ARRIVAL
Taking a trip to Europe is always an exciting experience, especially for people from America. I realize, now that I am here in the great continent of Europe, how infrequent we Americans travel to Europe and how different our culture is. I am going to write this essay, from my own experience and from the experiences of my friends, so others from Umass Amherst and America in general can have an idea of what to expect when they first get to Europe and to offer my knowledge to help them travel and get around. The first topic I will discuss is, my arrival into Europe including my flight to Heathrow, trip to Stuttgart and then how I got to Tübingen and figured out got my housing situation figured out.
One thing to expect on your trip to Europe is for things to not go as plan, expect to arrive tired, confused and very stressed. I can vouch for this because that is how I and many people I have talked to arrived in Deutschland. I had a 7 hour flight from Logan Airport in Boston to Stuttgart. I naively thought that I would have the luxury of catching a few hours of shut eye and arrive fully charged to Germany to find my home for the next year. What ended up happening was that I got on the plane and found myself next to a very chatty man from England. Seven hours later I arrived in Heathrow, where I had to wait for two hours until I could get on my flight to Germany. Now I am tired, it is the equivalent of four in the morning back in MA. The first day in Germany is very important, unless you want to stay the first night or so in a hostel, you will have a lot to do to set up your living situation. Although, staying the first night in a hostel is not a bad plan, it makes it much less stressful and you will have actually had some rest.
The flight from Heathrow was much quieter. The two hour flight passes by surprising fast, before you know it you will be already landing at Stuttgart. The whole process of getting through the airport takes less than thirty minutes, you get your passport stamped and grab your bag, and then you’re all set. I was fortunate; when I walked out of the airport into this land of unknown I saw a bus across the street with the big letters Tübingen on the front of it. There is a travel center in the airport as well, they can tell you when the next bus will be arriving, or how you can get to the train station. This would be the scene of my first encounter with a non English speaking German. Before I came here, everyone told me that everyone if Germany speaks English. That is somewhat true with students, but I have seen that there are a lot of adults who can’t speak it at all. The bus ride cost 5,30 Euros and a train ride cost about 12 Euros. My unfortunate friend didn’t have the luxury of seeing the bus outside when he arrived so he did the easiest thing in his mind and that was to grab a taxi. This approach is good because you can get the driver to deliver you precisely where you need to go. The downside is that it costs 60 Euros (about $80).
 |
| A nice view of Tubingen |
In Tübingen I had a stressful adventure of getting into my apartment. First off I had no l clue when I had to get off the bus, I had no idea what the right stop was. The bus made several stops in Tübingen, until it finally arrived at the main bus/train station of Tübingen. The stop you want is the very last one, if you take a train it is the same deal. There is a Tourist information Store a quarter of a mile down the road from the train station, you will see it on the way there. They are helpful in the tourist information store, they can speak English and tell you which buses you need to take to get where you need to go. Also I would advise buying a map in here as well, it will be useful the whole time you are in Tübingen. What also added stress to the situation was that I had arrived on a Friday and the housing offices where I had to pick up my key where closing at 3, in 2 hours, and would be closed for the whole weekend. Arriving Monday through Thursday is the best plan because you don’t have to be stressed about finding all the places you need to go to get your apartment. You can take bus number 2, 4, and 5 to get to the Fichtenweg stop and that’s the street you want. When you get to the housing office you have to fill out a couple of papers as well as paying your first month’s rent as well as a deposit on you room. Don’t expect you are done here though, they don’t give you the keys here, and you have to go to the opposite side of town to get to your apartment and key. They put all the international students together in the same areas and if you arrive in September, there won’t be many Germans because classes start in October and they are still at home enjoying their summer break. The house masters in Germany all seem to speak very little English and are never friendly or happy. The rooms you can expect to receive in Germany are better and bigger than any room they have at Umass.
 |
| Tubingen's large spacious rooms |
HOMETOWN
Europe has a lot to offer, one of the best things about studying abroad for a semester or year is that you have a command post from where you can travel to and from. This allows you not to have to worry about having trips planned back to back because you can’t experience the German culture in your own home.
When you are abroad, you will realize that you will not have as much homework as you are use to back in the States. This makes for much more free time than you are use too. The good thing about University towns is that there is always something to do. There are many organizations that cater towards not only students at the University but also many specifically for the international students.
