MOIN! AND WELCOME TO WILHELMSHAVEN=)

In January 2012 I decided to go to Erasmus exchange in Germany. There I had three options – Berlin, Heilbronn or Wilhelmshaven. I have chosen Wilhelmshaven. Yes, Wilhelmshaven. And what was the reason for that decision? Well, that is a good question. First of all, I love to meet new people. Second, I love to travel. I have never been in the north of Germany before and I have always wanted to experience it. The next thing, the location of Wilhelmshaven city could not be better. City is somehow »in the center«. With good transport connections you can reach Hamburg, Hannover, Bremen or Netherlands (Amsterdam, Gröningen) in a short time. Another Erasmus students here asked me why didn´t I choose Berlin, because Berlin is of course Berlin, a very popular place to be. But my answer was clear. I have been in Berlin once, but i found it too big. For Germany in general I have decided because of the German language. I have always wanted to improve it, and I must say you really can improve it here. 

I am doing one semester as an exchange student in Jade Hochschule Wilhelmshaven, or in English Jade University of Applied Sciences. Faculty is very well organized and offers many different programme  not just Tourism Management. Therefore many students study here. It is also many international students, especially Chinese  Teaching methods here do not differ from ours in Turistica. Some lectures are effective, they give you a lot of knowledge, some not. Tourism programme is very business oriented here, most of available English courses here too. But if you are prepared to study in German language, you can find a huge variety of courses. On courses everyone can be enrolled. That means, there is always discussion  you can tell your opinion. Working in groups is also popular. Lecturers here are on time, typical for Germans. What i found really good here, is tutorium. Tutorium is a help, that one student give it to other students. It is organized like a lecture, beside the main lecture of selected course (but not at all lectures, mostly just the difficult ones). It is really good idea to go there, especially if you have problems at course. The big differene I have noticed here is learning in a group of 2-4 people. This way of learning is extremly popular here and also effective. Attending the lectures here is not a must. There is no sign up list, no obligatory homework to do. If you are there or not, it is a your choice. But most of the students are attending the lectures regularly. I would say most of them take studying seriously, the reason can also be a tuition fee they have to pay, which is about 700 euro per semester. 

Wilhelmshaven is a small city. It has 80.000 inhabitants. And it really is one of smaller cities in Germany. »For me it is actually quite big, it is almost like Maribor our second capital«, I said. I arrived here on a beutiful Saturday afternoon, and of course I got lost. There was a lot of people on the street and I was the only one with lots of lagguage. When I was looking at the map, immediately someone came to me and showed me the right way. Now i am here more than 4 months and I can say people are very friendly, it was not just the first impression. When I was walking along the street, I was also impressed by the small, modest, but very nice houses like in a movie. I wish I could live there during my studyJ. Remember, on Sunday all shops are closed. Other days shops on the street usually open at 9 or 10am. I was also pretty sure before I came here, that the city is multicultural, which is typical for all Germany. And I was right, you can see many immigrants living here. Be enrolled when you come here, say »Moin« (it is a typical greeting for Niedersachsen) instead »Hallo«. Bicycle is a very popular mean of transport, everyone has it, so I guess you also have to rent it. Believe me, it is very practical. 

Wilhelmshaven is located by the north sea. I imagined beautiful sandy beach mmm, but instead of that it is a kind of stone and a grass, where you can lay down and sunbath. Dont get me wrong, it still does look niceJ Especially in summer there is lot of tourists. The coast is called »Südstrand« and is one of the top places you have to see when you arrive here. There you can take a looong walk by the sea, the place is also perfect for jogging. In summer it is warm enough for swimming. If you like fresh air, another posibility beside Südstrand is Stadtpark, where you can do a lot of sport activities (cycling, jogging..). If you prefer indoor activities, there you can find fitness, gym.. There is also a big indoor swimming pool. Nordsee passage is the first thing you will see when you arrive here (if you come by train/bus). It is like a small shopping center. Other good possibility for shopping is Marktstrasse, where you can find more shops. 

If you go to Germany, you have to try bratwurst and beer. You can find many different sorts of sausages and also a very good local beer, for example Jever, Becks, etc. Potato is also very popular. In Wilhelmshaven there is no special offer for students, except mensa at university. There you can find cheap meals, usually they offer 3 different meals per day. For the whole meal the price is around 3,50. There is also caffeteria with sandwiches and some other warm food. In the city you can find restaurants/caffe with daily offer. The portions are big and the prices are reasonable. I recommend Hempels (bratwurst with pommes 2,90., Auflauf 3,90 euro) or Böll ( for ex. tasty Spaghetti for 3 euro). In the city you will find so many other cheap restaurants, for ex. China or Tai restaurant.



During my Erasmus I am staying in CVJM (Christlicher Verein junger Menschen - Wilhelmshaven e.V.), this is some kind of student home, meant for foreign students. Almost all Erasmus students live here during the exchange, you have a single room with common kitchen and bathroom in every floor. The rent is 215 euro/month. Beside CVJM you can also stay in a student home Wiesenhof, it is cheaper, but I think you have to stay there at least 6 months. In Wilhelmshaven you can also find apartments  the prices vary lets say from 180-300+.


Every week (on Thursdays) during the semeseter we have a student parties. Party is every week in other club. At the beginning and at the end of the semeseter is always a big party. The prices for alcohol drinks are similar as in Slovenia. You can get a good beer for 2 euro up to 5 euro. If you are looking for a party during the weekend, you can go to Fun, Beat Club, Kling Klang.. You can find some good bars if you want to have drink. But in general, Wilhelmshaven is not a party city. So if you are looking for parties all the time go to Spain or Berlin.:)

Transport connections are pretty good in Wilhelmshaven. Usually there is a train to Oldenburg (nearest city) every day all day, but at the moment there are some rail works, so you can take the train from December to end of February only. Other months there is a bus instead, every hour. From Oldenburg to other cities you take the train. Around the Wilhelmshaven you can drive by bus. During the week every 20 minutes. And what is a really good thing, all the students have semester ticket. You only have to pay 191 euro for one semester and you can drive anytime with trains/buses in whole Niedersachsen region (you can go to Hamburg to!) and in Wilhelmshaven around (for ex. to school).

Standard here is comparable with Slovenia. Prices in markets are similar, some things can be cheaper. For a reasonable price you can find good accommodation  like I have already mentioned. But yeah, if you want to go to Hamburg, or some other cities it can more expensive. 290 euros of Erasmus scholarship is not enough to live here, luckily there is also a help from »public fund«.

I must say it is a really good experience to go to Erasmus and I don’t regret it at all! I hope I will stay one more semesterJ

Please just contact me, if you want to know more about unforgettable Erasmus in Wilhelmshaven!!! 

Neža Ribnikar

Contact email: ribnikar.neza@gmail.com