2025-06-01 14:25:00
There are countless ways to approach life, but two of the most prominent ones I’ve noticed are the American mindset and the European mindset. Because I mostly consume content in English, I often see the American perspective dominating online spaces. Interestingly, people who embrace this mindset sometimes mock or dismiss the European approach, often without making any real effort to understand it.
Let me begin with a bit of my own background. I was born in Turkey and spent much of my life there before moving to Germany, where I’ve lived for the past seven years. I bring this up because Turkey has been significantly shaped by European ideas. We have public healthcare, a mandatory pension system, widespread public education, and decent public transportation. When Turkey was being modernized, it even adopted laws from various European countries.
At the same time, however, American cultural influence has been very strong. Over the years, society has increasingly leaned toward American ways of thinking. For instance, things like your car or your phone can heavily influence how others perceive your social status. As a result, people often feel pressured to earn as much money as possible to display their success. This mindset also leads to longer working hours, fewer vacation days or sick leaves, and a more competitive work culture with clearly defined hierarchies.
Having lived in both systems and currently living in a country that clearly reflects the European mindset, I feel well positioned to compare the two.
Because of strong American cultural influence, most people are more familiar with the American mindset. It is often centered around hard work, climbing the career ladder, earning more money, and improving your life by owning things — a house, a car, maybe even a second car. I have to admit, it is an attractive idea. The American mindset promises that if you are talented and work hard, you can achieve anything, even become a millionaire or billionaire. That belief is likely one of the biggest reasons why more than a million people move to the United States every year.
But there is also another way of living: the European mindset. Unlike its American counterpart, it does not focus solely on individual advancement. Instead, it emphasizes improving the quality of life for everyone. That is why taxes are high, very high in some cases. In Germany, for example, around 42 percent of your gross salary goes to taxes. In return, you get access to things like public healthcare, a pension system, free education, reliable public transportation, and more. You also get generous sick leave, which can last up to six weeks, and around thirty vacation days every year.
The work culture is different too. It is less competitive. People generally understand that working more or harder does not necessarily mean they will earn significantly more. And even if they do, a large part of that extra income goes back in taxes. So instead of chasing a higher paycheck, many people prefer to work fewer hours and enjoy more free time. According to OECD data, Germany consistently ranks among the developed countries with the lowest average working hours. The Nordic countries are similar. In this mindset, life is less about accumulating more and more, and more about spending time in meaningful ways.
This way of thinking surprised me when I first moved to Germany. I remember asking my German flatmate why he used second-hand furniture instead of buying new things. He said he would rather spend that money on another vacation. Over time, I realized this attitude is quite common. People are often content with what they have and prefer to buy used goods instead of working harder just to afford things they do not really need. There is less pressure to impress others with possessions. In fact, openly talking about what you own is not something people enjoy here. Instead, they talk about experiences, most of which do not cost much at all.
At work, people aim to do their jobs well and then focus on life outside the office. Work is not everything. Most people have hobbies and interests they enjoy beyond their careers. They do not define themselves by their job titles and rarely talk about work in their free time. As a result, there is less stress. People are not terrified of losing their jobs, because they know the system will support them if they need help. There is also less of a rigid hierarchy in the workplace, unless you work in a very old or large company.
I experienced both sides while working for an American company, and the contrast was striking. In that environment, hierarchy was more visible, and leaders made sure their authority was recognized. The company also put a lot of effort into promoting its mission internally, often presenting our work as something world-changing. In contrast, the German companies I have worked for felt more down-to-earth. There was less focus on job titles, less internal marketing, and a more practical approach to work. I will explore this more in a future post, but for now, it is enough to say that the difference is significant.
To sum up, the American mindset tends to focus on personal success and achievement through material gain. The European mindset, on the other hand, prioritizes collective well-being and ensuring a high quality of life for everyone.
As someone who grew up in a society shaped by the American mindset, it took me some time to understand and adjust to the European way of thinking. I want to be clear that I am not saying one mindset is better than the other. It all depends on the kind of life you want to live. If you choose one and it makes you happy, then that is what matters. However, I have also seen many people struggle because they live in a society that follows a different mindset from their own.
Before I moved to Germany, I was not really aware of the European mindset. I believed the only way to live a good life was to work hard, earn more money, and buy more things. That was the message I grew up with. I thought that having more would automatically make me happier. I did not realize there was another way to approach life. But once I arrived in Germany, I slowly started to understand that this society is not built around that idea. If I had kept chasing the same mindset here, I would have ended up feeling frustrated and disappointed.
After a few years, once I understood how the European mindset works, I realized it actually suits me much better. I do not enjoy constantly pushing myself to earn more money, especially when I am not that interested in buying new things. I am not a materialistic person. I live simply, and that makes me happy. I noticed that the money I already earn is enough to enjoy the things I care about. This shift helped me feel less stressed and more content. I no longer feel the need to always aim for more or bigger. I spend less time thinking about what I own and more time enjoying life through new experiences.
The reason I wanted to write this post is to share the idea that there is another way to live. As I mentioned earlier, I often feel a strong pressure from people who follow the American mindset. Many of them seem to believe that their way of life is the best. They earn more, they buy more, and they assume this means they enjoy life more. Maybe they do, from their perspective. But there is also a large group of people who find just as much joy, or even more, by living in a society where everyone has access to basic needs and where there is more time for life beyond work and material things.
