I was able to find my apartment in one of the many Facebook groups where Erasmus students come together to form flat shares. I was able to spend my five months with three flatmates (2 x W, 1 x M) from France and one flatmate from Germany, which worked out really well. A note: It is customary to transfer one month’s rent to the landlord as a reservation. My apartment was from an organization called “Erasmus Life Budapest”, ELB for short. It organizes many events by and for Erasmus students in Budapest. They also offer apartments that are quite comfortable to live in. The monthly rent is between €250 and €350 depending on the district and size of the apartment. When looking for an apartment, you should favor districts 5 – 8.

My first few days on site were mainly about getting organized. In addition to enrolling and registering at METU, I quickly took care of my semester ticket, the ELB card, registering at the gym, getting to know the currency and the quickest routes to the discount stores.

But one thing at a time. The semester ticket costs a mere €50 for the entire five-month stay. This allows you to use all means of public transport, which run so often that it’s not worth trying to find out when the next metro/train/bus leaves. Especially if you are used to Paderborn’s public transport system.

The ELB-Card is a discount card from “Erasmus Life Budapest”. It gives you so many discounts that the one-off fees of around €14 are usually recovered after just one week. The offer for students is huge, so the card is definitely a must. With the card you can also get special conditions, for example at a gym chain in Budapest. I opted for four months, which cost me around €75. But everyone has to decide for themselves.

The lectures and seminars on site are all held in English, but this is compatible with the FHDW language level. The lecturers are very accommodating and are happy about the cultural diversity in their classrooms. In general, there are hardly any Hungarian students in the modules, so that contact is mainly made with other Erasmus students.

The lecture schedule allows for the odd weekend trip. Not only the flights with Wizz Air from Germany to Budapest are cheap (often 10 € from Dortmund), but also the flights from Budapest are inexpensive. I can wholeheartedly recommend membership of the airline’s discount club, which offers a number of advantages.

I’m not a globetrotter and I haven’t seen every city in the world yet either. But what I can say with absolute conviction is that everyone will grow fond of the city, whether for a short trip or a whole semester. The city itself is beautiful and can be admired from the many vantage points.

And the city has surprised me time and time again. In my first two weeks here, I was able to enjoy Will Smith’s free concert in front of St. Stephen’s Basilica and listen to Bryan Adam’s voice at the anniversary of a local gambling company. This is of course not an everyday occurrence, but it also shows that you can occasionally take part in events here that you will talk about for a long time to come.

The national currency in Hungary is the forint. One euro is worth between 320 and 340 forints, depending on the day. Changing money is overrated in Budapest, as you can pay almost everywhere with a credit card. Germany can take a leaf out of their book.

In Budapest you will find a number of typical German retailers such as Lidl and Aldi in particular, which have branches on every corner. But there are also Rossmann, DM, Penny and Spar, almost half of which sell products with German-language labels, just like the two previously mentioned. So you feel at home.

The local cost of living is significantly lower than in Germany. Regional products such as vegetables are much cheaper, while export products can easily cost double or triple the price.

Restaurants and clubs are also cheaper and the culinary and traditional street food is also suitable for those on a budget. Langosch, goulash or Monday visits to Morrison’s 2 (0.4 l beer €0.50) are a must.