For example, in Tübingen there is StudIT, a program run by students at the University. They organize great trips at very good prices as well as offering a Mentor Program, where you are paired with a German student who helps you get familiar with Tübingen. This program is a great way to meet people and build a group of friends. Another called Tandem Program pairs students with a tandem partner. Both students are looking to improve a language, he or she with English and you with German. Plus all the departments at the school offer outing, trips and parties (that’s right parties hosted by the school for students and with beer) for students in their department or anyone interested in going. The best way I found to meet other students is to take a intensive German class before the semester starts, the students are all international students who also know no one and are very interested in meeting new people.
TRAINS
 |
| A regional Train |
Germany and Europe are big places, for most destinations the fastest and easiest way to travel is with the trains. They offer a much cheaper alternative to flying, plus you can get to more places this way. Usually there only a few airports in each country so you must take a train the exact town you want to get to anyway. It is also great because the countryside of Germany is beautiful and while you ride the train you can watch from your window. Some of the trains have two floors I would try to get on the top one if you can because the views are that much better.
 |
| ICE train |
The Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s train line, offers many types of trains. The three main types of trains that they offer are ICE, Regional Trains, and City Night Line. The ICE stands for Intercity Express Train it’s the fastest way to travel to all the main cities in Germany. If you are lucky to board early enough they have spacious rooms that are perfect for small groups to hang out in while they travel. They are the fastest trains in Germany, equivalent to Japan’s Bullet Trains. If you want to travel across Germany and money is not a big problem then I highly recommend this method of travel.
The trains I most frequently use are the regional trains they have the most extensive network of rails and are go everywhere there are tracks. Though they are not the fastest, but they can get you anywhere you want to be.
Now my favorite train, the City Night Line, also called just an IC train, is another train that you can take. The train drives from Munich to Paris and Amsterdam every night. They have 3 seating options: first just plain seats nothing special and not that expensive, I wouldn’t recommend these. The second option requires a 5 Euro reservation. Essentially you have a reclined chair in which you can lay down and sleep. The problem with this though is there is still a lot of light in the train car and you have to like sleeping with people walking by you and making noise at every stop during the night. For the third option you need a pricey reservation of 20 Euros, but they supply you with a bed, pillow and sheets in a completely dark room. In the long run it is definitely worth it. The best part about it is that you fall asleep and then you wake up in your destination. The downside is that, to my knowledge, only runs from Munich to Paris or Amsterdam, and visa versa. None the less I recommend this means of transportation if you live in Baden-Württemberg and want to visit any of these three cities.
I wouldn’t say that I have mastered the train system here in Germany, but I do feel that I am pretty well aware of how it runs from many uses and experiences from it. That being said I came here with an image of Germany as a country of engineers and all things are punctual and on time. Now after being here and riding many trains I could never say that again. Germany is known in Europe as having the worst train service in terms of an efficient train system. I have made many trips which resulted in frustration, anger, and the urge to never leave Tübingen again. Often times getting to a destination requires a couple train transfers. Meaning you have to get off at a station and wait around to board another one. When a train is behind schedule, very rarely will the next train wait. This can complicate things resulting in long wait and even force overnight stays in train stations. Of my say, 10 trips or so, about 4 of them have had problems associated with train trips. The more you ride them the better you get at using them, so after a couple trips you will have a better understanding of them and this will avoid potential problems.
 |
| Bored on Board a train |
BUSES
Now I will cover the most commonly used form of transportation of the international student, buses. Every day I take at the very least four buses in Tübingen. Usually in whatever town or city that you are in there are specials and deals that are always the best thing to buy. For example, in Tübingen the best deals are you can buy a day pass for 4 euro or a semester pass (about 4 months) for 55 euro. This covers both the traveler living there and a traveler there for a day trip, either way you are spending very little to get around the town. This is also often the case when you visit a big city there are good deals on day or weekend passes.
