2025-06-14 18:00:00
Over the long weekend, thanks to Whit Monday being a public holiday in Germany, I decided to visit a friend who lives in Munich. I spent about three and a half days there and thought it would be a good idea to share my thoughts. I saw a lot during my stay, and since I live in Hamburg, I naturally started comparing the two cities. There are quite a few differences.
Before I go into the details, I should mention that I’ve been living in Hamburg for seven years, and this was my first time in Bavaria. Besides Munich, I’ve also been to Berlin and Magdeburg, but Munich gave me a very different impression. It felt worth writing about. I know German history and how divided the country used to be, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to see these differences. But still, I think people don’t talk about them enough. That’s why I think it’s a good idea to visit both Hamburg and Munich to really notice them. I’m not trying to say that one city is better than the other. This is just my personal take on what makes each place special. If you’re trying to decide where to live, keep in mind that I’m very biased towards Hamburg, so this might not be the most balanced view.
To understand the differences between Hamburg and Munich, I think it’s important to look at the history of both cities. When you visit them, you can really see how their past shaped what they are today.
The Wittelsbach family was a Bavarian dynasty that ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918. The blue and white pattern used in Bavaria today comes from the coat of arms of the Wittelsbach family. That light blue color is all over the city — you see it on the trams, street signs, and even on house number plates. Around the same time the Wittelsbachs rose to power, in 1189, Hamburg was given the status of a Free Imperial City by Frederick I “Barbarossa.” That made it an important trade city. If you check out Hamburg’s coat of arms today, it still carries the same style and the red color you see throughout the city, just like the blue in Munich.
So while Munich was ruled by a single dynasty for centuries, Hamburg was more independent and focused on trade. I believe this played a big role in how the two cities developed. A city ruled by one family means power and money were more centralized. That can lead to big, impressive projects, but it also means the city grows in the direction that one ruling power chooses. A free trade city like Hamburg, on the other hand, had power and wealth spread out among merchants. That means more voices in the room and more variety in how the city grew.
There are also clear religious differences. Both cities were Catholic until the 16th century, but during the Reformation, Hamburg became Protestant. You can feel that shift even today. In Munich, the churches are bigger and more detailed. In Hamburg, they’re simpler and more minimalist. When I visited the Alte Pinakothek museum in Munich, I was surprised by how many paintings were focused on the Holy Mary and Christ. Religion still seems to be part of daily life in Munich — you notice it especially when older locals greet you with “Grüß Gott.”
You can also see the wealth of the Wittelsbach family when you jump ahead to the 18th century and look at King Ludwig I of Bavaria. While walking around the city, his name kept coming up. From Ludwigstraße and Königsplat to the museums like the Alte Pinakothek and Glyptothek — many of these were created or shaped by him. The Egyptian artifacts at the State Museum also came from his personal collection. It’s hard to imagine these things existing without someone who had the money and the interest in art and culture. He also moved one of Bavaria’s oldest universities to Munich, which became LMU Munich. Today, it’s considered one of the best universities in Germany. I think it’s fair to say that without Ludwig I, Munich wouldn’t be as developed and rich in culture as it is today.
I also visited the Munich Residenz with its 130 rooms, where the Wittelsbachs lived, and the gardens of the Nymphenburg Palace, which served as their summer residence. I didn’t have time to go inside the palace, but the garden was beautiful. There were ducks, geese, and swans everywhere. The whole place felt very peaceful and well kept.
If I had to choose one word to describe Munich, I’d go with “wealth.” The wealth of the Wittelsbach dynasty and the way it shaped the city. That’s why I think you can’t really understand Munich without knowing this history — just like you can’t understand Hamburg without knowing about the Hanseatic League.
On the day I arrived in Munich, I went to the Isar River with my friend. I was really impressed by how clean the water was. Since it comes from melted snow in the Alps, you can actually see through the water — even the fish swimming inside. Maybe it’s not fair to compare it with the Elbe in Hamburg, but seeing such clear water was exciting for me. The flow of the river is also very fast. Of course, I should mention that the Elbe is much deeper than the Isar, so they are quite different in that sense.
After that, we went to the Englischer Garten. It’s a great place to walk, run, or cycle. It reminded me of Planten un Blomen in Hamburg. In the Englischer Garten, you can still follow the Isar River. Because the current is strong, it’s dangerous to swim there, but my friend told me that people do group activities like standing or sitting on logs and floating down the river. Sounds like a lot of fun.
I also visited the Olympiapark. If you go up the Olympiaberg, you get a great view of the city and see the Alps. It’s also a spot where people sometimes sit and listen to concerts at the Olympiastadion. The only thing that bothered me was the building with the O2 logo. I was surprised that the city allowed it. It really stands out and ruins the view a bit. I did a quick search and found out that after that building was built, Munich had a vote to stop any new buildings over 100 meters tall. I wish they could also do something about that building now.
From up there, you can really see how green Munich is. But while walking around the city, I also noticed several “naked streets,” as I like to call them — streets without any trees. These streets have buildings, sidewalks, and wide roads for cars, but no trees at all. That was a bit disappointing. I had the same feeling when I visited Stockholm. In Hamburg, this is less common. You can usually find trees on almost every street. I think this is really important because trees give shade and help cool the streets, which makes walking much easier. Even though it was only about 20°C, I sometimes felt really hot walking around in the sun.
