Living in Berlin as Erasmus Student: Brenda’s Experience

My friend Brenda did an Erasmus experience in Berlin. She’s 25 and she’s from Italy. She’s been studying foreign languages at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, in northern Italy. She was studying German for 10 years, but she felt she couldn’t manage that language as she wanted to. So, she decided to do an internship for her master’s degree in Germany also to do an experience abroad. Therefore, she found a position in a hotel in Berlin, and in July 2019 her experience started. I hope you will find her story helpful for your future!

Erasmus in berlin

Before the Departure

The period before my erasmus in Berlin was stressful. Especially due to all the arrangements: finding a room, trying to understand German bureaucracy and so on. Being an Erasmus student gives a lot of advantages in terms of documents, especially for health insurance.

On 29th June I set off from Bologna and I landed in Berlin Schönefeld. I felt excited about this new experience. That wasn’t’ my first time moving from my home city. I remember the excitement of discovering new places and knowing the better the new city. But I felt even a little bit worried because I wouldn’t have seen my family for three months.

First days in Berlin

The first days in my new city weren’t easy. It was the first time living abroad and in a big city. But as soon as I became familiar with Berlin and my new life, everything got better.

For the very first days, I stayed in a hotel because the flat was available on 1st July. I found my room on the website Housinganywhere, an online estate agency that takes care of every bureaucratic procedure. It was very efficient considering that I left with a lease agreement signed by the owner, so I was relaxed about the fact that it wasn’t a fraud.

The flat was quite weird. My bedroom was white, there were two bathrooms (one with the toilet, the other with the bath and the sink) and the kitchen was so little that it didn’t have the table. A little culture of sit down and eat and in fact, I had to eat on my desk. But the sight from my window (especially during sunsets) made me appreciate eating in my bedroom!

New home in Berlin

I lived in the district called Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, a residential and calm area. The architecture and palaces were typical of West-Berlin: tidy structures, large streets and chain shops. Berlin’s main arterial road is Bismarckstrasse. Following the street (which changes its name from Ernst-Reuter-Platz) and by going through Tiergarten (Berlin’s Central Park), the Brandenburg Gate can be reached.

From there, by following the Unter den Linden avenue, it comes Alexanderplatz. So, the touristic attractions are not so numerous in my district. But the Zoologischer Garten and the Gedächtniskirche are worthy of a visit. And also the Charlottenburg Castle is very nice, especially on sunny days!

In any case, living in a flat is not sufficient to be considered as a resident. As in other countries, there is no distinction between residence and domicile. As a result, it is necessary a sort of registration at the citizen office – the Anmeldung, which attests to the residence in Germany. It should be done within two weeks, but it is quite impossible to have an appointment within that term – that’s Berlin, they told me.

The appointment was after more or less one month. I went to a Burgeramt and after a lot of weird questions I got the Anmeldung. I felt quite powerful to have “fought” that step of German bureaucracy alone and in German!

Erasmus experience in Berlin as a Hotel receptionist

I did an internship as a receptionist in a four-star hotel. I was happy about my position because I could practice both German and English. The hotel was in the district Mitte, Berlin’s city center with the most of touristic attractions. The hotel’s guests were very satisfied with its quiet but close to the center position. By using the U2 line, it is two stations far from Alexanderplatz and six from Potsdamerplatz.

As said, the first days were difficult for me, but going to work helped me a lot. My colleagues were all very friendly and sympathetic to me. During my second week, I worked with a Croatian colleague. He experienced living abroad for the first time the year before, so he was so cheerful and helpful. I was still in my homesick and he told me: “Brenda, everything’s gonna be alright because it can’t be otherwise. So, relax and enjoy your time here!”. Those words gave me incredible strength and from then I started to enjoy more my experience. 

I started to improve myself in the work environment.

During my first week, I was like blocked and I couldn’t speak a word of German except for Guten Morgen and Guten Tag. I was worried not to be able to speak for three months and so not to improve in the spoken language. But fortunately, that block disappeared and I could speak German more and more fluently. I didn’t have to think about the sentence’s structure before speaking, but I spoke quite naturally.

