Hello dear trainees!
During the last years the trainees made lots of trips. By organizing and realizing these trips we gained a lot of information and experience. This information could be useful for you as well in case that you are interested in doing a trip to some of the locations that we visited with the trainees before and in case that we won't be able to organize the trip for you. That's why we provide some of the information and contacts here. If you have any further questions don't be shy to ask! :o)
Some general links:
Berlin
- best way to get there: by train with a Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket (Beatiful-Weekend-Ticket). This ticket is valid on Saturdays and Sundays for a whole day for up to 5 people for the use of regional trains throughout Germany. It costs 30 €. Take the first train to Berlin on a Saturday morning (at about 5.30 am, the journey takes about 5 hours with some train changes in between) and get back with the last train on Sunday evening.
- accommodation: We visited Berlin twice last year and stayed both times at Berolina Backpacker. It's clean, cheap and in a rather good location. Bed linen and towels are included, breakfast has to be payed extra. But this is not really necessary as there are nearby supermarkets where you can buy your breakfast instead.
Or also A&O Hostel at the train station "Zoo". It's cheaper than Berolina Backpackers (10 € per night), but doesn't include neither breakfast, nor towels, nor bed linen. You can bring these things with you or rent at least bed linen at the hostel for some Euros.
- getting around in the city: You need to use the public transport in Berlin, otherwise you won't see much of the city. But fortunately this is not too expensive since you can purchase cheap day tickets: A group day ticket (for up to 5 people) is 15,90 € for the inner part of, Berlin and 16,10 € for the whole Berlin transport system which includes the city of Potsdam where there is one famous sight, the castle Sans Souci (Potsdam is just 30 or 40 minutes by city railway away from central Berlin). A single day ticket is 6,10 € or 6,50 €, respectively. The day tickets are valid until 3 am of the following day.
- comments: Berlin is for sure worth being visited and also one of the cheapest destinations. Not onlyin terms of the costs to get there. Also food and other stuff is cheap there if you don't buy it at the main tourist points. Use the Free City Tour that is offered in Berlin! You'll get a very good guided tour through the city and you'll just pay to the guide as much as you think it worth!
Copenhagen:
- best way to get there: by bus from Hamburg. Just check the prices on the page it on the website www.touring.de.
- accommodation: We stayed at Danhostel Copenhagen City which is right next to the bus station and always easy to find during your stay in the city because it is a very high building (in contrast to the rest of the buildings in Copenhagen) with a significant location. Maybe that the hostel doesn't look very nice from the outside but inside it is very nice and modern! Unfortunately, neither breakfast, nor bed linen, nor towels are included for the rather high price. Also, you need to pay an extra fee if you don't have a hosteling international membership. But still it is one of the cheapest accommodations in Copenhagen.
- how to get around in the city: by foot! There's really no need to invest money into public transport. The city isn't that big. And by foot you'll get to know the city better than by underground ;o) You can lend a map of Copenhagen from us (it's available in the IAESTE Lüneburg office).
- comments: Copenhagen is marvelous, especially if you're lucky with the weather! But it's also very expensive! The cheapest place to get food there is McDonald's (to compare: in Germany McDonald's is considered to be rather expensive...). Also, you need to exchange money. The currency in Denmark is Danish Krones (1€ is about 7 DKK). A good place to exchange money is inside the train station of Copenhagen. Put all of your money together and exchange it at once! This way you'll have to pay the exchange fee only once. A nice place to go out at night is the club VEGAS. It's a very famous club in the city. If you arrive there early enough (it was either before 11 pm or 1 am... don't remember...) you can get in for free! But of course the drinks inside are horribly expensive (6 € for a beer...). The club is even marked on the map that we have available at our office! One thing that is not too expensive and worth the effort is doing a boat trip in the harbor!
Amsterdam
- best way to get there: Also from Hamburg by bus.
- accommodation: We stayed at Bob's Youth Hostel. It's one of the cheapest accommodations on the city but bookings are only accepted if you are a group of 8 or more people. Bed linen and a small breakfast are included in the price. The hostel is ok... Not too clean but acceptable if you only want to stay one night there (Probably this night will only consist of few hours anyway ;o) ). Besides , the hostel claims that it sells the cheapest beer in town which is true, I suppose.
- how to get around in the city: The same as for Copenhagen. But Amsterdam is bigger than Copenhagen. So be prepared! ;o)
- comments: The Free City Tour like in Berlin is available in Amsterdam as well and it's really, really good!
Brussels
- best way to get there: Also by bus from Hamburg.
- accommodation: We stayed at the Jaques Brel Hostel. The price includes bed linen and a rather nice breakfast. It is very far away from the Gare du Midi where some of the busses arrive (1 hour to walk but you can also take the subway) but rather close to the Gare du Nord where the rest of the busses arrive.
- how to get around in the city: It is possible to get around by foot. Just if you are fed up with walking or if you want to visit the Atomium you need to use the public transport.
- comments: Don't be afraid if you don't speak neither French nor Flemish! People in Belgium speak English very well! And buy wafers, chocolate and beer in Brussels!!! It's delicious! ;o)
There are many more destinations about which we could provide some information if you are interested in going there. For a day trip you could go for example to Hamburg, Hanover, Bremen, Lübeck, Kiel, Heide Park Soltau, Goslar/ Harz mountains and the Baltic Sea Coast. A weekend trip is possible to for example Cologne (Köln), Munich (München), Dresden, Leipzig, Paris and Stockholm. For an extended weekend also other cities like e.g. London, Barcelona etc. are possible to visit (if you have the money to do that... but it is cheaper than you probably imagine!)
Ok, don't feel overburdened with all of this stuff now! It's just to show you what is possible to do and to place the information in place that is easily accessible for you. Actually, this post will only become relevant for you after your arrival here.
Oh, and there's one thing that we'd like to point out: As all of us work voluntarily for IAESTE we can't garantuee to you that we will organize any activities for you! Of course, we'll do our best but it might happen that all of us will be busy with university etc. And also, we don't get money for our work, neither does IAESTE pay our expenses if we travel with you somewhere. We'll always have to pay the same like you but don't have as much money available as you'll have during your time here (The salaries for your traineeships are really not too bad!). So, it might also be a financial question for us if we can accompany you on your trips or not. Hence, please be prepared to have to organize your freetime activities by yourselves!!
But of course, you can always ask us for help and we'll always give to you as much support as possible for us!! And by the way, hanging out with you guys and travelling is also fun for us (if this wasn't so we wouldn't do that job ;o) ) and so it's likeable that there will be at least the one or the other activity organized by us!
Anyway, greets and see you soon!
Your IAESTE Lüneburg team