Munich has many parks, but what makes it really special is the number of lakes nearby — like Starnberger See, Ammersee, and Tegernsee. You can reach most of them with just about an hour of train ride. You can also visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen and go up to Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany. Since this was my first time in Munich, I decided to stay in the city, but I’m already planning a second visit to explore those places.
Even though Hamburg has the beautiful Alster Lake right in the center, it doesn’t offer as many nature spots nearby that you can reach within two hours. But at least there are lots of forests around the city, and the North Sea and the Baltic Sea are around an hour away by train. That’s something you don’t get in Munich.
When it comes to museums, Munich has a lot more than Hamburg, at least in terms of numbers. The wealth of the city definitely played a big role in building up that collection. During my trip, I visited six museums:
One thing I didn’t know before buying the tickets is that some museums only charge €1 for entry on Sundays. I really liked that idea, and I hope Hamburg introduces something similar.
I also wanted to visit the Deutsches Museum, but since it’s quite large, I decided to skip it this time and focus on smaller museums so I could see more. I’ll definitely visit it during my second trip.
Even though Munich has more museums overall, I find the ones in Hamburg more interesting in terms of variety, at least for my personal taste. I’m thinking about places like Miniatur Wunderland, the International Maritime Museum, and Museum der Arbeit. In Munich, the paintings at the Alte Pinakothek were impressive from a technical point of view, but after a while, I got a bit bored — around 80% of them were focused on the Holy Mary and Christ. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the Residenz and the Egyptian Museum. They were more engaging for me and had a better mix of history and culture.
In general, I found Munich to be a very walkable city. The public transportation was also really good, and unlike Hamburg, it has a tram system. I actually enjoy riding trams because they move slower than the U-Bahn, so you can look around and see more of the city. On the downside, I find the tram noise and overhead cables a bit annoying. When I was in Lisbon, the noise from the trams there was awful, but overall I still think trams are an important part of good public transport.
There were two things about Munich’s transport system that surprised me. First, some train station escalators were double-sided. That means the escalator doesn’t have a fixed direction — when someone approaches, it starts moving in their direction, whether that’s up or down. I thought that was a pretty smart solution. The second thing was the buses with attachments. At first they looked strange, but I assume they add the extra section during rush hour to carry more people, and remove it later to save energy. That also seemed like a smart idea.
Aside from public transport, I felt Munich was a bit more car-centric than Hamburg. There were bike lanes, but not as many, and the ones I saw weren’t very noticeable. But I guess that makes sense, considering BMW is based in Munich. It was also the first time I saw those black-and-white striped prototype cars that car companies use for testing. Even without the logo, it was pretty obvious they were BMWs. The city also had a lot of long, wide streets, which I don’t like much. They’re harder to cross, reflect more heat, and just don’t look nice.
In terms of architecture, the city center had some impressive buildings — large and detailed. But the residential areas weren’t really my style. I think I’m just used to the brick expressionist buildings in Hamburg, which blend in nicely with the trees and feel more natural to me.
One thing I really noticed while walking around Munich was how crowded it felt. At first, I didn’t understand why — after all, Hamburg has a larger population. But then I checked the population density: Hamburg has around 2.600 people per square kilometer, while Munich has about 4.900. That explained the feeling. And if you also count the number of tourists visiting Munich, which is higher than in Hamburg, it makes even more sense. For me, this really matters. I don’t enjoy being in crowded places, and at times I felt a bit overwhelmed walking around. Luckily, the neighborhood where I was staying was calm and quiet.
One last thing I want to talk about is the food and beer. Some people don’t really like German food, but I’m not one of them. I actually enjoy trying different dishes. On my first day, I went to Haxnbauer in the city center and had Kalbshaxe (veal knuckle). It tasted really good, even though it was a bit expensive. Another day, I had Schnitzel at Andy’s Krablergarten, and I have to say, it was the best Schnitzel I’ve ever eaten.
When I drink beer, I usually go for Weißbier if they have it. Most of the time it comes in a bottle, but in Munich you get it fresh from the tap—and you can really taste the difference. I know there are a few good Bavarian restaurants in Hamburg, but after this trip, I think I’ll visit them more often.
Beyond traditional German food, I also had the chance to try something feels home. Thanks to a friend’s recommendation, I discovered a nice spot in Munich called Altın Dilim, which serves tasty baklava and other Turkish desserts. Most places that sell baklava in Germany tend to overdo the sugar, but this one struck a good balance and used good-quality pistachios. That said, I wouldn’t personally recommend their baklava. Instead, if you check it out, go for the Fıstık Sarma or Fıstıklı Kadayıf, those were excellent. One thing to keep in mind: the neighborhood where this shop is located felt quite different from the rest of Munich. So be ready for a bit of a cultural shift when you visit. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find a similar spot in Hamburg someday too.
Overall, I liked Munich. Even though it’s a German city, during my time there, it felt like I was experiencing a different culture compared to Hamburg. The number of museums and the natural spots nearby definitely made me think about visiting again.
Living in Munich also comes with some clear advantages. You’re close to places like Switzerland, Austria, and Italy, which makes it easy to travel. From what I know, big tech companies like Apple, NVIDIA, and Google have offices there, and the startup scene is much stronger than in Hamburg. So, if you work in tech, there are definitely more opportunities.
That said, because of the cultural differences, the car-focused layout, and the higher population density, I don’t think I would enjoy living there — at least not as much as I enjoy Hamburg. But who knows where life will take me.
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.