[BERLIN] Budget and Itinerary (3)

MONDAY: 24 April 2023

easyJet (Venice - Berlin) - 92.48
BVG (Single ABC) - 4.00
Space Night Capsule Hotel (3 Nights) - 132.19

EUR228.67

[BERLIN] Humboldt Versus Freie Universität

Even if you live in Berlin for two months, which I did back in 2017, it is still not enough to savor what the city can offer. I always declare it as my most favorite city in Europe, and that designation hasn’t changed over the years. Since I’ve been away for more than 5 years, I’ve decided that I wanted to come back to Germany’s capital, not for sightseeing per se, but just to be in the city again. But since we are already here, I decided to go sightseeing anyway. What about a campus tour? Humboldt and FU, are you ready?

[BAYERN] Budget and Itinerary

SUNDAY: 26 March 2023

RE90 (Stuttgart - Nuremberg) - 17.90

A&O (2 Nights) - 55.60

EUR73.50

[MUNICH] But I Don't Drink Beer

Munich has always been a plan never realized. For some reason, it never really figured as a venue in my German refresher courses, maybe because I’ve always felt that it would be more expensive to live there. Now that I am back in Europe after half a decade, I thought perhaps it is time for Bavaria. Why wait, right? And so I drafted an itinerary with Nuremberg and Munich serving as stops on my way down south to Austria. Boarding a train from Nuremberg, I finally arrived in cloudy and rainy Munich.

[BADEN-WURTTEMBERG] Budget and Itinerary (2)

SATURDAY: 25 March 2023

Vueling (Barcelona - Stuttgart) - 84.99

SSB (EinzelTicket) - 2.90

A&O (1 Night) - 25.55

Norma (Groceries) - 2.59

EUR116.03

[STUTTGART] The Stuttgart Side Trip

I’ve already been to Baden Württemberg. Remember that one month in 2017 when I did an intensive summer German course in Freiburg? But Freiburg is more or less a small university town. THE city in this state is Stuttgart, which I really had no intention of visiting. In the end, it became more like a means to an end, a cheap way to get from Barcelona to southern Germany without giving in to Lufthansa’s abusive pricing for Munich flights. And so we land in Stuttgart, train to Nuremberg, and then another to Munich.

[HESSE] Budget and Itinerary

THURSDAY: 9 March 2023

Singapore Airlines (Kuala Lumpur - Singapore - Frankfurt) - 428.00

RMV (Einzelfahrt Airport) - 5.80

A&O Galluswarte (2 Nights) - 53.00

Convenience Store (Groceries) - 9.00

EUR495.80

[FRANKFURT] Quick Altstadt Stroll

I’ve already been to Frankfurt twice, I believe, but always just en route going somewhere else so while I count it as a visited city, I still have to do the requisite sightseeing. In searching for intercontinental flights that won’t require sleeping on a plane, I found Singapore Airlines’ SIN-FRA as well as Thai Airways’ BKK-FRA, both leaving late in the morning and landing in Germany in the afternoon. Now that I’ve tried it, this will probably be my default flight of choice whenever I need to go to Europe from Asia. No need for a Business class booking and sleep pattern is not disrupted as long as you sleep well the night before.

[BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG] Budget and Itinerary

ESTIMATES

Wizz Air (Skopje - Basel) - 155.00

University of Freiburg (Summer German Course) - 650.00

University of Freiburg (Accommodation) - 350.00

Food Allowance (EUR10 x 25 Days) - 250.00

EUR1,405.00

[FREIBURG] German at Uni Freiburg

I'm trying to recall how I ended up in Freiburg this September, but I just can't find the answer. All I remember is that the other two options were language institutes in Munich and Aachen. Maybe I just wanted a university atmosphere once again? In the end it was a good decision because Freiburg turned out to be a more enjoyable experience that I imagined it would be. The classes and seminars were great. Everyone was friendly. The extra-curricular activities were plenty, and so were the travel options.

[FREIBURG] Jewel of the Black Forest

What happened in Freiburg was pretty much the same thing as what happened in Vienna three years ago. Every weekend was spent outside the city and I didn't go sightseeing until the second to the last day. Hooray, me. I guess the difference is that the campus of Uni Freiburg is already in the old city center, which means you don't even have to exert that much of an effort to go on tourist mode when you happen to be in the vicinity every day anyway. As a little university town, I actually like Freiburg.