2025-05-25 14:30:00
I never planned to move to Germany; it just happened. If I had made any plans, I would have made sure to learn enough German to manage everyday life. It all began when I was talking to a classmate in the administration building of my department. I was taking care of paperwork for my first internship after finishing my second year. I had found that internship in Istanbul, where I would learn Ruby programming from Serdar and Aşkın, who were among the best in the industry. My classmate asked if my internship was in another country. I was a bit surprised and realized that maybe people expected me to do an internship abroad, especially since I was good at Computer Science. The idea of doing an internship in another country stuck with me and eventually became a reality.
After finishing my internship in Istanbul, I was offered a part-time remote job there. It was a great offer since I was earning the minimum wage and learning a lot about programming and working on real products used by thousands of people. Then, the thought of doing an internship abroad came back, and I started looking for companies in Europe that used Ruby . I also decided to apply for the Erasmus scholarship to make the visa process easier. Plus, if the company didn’t pay me, I could use the Erasmus funds to cover my expenses. Eventually, I found a summer internship in Hamburg. That’s how my journey to Germany began.
After my internship in Hamburg, I returned to Turkey and kept working remotely with the same company. There was a chance that after finishing my studies, I could get a full-time job and move to Hamburg. That’s when I decided it was time to learn German. I started going to a language school on weekends. It was probably the busiest year of my life. I was finishing my last year of university, taking a lot of classes and exams, writing my bachelor’s thesis (which later got published and presented at a symposium in Vienna), working part-time, and studying German on weekends. By the beginning of summer 2018, I had finished my studies, presented my bachelor’s thesis, received my A1-level German certificate, got a full-time job offer, and moved to Germany at the end of June.
I was so overwhelmed with everything going on that, even though I had signed up for the German class at my company, I gave up learning German for a while to relax and adjust to life in Hamburg. For a long time, I didn’t study German, but I still picked up new words almost every day and was able to have simple conversations in places like restaurants.
When COVID hit, I stopped hearing German at work and learning German words. I also started working for a non-German company, so I wasn’t exposed to much German for a while. Eventually, I was laid off from that company and, thanks to the severance package I received, I finally had the time to focus on learning German properly.
I signed up for a language school in Hamburg called Deutsch Akademie. Since I already had an A1-level in German, I started at A2.1 in September 2023. I had classes three times a week, each lasting three hours in the evening. After two months, I finished A2.1 and immediately signed up for A2.2. This time, I chose an intensive course, with classes five times a week, three hours each. It was a lot, and I found it challenging, but after a month, I completed the level.
Right after that, I started B1.1. This time, I went back to three classes a week. I should mention that I didn’t miss a single class during this time. But when I started B1.2, I was feeling really tired of the classes, and the teacher wasn’t as good as the previous ones. So, after a couple of weeks, I decided to stop attending the classes.
Looking back, I feel good about taking those classes. I learned a lot and started to feel more comfortable speaking German. But at the same time, I wasn’t sure about my German level. Even though I learned many grammar rules, I still didn’t know enough words, and that made it hard for me to understand what I read or have conversations. That’s when I came up with the idea to develop an app to help me memorize new words while using my computer. And that’s how the Wunderbar app was born.
It’s hard for me to sit down and study, especially when I’m at home. So, I thought that if I could see a new German word on the Menu Bar of my Mac every 10 minutes, I’d be exposed to lots of new words, and over time, my vocabulary would grow. I researched the most common words in German and used those, along with their meanings and example sentences, to create the app. Later, I added a feature to listen to the pronunciation of each word. I started using the app every day and learned a few new words. Over time, I realized I had learned a lot of new words and understood more.
At first, I designed the app just to help me learn German words. But when I shared it with others, many people asked for more languages. So, I added support for other languages too. Over time, the app was downloaded by hundreds of people worldwide and helped many of them learn new words every day.
As my German slowly improved, a lot was happening in Germany. My main goal for reaching B1 level German was to apply for citizenship. The traffic light coalition in Germany had lowered the number of years needed to apply for citizenship from 8 years to 5 years, making me eligible right away. The only thing left for me to do was take the B1-level German exam to get the certificate to prove my language skills. The new law was set to go into effect in the summer of 2024, but the government collapsed at the end of that year.
That’s when I started to panic. I wasn’t alone, many of my immigrant friends also rushed to get their certification before the new government came into power, which might reverse the changes introduced by the traffic light coalition.
A close friend of mine had already received his B1 German certificate from telc. He kept telling me that I could do it too, but I still wasn’t sure about my German level and didn’t feel ready for the exam. At the beginning of 2025, I set myself the goal of getting the B1 certificate. My friend insisted I book the exam appointment because, based on his experience, if you don’t book it, you’ll never start studying for it. So, I booked my exam for April. After securing my spot, I did three things to help me reach my goal, in addition to using my Wunderbar app every day.
First, I bought a textbook called Prüfungstraining Zertifikat Deutsch (telc Deutsch B1) by Cornelsen. It was a great resource that quickly helped me go over the words and grammar rules I needed to know. I was already familiar with most of the material, but seeing everything in one place gave me more confidence. Since I can’t study at home, I started going to a café every day to study a few chapters from the book and practice my writing skills.
