My partner lost his hoodie so popped into a charity shop and picked up this one.

I've been trying to find out what it means.

As far as I can tell it's a regional jumper and says something like "if you're drunk, go home!"

Google has also told me it says church on the front and we want to make sure we're not in a randomly religious hoodie 😂 🤦

I’m having trouble translating it because of the handwriting, so just curious if someone could tell me exactly what it says please. Someone put this weird note along with my landlords name saying I was loud (I was literally in Vienna for the past couple weeks). Maybe they put it on everyone’s door but why would they put my landlords name? Is this common in Germany?

Im taking the ICE from Utrecht to Kufstein tomorrow, with transfers in Köln and München and I have a bike reservation 😪. I just got an email saying I could check in online and when I opened it I found out that the München stop is cancelled (if i read it correctly?)

I tried calling DB, but I don’t think you can call them this late. It’s my first time travelling by ICE alone so I have no idea what im supposed to do
I can’t just take another ICE because of my bike reservation. Am I fucked? Im stressing out

I got the charges shown in the screenshot. I don’t remember requesting any top ups. The last charge I made was a 1 GB 28 days data pack.

Does anyone know why this was deducted and if it will be cancelled? I talked to a representative on O2 customer service team and they said they will check but have not heard back from them.

Edit: Turns out the 10 and 5 euros I topped up last time never got charged so the new charges were for those two top-ups. Thank you everyone who commented.

Me (23 Female) and my Fiance (28, also female) want to start our life in Germany. She already lives here, in Dusseldorf. I am a polish woman, who wants to move out due to crazy levels of homophobia and racism (my fiancé is a black Brazilian woman). Problem is, I still want to be close to my family, as they're very accepting and loving. Dusseldorf is a bit too far for me. Can anyone from Eastern Germany recommend some places (Besides Berlin i beg of you) we could go? Maybe somehow even some smaller cities where we could buy a house?

So basically my boss wants to pay my salary in cast but I don't want to carry all that money, I would prefer he sends it on my bank account but he seems like he doesn't like the idea, can he force me to take cash?

Been in Berlin for 2 weeks and I love it, people always say tourists should expect cold states or just outright rudeness; The thing is the whole time I’ve been here, I’ve just seen people minding their own business as for the rude part I haven’t had a single negative experience and that’s coming from someone that has reaaally broken German. I’d appreciate if I could get some underground/cool spots in Berlin before I leave:)

Saw someone posting their night moon earlier on this sub, thought i’d do the same, hope you like it!

btw, anyone can tell what’s that green thing? cuz I still can’t…

Edit: since so viele von euch are wondering and confused about the phrase “Haus der Kirche”, an understandable omission given the lack of context, I have uploaded another photo with the phrase on the wall of the building, I don’t know why it’s written there, my only interpretation is that it might be a separate facility designated to the church tower itself…

What’s this? I can edit the text but can’t add a photo?! this site is trash

hi

In flying to Berlin soon and would like your input in which SIM i should get. My first priority is the ease of activation for an Indian minor.

Thank you

Hi, im 28/F. I just started my Ausbildung three weeks ago. Im in the first year. Im living in Germany for three years now and found an Ausbildungplatz as Erzieherin. I started as Au Pair and then BFD in the Kindergarten. So yes three weeks ago. I started one week in the praxis which I really really love and then now in we’re in schulblock. Now the problem started when I went to berufsschule. Although I already kind of expected that the language barrier would be a challenge, i didnt not expect that the environment I’d be in or classmates I will have would be more stressful for me. I am the only one in class who doesnt speak German as mother tongue and not born in Germany. Everything takes a long time to process and knowing the Ausbildung is already language heavy, it is already very stressful for me. Now I always feel alienated in the class. During groupworks I feel like no one wants me to be in their group because Id be always the last one with no groupmates and have to ask and squeeze in myself. And since the classes or lessons always have group activities this is always the case. I never felt so alone in my life. The stress of everything at school have accummulated. I have been waking up for the last days scared and anxious because I needed to go to school. Last week was my last straw, I woke up not wanting to go to school but tried my best and still went. I survived the first class but had really bad headache, my heart beating so fast, cant really breath properly, and I decided to go and skip the next class (Ive never felt so free when I went out of the building). I then visited an emergency psychologist and told me I am developing severe anxiety and panic attack. Now currently on sick leave because the thought of going to school really scares me and I feel like Im being choked. I dont know what to do now because it has always been my dream job but the school part would definitely end me. It’s gonna be a long fight of changing since my visa is connected to the Ausbildung and changing school is not on the table because its the rule in this Ausbildung. Any advice or insights would be highly appreciated 🙏🏼

I'm new to Germany and still finding my favorites. Is there a universal favorite Veggie sausage here?

