Life in Luxembourg: Working Life

Working Life

I very quickly found a freelance teaching position with Berlitz Luxembourg but a wage of 15 euros per hour is quite a challenge to live off in lavish Luxembourg. However, there is work there and you can build up a client list quite quickly as you are free to complete work for other language schools as well as offering private tuition which can help you build up a reasonable living.  Berlitz also offer total immersion courses, where in one week you can earn crazy amounts of money. I was fortunate enough to work one of these courses but do not get food poisoning the weekend before like me and have to call in sick for most of the week resulting in zero money! The staff are very friendly and it is a pleasant place to work. You can also exchange language lessons with other staff using the materials and classrooms for free, which is a definite bonus as language lessons do not come cheap!

 

Verdict

I would definitely recommend Luxembourg for both a two or three day visit and to live. It’s a very interesting country and the simplicity of the place is quite remarkable and quite frankly I love it, the main reason being that it is so easy to live there and you still get that cultural feeling of being abroad. It's not cheap, far from it, but it is worth the experience and I definitely learnt a lot there - mainly how to budget!

Life in Luxembourg: The Good and The Not so Good

The Good

So I lived in the lovely Luxembourg for a pleasant two months and it’s fair to say, with money at least, living in Luxembourg is relatively easy for any British person. You can walk the streets safely alone at night, get on any bus easily (if you get on at the back you can get away without paying, no one ever checks!) and still have a few home comforts such as McDonalds, Gallo wine, many British bars and not much of a language barrier. I occasionally went for a few alcoholic beverages and walked home alone at night and genuinely never looked behind once. It’s amazing how for a capitol city on a Saturday night, the streets are pretty much empty. I personally didn’t think this was a bad thing at all - just surprising, but a nice surprise nonetheless.  

On the flip side to the capital city, there's also an incredibly beautiful countryside surrounding it. Echternach and Little Switzerland are just some places bursting with beautiful countryside, such as waterfalls and high cliff tops which are ideal for summer camping trips and escaping the bright lights of the city.

 

 

 

 

 

The Not So Good

At the top of my bad points about living and visiting Luxembourg is that it is legal to smoke ANYWHERE - in bars, restaurants and shops, as well as any other public place. I really found this ruined a few casual drinks on a night out. Having to do your laundry and wash your hair after a night out because you stink of smoke is not fun for me. However a lot of bars have heated seats outside, such as the Japanese bar and restaurant Go Ten. Therefore even in the winter, it's the better option to avoid the smoke - somewhat ironically. So, if you’re a smoker then smoke away anywhere in Luxembourg. It’s the place for you.

 

Life in Luxembourg: In a Snapshot

In a snapshot

After completing the Cambridge Celta course whilst in Strasbourg in France, I found myself very quickly living and working in the ever so small country of Luxembourg. The first thing that struck me about the capital city (also called Luxembourg) is how clean it is; you really could eat your dinner off the floor and the high tax rate is definitely reflected in the up keep of its capital. If you enjoy the simplicities of life such as nice views, efficient transport and everything being within a ten mile radius, Luxembourg is worth a visit.

However, it is far from cheap in all aspects: living, socialising, eating and drinking are all very expensive in Luxembourg. There is no worry about a language barrier in Luxembourg though - they speak their native tongue of Luxembourgish as well as German, French and English, so if you can only speak English - like myself - "pouvez-vous anglais" is pretty much the only vocabulary you need whilst living in and visiting Luxembourg.  For that reason, I wouldn't recommend it if you would like to practice your foreign languages. Even though they speak four, if the locals see you’re struggling they will speak back to you in English.

Berlin: Where's my bag?

Night life

Berlin is famous for its night life, stag weekends, reunions and lad’s weekends, so I desperately wanted to experience this for myself.

I found myself at the Europa Centre and after a few pleasant and cheap drinks, I stood up to leave and my handbag had gone - not the best thing to happen on a night out anywhere, never mind one in a foreign country! My passport, purse and other valuable items had gone before I even had a chance to move onto the next bar.

 

 

 

 

Security came and spoke good English. They searched the place and called the police, who were quite helpful - but my handbag was gone forever. After searching the bins in the city centre for quite some time, I went back to my hotel minus a passport and all my money and credit cards.