[BRANDENBURG] Budget and Itinerary (2)

ESTIMATES

Ryanair (Riga - Berlin) - 67.73
AXA (Schengen Low Cost) - 57.00
German Embassy (Schengen Visa) - 60.00
University of Potsdam (Summer German Course) - 470.00
University of Potsdam (Accommodation) - 280.00
Food Allowance (EUR10 x 25 Days) - 250.00

EUR1,184.73

[POTSDAM] German at Uni Potsdam

Potsdam was more like an accident. When I left Germany last April, I still had a serious Berlin hangover. Needless to say, I really wanted to go back. The thing is, my financial situation was kind of unpredictable and I wasn’t able to commit to a summer comeback fast enough to secure a slot at either Humboldt or FU. I visited Potsdam while I was still based in Berlin so I thought hey, why not Uni Potsdam? It's just an hour away and even connected to Berlin's Metro. And so I submitted an application.

[BERLIN] Budget and Itinerary (2)

ESTIMATES

KLM (Manila - Berlin - Manila) - 575.00

AXA (Schengen Low Cost) - 38.00

German Embassy (Schengen Visa) - 60.00

IIK BerlinerID (German Course/2 Months) - 945.00

IIK BerlinerID (Single Room/2 Months) - 990.00

Food Allowance (EUR10 x 60 Days) - 600.00

EUR3,208.00

[BERLIN] Caught Ticketless on the Tram

There are days when you just know that the universe is shitting you. Today is one of those days. For those who are not accustomed to how public transportation works here in Central Europe, let me give you a brief orientation. You can ride the subway here in Berlin without having to pay anything. You see, there are no turnstiles or gates preventing you from going to the platforms. If you are from Manila, this is downright strange. After a few weeks of residence here, though, you just get used to this trust system.

[NORTH RHINE-WESTPHALIA] Budget and Itinerary (2)

SATURDAY: 15 April 2017

Ryanair (Berlin - Cologne) - 30.50

McDonalds (McToast Ham + McToast Bacon + Hot Choco) - 4.28

Deinbus (Cologne - Aachen) - 10.00

ASEAG (Einzelticket) - 2.70

Hans Wurst (Hans Hotdog w/Pommes & Pepsi) - 8.90

EUR56.38

[AACHEN] The Geographical Ménage-à-trois

Oh no, you got offended by the word “Threesome!” I’m so sorry that you’re such a prude. But we’re not really going to talk about sex in this blog entry, but rather about this spot in the forest where the borders of Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands converge. There’s nothing erotic about that, unless you find hiking a la Blair Witch Project into the woods somehow titillating. But I’m not judging you, dude. To each his own fetish, no? Now let’s talk about the super sexually-charged topic that is political land borders.

[AACHEN] Dinner in Deutschland

Dinner in Germany happened during the first night, actually. Landing in Cologne, I had to take another bus to reach Aachen. I chose Deinbus for this particular trip. I am a Flixbus fanboy but Deinbus is not bad. They also have WiFi and with matching magazine rack to boot. Okay, it wasn’t a rack per se, but you get the idea. The best part? There were just two of us onboard. Hahaha. I wouldn’t be surprised if Deinbus went bankrupt next week. How do they earn money from this kind of scenario?

[SAXONY-ANHALT] Budget and Itinerary

SUNDAY: 12 March 2017

FlixBus (Berlin - Magdeburg - Berlin) - 29.40

Ristorante La Piazza (Salami Pizza w/Coke) - 9.60

City Hotel Kaffee (Hot Chocolate) - 2.60

EUR41.60

Estimate of EUR1 = PhP55.00

TOTAL – PhP2,288.00

[MAGDEBURG] A Green Citadel That's Actually Pink

Ryanair canceling my flight to Bulgaria meant that I suddenly had a free weekend with nowhere to go. Saturday’s dilemma was solved by Potsdam and I honestly thought that Sunday would be a rest day for me because Potsdam itself was already a visual overload. Surprise, surprise. The lazy Asian booked a return trip to Magdeburg on FlixBus. There’s no saying no now. I mean, the ticket was rather expensive for such a short trip. And now we get to add Saxony-Anhalt to our list of German states visited. Hooray?