Second, I began reading stories in German. The biggest part of the telc exam is understanding German, which is much more important than knowing grammar rules. I bought a book called Short Stories in German for Beginners, and I read all the stories in it. Later, I bought the intermediate-level version. These books helped me read longer German texts and learn new words.
The third thing I did was watch a German TV show with German subtitles. There was a new show on Apple TV+ called Where is Wanda?, produced in Germany. I decided to watch it to improve my listening skills, which was another important part of the telc exam.
One thing I really liked about the textbook was the example tests (Modelltest) at the end. There were four practice exams that were very similar to the real telc exam. Four days before my test, I took one of these example tests every day. They helped me get familiar with the exam format and showed me how much time I was spending on each section.
The telc exam has two parts: writing and speaking. The writing exam has four sections: Reading, Grammar, Listening, and Writing. It takes about two and a half hours. The speaking exam takes 15 minutes and has three parts: Introduction, talking about a topic, and planning something together. (You can download an example test here.)
The first part of the reading section involves reading five short news articles and matching them with the right titles. Each correct answer gives you 5 points. In the second part, you read a longer article and answer five questions about it. Again, each correct answer gives you 5 points. Next, you look at 12 listings (like course offers, job or flat ads) and match 10 situations with those listings. Each correct match gives you 2.5 points. In total, you can earn 75 points from this section.
The grammar section has two parts. In the first part, you fill in 10 blanks in an email, choosing from three options for each blank. Each correct answer gives you 1.5 points. In the second part, you fill in more blanks in an email, but this time you choose from 15 options. Again, each correct answer gives you 1.5 points. In total, you can earn 30 points from this section.
You have 90 minutes to complete both of these sections. I didn’t have trouble managing my time here because reading stories in German had helped me get better at reading long texts.
In the listening section, there are three parts. In each part, you listen to audio and mark statements as true or false. In the first part, you listen to people’s opinions on a topic and mark 5 statements as true or false. Each correct answer gives you 5 points. In the second part, you listen to a long conversation and mark 10 statements as true or false. Each correct answer gives you 2.5 points. In the last part, you listen to 5 announcements and mark 5 statements. Each correct answer also gives you 5 points. In total, you can earn 75 points in this section, and you have around 30 minutes to complete it. Some parts are played twice, but others are only played once, so you have to listen carefully.
The final part of the writing exam is the actual writing task. You need to write a reply to an email, making sure to address four topics mentioned in the question. This is important, if you miss any of the required topics, you won’t get full points, even if your writing is good. You also need to use certain sentence structures, which you can find in the textbook. If you do well, you can earn 45 points for this part. This was probably the hardest part for me because of the time limit. When practicing, I found it difficult to finish the email in 30 minutes, so I knew I had to rush during the real exam. If I had more time, I think I could have written a better email.
As you can see, the two most important parts of the writing exam are reading comprehension and listening comprehension. If you do well in these sections, you can pass the writing exam easily. In total, you can get 225 points from this part, but you only need 180 points to pass (which means answering 60% of the questions correctly).
This part of the exam worried me the most because I didn’t get much chance to practice. The good thing about the telc exam is that if you pass the written part but fail the speaking part, you can retake just the speaking exam.
For the speaking exam, you have a partner who’s also taking the exam. I was paired with a middle-aged lady who already spoke German fluently. I thought she was probably just there to get the paperwork done. Before the exam, they place you in a room and give you papers for each part of the exam, along with a blank sheet for taking notes. You have 20 minutes to prepare your thoughts. While speaking, you need to use certain phrases that show your speaking level. You can find these in the textbook, and I found them really helpful, so I tried to memorize them before the exam.
In the first part, we introduced ourselves and asked each other a few questions. In the second part, we talked about a topic. Normally, you should be having a conversation with your partner, but my partner often spoke to the examiners and didn’t ask me many questions. In the last part, we were supposed to plan something together. However, my partner did most of the planning herself and didn’t give me a chance to speak much. Luckily, the examiners asked me a couple of questions to assess my speaking skills.
Because my partner was almost fluent in German, I felt like my speaking skills might not measure up. I was worried I wouldn’t get as many points compared to her. In total, you can get 75 points from this part. Similar to the other part, you need get 60% of the points to pass it.
Once you finish both exams, you have to wait at least 4 weeks to get your results. I took my exam at Hamburger Volkshochschule, and they sent my results by mail, no emails, so you’ll need to keep an eye on your mailbox. The exam cost me 148€.
To my surprise, I got the highest score, “Sehr gut.” It seems that, just like the written part, the key in the speaking part was understanding the material and expressing your thoughts clearly. Even though I wasn’t as fluent as my partner, I somehow managed to get the highest score in the speaking part. I was also happy to see that I got the maximum score in the reading section. It looks like all the time I spent reading stories and using my Wunderbar app paid off!
If you’re in a similar situation, I highly recommend getting the textbook from Cornelsen and studying it from start to finish. Also, try reading books in German and watching German TV shows. And of course, you can also use my Wunderbar app to improve your vocabulary. :)
Before I finish this long post, one last piece of advice: don’t overthink the exam. I also worried that I wasn’t ready for it, but in the end, I got the highest score. The exam is easier than you might think!
