Hi everyone! I’m Daisy, a third-year student from the University of Southampton. I recently completed a semester abroad studying Psychology at the University of Hamburg in Germany. I had an unforgettable time there, and believe Hamburg is a very underrated city! As Hamburg is not as big as other major cities in Germany, it was never that busy with tourists. This made it a lot easier to navigate, especially since a lot of directions were also presented in English.
A key aspect of Hamburg is the historical monuments, including the Rathaus and St Nikolai Memorial. It was strange to see such beautiful monuments scattered between the city, but this meant there was always something around the corner that stood out from the rest! Hamburg is also known for having an extremely large port (almost the size of Copenhagen), and so dedicates boat tours and events to see parts of the port.
This brings me on to mention the incredible transport links within Hamburg. At the start of the semester, all students pay a semester fee of around 300 euros, which includes a Deutschlandsemesterticket. This is basically a ticket that lets you travel on any form of public transport (including boats) around Germany. This made it so much easier to travel within Hamburg and also to neighbouring cities. I made the most of this to travel to Berlin and saw a completely different side of Germany. However, I was glad to come back to the more relaxed atmosphere in Hamburg!
In terms of studying, Germany has a very different work ethic to the UK. Germany is a lot more focused autonomy, and has a lot of bank holidays. Also, the modules focus more on small assignments throughout the semester rather than on examinations. For my developmental psychology module, there were only around 20 of us and we were split into small groups of 7/8. Each week a few people from each group would present the articles we had to read and we would have discussions about the content. It was a lot less stressful and I felt like I learned a lot more this way.
Despite having no regrets, studying in a foreign country will always come with some challenges. The main thing is to try and be as organised as possible and always persist if you are unsure about anything. Personally I had a lot of trouble with accommodation and did not manage to find somewhere until I arrived in Hamburg. I would strongly encourage you to seek accommodation as soon as you apply in case the University does not give you any. This way you can be confident everything is sorted before you travel. Also, the exchange coordinator at the university you are studying at may not be as receptive as they should be. In this case, try contacting the university directly and tell them your issues. Nevertheless, I highly recommend studying abroad if you get the chance. Despite the initial stages being stressful, it is important to persevere and I promise everything will work out!
My Semester Abroad in Hamburg, Germany