Hey /trv/
I'm travelling to Freiburg, Germany on January as an exchange student. I'll be staying there for 2 months bettering my german.
I wanted to ask you guys what are some cool places/cities to visit in Germany, or near Freiburg (France, Switzerland, Lichtenstein).
Also, I wanted to know of any cheap ways of travelling through Europe/Germany. What I could find online was much more expensive than I thought.
Any other advice about Freiburg/Germany/Europe is welcome!
Thanks in advance
Germany has recently opened the market for long-distance buses, and they're dumping the hell out of one another. You can travel to any city for just a few EUR.
http://meinfernbus.de/en
check out strassbourg if you want to see a beautiful french/german city. also they have a lot of really beautiful small town around if you are into that. in europe you can hitch hike if you feel like it, otherwise we have carsharingsites and cheap busses
>>1049338
seconded, it's really great for visiting another town for a day or two
if there's any inconvenience they often give you a free ticket for another ride or ~15€ discount or something
Sadly i'm from nordrhein westphalia so i can't help you out otherwise
It would also help if you gave us a hint what you're interested in. Historic architecture? Modern architecture? Scenery? Cuisine? Animation?
Definitely check out Heidelberg, only an hour and a half or so north of Freiburg. Basel in Switzerland is a short train ride away. Its old town is rather nice.
If you're interested in cars, Stuttgart is not too far from Freiburg either, where you can visit Porsche and Mercedes museums for example.
Awesome suggestions guys! Thanks
>>1049338
Thanks! I found a Fernbus site that seems a bit better than that one
https://www.busliniensuche.de/
It is pretty cheap (even though there buses 5 hour long trips with as much as 5 train changes)
>>1049369
That city looks fucking beautiful. And it's less than 2 hours away from Freiburg, I can even go spend the day there.
>>1049489
I'm pretty open-minded, but well I do like old architecture, ruins, ancient civilizations, historic sites. I'd also like to see some amazing modern architecture but I'm not that much into it. I guess Berlin would be a good place to visit for that, right?
I live in Southamerica, so as far as landscapes go, I think I still got plenty to see here, I'm more interested in man-made stuff (doesn't mean I won't check out the Schwarzebald, or other cool natural places, it's just not what I'm focusing on)
I love cuisine (aka food), but I don't have that much money so I don't think that can be a visiting criteria... beer/drinks on the other hand, I can afford!
Animation? What does that mean?
>>1049510
I've heard Heidelberg is amazing. Its like... medieval, right? And as for Stuttgart, I think the university has already planned a trip there
>>1049531
Animation like all "live" things--events, festivals, theme parks, living history, and such.
Best place for old or ruined castles would be the eastern slope of the Vosges mountains. Haut-Koenigsbourg, Trois-Chateaux, town of Eguisheim, and many more. Could be difficult to reach without your own car though.
>>1049326
It's your lucky day, I live in Freiburg. AMA specific.
>>1049825
Alright man! That's awesome.
1. How cold is it in winter?
2. Where can I buy cheap/second hand Winter cloth? I live in South America, so I have absolutely no winter clothes to stand that kind of weather. I'll buy all of it as soon as I get to Freiburg (winter clothe is too expensive to buy here)
3. What's a good place to drink some good beer?
4. How good is the University's Studentswohnheim? I think I'll be staying there. It's not too expensive, and I won't need to look for a room to rent in such short notice.
5. Any hostel to recommend? A couple friends will also be passing by and they don't know where to stay yet
Hmmm I can't think of anything else, but any tips for the city you can think of are very much welcome
Thanks a lot alter!
bump! Come on Freiburg guy, don't leave me hangin'
Megabus, super cheap. I travelled from Karlsruhe to Lyon and back for 3€
Seriously 3€. Takes 8h one way. I have no idea how they make a profit
>>1050386
Sorry, been busy.
1. Freiburg is one of the warmest places in Germany and it can easily be 15-18° when the sun comes out in winter. Just as an example during the whole winter season 14/15 we had three days of snow, that was it. However if you want to go to the mountains (Schwarzwald, 30 minutes by car/train) you'll be on 1200 to 1400 meters. That's winter paradise right there, with Glühwein, Skiing, sled riding etc.
2. I don't know about winter clothing cause I'm not into snow that much. But there are a lot of shops where you can buy used clothes really cheap. Freiburg is full of hippies who are obsessed with that sharing/second hand clothing thing.
3. While Freiburg and the German southwest in general are more wine regions you'll find locally brewed beer here as well. Popular brands are Rothaus (from a Schwarzwald town), Ganter (Freiburg's city brewery), Augustiner (a really small house brewery). If you're here in winter you will spend a lot of time in cozy pubs eating Flammkuchen (traditional Alsace dish, google it) and drinking beer.
4. While I did my B.A. here I never stayed in the Studentenwohnheim, but some friends have. Concerning the building and the rooms I guess it's pretty much like every other Studentenwohnheim in Germany. You'll be sharing your kitchen and bathroom with 2-3 others, there will be a lot of foreigners, there will always be a reason to party. But the location is awesome, it's next to one of the city's lakes (which is of course great during summer) and you will be in the city center in 5 minutes by bike or Straßenbahn (how do you even say that in English?) If that does not work out check out fraternities. They often have rooms for rent at cheap prices.
5. I'm a local so I have no experience with hostels in Freiburg. But if you're interested I could do some research on that.
The best thing about Freiburg is it is really well situated: To the east you have the Schwarzwald, south is Basel (Switzerland), west is France.
>>1050406
Cool, thanks. It doesn't have many destinations, but I can get to Amsterdam for like 30 Euros
>>1050419
Great! Thanks for the answers.
Out of curiosity, what did you study?
I'd like to speak with some Professors in their Sprechstunde, but I really have no idea how that goes. I'm currently studying philosophy and would love to make contact with some cool teachers while there.
Also I don't know what you call a Straßenbahn in english, but it's called "Tranvía" in spanish.
>>1050473
Straßenbahn is a tram or streetcar in English.
>>1049531
You should keep in mind that bus journeys are ALWAYS longer than they say they'll take, and you get no breaks. At least, that's been my experience every freakin' time in 7 different journeys... They're supposed to take breaks, but if there's traffic or whatever, they can't and just gun it to the next stop. Every time you have to transfer, you are increasing your risks if missing the next bus.
Trains are more expensive but far less hassle, faster, and more or less on time.
>>1049326
check out mitfahrgelegenheit.
it's a ridesharing service.
ive gotten rides from frankfurt to paris for 20 eur and met really cool people
>>1050519
also blablacar
great and cheap alternatice
tübingen is kinda close to freiburg and has a very nice old city center and castle n everything. nice place to go if youre looking for taking some pics for instagram or whatever. plus get a streetmap (as a book, not a huge map) and try hitchhiking. northern germany to budapest only takes about 36 hours thanks to fucking awesome AUTOBAHN.