2025-05-20 03:32:00
I never used to be a coffee person. For the longest time, I only drank it occasionally, usually during a relaxed afternoon with friends, enjoying Kaffee und Kuchen after a walk. But at some point, probably influenced by the people around me, I got curious. What if I started having coffee every morning? Could it become part of my daily rhythm? Turns out, it did.
I knew from the beginning that I didn’t want to dive into something too complicated. That’s how I usually approach new things. I prefer starting simple. My approach is to choose something beginner-friendly, spend time getting familiar with it, and upgrade as needed based on what I like and don’t like.
With that mindset, I thought a capsule machine would be a good way to start drinking coffee at home. It seemed easy: just add water, pop in a capsule, and get your espresso. But there was one catch, I still can’t drink coffee on its own. It’s too bitter for me. So I also needed a way to warm up milk. In the end, I chose the Cafissimo Milk machine from Tchibo.
When it comes to capsule machines, most people think of Nespresso. But I’ve avoided Nestlé for years because of their business practices. That’s why I picked Tchibo instead, a local brand from Hamburg. But there was one big downside. Since Nespresso is so popular, many other brands make capsules for their machines. With Tchibo, you’re stuck with their own capsules, there are barely any other options. That turned out to be a major drawback.
Still, I found a brand-new, second-hand machine on Kleinanzeigen for 65€ (the regular price was 129€), and I started making myself a Latte Macchiato every morning. At first, I liked it. I tried almost every capsule they had, but in the end, the only one I really enjoyed was the Brazil blend. The machine heated up fast, and I had my coffee ready in seconds. Everything seemed fine, until the problems began.
The first problem I noticed was the amount of plastic waste I was creating every week because of the capsules. That really bothered me. I knew that if I were using a regular espresso machine, I wouldn’t be producing that much waste. Even though the capsules are technically recyclable, it still didn’t feel right. I also thought about separating the used coffee grounds and putting them in the bio trash, but that would’ve taken extra time and effort.
The second problem was the milk frother. It couldn’t heat up cold milk from the fridge properly. I had to run it twice just to get the milk warm enough. On top of that, cleaning it was a hassle. Even though the machine had a built-in cleaning function, it didn’t clean everything. Some parts still had milk residue, and I had to take them apart and wash them thoroughly to keep things hygienic. That was a lot of work for milk that wasn’t even hot enough.
The third problem was the limited capsule options I mentioned earlier. Even though I live in Hamburg and the company is based here, I still had trouble finding the capsules. My regular supermarket didn’t sell them, and the other store near me only had the “Barista” capsules, not the Brazil ones I liked. What also annoyed me was that these capsules didn’t give much info about the coffee. If you enjoy coffee, part of the fun is learning about the beans, where they come from, how they’re roasted, and what flavors they have. Tchibo just labels some capsules “Barista,” and that’s it. No details, no story. And to make it worse, the price of these capsules is almost the same as buying whole beans for an espresso machine, about 35–40€ per kilo. So you’re paying a premium for coffee you don’t know much about.
The last issue was the final straw. After a year, the water sensor on the machine stopped working. I contacted Tchibo support, and they told me I’d need the original receipt to get it repaired. Since I bought it second-hand, I didn’t have one. I explained this to them, but they still said they couldn’t help me. They wouldn’t even let me pay for a repair. The machine just became electronic waste. It was probably a simple part, something I could’ve replaced myself if they sold it. But they didn’t offer any way to fix it. That really frustrated me. If a company refuses to take responsibility for their own products, it’s hard to believe they care about anything else either. That’s why I can’t recommend Tchibo machines to anyone.
In the end, I was left with a broken machine and a bunch of unused capsules. I decided it was finally time to move on and buy an espresso machine. But first, I needed a way to finish the capsules I still had. Luckily, the second-hand market for Tchibo machines is quite active. I found a Cafissimo Pure on Kleinanzeigen and bought it just to use up the remaining capsules. Since I didn’t like the milk frother on my previous machine anyway, I was fine with this simpler model that didn’t have one. I started heating milk the old-fashioned way, on the stove, which actually worked better for me.
While I was wrapping up my time with the capsules, I began researching espresso machines for beginners. I knew it would be a more expensive path, but this time I wanted something that was built to last, easy to use, and repairable if anything went wrong. Of course, having a good espresso machine wasn’t enough, I also needed a proper grinder with similar qualities.
After some research and helpful tips from friends, I decided on the Sage Bambino Plus and the Baratza Encore ESP grinder. I’ll share my experience with this new setup in a future blog post, so stay tuned for that.
2025-04-25 17:15:00
I’ve been using my Apple Watch Series 9 for over a year now, and honestly, it’s one of the best choices I’ve made for my health. Before I got it, I wasn’t very active—I’d spend hours just sitting and working at my computer. But after getting the watch, I started moving more because of the activity rings. I even noticed my cardio fitness level go from below average to above average. I might write a separate post about how the Apple Watch helped me get fitter, but in this one, I want to talk about four really annoying problems in watchOS 11. Hopefully, someone at Apple sees this and fixes them in the next update, which should be announced in June.
One of the rings you need to close on the Apple Watch is the Stand ring. By default, you have to stand up for at least one minute every hour, and do this at least 12 times a day. I actually like this feature because I often forget to move when I’m deeply focused on work.
