Merry Christmas to You!

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Hi, there, my dear friends! Today, 25th December, is a special time of the year – it is Christmas! Merry Christmas everyone! I hope this year will bring you lots of happiness and health! To me this is very beautiful day, filled with joy, aroma of eggnog and room filling with endless array of Christmas songs and binge watching of Christmas movies. I personally love it – watching Home Alone is like a sacred tradition for me and my family to do on Christmas. This year, I have always added new movie Christmas Chronicles to the list. Will be watching second movie this evening. Yesterday was Christmas Eve and I wanted to share with you how I spent it in Cologne. 

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What is SCHUFA?

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Are you searching for apartment for rent and suddenly the landlord is asking you for SCHUFA? But you have literally no idea how to do it or even what it is? Don’t worry! I can help you here! So, let’s find out what SCHUFA is!

SCHUFA is abbreviation for “Schutzgemeinschaft für allgemeine Kreditsicherung” or to put it in English “General Credit Protection Agency”. The company basically holds credit scores for more than 67 million people as well as 5 million companies. “But what do I have to do with some General Credit Protection Agency” you might ask. Well, the thing is, that in Germany some landlords want to know if they can trust you and if you will be able to pay the rent on time or if you had some financial issues before. In order to do that, they will ask you for either proof of income or SCHUFA. Or both in some cases. And here is exactly when it comes to SCHUFA! They will provide you with your credit score report, which you will be able to give to your landlord. The report price is 29,95 Euros.

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Things to do During Coronavirus Lockdown

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Hi my friends, and welcome to my new post. As of yesterday, 16.12.2020, Germany entered new, even harder, lockdown. During previous “lockdown light” we had restaurants and cafes closed (except takeaway), as well as cinemas, theaters, fitness centers and swimming pools. However, those measures did not have much influence on the number of Coronavirus infections in Germany. Therefore, now, the new restrictions have to take place. And they include closing of most stores, schools and day care centers. Such things as walking outside and going to parks is still allowed, with social distancing in place of course.

In view of that, I have decided to create a list of things to do during lockdown. Myself, I have been home since March 2020 and many times I have struggled with boredom. So much boredom. I was bored as crazy, especially during first month of lockdown while I was still getting used to stay-at-home life. I have tried so many different things to keep myself busy and many of them were pretty exciting. Today I want to share those with you.

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Accommodation Search in Germany

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All of us have been in the situation when you need to find an apartment to live in. Whether you got a new job in another city, about to start university degree or simply moving in with your partner – one of the most important steps is finding a place you can call home for next moths or even years. I have moved a lot during my student life, from one city to another, sometimes 2 or 3 times within one city due to different circumstances. Therefore, in this blog post, I have compiled a guide for you on how to find an apartment with links on different websites.

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Lindt Chocolate Shop in Aachen

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Hey, everyone and happy 3rd Advent to you! Hope you already feeling Christmas spirit at your home. I definitely do, although I haven’t even decorated Christmas tree yet. But! I am already playing all the possible Christmas songs. Today I would like to share with you one of my recent trips to Aachen to buy some chocolate from Lindt Chocolate shop. Yes, you guessed right – it was amazing! 

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Bonn Rheinaue Park Photo walk

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Hi, everyone! And welcome to my first Photo Walk post. Today, while I am daily working on preparing new content for you, I would like to share one of my past photo walks – back from summer 2018 in Bonn. I lived in Bonn from spring 2018 till around spring 2019 and during that time frame I did a lot of exploring around the city. Most of all I enjoy being surrounded by beautiful nature, that is why one of my most favorite places is Rheinaue Park. I have been there on multiple occasions – from simple roaming around the park to planned photo walks and special events like holidays, jamming sessions and different concerts. The park is huge, it has lots of beautiful corners, has direct access to the Rhein river, there are many gorgeous flowers and trees, Japanese garden, café and restaurants around. In summer you can also see many small kiosks selling ice-cream and cold beverages. It has beautiful view on nearby building of DHL.

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Saint Nicholas Day in Germany

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Hello everyone and Happy St. Nicholas Day to you. Well, today we actually have double celebration – St. Nicholas Day and 2nd Advent! Yes, today is the day to light the second candle in your Advent Wreath! However, today, we are going to talk about St. Nicholas Day and how it is celebrated in Germany.

Back in Ukraine, it used to be one of my favorite holidays. I would wake up in the morning and immediately put my hand under the pillow and start searching for a sweet present from St. Nicholas. If I didn’t find one under my pillow, I would jump off the bed and rush into the corridor and start looking into every single shoe of mine. Because sometimes St. Nicholas could also hide presents there. That childish happiness and joy when I found my favorite chocolate inside the shoe. That day I would go to school and the main topic of discussion among kids would be what St. Nicholas brought us this year.

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Applying for Master Degree in Germany

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Pursuing Master Degree in Germany: My Story

Good afternoon, my dear friends! Hope you are doing well and staying healthy. Today I would like to talk about pursuing a Master degree in Germany. My story of studying in Germany began back in summer 2013, when I came to Germany for two months to do a summer language course. Once the language school organized a study trip to Schmalkalden and had a tour on the campus of University of Applied Sciences. Coming from a small town in Ukraine, I was fascinated. I started dreaming about studying there already on the way back to language school. After this excursion, I have firmly decided to do my Master’s degree in Germany. 

So, here I will describe my process of applying for a degree program in Germany in few easy steps and will give you some useful tips for your application process. Kindly note, that my degree was entirely in English, so I will describe here application process for English speaking degree. Continue reading →

Advent in Germany

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Advent in Germany

Hi, there, my dear friends and happy 1st Advent to you. It is official! Countdown to Christmas has started – only 25 days till we can all enjoy Christmas celebration! As you understood, today I would like to tell you more about the Advent in Germany, what it actually is and traditions surrounding it. So, what is Advent?

Advent is a religious celebration, the special time of the year during which the  preparation for the arrival, or “advent”, of Christ take place, which is then celebrated on 25th December. Advent usually starts four weeks before Christmas, to be more precise, four Sundays till Christmas. And today, on 29th November we are celebrating the 1st Advent. So, what do people usually do during Advent time in Germany? Well, there are many traditions surrounding this period including Advent wreath, Advent calendar, setting up a Christmas tree and general preparations for Christmas. Ohhh, and let’s not forget that around this season the Christmas Markets usually start (well, except this year unfortunately). Continue reading →