In whatever city you reside the benefits of the bus pass are incomparable. For the small price of 55 Euros a semester or 110 for the year you get unlimited rides in your own city with all the buses. You also receive unlimited train rides in usually the 20 or so towns around you as well. Tübingen is an alright place to shop but with my rail pass I can travel to Reutlingen or Mezlingen as well and they have many more stores where I can find whatever I may need. Another huge benefit is the fact that it gets cold in Germany and it stays cold for many months. In that time the best way to get around is via bus. It takes about 30 minutes to 60 minutes to walk to the main part of town from most of the student living areas, but with a bus the time is cut to a mere 15 minutes. Plus it is much warmer on the bus.
 |
| Typical bus |
There are a couple downsides to bus system, but in the long run, are not huge problems at all. The buses are all on a schedule so often times you must coordinate your plans with the buses. It’s good though because for most parts of town you can catch a bus relatively close to where you are about every 10 minutes. There are many lines and each comes every half hour. For myself there are 6 different buses I can take every hour that are all within a 2 minute walk from my apartment. Occasionally, especially at the busy times of the day (usually mornings and afternoons) the buses run a little behind schedule. So, you must stand in the cold for a bus that can be 15 minutes late. But compared to Umass where buses on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights don’t come until about 30 minutes after they are suppose to, it is not a big problem.
Depending on what city you are in there are usually different means of making sure people boarding the bus have a ticket. In Amsterdam people had to scan a card through a reader as they got on and off. In Tübingen and most of Germany I have seen so far it is based on the honor system. They do have people who check tickets on buses but these checks happen extremely rarely. In the four months I have been here I have only once been checked. My friend has yet to buy the semester ticket and has never been checked. The cost of the fine they give you is only 40 Euros, cheaper than an actual semester ticket. Buses comprise the major means of transportation in most towns. They are always a good deal and definitely worth every penny you spend or don’t spend to ride them.
OTHER MEANS OF TRANSPORT
I have already talked about buses and trains, the main two ways of traveling through Europe and Germany. But there are a couple of other great options. Perhaps the simplest means of travel is via airplane. It’s easily the fastest way to travel anywhere; consequently it can be very expensive. Many airlines do not even fly to some airports, for example a lot of international flights are from Munich or Frankfurt, and not from Stuttgart (closest airport to Tübingen). However you can find specials for certain destinations occasionally if you follow the airlines websites.
Many people advocated purchasing a bike when you first arrive. They are not too hard to find, in September and October there are a lot of flea markets where you can pick a decent one up for about 30 Euros. They are probably more convenient in the nice warm weather, but in the cold I don’t know anyone that would want to ride one. That means that you cannot ride the bike from November to March. That’s a long time without a means of transportation.
A fantastic adventure that one can purchase is called Germanwings Blind Booking. The deal is that you sign up a week or two you want to go somewhere, and then you pick a theme, for example Culture, West Metropolis , or Party. And Germanwings will put you on a plane that is going to a major city that offers something for that theme. The Culture theme could send you to Paris, Rome, or Berlin. The best part of the deal is that the flight only cost 20 Euros, each way. This is definitely a great thing to do if you can’t decide where you want to go next or just want an adventure.
Another means of transport is using a taxi. I wouldn’t recommend using this for a longer trip, more so for local transport. These are great, in most of Germany there is a service that provides students with cheap taxi rides in their city or town. It cost 3 Euros per student and they take you anywhere in town. This is good but expect a longer wait than for a normal taxi, which cost a little more but if you have 3 or for people with you it will actually be cheaper if you split the fare. This is a good time if it is too late for buses or if you want to be dropped off right in front of your house.
HOSTELS/HOTELS
 |
| Really cool Hostel Boat |
Up until now I have mainly talked about the means of travel in Germany and Europe, but for the rest of the essay I will talk about hostels and give you some information about some of the cities I have visited. Every hostel I have been to while in Europe has been different from one another. Some have been fantastic while others have been not so good. Generally they are all fairly cheap you shouldn’t have to pay more than 50 Euros per night, personally I have never paid more than 20 and what I have received has all been worth it. There are different styles of hostels that affect the price as well. Some hostels have large room with 16 or 32 beds all set up, these ones are pretty cheap. I like these but you do have to be cautious if they do not give you a locker, most hostels have a storage room that they will put your bag in if you don’t feel comfortable having it with you. Other hostels give you a small room usually 3 or 4 beds and you get a private bathroom as well. These are nice and I have never paid more than 20 Euros for one. Others have private rooms and as you can imagine these are the most expensive. Often a free breakfast is included free of charge in the morning, this will consist of your typical German breakfast of brotchen rolls with jam, honey, and butter or selected deli meats. It doesn’t sound like anything special but it is actually real tasty. Many also have bars or rooms where you can relax and meet fellow travelers; this is always a good way to find random people to do things with while traveling.