The problem is, it doesn’t always work right. The Apple Watch seems to only count it if your arm is hanging down, parallel to your body. So if I’m standing while cooking or doing the dishes, the watch doesn’t register it—even though I’ve been on my feet for 30 minutes. Then, as soon as I sit down to eat, I get a notification telling me to stand up. That’s frustrating.
Even worse, you can trick the watch into thinking you’re standing just by letting your arm hang while sitting on a chair. So the feature is easy to fool, but not reliable when you’re actually standing.
I hope the watchOS team can improve this so the Apple Watch can better detect if you’re really standing—not just judging based on your arm position.
One of my favorite features lately is NameDrop. It lets you share your contact info just by bringing your Apple Watch or iPhone close to someone else’s. It’s a really quick and easy way to exchange contacts.
For some reason, it doesn’t work properly on my iPhone. After I accept the contact, the Contacts app crashes and the new contact doesn’t get saved. Strangely, it works fine on my Apple Watch.
The annoying part is when my Apple Watch gets too close to my iPhone—NameDrop suddenly activates. I mean, why would I want to share my contact with myself? It seems like something the developer should’ve caught right away. But it looks like that part was either missed or ignored. So now, I’ll be watching something and suddenly feel a buzz on my wrist because NameDrop kicked in for no reason.
This seems like an easy fix—maybe even just a line or two of code.
When I’m using my MacBook and need to authenticate something, I usually just use Touch ID—it’s quick and right there. But for some reason, every time this happens, my Apple Watch vibrates to let me know I can also use it to authenticate.
That doesn’t really make sense. I’m already using the Mac, my hand is right there on the keyboard, and Touch ID is much easier. So why would I use my watch? It’s not just unnecessary—it’s distracting. This happens almost every time I need to log in to something, like when I want to access saved passwords.
It would be great if Apple could change this so the Watch only offers to help when Touch ID isn’t available. That way, I don’t get random vibrations every time I need to log in.
Last but not least, the Home app on watchOS has been so unreliable for me that I’ve stopped using it altogether.
I have a smart home setup, and I normally use my iPhone or Siri to control things like locking the door or turning lights on and off. But sometimes, I want to use my Apple Watch—especially when my phone isn’t nearby.
The problem is, when I open the Home app on the watch, it usually just freezes. It shows all my devices as “not responding” and doesn’t update. I wait over 30 seconds, but it still can’t load the current status of my devices, so I can’t control anything. And even when it does show the correct info, trying to do something simple like locking the door just triggers a loading spinner in the corner—and nothing happens.
It’s frustrating, because the Apple Watch should be perfect for these quick tasks when your phone isn’t around. But in this case, it just doesn’t deliver.
It’s no secret that the software quality on Apple devices has been slipping over the past few years. Based on the issues I’ve shared here, it really feels like the engineers at Apple either don’t use the Apple Watch as much as I do—or more likely, they just don’t have the time to fix these small but important bugs. Instead, they’re probably being pushed to focus on things like Apple Intelligence or other flashy features that look good in marketing but may not matter much to most people.
I’m really hoping that watchOS 12 will fix these problems, so I can keep enjoying my Apple Watch every day without getting frustrated by things that should just work.
2025-04-15 14:00:00
I meant to write this blog post on my 30th birthday, but I didn’t have the energy at the time, and there were still a lot of things I hadn’t figured out. Now that I’m turning 31, I want to look back on the last ten years. When I turned 30, I started to realize that some things in life can’t really be explained—you have to live through them to truly get it. So I’m writing this post not to give advice to younger people, but more as a record for myself. Something I can look back on when I turn 40 and see how far I’ve come.
Even though I was an average student, I never really liked going to school. Most of the time, I found it boring. Looking back, I feel like I wasted a lot of time there. In Turkey, the education system tends to reward students who are good at memorizing things—which I wasn’t. So I stayed average until I started studying Computer Science. That’s where things changed for me. What mattered there was understanding the topic, not memorizing it. The homework involved writing code and solving real-world problems. That shift made a big difference, and I ended up graduating second in my class with high honors.
Having a diploma (which I still haven’t picked up from the university) is nice, I guess, but I haven’t really needed it—except when I applied for the Blue Card in Germany. And now that the rules have changed and three years of work experience is enough, I’m not sure the degree itself matters all that much anymore. Don’t get me wrong—the things I learned were interesting, and I had some great teachers. But I’ve barely used any of it in my actual work. My summer internships after my second and third year had a much bigger impact on my career than all eight semesters of classes. That said, getting the Erasmus Scholarship was a big plus. It gave me the chance to do an internship in Hamburg, which later helped me move to Germany.
When I first came to Hamburg for an internship, my plan was simple: get some experience in Europe so it would help me find a better job back in Turkey. But I never got to that point—before I even finished my studies, I got a job offer and moved to Hamburg to work full-time at the same place.
I’ve always had high expectations, but living in Hamburg completely blew me away. The city and the people I’ve met over the past seven years have been amazing. I honestly fell in love with this place. A funny thing—someone I met recently, who had just moved to Hamburg, said I was the only person he’d met who didn’t complain about the weather. That’s how much I enjoy living here.
