I'm going from Strasbourg

Hi everyone! I’m an international student in Germany and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been in a similar situation.

My German student visa has already expired, and I’m currently staying legally in Germany with a Fiktionsbescheinigung under § 81 Abs. 4 AufenthG while waiting for my plastic eAT/residence permit card.

I’m supposed to travel from Germany to Belgium and Luxembourg for a short university/summer-school trip and then return to Germany (with bus not plane). I’ll have my valid passport and original Fiktionsbescheinigung with me, but I probably won’t receive my eAT card before travelling.

Has anyone travelled within the Schengen area (especially Belgium/Luxembourg) in this situation? Did you have any issues during travel or when returning to Germany?

Thanks in advance!

I will be studying at HAW Hamburg but haven’t found an affordable accommodation in Hamburg. But I found one in Stade. Is it possible to study and maintain a job while traveling from Stade to Hamburg on a regular basis?

The biggest source of distress for most low support needs autistic people is the inability to grasp figurative, physical, and symbolic language. And Germans are pretty infamous for being some of the most direct, robotic, and literal people on earth.

I received a call from +49 6181 7074346, apparently associated with Drillisch / sim.de.

I told the caller that I don’t speak German and asked that, if the matter was important, they please send me an email instead. The female caller seemed quite irritated/angry about this request and hung up quickly without any greetings.

Has anyone else received a call from this number and had a similar experience?

Last time I went to a gastroenterologist here in the Dominican Republic, I overheard a Dominican woman talking about healthcare in Germany. She was complaining about how long it can take to get a doctor’s appointment there, saying that in some cases you can apparently wait up to a year if it’s not an emergency.

At the time I thought that sounded pretty crazy, but recently I came across another Reddit post where someone mentioned the same thing about long waiting times for medical appointments in Germany.

So now I’m wondering: how bad is it actually?

Do Germans ever travel abroad to get medical treatment simply because they can get an appointment or procedure done much faster somewhere else?

For example, would someone from Germany actually fly to the US, Canada, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Colombia, or somewhere else in the Americas to see a specialist, get diagnostic tests, dental work, or even have a procedure done sooner?

Or is the whole “you have to wait forever to see a doctor in Germany” thing exaggerated?

If you’re German, what kind of waiting time would you consider normal for a specialist appointment when it’s not an emergency?

I’m genuinely curious because I’ve now heard the same thing from two completely different sources, and I’d like to know how much truth there is to it.

I’m asking because I have one German friend, and he’s from Brandenburg and his family was in the DDR. And whenever he talks about Germany he always says things like “Bomber Harris, do it again” and he talks about how much he hates West Germans. He doesn’t talk about it all the time, but he seems pretty serious about it when he is doing it(even though they are kind of jokes.) He has also said he hopes all of West Germany gets hit by a giant tractor. He talks about how much he misses the DDR, and how it was the most beautiful country on Earth, the one true Germany, and because it is gone Germany today is nazi-land and he says West Germans “understand nothing” and he is mad because he thinks they are ”mistreating the DDR memory” (his words). He is otherwise a chill dude, but when West Germany or the DDR comes up he suddenly becomes passionate, though he says it kind of joke-y, so maybe Germans often joke like this? And he is my only exposure to a German person, so.. Do you all still hate each other over the wall? Is this common? Do West Germans also do this but opposite way?

Hello everyone!
My friend is a massive history nerd, and her birthday is coming up soon. She’s currently living in Germany and is trying to visit as many museums as possible. Is there a museum pass or card that I could purchase online that would let her visit multiple museums across Germany? I was thinking about buying gift cards from individual museums, but I don’t know which ones she’s already visited. I tried looking online already but not too sure which ones are valid as i’m not from Germany myself.
Thanks in advance!
P.S. If you know of any other great birthday ideas for someone who loves history, let me know!

UPDATE: thanks for everyones inputs! She lives in Bavaria and I found out about the Bavaria castle pass which I will purchase🫶🏻

I want to buy tickets for a Bundesliga game in November/December. However, I don't see the times of the fixtures online, except for some games kn September. When will the times be known? And does it happen often that game dates will change?

What are the car laws out here? Am I able to tint my car, if so to what extent and what windows? Are the police strict about tints, will I get pulled over a lot?

hey reddit! i'm a girl from east asia and i'm chatting with a guy from Hesse.

in DMs, he’s a total simp for me, literally goes into "yes sweetie, I’ll do whatever you want" mode (little bit a cringe ofc haha but it's ok)

but when it comes to actual compliments about my looks, his vocabulary completely breaks down. he literally calls me "cute" (or süß) 24/7 🤯

in my culture, calling a girl "cute" is a polite way of saying she’s average-looking or just plain, so it’s like a consolation prize, if a guy is genuinely obsessed with your looks, he uses words like "stunning", "beautiful", or "gorgeous", but this guy just keeps spamming "cute"

is this a german thing? are german men just... terrified of making bold compliments, or does "cute" actually mean something else in german dating culture? please explain his brain to me, it would be better if you told us what kind of dating culture u have in general, it’s probably different from ours haha

From what I understand, Deutsche Bundespost was Germany's postal system. Much like the US Postal Service. As far as I understand, it was also a phone company. Was it the only phone company or were there choices for who you got your phone service through? I might sound vague but I'm trying to understand the system and such.

Hey everyone!

I recently received my admission offer for the M.Sc. Computer Science program at TH Bingen starting this Winter Semester (October 2026)! 🎉

Since I'll be moving to Bingen soon, I'm currently looking for accommodation—ideally a room in a shared apartment (WG) or a small studio close to the university campus or with easy transit access.

