I paid Cottbus a visit for the first time. In order to save money and time, I rode in a car with someone who had advertised on the "Mitfahrgelegenheiten" (drive together opportunities). I used this service on the drive back to Erlangen as well. The website works like this: I select my beginning and destination cities and the date on which I want to travel, then the website shows me a list of people who will be driving that stretch at certain times on that date. I simply call up the driver and set up the specific time and place to meet. The majority of travel opportunities are on Fridays, Sundays, and Mondays when people are going home or on vacation on the weekends.
While in Cottbus I stayed at Bernhard's apartment where there are also something like 8 other residents. One of the residents has an adorable dog, but over the few days I was there he became very dirty so I didn't touch him any more. The apartment is located in the city and a tram passes right in front of the house starting around 5am. I found the apartment to be very loud with all the trams, bicyclists, cars, and pedestrian noise.
One of my goals during my visit to Cottbus was to find an apartment for the Fall. It turned out to be a very good thing that I experienced Bernhard's loud apartment so that I could understand the proper criteria for a good place for me to live. I ended up finding an apartment on the edge of town which I think will make me very happy. By "edge of town", I am speaking in German city standards, and it should be made known that it is only 12 minutes by bike to the university. A tram also passes right by the apartment complex, but the complex is a DDR-era, large, concrete structure, and my apartment is sufficiently far away from the tracks so the tram can't be heard.
People say that it takes me a long time to make decisions, but sometimes I can make decisions very quickly if I have enough data to make me confident in my choice. When I stepped off the tram I thought, "Oh, it's so quiet here. I like it". And then the residents of the apartment were very nice and normal German students. I will be sharing a bathroom with a guy and then the other two girls will have the other bathroom, although we all have to use the girls' bathroom for showers. The interior of the apartment looks a bit shabby and ugly because of funny colored carpets and a strange mural on the wall, but as the residents said, "You get used to it". It doesn't really bother me to begin with and I'm sure I'll get used to it.
While I was at the university I paid a visit to the international students office where the ladies helped me a lot in figuring out what I need to do when in order to get a resident permit. I am very grateful to those women for all of their help. I will be officially moving to Cottbus at the beginning of September so that my governmental paperwork gets completed before my tourist visa expires in late September. I have been debating whether I should continue to stay in Erlangen during September because I know and like this place, but now that I have met my new apartment-mates, I think it will be okay to move to Cottbus. You see, I was nervous about being all alone and sad in Cottbus without any social life. Living in Cottbus during September will give me time to organize all of my official business and find personal necessities like a bike and mattress.
In the general comment category about my visit to Cottbus, I must confess that the city is not as well-kept as Erlangen. But, the city has a lot of character. There are a lot of old buildings with ornate architecture, lots of trees, parks, and a few rivers that run through town. The tram travels a direct route from my apartment, past the university, and to downtown. I only explored a little bit of the city on foot and then saw some more on a bus, but I look forward to exploring many more of Cottbus' corners once I acquire a bicycle.
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BTW, that was a quick decision about housing. I would have thought you'd check out quite a few places before deciding. But then again, maybe you did.
ReplyDeleteIs it really safe to take rides with strangers? Sounds like a possibly dangerous thing to do, although I think the idea of sharing rides and car pooling is good. But it just seems like you are putting yourself in a possibly vulnerable position. I doubt one could do something like that in the US. Sad, isn't it?
I had wondered how you got to Cottbus. I figured you rode the train. But now I know.