Hi everyone! My name is Ryan and I am just finishing my third year in Hamburg, Germany as a Maths with German student. Being in the Maths faculty, Hamburg was my only option for an exchange university in Germany which does sound a little annoying, but I’m so glad it ended up being here.
Although it is the second biggest city in Germany, I feel as though it’s spoken about relatively little in comparison to other major cities like Berlin or Munich. Despite that, Hamburg really holds its own as a city and has so many beauty spots and a lot of culture from its fishing and trade roots (including the surreal Fischmarkt, which opens at 5am on a Sunday morning and sells everything from fresh food to a 6am pint; it’s a rite of passage for every Hamburger making it to Fischmarkt at 5am on a Saturday night out). Being on the River Elbe makes it both very industrial and water-centric, which makes it such an interesting city to explore, particularly in those first few months (despite the infamous Northern Germany eternal grey winter). In the summer, the city really comes alive, with so many waterways allowing for kayaking and paddle-boarding on warm days and massive parks for meeting up with friends. Beyond this, the classic tourist attractions were fun to visit as well as show visiting friends and family from home, such as the Rathaus, harbour, Feldstraße Bunker, and the myriad churches offering views from their spires. Christmas is also of course a great time to have people come and visit, as Christmas markets are what many think of when thinking of Germany. Although Hamburg doesn’t go as all out as Southern Germany, it was still very cool to be in the country to experience it, even in the north.
As well as sightseeing, the German uni culture was also very interesting to experience. There is much more independence here, as many are consistently warned about before they go, but what was unanticipated was how hard it was to sign up for modules and get used to their online systems. They can sometimes feel a bit outdated and had me wishing I could introduce them to Blackboard to make everyone’s life easier. However, I was very lucky to have made German friends in their 2nd-4th years from my Maths modules who helped me through their sometimes convoluted systems, as well as lots of help from the Maths Erasmus office here in Hamburg. In general the university culture is very different, and one part of it I wish we had in the UK is the cafeterias. You usually eat in these most days, either from whats on the menu or whatever you can concoct from the salad bar, so are an absolute staple in everyday German uni life. They’re always so busy (and extremely cheap!!) and are a good way to catch up with with friends in between lectures.
I also wanted to make sure I explored outside of Hamburg while I was here, in particular since the uni fees here include a Deutschlandticket, which entitles you to free travel across the whole of Germany. Two highlights were of course the capital Berlin and Lübeck, another nearby Hanseatic city. Lübeck is relatively close to Hamburg and is really pretty, being relatively similar to Hamburg given their histories as trade cities. Berlin is also of course a massive city with so much to explore, and having gone with my coursemates, one of whom is from Berlin himself, was able to show me many cool places I wouldn’t have known about otherwise.
Overall I cannot recommend Hamburg and a year abroad in general enough. While it started off relatively difficult, with a lot of (expected from Germany) paperwork and adjusting to being in a new place, I feel as though my German has really come along as well as my confidence in general, since being in a new place and not being a native speaker means putting yourself out there very often. I look forward to being able to return to Hamburg in the future!!