So guys I had this stupid ass idea to study law (in Poland)

I will be graduating soon and moving to Germany permanently. Im learning German, watching stuff in German, attending classes, but there's no way I will go beyond B1 until then. Are there any job possibilities (NRW) in some offices or corporations where I could work in?

Hi everyone!

I'm an Italian citizen, I moved to Berlin 3 months ago, already did the Anmeldung and received the tax number, but since I didn't know how long I was gonna stay, I never activated any insurance. Now I found a job, so I know that I'm going to stay here for a while and I need to figure out how to manage this insurance thing.

Does anybody know if I need to pay for the months where I was not working? Also, what about the 3 month rule that I read in some other posts, does every European get 3 months insurance free?

And what happens if I don't pay, how likely are they to find it out and how bad are the fines?

Is it better if I activate the insurance before the beginning of the contract, or shall I wait for the company to activate it automatically?

Thanks a lot to anybody who takes the time, this insurance thing is driving me crazy

Giovanni

Two years ago, I decided to move my startup to Cologne and build my business there.

I work in the games industry, providing outsourced audio development services to game studios. I've been working professionally in this field for around 10 years, and over that time I've worked with a number of game studios and built up an established network of clients and industry connections.

Two years ago, I decided to move my business to Cologne, establishing a company there and building a startup around the business I had already been running.

I went through the entire process of applying for a German self-employment visa. I prepared a four-year business plan, recommendation letters from clients, documentation of my finances and income from nearly ten years of professional work, and evidence that I was already working with international clients and had a realistic plan for growing the business in Germany and internationally.

I also had the support of KölnBusiness throughout the process. They were genuinely welcoming and helpful, and I have nothing but good things to say about the people I dealt with there.

Today, I finally received the decision from the German Embassy.

My visa was rejected.

And honestly, the rejection itself isn't even the part that shocked me the most.

According to the rejection letter, my application was submitted in March 2025 and was forwarded by the German Consulate in Turkey to the Ausländerbehörde Köln within a week.

And then... the Ausländerbehörde Köln had my application for 17 months but never provided the required approval. Despite four follow-up requests from the visa authorities, the final deadline passed without a response. Apparently, during those 17 months, my application was not reviewed by the Ausländerbehörde Köln to determine whether my proposed business would be beneficial or viable for Cologne.

I find this incredibly difficult to understand.

I wasn't applying with an idea scribbled on a napkin. I had an established professional background, existing international clients, documented income, a detailed four-year business plan, recommendation letters, and a clear plan for establishing and growing a legitimate business in Cologne.

I spent two years of my life pursuing this move. I've also spent a significant amount of money preparing for it, establishing the company, maintaining the necessary arrangements, and essentially putting my life on hold while waiting for the visa process to finish.

And now, after 17 months of waiting for the Ausländerbehörde to look at my application, I'm back where I started.

I'm sharing this because I know there are other people here who are trying to establish businesses in Germany, particularly through the self-employment visa route.

Maybe my case was an isolated incident. Maybe something went wrong administratively. Maybe this is simply how long these things can take in Cologne. I honestly don't know.

But if you're planning to move to Germany as a founder, I think it's important to know that this can happen.

At this point, I'm not even sure whether I still want to move to Cologne or do business there. After investing two years of my life into this process, the whole experience has left me questioning whether it was worth it in the first place.

I'm attaching the relevant pages of my rejection letter for anyone who wants to see exactly what happened.

If anyone here has gone through something similar — particularly with a self-employment visa and the Ausländerbehörde Köln — I'd genuinely like to hear your experience.

Hi All,

My wife just moved to Germany in end of July from Japan. I am Hungarian and living in Germany for the last 8 years or so.

We got an appointment for next week to the immigration office to file her residence card application. I just got the final call from my health insurance that she cant get into my family insurance yet due to her severence payment and she needs to get a private insurance for 6-8 months until she can be included into my family insurance.

