Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität
Münster, Germany
My Experience in Münster
I cannot do justice just by describing it as to how fantastic the
town of Münster is, but I will try. It is a small place full of
character and an important history. An example of this is the
Lamberti Kirche which stands picturesquely down the
Principalmarkt, itself a very unique street in the center town.
The three cages that hang from it’s spire are a display of the
fascinating, yet somewhat dark history of the town as in the
16th century bodies of three Baptist movement leaders were
kept hanging as a warning. Another nice feature is the Lake
Aa, when I arrived it was still warm enough to experience the
famous grilling on its shores. In the summer semester I am told
the smoke from all the students grilling in the evenings is
overwhelming but I think the atmosphere would be great. In
September I was often there, walking around the track or
reading a book on the green. It is a key social hub in Münster
and on the warmer days there are always groups of students
hanging out there. The Domplatz, a square hosting a large
cathedral holds markets on Wednesdays and Saturdays which
are also well worth a look, I used to go to buy ‘pudding
bretzels’ one of my favorite German treats.
The town is small enough to be easy to get around yet big enough to be varied and
interesting. A Bicycle is absolutely essential. Even though the bus system is great and
walking is possible you just would not get the full Münster experience without your
bike. In fact it is often referred to as the bike capital of Germany with an average of
over 2 bikes per resident. Riding a bike there is nothing like it is in New Zealand, as
you could expect from a place like Germany there are rules and it is organized. Most
roads have cycle paths
integrated into the footpathone of the first things to
learn is to not walk on
these! Cycling here felt very
safe and convenient and that
is coming from someone
who before I arrived had
barely ridden a bike. Riding
your bike around Münster really makes you feel like a local. I got quite attached to it
was certainly a sad goodbye at the end of my exchange even if I won’t miss cycling in
the snow and rain. The University itself is spread across the town. The law block
however is conveniently located right in the center. The English law courses consist
of lectures with a final exam and usually no assignments through the semester so it
certainly allows for opportunity to travel. During the semester especially in the first
few weeks there are plenty of events organized for exchange students and being a
university town there are always parties. There are two famous student bar streets side
by side that you should check out Jüdefelderstraße and Kreuzstraße. Overall it is well
set up for student life and you would no doubt have a great semester if you chose it.
Outside of studying I had a lot of opportunity to travel. Each student is required to
pay a course fee which then gives them the most valuable asset during your stay, the
Semesterticket. This ticket allows you to use free any bus, train, metro or other public
transport in the North-Rheine Westphalia. Münster is well located for travel, it is
close to several airports offering Ryanair flights; Düsseldorf Weeze, Dortmond and
Cologne/Bonn which can all be reached using a semester ticket. You can also get to
the border of Belgium by train and travel anywhere in that country for 7 euros on a
special student ticket, or to the town of Enschede in the Netherlands which then
allows you to get to Amsterdam for about 20 Euros. The way I most often travelled
however was by bus, there are several low cost buses operating in Germany, Flixbus,
Megabus and Meinfernbus. These are great because they are often running frequently
so you have a wide range of departure and arrival times, I used to travel Thursday
overnight to arrive in a destination in time for the weekend before leaving again
Sunday night. The ride is long but they have wifi and are actually quite comfortable.
The best part is if you book far enough in advance they only cost a euro. I went to
Zurich, Munich, London and Paris all in this way. I travelled a lot while I was there, I
spent weekends in Prague, Milan, Amsterdam, I spent a week in Mallorca, two weeks
travelling Italy, two in the United Kingdom, if the opportunity was there I took it
basically and living in Münster provided a lot of opportunities. When you consider I
did all this travel while ticking off one semester of study that is pretty incredible. The
other thing I would add is to not be afraid of travelling alone, I ended up travelling
Italy for two weeks by myself and it was an incredible experience, I didn’t plan ahead,
I booked as I went seeing what I wanted to see and using Google to help me chose
spots I would never have considered. When going off the beaten track in Italy I would
suggest San Marino for the incredible
view and Bologna for it’s character and
beautiful red earthy feel. If you are in the
far north Aoasta is also totally worth a
look because the sight of roman ruins
against a mountain backdrop is hard to
beat honestly.
My Tips
Before Departure
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If you are eligible get a European Passport, my British one was invaluable and
gets you heaps of discounts at museums and historical sites.
It is likely you will realize no one can give you an answer on what health
insurance you need. The answer to that is just take out travel insurance, they
barely look at your documents when you enroll.
The absolute hardest thing about moving to Münster was finding somewhere
to live. I would stress that you start looking as early as possible, I arrived in
September but I started looking in April. This will involve getting up early for
many Skype interviews and emailing dozens of people, it is a market with
very high demand but being from New Zealand gives you an interesting edge
and I was able to find a room for 200 euros ($300) a month all inclusive and
within 10 minutes cycle to the university and town Centre. This was very
cheap though and you should be prepared to pay anywhere from 250-500
euros a month depending on how far from the Centre you are willing to live.
The lake Aa is a great place to live near! Use http://www.wg-gesucht.de/
Pack a NZ multiboard and one or two adaptors, then you have plugs for
everything just by combining the multiboard and one adaptor- this made my
life significantly easier.
Arrival and setting up
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The first thing you need to do is go to the city office and register your arrival,
they speak English well enough so I wouldn’t worry much about that, I would
go as soon as you are able because when semester is close to starting and all
the other international students arrive it gets very busy and you could wait
hours.
I also recommend opening a bank account, once you have registered at the city
office you can take your proof of registration to the bank with a letter of
enrollment and open a free student account.
Bank cards may as well be left at home in Germany because they all use cash.
instead you will find yourself making regular ATM trips and feeling totally
unable to buy anything if you have run out of cash. Especially bars…no one
pays with cards in the student bars so I would not recommend trying.
Join the Erasmus Facebook page just look up “Erasmus wwu” and the one
relevant to your semester should show up. This is the best way to initially
connect with other internationals and to get advice.
Download the DeutscheBahn app for public transport..it will become your
most used app during your stay.
Get ready to recycle, it is huge there and super important (and organized…).
Mallorca
Zurich
Bologna
Paris
Aoasta
San Marino
By Claire McLellan