Hamburg taught me what I really want from a city. What kind of people I want around me, how I want to move through a city, how big it should be, what kind of political values it should have, and what kind of experiences it should offer. Thinking about all that, I realized Hamburg fits me perfectly. I can’t think of a reason to leave. It feels like the kind of place I could live for the rest of my life.
Another surprising thing was how naturally I fit into life here. Before moving, I had a certain idea of how I wanted to live—and when I arrived, I saw people here were already living that way. That made integrating super easy. In fact, many of the Germans I’ve worked with told me I’m “more German than most Germans.” That’s how well I clicked with the culture. Lately, I’ve been working on improving my German so I can enjoy life here even more.
Including my internships, I’ve had the chance to work at five different companies across a mix of cultures—Turkish, German, and Canadian. They also varied in size, and altogether, I’ve spent about nine years working (some of it part-time). These experiences have taught me a lot and really shaped how I think about work.
When I started out, I was very ambitious and enthusiastic. But over time, I realized that my energy didn’t always match the companies I worked for. That mismatch usually led to frustration. It took a while, but I learned that how much money I make isn’t the most important thing. What matters most is who I spend those eight hours a day with. It sounds simple, but it took me years to fully understand that.
At the companies I worked for, I met incredibly talented people. I learned a lot from them and I’m really grateful for that. But I also had to deal with toxic coworkers, incompetent managers or visionless CEOs, and those experiences showed me how much work can affect your mental health. And no amount of money is worth that kind of stress.
I used to wonder why some people stayed at the same company for five or even ten years. But when I turned 30, I finally got it. They stayed because they wanted stability. They liked the people they worked with. They were okay with where they were in life. For them, work was just work—something that paid the bills. And keeping that mindset helped them protect their mental health. You can hear someone say that, but you don’t really understand it until you’ve lived through it yourself.
In the end, I came to see work as just one part of life—not the whole thing. Earning more isn’t the goal anymore. What matters is finding a good balance, being around good people, and using your time and money to actually enjoy your life. At the same time, I can’t imagine myself working full-time, 40 hours a week, for the rest of my life. I’m honestly still surprised that this is seen as “normal.” There’s so much to explore and experience in the world, yet we spend most of our time working.
Of course, when you look at average working hours, Germany is one of the countries with the lowest numbers. So I guess people here already figured that out—which makes me think, once again, that I’m living in the right place.
This one’s a bit connected to work—I’ve come to realize that I spend about a third of my life in front of a computer. And with social media and everything else online, I’ve also noticed that I’ve become kind of addicted to being in the digital world. It’s started to bother me, especially because most of my hobbies, like blogging, also involve a screen.
This is something I really want to change before I turn 40. I want to step away from the screen as much as I can and start doing more things with my hands. I don’t think I want to spend the rest of my life staring at a monitor. Finding offline hobbies, getting into more physical or creative work, and being more present in the real world are all things I want to focus on in the next decade.
When it comes to hobbies, the one thing I’ve done consistently over the years is reading. Even though I’ve been reading a bit less in the past couple of years, I still managed to read over 300 books in the last decade. I honestly can’t think of another activity that brings me as much joy and satisfaction. I want to keep reading for the rest of my life.
Alongside that, I also started blogging again—though I’ve stopped and restarted a few times. Just this year, I made the decision to write more regularly, and I really want to stick with it. I also started a podcast with a friend, and this year we’re celebrating our fourth anniversary. Every two weeks, around 4.000 people listen to it, which still feels a bit surreal.
For most of this time, I wasn’t really into sports, and looking back, I think that was one of my biggest mistakes. In the last few months, I finally started to understand the importance of staying active. Sure, I was cycling around Hamburg all the time, but that never felt like real exercise to me. Last year, I got into bouldering and found that I really enjoy it. I also started hiking, which has been a great way to explore places on the edge of the city and nearby towns.
More recently, I’ve started strength training and running. I really wish I had started both much earlier. They’re not easy, but the feeling you get after a good workout is hard to explain—you just have to experience it. If there’s only one piece of advice to take away from this post, it’s this: do 20–30 minutes of exercise that gets your heart rate above 100 bpm. You won’t regret it.
Besides these hobbies, I’m hoping to add more that involve other people—something social, something shared. I’ve spent a lot of time doing things alone, and I want to balance that out in the next chapter of my life.
One of the biggest milestones for me at 30 was becoming a more tolerant, empathetic, and thoughtful person. Before that, I used to hold onto my opinions pretty tightly. I’d often think, “If you don’t see things the way I do, then you must be wrong.”
But over time, I realized that every single person comes from a different background. We grow up in different cultures, have different childhoods, face different challenges—and all of that shapes how we see the world. Once I truly understood that, I stopped being judgmental.
Instead of ignoring opinions that didn’t match mine, I started listening more. I tried to understand where people were coming from. That shift helped me connect better with people from all kinds of backgrounds. It also made me more open to changing my mind, admitting when I was wrong, and seeing that life isn’t just black and white. There are so many shades in between.
There’s no absolute truth for most things in life—only tradeoffs, perspectives, and stories that make sense when you take the time to step into someone else’s shoes. And I think that’s probably the biggest change I’ve gone through since turning 30.
Turning 30 didn’t suddenly make everything clear, but it definitely marked the start of seeing things differently. I’ve learned a lot in the past decade—about work, people, habits, and most importantly, about myself. I’ve made mistakes, changed my mind, let go of things I once thought were non-negotiable, and discovered new parts of myself along the way.