We looked and seems like there is expat insurance which might help us to gap this period since private insurance is extremly expensive and she is unemployed.

I read multiple different things and the immigration office unfortunatelly not replying to our emails probably due to holiday season. So anyone can confirm if expat health insurance could work for the first application until she can get into my family insurance?

Thanks a lot for the informations!

My wife and I are traveling to Berlin for 10 days in mid December. We are trying to plan as much as possible while there. Some things we know we are gonna do are go to the Christmas markets and do a night club tour experience. What are other must go to’s, must see, food to try, anything and everything!

My wife is much more into the club scene, so give some club recommendations.

I am a huge food person, what are the best places to eat at?

Thank you in advance!!

Hi everyone,

I would appreciate some legal input and personal experiences regarding a specific clause in my German rental contract (unlimited contract for a furnished WG room in Munich, started May 2026).

I am planning to give notice and move out soon, but the standard pre-formulated contract (Formularmietvertrag) contains the following clauses:

• 1. Unilateral termination exclusion (§ 3.4 vs. § 3.2):
  • § 3.4 states: “The notice period is 3 months to the end of the month and can be exercised for the first time with effect at the end of 24 full rental months.”
  • However, in § 3.2, the landlord explicitly reserves their standard statutory right to terminate under § 573 BGB.
  • This means the 24-month lock-in applies exclusively to me as the tenant, while the landlord faces no equivalent restriction.
• 2. Immediate termination for payment default (§ 3.5):
  • The landlord reserves the right to terminate without notice (fristlos) if rent is delayed by more than 3 calendar days followed by a 7-day grace period (effectively allowing eviction over roughly 10 days of default for a single month's rent).

My understanding of the legal situation:

• Under established Federal Court of Justice (BGH) case law and § 307 BGB, a pre-formulated termination exclusion (Kündigungsausschluss) in a residential lease is legally invalid (unwirksam) if it unilaterally disadvantages the tenant without mutual commitment.
• Because this clause is invalid, statutory regulations should automatically apply, giving me the right to terminate under § 573c BGB with the standard 3-month notice period.
• Clause § 3.5 also contradicts mandatory statutory protections (§§ 543 para. 2 no. 3, 569 para. 3, 5 BGB), which require at least two months of unpaid rent for termination without notice.

Questions for the community:

1. Can you confirm that this one-sided 24-month restriction is completely void under § 307 BGB, allowing me to terminate with 3 months' statutory notice?
2. Should I explicitly point out the legal invalidity of the clause in my termination letter, or simply submit a regular written notice for the earliest statutory date ("zum nächstmöglichen Termin, hilfsweise zum...")?
3. Has anyone dealt with a similar situation? Did the landlord cause difficulties afterward (such as unlawfully withholding the security deposit)?

Thanks in advance for your insights and advice!

Hello, I've been to Germany from January to May and rented a room in an apartment through a sublet (landlord was renting out rooms while himself renting the whole apartment from the owner). Since I'm a EU student, I was happy to not have to send any money before actually moving in and I sent the landlord (not the owner) my deposit ("kaution") and the rent of the first month through a bank transfer as soon as I got there. On my last day there, I asked the landlord about my deposit and was told I'd get it back soon. Having no way of forcing him to give me my money immediately, I just left as planned. Later on, I called him often to check on my money and was always told I'd get them back soon, but now it's been a while and he's completely ghosted me on both calls and WhatsApp.

I don't have a picture of his documents, only his name, address and bank information. Is there any way I could see my money back? Are there any cheap lawyer services I could use for this? It's 400 euros so I'd like to have them back, but I also don't really want to spend 300 for a lawyer with no guarantees of having them back. Just to clarify, I've moved out of Germany since May so it would be impractical for me to do anything like a court appearance or going to a lawyer in person.

In hindsight, I know I should probably have used the renter insurance instead, but knowing him he probably wouldn't have accepted it.

Hi everyone,

I’m an MSc Data Science student in Germany and I’m currently looking for jobs everywhere because I have some debt.
A friend sent me an Instagram story from a woman who blogs about her life in Germany. She posted offering a hotel job with immediate hiring and no German requirement. I don't really use Instagram, so my friend replied to her story with my contact details.