It’s hard to see or find all the information on the website of a hostel needed to make a good decision. For example, when I stayed in Paris the hostel locked up its lobby at 12 o’clock at night. This would have been a huge problem if I had planned to stay out any later than that, because I wouldn’t have been able to get back in until 7 in the morning. Another time in Amsterdam I was sleeping in a cabin at a camp ground outside the city, and because I was leaving the next day before the clerk was going to arrive I had to give them my key the day before, and had to leave my stuff in an unlocked room while I went into town. I guess what you should look for I a hostel is 24 hours staff.
Hotels in Europe are nice they are essentially the same thing as what we have in the States. A nice room with a couple of queen size beds, a bathroom and a TV. They are usually much more expensive but you can find them for about 30 a night for two people. If you have money hotels will always be better than hostels.
PARIS
Pretty much everything you hear about Paris is true. It’s a beautiful city with a rich history. The people are beautiful, most of them smoke cigarettes. Baguettes are eaten by everyone, and all other foods are great. I stayed here for 3 whole days and it definitely wasn’t enough. Paris was probably my favorite destination so far. I took the overnight train to get there, great times. The problem with Paris is that there is so much to do and see. The best way to get around for students under 26 is a 3.60 Euro day rail pass. You get unlimited trips on all public transportation methods and only for a small cost. Paris has a great metro system. It is not too difficult to figure out; all you need is about 5 minutes of looking at the map to completely understand how it is set up. There are many great sites all over the city and as long as you have a hostel inside the city you are guaranteed an easy time finding where you want to go to and lots to do.
There are canal tours that go along the river, you pay 9 Euros and can get on and off as many times as you want in a day. It’s a good option on the first day or so that you are there because it makes eight stops along the river that all have good sites to see. If you do take this ride I would advise against buying a day pass on the metro because that is essentially what the canal boat is for, taking you around the city. But after the first day or so I wouldn’t advise it because they only make eight stops and the stops all pretty much all the big sites that you might have seen already.
One thing you should take note of thought is that people in Paris prefer to speak French and only French. Many people that I asked (in French) answered immediately that they don’t speak English or German. My advice would be to go France with a couple of phrases for basic communication, for example how to order food, buy train tickets, and ask directions.
AMSTERDAM
Amsterdam was a great city to visit. This trip was the first one where I used the overnight train. I only stayed for a day and a half, and I can easily say that was not long enough. Whether you are looking for a party or want to experience the culture, a weekend stay or at least two days are required to fully enjoy Amsterdam.
There is plenty to do there and many very beautiful sites to see. The city is definitely a water city, there are many, many canals going through the whole town. I would advise the canal tour here as well. Amsterdam is home to many museums and sites of note; there is the Monet and Rembrandt Museums, as well as a great Dutch Historical Museum. Even though they are not advertised at all in the city there are over 200 Coffee Shops for those who are interested.
Amsterdam was a great experience for me, it was here that I did my first “Traveler’s One” tour. The concept is that you get a free tour from a native of the town or city and at the end of the tour you are expected to give a tip. The tour I had was fantastic, tour are offered in English and Spanish, and I learned A LOT about Amsterdam with this tour. Many other cities have them as well, and next time I can I will definitely do another one.
The was one drawback that I had with Amsterdam though was because it is made up of so many canals it was virtually impossible for the city to have any sort of metro system. It makes thing difficult to find, there was a bar that my friend wanted to go to, that we had seen on our tour. That night we tried in vain for about two hours to find that place again, we had no luck. But fortunately there is plenty to see at night as well, so we were able to have a fine time anyway.
Dave Hohrath’s Travelers Tips
Traveling should be a large part of your experience abroad. It is important in the first couple weeks to find people and groups of people that are interested in traveling. It’s good to know many people who want to travel because that will give you options and opportunities to travel more often or at least places that you would rather go to. It’s important when you find people that they have similar interest as you. I say this because I have gone on a couple of trips with people who had no interest in going to museums, something I enjoy doing, and we just ended up walking around the cities getting great pictures, but not really learning anything special. I recommend that you have some sort of goal for when you travel, whether it is party and drink or enjoy the culture, to learn as much as possible or just trying a hamburger in every country. That way you can select of your friends which would be good for each trip. I think it is good to have a plan so that you just don’t travel to say you have traveled.
