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Tag: hamburg

In the Beginning: Bureaucracy and Visas

In the Beginning: Bureaucracy and Visas

Getting accepted into a music conservatory in Germany was a huge accomplishment. I had found an apartment, unpacked my suitcase, opened a bank account, bought a bike and a mattress (huge purchases considering my budget), and got my Meldebestätigung, a type of resident registration providing proof of your address, necessary for a lot of bureaucratic procedures here. I got my public transport ticket which was a free monthly pass included in the tuition, or should I say, it basically was…

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5 German Christmas Traditions You Will Want To Try Out This Year

5 German Christmas Traditions You Will Want To Try Out This Year

Living in Germany as an expat, the holidays seem to hit pretty hard. Among all the warm lights and smells of cinnamon, the distance from family can be felt more than ever. Traditions surrounding the holidays are different, foreign, and even clash. Good luck trying to explain the multi-day appearances of the various German Santa-like figures AND Santa himself to a toddler. I’m gonna have to make a chart to keep them straight myself. But anyway… While I do miss…

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In the Beginning: Why Germany?

In the Beginning: Why Germany?

So…why did I chose Germany anyway? During my Junior year of college, I participated in a study abroad program in Freiburg, Germany, located in the Black Forest. The city and the location were quite dreamy, to say the least! I not only studied German at the university, but also music performance at the conservatory. I played in a few student orchestras, with rehearsals in the evenings after classes, and also went on a few tours with these orchestras (like to…

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8 Brutal Daily Reminders That You’re Living in a Country Once Ravaged by World Wars

8 Brutal Daily Reminders That You’re Living in a Country Once Ravaged by World Wars

In a lot of ways, daily life in Germany is comparable to life in the States. Living standards are similar, the basics are readily accessible, status quo exists, and people love to complain about the weather. Then, when you least expect it, baaaam – you are confronted head-on with some brutal reminders that you are living in a country that was ravaged by two world wars on its own soil, both of which it sorely lost. These are very strange…

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The Sun Shines Brightly in Eppendorf

The Sun Shines Brightly in Eppendorf

I had an appointment in Hamburg the other day and since it has been so warm, sunny, and summer-like (yes, 70° and sunny is pretty much borderline spring/summer in Northern Germany, ha) here, I couldn’t resist a mini stay-cation. The kids were at my in-laws’ place for the afternoon and my appointment was over in no time, so I got to have some downtime and enjoy that part of town like a tourist! A very relaxing thing to do –…

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In the Beginning: Arrival in Hamburg

In the Beginning: Arrival in Hamburg

I will never forget my first evening in Hamburg. I still have this image burned into my brain: I had booked a room at the youth hostel at the harbor for a night or two around my audition day for the conservatory. The hostel is perched on a little hill directly at Landungsbrücken, the main S-bahn train stop for harbor visitors. As I sat eating my dinner while gazing out over the harbor from the floor-to-ceiling hostel dining room windows,…

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