The woman messaged me on WhatsApp. I asked for job details, timings, etc. She was really vague and just said timings are as usual for hotel jobs, and "the more you work, the more you get paid, if you work per room you get more pay." I've only ever worked at fast food places and superstores so I had no idea about hotel work, but it didn't sound bad to me since I really want to pay off my debt. She told me it's a housekeeping job.
When I asked again for the hotel name and address, she gave me an Instagram account and told me she just posted the job on his behalf and I should contact him directly.

I created an Instagram account and texted him. He called me instantly. I kept asking about job details and the location/address. He was very weird using downgrading hindhi like disrespectful way, He said, "Why do you need to know all of this, you just wanna work right?" I asked which hotel and where, and he said, "We have many hotels, we can't confirm where you get your job, first you have to meet us." I asked where, and he said to come to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof after evening.
When we started the call I already felt something was off, but I kept talking just to get more info. I told him I'd see, and ended the call.
Right after that, I saw multiple voice recordings from the woman. She said: "I need 100 euros before you start working because you are getting the job because of me. Most people ask for half of your first pay, I'm just asking for 100."
I was totally confused and didn't reply to her text. I just said, "What kind of job is this even? He's not telling me the location or hotel names, how would a girl feel safe?"
She replied saying she will ask him then she forwarded me a voice recording from him explaining why he won't give the hotel names. In the recording, he said that these workers are students, they are new, and they have no experience, so if he gives the names, they will just go directly to the hotel and cause problems for them. He claimed there are multiple companies working at the hotel and that the main reception is different from theirs, so if students go directly to the reception, it will create issues for their business. He added that since they are providing the job, they need their commission.
She kept insisting I should just go to Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof and see for myself. there will be many other girls there. She said they have to take me somewhere for training because I have no experience, and they need to teach me "how to behave with clients, what to do, and how to treat them." She even tried to reassure me by saying, "It's Germany, don't worry, it's not India." She added that if I still don't feel okay about it, I don't have to go because they have many other girls lined up anyway, and mentioned it's strictly for girls only.
I was definitely not dumb enough to fall for this and stopped replying. But to me, this sounds a lot like forced escorting, or severe exploitation targeting international students.

My questions:

How can I report this in Germany? I have the phone numbers, Instagram accounts, and voice recordings.
Should i even report it ? Maybe im wrong in my judgement but i still feel this should be looked at? ( also there was a recent story on his insta where he was opening a bag full of cash i recorded it)

If i report this will visa officers find that i have debt? Will my student debt affect my visa status? I still have one year left on my visa, but I'm really stressed that being in debt might hurt my residence permit status. Or when I report something they will know i have debt idk im just scared about debt.

I also feel really bad for new girls who might fall for this. Any advice on how to report this properly would be appreciated!

Hey guys and gals, Im sleeping on an older pillow that got simply harder over the years and is almost rubber like, doesn't cave in under pressure and is supporting my head well.

I tried in-store pillows and asked for hardest ones, but they still all give to much in where its restricting my breathing. Even stacking does not really help. You guys have any advice? im on taller side 1.9m and 110kg.

Would really appreciate any hints or suggestions!

Post:

Hey everyone,

I’m a student in Berlin trying to find the absolute cheapest way to buy protein powder right now. Standard retail prices seem crazy.

Where is everyone buying theirs?

• Local vs. Online: Are there any local physical shops with actually good prices, or is it always better to order online?
• Best Online Value: Between brands like HSN, Myprotein, Bulk, and Bodylab24, which one actually ends up being the cheapest per kg (factoring in shipping and stacking UNiDAYS/Student Beans discounts)?

Thanks for the tips!

Hiiiiii!

I started my PhD today (structured PhD in bioengineering at a research institute), but honestly, not much happened apart from listening to a seminar in the morning and reading some articles in the afternoon. Since I expected the first day to be quite overwhelming, I actually ended up getting a bit worried that maybe I’m not doing everything I’m supposed to be doing 😭

So I was wondering what the first day of a PhD, as well as the first few weeks, usually looks like in Germany.

I have my first meeting with my Doktormutter tomorrow, so I’m also wondering what I should expect from that. Am I already expected to have some idea of what the plan for the whole project will look like? Or is it enough at this stage to have a general understanding of the research topic and where the project might be going?

Is there anything in particular I should prepare before the meeting?

Thank you for any tips or experiences! 😊