Let me guide you through some small culture shocks

Some weeks have passed since I moved to Augsburg. There are some useful tips for newcomers, that I was either taught by locals, or learnt on the way. If you are a new student coming here from Finland, you may find these tips relevant.

How to travel around in Augsburg?

You have been flying from Finland to Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, or München. You have also taken the Regional Train (IC, ICE…) from those cities to Augsburg. Now, standing in front of Augsburg Hauptbahnhof (Hbf) – every city in Germany has a Main station called Hbf – how can you go to places within the city?

Augsburg Hbf

Here in Augsburg, we have bus and tram, which are very convenient. But how can a newcomer use these means of transport?

My tip: before flying to Germany, download the Augsburg traffic app called AVV:

The most important app for Augsburg noobs

With this app, you can search for stations, routes (with Wifi), and most importantly, purchase transport tickets. Like many other cities in Europe, the tickets are valid for all means of public transport. Each single ticket costs €3,2 (same in Lappeenranta) and valid for 3 hours.

Right now in Augsburg, tickets sales are not available on buses or trams, due to Covid_19. Thus, one must purchase own ticket in advance.

The nearest station to my flat is called “Bergiusstraße” and can only be reached by Bus 41, so make sure you don’t get lost, coming to visit me 😀

Public transports here are quite fast and frequent, so don’t worry if you miss one. My favorite route to Uni is Bus 41 + Tram 3.

How to survive in Augsburg: Difference between Germany and Finland

Some of the tips below are just new for me, and some are real survival tips. So, keep them in mind when visiting/living in Augsburg, or Germany in general.

#1: Nur Bargeld

“Okay. This is not Finland at all” was my impression when it comes to payment.

I was used to using card only, when in Finland. And now, it has been more than 3 times my friends had to pay for me because the place don’t accept card payment.

It is very common in Germany that you’d pay by cash. So please, prepare some in your wallets.

In case you run out of cash, come to the ATMs of Stadtsparkasse. They are free of charge

#2: Door keys

In Finland, you open the door by turning keys clock-wise.

In Germany, it’s opposite: you’ll have to turn from right to left.

#3: Floors

In Finland, the ground floor is “Floor 1”.

In Germany, the ground floor is “Floor 0”.

#4: Deutsche Pünktlichkeit

In Finland, you must be on time. If you’re late, people will be unhappy.

In Germany, you also must be on time. However, if you’re late, people will tell you in the face, how many minutes late are you. You won’t be able to go to classes, and so on. They take it serious here.

Summary

So far, those are the most significant traits I’ve found, on my first steps of integrating into this new environment.

Khanh Tr.