Hi everyone! My name is Isobel and I’m finishing my third year studying History and German and the last year I’ve been studying in Germany in Bayreuth, about an hour away from Nuremberg. Although barely anyone has heard about Bayreuth – it is such a hidden gem and within Germany is relatively well known.
My year abroad has been full of weekend trips with friends, constant adventures, good food and German culture. One of my favourite things about my year abroad experience was exploring the local area and Germany in general. Weekend trips with friends became a staple and I explored places closer-by such as Bamberg and Nuremberg but also further away including Munich, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Hamburg and Berlin……almost every Bundesland of Germany covered! Being in mainland Europe gave me so many opourtunities to travel places and the Deutschlandticket also really helped. I also visited friends doing their year abroads in Berlin and Gera which was a great time to reconnect, speak some English and explore the local areas that my friends got to know so well.
Bayreuth is famous for Richard Wagner and my accommodation this year was only a few minutes away from the his old house where there is now a museum. Bayreuth itself has so much character and as is situated in Bavaria, therefore there is always a festival with dirndls and lederhosen – which is the typical Germany you would see on postcards.
The University experience here is quite different to Southampton as you are much more independent as an individual. In Germany I had to make my own timetable whilst navigating the complications of German bureaucracy and the University systems of choosing modules. These challenges in the first few months cannot be underestimated and German bureaucracy is truly something else. Despite that, German universities offer a lot more freedom with courses so its possible to take courses and not do the exam or even negotiate your credits with the lecturer.
One thing I didn’t expect on my year abroad was to make such an international group of friends but I appreciated these friends so much as we could all laugh together about funny parts of German culture of the bureaucracy struggles rather than face them alone. I would definitely recommend joining an ESN group in a local university if you’re looking into going abroad
My tips for students thinking of going abroad is just to do it! And whilst you’re in your year abroad is to push yourself everyday in the small things and not stay in your comfort zone or take the easy way out (for example switching to English when you don’t understand) but instead challenge yourself and endure the slight embarrassment or awkwardness because over time you’ll see a change in yourself you didn’t know was possible.