Hello, guys!
My name is Anastasiya, and I’m an Erasmus student in Wiesbaden, Germany. Let me tell you more about the city in which I live now. Wiesbaden…hmmmm. Most of the people don’t even know that the place like this exists on Earth. I didn’t either. When I was accepted to the Wiesbaden Business School at RheinMain University of Applied Sciences, I expected to see a small and boring city with nothing to do in it. But I was wrong! Firstly I should say that Wiesbaden is a capital of whole german region Hessen, it is probably the most richest one also. What’s more, Wiesbaden is situated next to Frankfurt, big and industrial city, and Mainz, which is considered to be a student town.
This is Wiesbaden Business School on the tight streets of the city center
City center of Wiesbaden is full of small streets with beautiful facades. If you are an architecture lover, you will definitely find a lot of things to look at! Near the city center you can find big parks and alleys which are perfect for laying and chilling at the sun 🙂
Typical Wiesbaden street in the city center
Let me tell you more about the university. Summer semester in Germany starts in April. Before starting studying you are offered to take a two-week-course of German language. It was very useful for me not only in language case but it was also a great opportunity to get to know other exchange people! Studies look a little bit different than one I was used to. There is no separation for theoretical and practice lectures. Usually teachers put some practical exercises into the theoretical material. By the way, there is no tests in the middle of the semester – only final exams. But you should not be scared if you see 1.3 as a grade for exam, it means that you are almost genius. Here, in Germany the best grade is 1 and the worst one is 5. 😉
Talking about the costs and expenses – prices for food are mainly the same in discount supermarkets, as in Poland, though for fruits and vegetables you should pay a little bit more. But what is really expensive – PARTIES! For example, in an ordinary pub beer costs about 3,5 – 4 €, and you won’t find drinks cheaper than 5€ in the clubs. You should also be prepared to pay nearly all amount of grant for accommodation – living in Wiesbaden is quite expensive. The paradox is that here you can find yourself a room in a shared flat in the city center even cheaper than in the dorm!
Studies here are very comfortable for exchange students who wants to travel! Mostly, no one cares if you visit the classes or not, it’s important for you only to pass the exam. So if you can manage studying with travelling – there is a green light for you here! Wiesbaden is situated in the southern part of Germany, so it is very easy for you to take some friend and visit Luxemburg, France or Switzerland. Oh, and I forgot to mention, at the beginning of the studies you should buy yourself a semester ticket which allows you use almost every type of transport in WHOLE HESSEN with out paying more! It makes travelling even more pleasant!
There is no ESN section here, in Wiesbaden, what disappointed me a lot. But still, everything is not that bad, there are few persons, called “Auslandstutoren”, who also make meetings, trips and so on to integrate people.
Don’t be afraid of anything – Exchanges always help each other!!
In general, no matter where you are, how many thousands of citizens has the city you are going to – Erasmus will always be Erasmus… time, you will never forget!!
Part of Erasmus-team during one of the trips!
Anastasiya
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