Erasmus Destination: Munich, incredible!

Hey everyone!

I want to share with you some info about my Erasmus experience in Munich, since before I decided on it as my destination, it really helped me to read and compare comments written by other people on this website. I did a six month Erasmus internship (you get more money for this than you do for the Erasmus Academic Exchange programme, since there's less demand). Munich is today definitely the richest city in Germany, the standard of living is very high and some of the biggest international companies are based there (such as BMW and Siemens, among others). This of course means that the prices there are higher than in other places... both for accommodation (a complicated topic which I'll now explain in more detail) and for leisure activities.

So, in terms of accommodation... if you want to live in the student halls of residences, it's important that you apply for them well in advance, since there are lots of German and international students who study there and will want to live there too. However, there are also quite a lot fo student residences available. I stayed in the Studentenstadt for three months, a fantastic student residence in the city. It's the biggest one, and has two places you can eat dinner at, a café where you can have breakfast and lunch, and two bars. There's a great atmosphere, the prices are very low (a maximum of 300 euros per month) and you have a lot of independence, since although it's a public residence, all the services are run by students and there's no reception control like there is in other residences. The U-Bahn 6 is right outside the residence, (stop Studentenstadt) and it's seven stops til the city centre (so 20 minutes with the metro). There's also a supermarket and a bank one U-Bahn stop away, easily walkable or bikeable. There are other residences too... I lived in one near Theressienstrasse (next to the university) for a few months at the end of my stay in Munich, and it was cheap and very central, which was great. You could walk everywhere easily and it saved a lot of time. In terms of flats, there are various websites where you can check them out, like wg-gesucht.de, and get in touch with the people already in the flat. It's difficult to find someone who'll respond, however, as there's massive demand. If they do get in contact with you, there's usually an interview process you'll have to go through which they carry out in order to find the perfect flatmate.

In terms of language, this is one of the things that threw me a bit... I'd only been studying German for one year at a Language School and my level was very basic. Since Munich is in the Bavarian region and has a dialect, I was worried I wouldn't learn the language very well at all... however, I have to say that among the students in Munich, everyone mainly talks Hochdeutsch. There are loads of language schools you can learn at (in my opinion, the best are the Deutsch Akademie or the Sprachschule Aktiv). Of course, now and again you do hear some Bavarian words and see adverts in it... but of course, you learn German on the street and at the university too.

The Bavarian culture is very traditional. The people there are quite religious, and they often wear traditional costumes and clothes such as Dirndl for women and Lederhosen for men. Contrary to what people usually say about the Germans, I found them all very friendly and open people. Make the most of any sunny days to go out wandering through the streets or to go to the Biergarten and have a beer.

Of course, I can't neglect to mention the famous Oktoberfest... full of atmosphere, music, people of all ages and nationalities, elbows, waiters with twenty beer mugs in their hands, Spanish people stealing the last dregs of beer... etc. All I can say it's that it's fantastic and that it's definitely worth going to! There are different marquees there, you don't have to buy an entrance ticket, since entrance is free until it gets full, and even then you just need to have reserved a table. There are lots of Germans who are there from 9am in the morning onwards. Oktoberfest finishes at 10. 30pm.

And finally, in terms of leisure activities, Munich has thousands of options: from going to watch Bayern Munich or the second team at the Allianza Arena (U6), going to the opera, going out partying to Pacha, visiting the Nachtgallerie, the Atomic Café, 089, 8 Seasons, P1, Kullfabrik, Spanish places, going to parties in student halls, to the English Garden, to visiting Salzburg and Nuremberg and going to Isar to have a barbecue.

My experience in Munich was fantastic and I would definitely recommend it as an Erasmus destination!