Free wireless internet locations
eduroam (mostly around university buildings)
Somewhere to live (WG/Wohnung/Haus)
You will want to look for a ‘Wohnung’ (apartment) or ‘Wohngemeinschaft’ (WG, share house) or ‘Haus’ (house) in Goettingen which has a Postleitzahl (post code) 37073 or in Weende which has a Postleitzahl (post code) 37077. The MPS is at the North campus (Postleitzahl 37075) about 5 kilometres from the ‘Innenstadt’ (inner city). There is a high demand for apartments in Goettingen, it can be difficult to find one.
Here are some places to begin looking for something to rent:
WARNING: do not be duped by fraudulent advertisers who claim to be overseas and will send you a key once you wire them the deposit! They are ALL frauds!
Here are some of the key words you might be interested in:
Kaufen: to buy
Mieten: to rent
Moebliert: furnished - rare
Zimmer = room. Germans count the kitchen, living room and bedrooms
as 'rooms'. The bathroom is an extra room.
WG = shared accommodation
Blk = balcony
EBK = 'einbaukuche' which means the kitchen is included (as a rule, most apartments come without a kitchen, curtains or light fittings)
ruhige = quiet
kaltmieter = the rent for the apartment only
strom = extra $ for electricity
NK = nebenkosten which is an extra you pay each month to cover water & heating, sometimes including electricity
Kt = 'kaution' which is the bond you must pay, usually 2 months rent
ab sof. = ab sofort which is available immediately
Hausgeld: when buying an apartment, you have to contribute some money to the whole building for the council rates, maybe a gardener, a cleaning lady for the common stairs or something and repairs to the common building.
stock/etage = floor (grund/erde = ground floor)
dachgeschoss/penthouse = under the roof (top floor, usually sloped ceilings, if you’re tall this isn’t ideal)
kuche= kitchen
bade = bath
kuhlschrank = fridge
herd = oven
stein = stone
laminat = laminated
parkett = parquet
teppich = carpet
fliesen = tiled
schlafzimmer = bedroom
holz = wood
kamin = fireplace
Here are cheap places to furnish your apartment:
Ebay classifieds (kleinanzeigen)
Register in Goettingen
After you have found an apartment in Goettingen you have to register with the city council. Here is the form you have to fill out from the Stadt Goettingen. You will probably have to take your passport and rental contract for where you live.
Car (Auto)
You can buy a car from a dealer (there are many about 2km from the Innenstadt on Kasselerlandstrasse) or from a private person. Here are a few places to start looking online:
You can join Grunes Auto and rent a car for a few hours to a few days.
Driving rules are important at 220 km/h.
Driving licenses (Fahrschein) from some countries can be exchanged at the Rathaus. Otherwise you need to join a driving school (Fahrschule), pass some written tests (that can be done in nearly any language) and pass a practical driving test.
Bicycle (Fahrrad)
The best way to get around is by bike! Cheapest way to get one is to steal one from the Bahnhof. However, there are shops all over Goettingen which also sell new and second-hand bikes, here are only a few:
Bus (Bus)
A one trip ticket (einzelkarte) will cost 2.20 EUR. There are also day tickets (Tageskarten) and bunches of four tickets (Viererkarten) plus many more. Bus 21 and 23 goes from the Bahnhof to the MPS (Kellnerweg) and Bus 22 from the Judenstrasse in the city to the MPS (Kellnerweg).
German Courses (Deutschkurs)
University courses (only for MPS and University students/scientists)
Useful links
UniGoe guide for International researchers (highly recommended reading!)
The Local
Health insurance (Krankenversicherung)
You are obliged to have health insurance in Germany. Most of us who have public health insurance (private is only available to those who earn above a certain amount) go with TK and are pretty happy with them. You can go in and speak to them in English in the office in Goettingen.
Other insurance
It is also common in Germany to have an array of other insurances. Here is a sample.
- personal liability insurance (Halfpflichtversicherung)
- household contents insurance (Hausratversicherung)
- accident & disability (Unfallversicherung - may be paid by the employer)
- car insurance (Autoversicherung)
Common companies include VGH, HUK, Allianz, ....
Independent insurance and financial advice for expats Chamberlain & Roosevelt (recommended).
Airports
Frankfurt(Main) Flughafen has the most flights and is Lufthansa’s hub. Alternatively, Hamburg and Berlin-Tegel and Berlin-Schoenefeld airport are about the same distance away. The train takes between 2 to 2.5 hours to FRA, HAM, TXF, SXF.
Services
Doctor: Fr. Dr. Frauke Bokeloh (the doctor speaks English, but the secretaries do not)
Ob-gyn: Fr. Dr. Annette Suren (a little English), Fr. Dr. Poeschl (English)
Orthopaedic:
Physiotherapist: Rehazentrum (Vitalis NOT RECOMMENDED)
Paediatrician: Dr Ruhlmann (English)
Kindergarten: Cosmos Kids (at MPS)
Dentist: z17 (English), Dr Stahlmann (Deutsch only)
Emergencies/Sundays: Klinikum (English)
Hair dresser: Am Yachthafen Atelier fur Haarschneiderei (Burgerstrasse 49, good English), Chic-saal (some English)
Lawyer: Herr Breitenbach (English)
Tax consultant: Andre Sackmann (English, web)
Bank: default is Sparkasse Göttingen, although an online account from ING or similar could be better. Also Number26 is gaining traction.
DVD hire: Video-Film-Markt
Misc
Credit cards are often not accepted (in fact so far we have only managed to get ‘debit cards’ from the bank and not credit cards), so bank cards or cash is the way to go, although this situation is improving.