I don’t know what the next decade will bring, but right now, I feel grateful and genuinely happy with where I am. I feel content. I feel free—like I can do whatever I want with my life. Reaching 30 was a big milestone for me, and now, I’m looking forward to 40.
2025-04-06 14:00:00
I grew up watching cartoons on Fox Kids, like The Kids from Room 402, What’s with Andy?, and Life with Louie. In those shows, the kids my age were riding their bikes to school, which I thought was really cool. I had a small bike, but I mostly rode it in the park near my home for fun, not for getting anywhere. Later, after finishing fourth grade, my parents bought me my first real bike, a Bianchi. It was an awesome bike that lasted for many years until it was stolen. It had gears by the handles, making it easy to shift. Even so, I mostly rode it with my friends during the summer around my neighborhood. Back then, I don’t remember anyone riding their bike to school or work. There weren’t any bike lanes, and it felt too dangerous to ride on the streets.
But the idea of biking from one place to another stuck with me. Even though I couldn’t ride my bike to school, I thought that maybe when I was older and had a job, I could ride my bike to work. It took a while, but after moving to another country, I eventually made that dream a reality.
In July 2018, I moved to Hamburg. I had already done an internship here the year before, so I knew biking around the city was a popular thing. I even rented a bike during that time. So, two weeks after moving, I bought my first bike, a CUBE Touring One. It was a great bike for long trips, commuting to work, and more. I loved the freedom of riding my bike and being able to go wherever I wanted. There were places in Hamburg that cars couldn’t go, but bikes could. Then, COVID hit. After that, my friends and I started riding more for fun. That’s when I began thinking about what I liked and didn’t like about my bike, and I decided it was time to buy a new one. This time, I wanted more freedom, so I chose an e-bike.
After months of research, I decided to buy the Cowboy Classic e-bike in the summer of 2022. There were several reasons why I chose it:
Because of all these features, I decided to go for the Cowboy Classic. It cost me around 3.000€, and I pay about 100€ a year for insurance. But buying the bike wasn’t my only expense, as I made some adjustments along the way. But first, let’s talk about my overall experience.
If you want to buy a Cowboy bike, you can book a test ride to try it out first. I did that, and when I first got on the Cowboy, it felt like there was an animal under me just waiting to take off. Especially in the adaptive mode, where even a small push on the pedal makes the bike move forward. It’s a great feeling, and it also helps you climb hills without getting tired or sweaty. Unlike some other bikes where you need to press a button to activate the motor, this system is much more convenient.
Since I’m from Hamburg, I’ve ridden more than 3.000 km on the streets here. Hamburg’s bike infrastructure isn’t as advanced as some cities in the Netherlands, but it’s still pretty good. My experience is based on riding in this type of environment. One thing I had to change right away was the seatpost. My old CUBE bike had a suspension seatpost, so riding on cobblestone streets didn’t hurt. But with the Cowboy, I immediately felt the discomfort, so I switched out the seatpost. I’ll talk more about that in the accessories section.
Another change I had to make was the saddle. It just wasn’t comfortable for me. This might have something to do with my body, but since I usually ride about 10 km in one trip, I really needed to be comfortable. After changing the saddle and seatpost, riding the Cowboy became much more enjoyable. It’s smooth on the streets, easy to handle at higher speeds, and the brakes are strong enough to stop when you need to.
I’ve ridden the bike in heavy rain, strong winds, and even snow, and I didn’t have any issues. However, after riding more than 20 km, I started to feel some pain in my wrists. To improve this, I swapped the handles, which made it better, but I still wish the bike had a suspension fork to absorb bumps in the road. There’s now a version of the Cowboy with handlebars in a more comfortable position and suspension, which might help with that.
As for the range, it really depends on the season and the mode you use. I usually ride in eco mode, and in spring and summer, I get about 65 km per charge. In adaptive mode, it drops to around 45 km. In the winter, the range decreases by about 10-15 km due to the cold. So far, I haven’t had any problems with the range. When I go on longer trips with friends, I turn off the motor assistance to go slower since they don’t have e-bikes. I only turn the motor back on for the ride home.
One thing that really annoyed me was the bike’s front light. In Germany, there are regulations (StVZO) that require bike lights to be directional, but the light on the Cowboy isn’t. In the dark, especially on poorly lit streets or in parks, it’s not very useful. To fix this, I had to buy a better light, and having to charge it every time I want to ride is a bit of a hassle. This is the biggest issue I’ve had with the bike. While I could solve the comfort issues, the light is something I can’t fix without making significant changes in the bike.
Overall, aside from the points mentioned, my experience with the Cowboy has been fantastic. I no longer rely on public transportation, and the freedom to travel anywhere at my own pace is amazing. I never have to worry about waiting for buses or trains, and I can avoid getting tired or sweaty thanks to the motor assistance.
Riding my bike through Hamburg on sunny days or quiet nights is a real joy. There’s something special about cruising through the city when the streets are empty, and it makes biking the perfect way to get around.
I’ve had a few interactions with the Cowboy support team. The first time, while adjusting the handlebars, I accidentally broke one of the brake levers. When I contacted Cowboy, they offered to replace it for free. We set up an appointment, and someone came to my house to fix it.