The beauty of visiting a capital city is that your country's embassy will be quite nearby, which fortunately was the case in Berlin. The British embassy in Berlin is nothing special and has quite a rude female receptionist but it serves its purpose of providing you with an emergency passport.

I was, though, quite disgusted by the fact this cost 116 euros! I had a police report and everything and still had to pay this fee, even though I’d also had all my credit cards stolen. Thankfully the person I was with was able to pay for me. I left the embassy angry, minus even more money and with a lecture on identity fraud. They also informed me at the embassy that four bags had been stolen from the Europa Centre that month, and therefore to try and avoid it or, if you must go, to keep an eye on all possessions.

Now you’re all probably thinking, "Why have your passport with you on a night out?" The simple answer to this is that a couple of hours before I was at the Reichstag, which is a government building. As I mentioned previously, you need your passport to enter that building. Therefore my best advice is, if you’re going out after you’ve visited the Reichstag, return your passport back to the hotel before you do so!  

Verdict

Even though my bag was stolen, and I consequently spent many hours in the British Embassy, my trip to Berlin was absolutely fantastic! I felt that I learnt a lot about the history of Germany and soaked up the German culture. There is so much to see and it is very cheap compared to most capital cities.

Berlin: Tourist Stuff

Siegessäule - The Victory Column

· A definite must see. However if you’re terrified of heights, I wouldn’t recommend climbing to the top. The 25ft spiral climb reminded me a lot of climbing to the top of the Arc de Triomphe, only taller.

· Nicely located by the Tiergarten which provides a pleasant walk up to the Siegassaule.

·Three euros buys you small pleasant walk around a museum and, of course, the magnificent view from the top of the spiral. It is fair to say on a good day, you can see an awful lot; the Brandenburg Gate, The Reichstag and the TV Tower just to name a few. However, on a bad day, it’s incredibly cold, windy and the view becomes more limited 

 
The Berlin Wall (well, what’s left of it)

·  I really don’t know what I was expecting from The Berlin Wall. I really thought it would be a great expedition of, well, rubble. It turns out it is now pieces of walls scattered over Berlin with quite impressive graffiti. 

·  It is a definite must see when visiting Berlin. But don’t expect much because it really is just a display of graffiti and surprisingly not a huge display of history.

 

 

The Reichstag

· It's free, has a great view and the dome is, quite frankly, exquisite.

· I have never been in a building quite like it before and, for once, I was very interested in listening to the audio guide. As you walk up the spiral you get rather interesting history lesson, not only about the World War but about the architecture and politics of Berlin.

· It is a government building so you do need to present your passport to enter and queue for quite some time for a ticket.

· I highly recommend visiting at night - the lights of Berlin are simply beautiful and you get an even better view of the Brandenburg Gate.  

Berlin: A city full of history, new life and a bright future.

In a Snapshot

When I first booked a trip to Berlin, it’s fair to say I was very ignorant about the place; I knew it was the capital of Germany and that’s about as far as my knowledge went. However, the more I told people about my intention to make the trip, the positive feedback was overwhelmingly good which made me incredibly excited and curious about the place.

From arriving at the compact airport it was clear that the public transport system in Berlin is efficient and cheap. Never board a bus or a train without a ticket however - they check on a regular basis so you could be caught out.

Before leaving the airport I purchased the ‘Berlin Welcome Pack’, which is a transport ticket and a book of discounts. It set me back 35 euros for a five-day unlimited travel pass within two zones, excluding Potsdam. That's very reasonable, but if you’re going to stay central then I’d suggest walking to most places. Berlin’s not too big and there’s plenty to see as you peruse the city on foot.

The first thing that struck me in Berlin is the amount of space in urban areas. Considering it is a capital city there's so much room on the streets, compared to say London, for example. You can comfortably walk the streets of Berlin, day or night, and not have to fight your way through the crowds. Definite bonus in my eyes!

Another strikingly positive factor about Berlin is that it is CHEAP. Our first evening for two came to 26 euros - that included a beer, a large glass of red wine and a satisfying meal. Not an amazing meal but a very satisfying one nonetheless. 

 

 

 

 

Even though it is great to experience different languages, cuisine and culture, if you can’t speak any German then it makes even the simplicities of reading a menu quite difficult. Fortunately in Berlin a fair amount of people speak English and the menus often come in both English and German, so if you’re looking to practice your German, most people will see you’re struggling and speak back to you in English.