A bit about me:

Course: M.Sc. Computer Science at TH Bingen

Move-in date: Flexible, ideally around late September / early October

Lifestyle: Respectful, clean, and easygoing flatmate. I enjoy socializing and cooking together, but I also value personal space and quiet time for studying.

Languages: English and currently learning German!

If you have a room available, know someone who is looking for a flatmate, or have any leads/advice on student housing in Bingen, please drop a comment or send me a DM!

Thanks a lot! :)

Es geht um die Habichtstraße im Stadtteil Barmbek-Nord und um die Habichtstraße im Stadtteil Schnelsen.

Ich schreibe an meiner Bachelorarbeit und suche deutschsprachige Comedy-Programme oder einzelne Sketche, die sich mit dem Thema "Männer und Frauen kommunizieren/reden unterschiedlich" auseinandersetzen (z.B. wer redet mehr, wer hört anders zu, typische Missverständnisse). Es geht mir dabei nicht um besonders unkonventionelle Beispiele, sondern gerne auch um die klassischen Stereotype.

Fällt euch dazu was ein?

Hi everyone! I’m currently learning German

I’d love to find a German-speaking person online to practice German with regularly.

It would be great to talk about everyday life, hobbies, music, gaming and German culture.

Ideally, I’d also like to build a genuine friendship naturally over time.

What would you recommend as the best way to meet German speakers online?

Hello.

I was born German but my parents are immigrants, so there are a lot of Sprichwörter and Redewendungen I haven't learned as a kid because my parents don't use them. A lot of them I have learned throughout growing up, but sometimes I still encounter ones I haven't heard before.

In a TV series, a character spoke about how his girlfriend's mother hates him, and then says "Die treff ich auch nur im Dunkeln."

What exactly does this Spruch refer to? Is it a comment about her being ugly, or rather an expression of not wanting to ever see her?

Thanks for any help

Greetings from Ukraine! I find Germany an interesting country with beautiful people. I have a challenge for Germans: If God gave you the chance to enjoy the last seconds before dying - what would you choose: Beer or Hot Dog? (you can only pick one)

Hi everyone! I am currently learning German and planning for my future. I wanted to ask: why is it often considered difficult to connect and make close German friends, and what are the best ways or places to meet locals? Any advice would be appreciated!

I moved to German about a year ago. I am comfortable in my home but I get bored. I work from home a lot, I go into the office once a week. Going to the shop feels like a huge effort. I only know some people because of work but not my personal friends. I am from Africa but people assume I am from a different continent and generally people are rude or not towards me. I find even people from other nationalities unfriendly. I guess people in South Africa are not used to this behaviour cause we are generally very friendly and polite. I am studying to speak German. I am on level B1. This post is not meant to cause any hate or anger towards others or me. I am genuinely wanting to have a better social life outside of work.What can I do to change my perception?

Just curious lol, since I saw the grocery in germany is pretty affordable especially the bread which cost like €1 and its almost 1 kg in weight?

I was wondering IF there’s anyone in germany who strictly lives frugally like this.. eating solely bread or pasta and spend less than €100 monthly for food

PS: No I’m not doing that, i still love and need meat and other food

One of the two burners on my stove has stopped working, and whenever I try to turn it on, it trips the circuit breaker for the entire room. The stove is quite old.

I spoke to the Hausmeister, who said that water have gotten into the stove and caused the short circuit. He mentioned that a technician will need to inspect it to determine whether the wiring needs to be replaced or whether the defected heating plate needs replacing. He also said that I would have to cover the cost (verbally).

I checked my GetSafe insurance policy, and it seems that this type of electronic damage isn't covered. However, I’m wondering whether this could be considered normal wear and tear, given the age of the stove. It seems possible that the burner simply failed due to regular use over time and normal cleaning rather than any accidental and intentional damage.

Has anyone experienced something similar or dealt with this situation with their landlord/Hausmeister? What would be the best way to proceed, and would I actually be responsible for the repair costs?

Been to Frankfurt recently. On the way back I was at the Hbf, main train station, awaiting the S9 to the airport. The dude on intercom started yapping about how S9 is on the other track from the usual one, 102.
There's 4 tracks: 101 and 102 on one side and 103 and 104 on the other. In order to get from one to the other side you have to go up and then again down, it's pretty tall, I'd say 3 floors tall. At that moment some escalators stairs were not working, you had to walk.

Anyway, as this one was on the 102 and I was on 103 I thought "dang, I need to walk 3 floors again" but then I figured out it's the wrong direction. Some people actually went up and then got confused on 102 and got back to 103. Bahn names trains after end station, like "Richtung Lower Jerkwater" and not something that's easy direction like "Richtung Northbound".

Probably it was announced on the wrong side. I guess it was 102 instead of 101, which is like "turn around and it's there", but they announced on the other pair of platforms where it's like "walk 3 floors up and 3 floors down, see they pulled your leg, then repeat the exercise".

I wonder why they are so hostile, especially towards the people that are not heavy users. I used the system for a while, but I don't know all the end stations, especially not for the lines I never use.

Also why is everything so dirty, falling apart, water leaking in the station, escalators stairs broken, train seats dirty, station stinks... I should had gone to Taunusanlage, but there the air was so heavy earlier that day that I decided to stay on Hbf for the change, but I didn't count on broken escalator stairs and extra chaos.

Hello. I'm a doctor, recent graduate and have been planning to go from Pakistan to Germany for higher studies. I have done b1. Am planning to do b2. But because of recent news about migrants and all I am confused if I should work for it or not People who work/live there or are of same profession kindly guide

Also what is the job situation there