One of the scariest parts of moving or studying abroad is the sense of urgency that grips you when it comes to travelling within the city. If you are placed in a situation where you speak a bare minimum amount of the language and you are asked to get from point A to point B, the question arises of if you are even capable of such a miraculous feat. “You want me to go to grocery store, by myself?? USING THE TRAIN??” The first few days in any new place will always be like this and the time it takes to become accustomed after this initial culture shock varies from place to place. It is for this reason that I’m extremely grateful of German efficiency.
The public transportation system of Germany is a combination of trains and buses, known collectively as the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, and Der Bus. Immediately upon arrival in Berlin, the amazing teachers and TAs (which I cannot not stress enough how amazing the German department at Northwestern is and how I would not have wanted to go to another country with a different group of faculty) give you a pass that allows you unlimited usage of all public transportation within Berlin. When the scope of where you can travel initially seems overwhelming, Germans over complicate nothing. Within 24 hours you understand how every subset of the transportation works and you have this freedom of being able to go anywhere you want whenever you have free time. There is nothing stopping you and it’s just as easy as walking to the nearest Getraenkemarkt (or casual beverage shop).
(Don’t let the attached map scare you, that’s what we all did at first until we realized how straightforward actually being there was. Also, Gneisenaustrasse will become your best friend [if you’re living in CIEE that is])