I started working in the night shift (the reception was open 24 hours). The manager wanted to see how I worked and my German level. After only two weeks, I started the PM shift, so I checked-in guests and I talked to them. In general, my colleagues and my manager were happy about my job there.

Even the guests found me pleasant. I used to take care more of the Italian ones. I felt them closer to me, and in turn, they were very happy to find out that someone spoke their language. And I’m not talking only about the check-in. Guests (not only Italians) stop to talk with me when they returned to the hotel, or before leaving just before asking for some suggestions and tips. I was even quoted on a Booking’s review and that was rewarding to me.

Living in Berlin as an Erasmus student

Living in Berlin is not as expensive as in other European capitals. An example is public transportation. From the airport the ticket cost is 3,40 € and lasts two hours. Area A and B ticket cost 2,90€. With the same ticket, you can use all the Berlin’s public transportation. That is the U-Bahn (the underground), the S-Bahn (a sort of overground) and the traditional buses.

However, you can visit Berlin even by bike or by electric push scooter. All around the city, there are lots of cycle lanes, even on the main roads. Due to all these opportunities of movement, Berlin cannot be considered a busy city at all! Berlin is a cheap city considering the grocery shopping as well. Whether in a discount market or a supermarket, food, and goods, in general, don’t cost much – nearly the same as in Italy.

Falling in Love with Berlin

For some erasmus people, Berlin is the city of clubs and they have a club as a favorite place in the city, but that’s not my case. I have lots of places of heart in Berlin and I can’t rank them. No doubt, Berliner Dom’s garden is one of my favorites. I took this pic on one of my first days in Berlin. I decided to go for a walk to know better the city. When I get to the cathedral a guy was making giant soap bubbles. That made my day!

Another place of the heart – even if a little bit too touristic – is the Brandenburg Gate during the sunset. There, at every hour of the day, lots of street artists sing or dance, making the atmosphere even more beautiful.

Mauerpark

Another location that makes me feel like a Berliner is the Mauerpark on Sunday afternoon. It becomes a real festival: there are flea markets, street food stalls and street artists everywhere. There is even a sort of karaoke, where people sing in front of hundreds of other people without any kind of embarrassment. That’s amazing! The nearest city to my town in Italy organizes every year a Busker Festival with artists from all over the world. Mauerpark reminds me of that! Actually, in Berlin, it is not so difficult to find street artists to perform both in the U-Bahn stations or the touristic places.

Another thing of my erasmus in Berlin that I’ll never forget is the constant smell of Currywurst (Berlin’s typical food). Especially in the Zoologischer Garten station at every hour of the day and the night. Of course, there was a stall selling Currywurst in the station, but even if it was closed (at night and on Sundays), the smell didn’t disappear. I always wondered why, but that smell is always in my mind (and in my nose).

Coming Home

Leaving Berlin was not easy. After three months I felt really good about living there. The hotel offered me a job position as a receptionist. But at first, I had to write my thesis and graduate. I decided to return home, but Berlin will always have a special place in my heart. And not only because I lived there, but also because it showed me that I could do everything I wanted.

I had some fears before leaving home, but after a pair of weeks, they disappear. I recommend an experience like mine. The Erasmus Traineeship in Berlin allowed me to challenge myself in the job environment of a different country. Above all, the fact that my manager offered me a job position makes me feel very proud of myself.

Conclusion

Some weeks ago, I had a hint about the fact that Berlin will be always in my heart. I was watching an Italian film called “Gente che sta bene”, talking about a rich guy trying to make a career in his company. At some point in the film, there was a shot filming the background. Some giant pipes were coming out from the ground.

Since the film is mainly set in Milan, I thought that the shot in the same city. I thought that was strange because those pipes were typical of Berlin’s Potsdamer Platz. I didn’t know that there were some similar even in Milan. As the camera moved, it showed better the city, and that was Berlin! I was impressed by myself because that was a sign that I could recognize Berlin even among hundreds of cities.

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Read More: Erasmus in Wales. Francesca’s experience in Cardiff.

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