Its good to have a game plan before you go anywhere, this involves having a basic outline of places you want to go and see. It makes it easier to have a couple sites or museums in mind before you go, so you can go to those first and decide the rest after you have got settled there. On a couple trips we just decided to walk around and we saw a couple of sites but took a while to find out what else was to see. This is also why I would advise buying a map or tourist guide when you first get there. It is helpful for finding things like your hostel as well as usually provided locations of monuments and sites. Very often there are events or things going on in most cities. A good source of finding things to do is at your hostel. Many of the clerks will know the best places to go and how to get there. Usually the hostels will also have a wall with pamphlets with that are going on, this has definitely helped me in the past to find something to do. It doesn’t hurt checking online before you go as well.
An important task, best done before getting to where ever you are going, is selecting a good hostel. Through my experiences I have developed a few criteria to selecting a good hostel. First what I look for is location; make sure the hostel is close to the center of town and all the sites, especially if you are only some place for a short time. You don’t want to waste precious time commuting to and from the hostel. Also, if possible find one along the main metro of bus line. It is incredibly handy to be able to quickly access and travel places. When I was in Amsterdam, I stayed in a hostel very far out of the way of the main city. To get there or back took an hour long bus ride, my friend and I spent four of our 18 hours there traveling. After that experience, I learned that it is completely worth paying an extra 20 or even thirty Euros to stay within the city.
 |
| Cauldron of German Culture |
Using the trains to travel has been very miserable. Here is a basic guide line of some things you can do to avoid, horrible waits and bad train experiences. Trains don’t run from 2 to 6 in the morning. If you don’t want to wait overnight in a train station I would suggest planning to arrive at you stop around 11, this gives you some wiggle room if you cannot catch all of your connections. Also, try to find trips with as few connections as possible, the more connections you have the more likely you will miss one because your train was late. Also look to have around 10 to 15 minutes in between connections as well if you have the possibility. And always when you travel it is better to arrive at the station a little early, I found that planning to arrive 30 minutes early has always been good.
When traveling it is very convenient to not be carrying a heavy or bulky backpack or bag everywhere. If you are only staying in a place for a couple day I would recommend bringing as few things as possible, because it makes traveling and walking around cities that much better. Many times I have brought “entertainment material” for the bus or train rides, this might entail a couple of my school books. Often during these trips, I never open these books. They are just a waste of space and weight. Something I did find useful to bring though is a single bed sheet. Hostels will usually not supply you these and they will cost extra if you want them. Hostels will give you a pillow with a clean sheet as well as a nice blanket. I am sure the blanket and mattress are clean for the most part, but I have found it is usually much more comfortable sleeping with a sheet that I know is clean. In Germany the bed sheets are different than in the United States. In the States they are just a one ply sheet, but in Germany everyone I have seen has been 2 ply with three sides sewn together, similar to a sleeping bag, or with a long and short side sewn together.
Another criterion that you should also factor into your plans is weather. Summer time is almost always a better time to visit most places; they are expecting lots of tourists so the towns cater more towards them. For example, Tübingen has a beautiful bridge that during the summer, winter and fall is lined by flowerboxes full of flowers of all different colors, it is quite the site. But during the winter they have to take them down and it loses some of its image. The same goes for most places I am sure, plus some are naturally better in the warmer weather. I am waiting until better weather to visit Italy; I feel that that is a place where it can really be enjoyed in the sun and warmth. Amsterdam was a great place to visit in the cold or winter weather. I went there in November and that was perfect time. There were a lot people there and I almost got run over a couple times by the many people bikes there. I was talking to my tour guide, and she had said that in the tourist season there are so many more people and bike riders that it’s almost a nuisance.
Last but not least, you are going to Europe, most people in America never have this opportunity or at least don’t take advantage of it. You should make the time you are here in Europe a great time. While here you should explore every possible chance to do or try something new. There are so many things here to do that you cannot do back in the States; I would advise trying to do things that you wouldn’t normally try or do back home.
