etc. You can find cheap ticket in these websites. My classmates bought from Cologne to Prague 5 euro ticket. If you want to travel by plane, Ryanair is the cheapest.

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Dusseldorf?

Altstadt.