The second time, I had a small accident and broke the part that hides the cables on the handlebar. I paid for the part, and they shipped it to me. I was able to replace it myself without needing any tools.
The third time, I had an issue with my back brake, and it was also time for my bike’s maintenance. When the technician arrived, he took apart the brake and said it needed to be replaced, but he didn’t have the parts with him. We set up another appointment, but after that, he disappeared. He stopped replying to my messages, which was a strange experience. Later, I contacted Cowboy, and they arranged for a different technician. When the new technician came, he replaced the brake and checked over the bike, but he didn’t seem to know I had purchased the maintenance package from Cowboy, and he wasn’t aware of what was included in that package, like cleaning the bike. I also realized that even though I had explained the issue beforehand, the technicians would still ask me about it when they arrived. Additionally, I learnt that the technicians are freelancers, not actual Cowboy employees.
After my last experience, I realized there was still an issue with my brake. Instead of reaching out to Cowboy again, I decided to try a bike shop listed on Cowboy’s website. I went there, and they replaced the brake pads, did a brake fluid bleed, and got the brake working properly. The cost was also lower than what Cowboy would have charged. From now on, I’ll probably stick with that bike shop.
I should mention that there might still be a small issue with the brake, but I’m not sure what it is. Occasionally, I hear a sound while riding, like the brake disc is rubbing against the pads. It might be a stone or something stuck in there, or maybe the tire is misaligned. Since it’s not happening all the time, I’ll need to visit the bike shop again at some point.
I never bought the Cowboy Care package because I think it’s overpriced. It costs 240€ per year. After riding 3.000 km, I’ve never had a flat tire, and if I did, I have the tools to fix it. The things that have cost me money are mainly the brake pads, which are 20€ for a pair, and brake bleeding, which cost me 30€, including labor. For that reason, I don’t see the need to pay 240€ per year for the Cowboy Care package.
I’ve already mentioned a few things I bought for my bike, but here’s a complete list:
I appreciate that Cowboy opted for an app instead of relying on a built-in dashboard on the bike. It’s easy to attach my phone to the bike with a Quad Lock mount, though that does mean switching to a specific case. One cool feature is that you can charge your phone while riding, and you can update the bike’s firmware through the app.
However, I’m not a huge fan of the app. I mostly use it for locking and unlocking the bike, occasionally adjusting the riding mode, and turning phone charging on and off. Beyond those functions, I don’t use it much, though I do like the Live Activity widget.
The main reason I don’t use the app more is that it relies on Google Maps for navigation. I stopped using Google Maps years ago, and even for iOS users, Cowboy is tied to Google Maps rather than offering Apple Maps as an alternative. Another reason is that I’m not too interested in tracking my speed or other stats constantly, so there’s no need to keep the app open.
My biggest frustration with the app, though, are the unnecessary notifications, especially while riding. Whoever came up with the idea for these needs to rethink them. First, there’s a notification about “dangerous intersections.” If I’m at an intersection, the last thing I want is to be distracted by my phone. Then, they added calorie burn notifications. Since it’s an e-bike, I’m not using it for fitness, so these notifications just felt pointless. Luckily, they later added an option to turn off these notifications, which I did immediately.
Another issue is with the auto lock/unlock feature. I started using it, but a few times while waiting at red lights, the app would lock the bike. When the light turned green, I couldn’t immediately get going because the initial pedal didn’t work properly. After this happened a few times, I disabled the feature. Maybe they’ve fixed it by now, but I still don’t trust it. If I leave the bike unlocked and the auto lock doesn’t engage, I can’t lock it remotely once I’m out of Bluetooth range. I’d have to go back to lock it manually, and leaving it unlocked could drain the battery unnecessarily.
Finally, this is a nitpick but there’s the issue with the app’s integration with the Apple Activities app. My rides are shown as “Outdoor Cycle,” but they aren’t saved as official cycling workouts. This means I miss out on earning cycling-related achievements. It might be an issue with Apple’s API, but it would be great if Cowboy could fix this. Sometimes, this also leads to odd behavior, like my Apple Watch suggesting I should start an outdoor cycle workout when I’m already riding. It’s not a constant problem, but it’s a distraction.
This turned into quite a long product review, but keep in mind I’ve been using my Cowboy bike for almost 3 years, so there’s a lot to cover! Overall, I’m really happy with my Cowboy bike and would recommend it to anyone looking for a quality e-bike. Even though there are newer models on the market, I still haven’t found an alternative that fits my criteria as well as the Cowboy does. I plan to keep riding it until it eventually wears out or until Cowboy releases a new model that addresses the issues I’ve mentioned here.
One thing I do wish Cowboy would consider is offering more upgrade options for existing customers, like a stronger, more regulation-compliant front light or a suspension fork for a more comfortable ride. For instance, after they released the Cruiser, I wondered if I could upgrade my handlebar to the one that the Cruiser has. A technician told me it was possible and would cost around 300€, but when I asked Cowboy directly, they said it wasn’t an option. It left me wondering if it’s technically not possible or if they just prefer that I sell my current bike and buy a new one to boost their profits. This kind of upgrades would allow me to extend the life of my current bike without having to purchase a whole new one. If they offered these types of upgrades, I’d definitely consider them.