Today was the last day of my A2 course. It was overall a nice experience learning with three teachers.

In this course I got to learn a lot of grammar and many new words.

I am planning to learn further but after a short break. I’ll make my grammar topics perfect and then will go for the next course.

Here I met very nice colleagues and learning together was a fun!

Today on the last day our teacher Anni baked some cakes and together we enjoyed them.

While eating we had a nice conversation about the general experiences in Germany and everyone’s future plans.

I wish everyone luck and prosperous future!

Bye bye…

Swarali

I am born and brought up in India…a country with lot of diversity and billions of people. It was challenging in India to find my way due to tremendous competition everywhere.

Population is the main difference I notice in every aspect and in every field when I compare India and Germany.

Wherever I used to go everywhere there used to be queues and lot of waiting. While traveling in day to day life trains, buses used to be flooded with people.

Lack of discipline I used to notice at most of the places. Certainly there were lots of good things too! I used to live in Pune city which is known as an educational hub and used to enjoy city’s culture.

I moved to Germany at 33…the age where you are somewhat rigid with your opinions but I kept myself neutral and blended in easily.

I have lived in Munich since I came here and I really liked the people and the city. Punctuality and discipline pleased me here.

Here too local trains are crowded but not flooded like it used to be in my country…of course it’s because of the overall population.

In Germany, people respect someone’s privacy and behave accordingly. Women are also equally treated here and I adore it!

Only the challenging thing to live here is language….and I have accepted this challenge.

So right now India is there in the one part of my heart and Germany in the other!

Swarali

In this era of online shopping I still love to visit the shops and buy the things. There are many branded outlets in Munich. Marienplatz area is full of such outlets.

There are several malls in Munich and I love to spend my whole Saturday there sometimes.

Pasing Arcaden, Olympia Einkaufszentrum, Riem Arcaden, Pep mall are my favourites.

In pep mall there are two stores namely Kaufland and Primark where we get variety of stuff at reasonable price.

For good clothes one should visit C&A, Kik, H&M shops.

For branded cosmetics and perfumes Douglas shop is the best.

I like Mac brand for the cosmetics. These Mac outlets are almost there in every mall.

Thing I like about malls is there are play areas for children too so that they don’t trouble us much while shopping. Also there are many ice cream shops and eateries available.

In Germany and Austria one must buy the Swarovski jewellery. These shops are located near Marienplatz.

FC Bayern is world famous and its fan shops are plenty in Munich. Buying souvenirs from such shops are totally worth it!

In Munich, stations like Karlsplatz, Hauptbahnhof also have many stores for shoppers but I find them little bit pricy.

There is one small town near Munich… Ingolstadt. It’s very famous for shopping. All the designer outlets are there. No doubt shopping lover will enjoy shopping here.

So Munich gives you many options for shopping only the thing you must remember is on Sunday everything is closed in Germany.

So these are my insiders tips for shopping… happy shoppingJ!

Swarali

I have selected morning 8:30 to 11:30 class at Deutsch Akademie as my son goes to kindergarten from 7:30am to 2 pm.

So I wake up at 5:45… first of all prepare some healthy snacks for my son’s breakfast box. Then I make ready our lunch that is some vegetable Curry and Indian bread, as we return home very hungry in the noon.

After that I get ready to go out and leave home at 7:30.I take S-bahn from my place and reach karlsplatz station. It’s a 30 minutes journey. I reach Deutsch Akademie around 8:20.

Then I completely focus in the class and learn with full interest. We get a small break around 10am. At this time I take a coffee from vending machine and enjoy it chatting with my friends.

Till 11:30 again I pay attention in the class and once the class gets over, I go to the supermarket and buy some fruits, vegetables and grocery items.

Afterwards again by S-bahn I come to my place and go to pick up my son from his kindergarten. We come home and have our lunch.

Twice a week I take my son to Taekwondo class. So after that activity we come home. He watches TV and I do my homework.

Then again I start to prepare dinner. Around 6:30 my husband comes home and around 8pm we take our dinner together. We talk over many subjects and go to bed around 10pm.

This routine has made me completely busy… at times it’s too hectic but in return I am learning something which is useful for me! So I am happy for it.

Swarali

As Munich is cosmopolitan, all continental restaurants here we find in Munich.

I am a foodie and I like to try out different tastes. Only the thing is I am vegetarian so many a times there are only few options for me while eating out.

Still Europe is vegetarian friendly so at least you have few options.

I have not tried German food much… only pommes fries and Spargel soup I’ve tasted and of course breezel and butter croissants have become my breakfast buddies now…. just like German people.

Bakeries like IHLE and Rischart are my favourites. In IHLE bakery there is one sweet item called as ‘Erdbeerekörbchen’ which I like the most.

I am a coffee lover and I like my coffee with milk and Sugar. I tried coffee at many places in Munich and liked the most at Barista. Perfect cappuccino in the town! So I often go to Barista and enjoy my leisure time.

Amongst continental cuisines I like Mexican food, Italian food and of course Indian food.

I would recommend restaurant ‘Condesa’ for Mexican cuisines, restaurant ‘vi vadi’ for Italian cuisines. Both the restaurants are near to Hauptbahnhof. If anybody likes little bit spicy Indian food then should try ‘Madam Chutney’ Indian restaurant. The place is small but surely will not disappoint you!

If anyone wants some fast and cheap ‘to go’ food then there are many Döner and kebab selling places. These Turkish places serve one dessert called as ‘Backlava’… which should be tried once.

Apart from these I’ve tried many other restaurants but these are my favourites. As I am a foodie, still I want to go to many such restaurants and I am sure after some months I can recommend you few moreJ!

Swarali

Now I am learning A2.2 course. This is my 3^rd week of the course. In this level I’ve learnt a lot of grammar.

Passiv präsens, verben mit Dativ and Akkusativ, verben mit Präpositionen, lokale Präpositionen, modal verben in präteritum ….these are the grammar topics covered in this level.

We have also learnt to write a thank you card (Dankeskarte schreiben).

While learning the lessons from textbook I am coming across many new topics and learning so many different words.

Topic like how to form the questions is really important as per my opinion as we need to ask about something somewhere in day to day communication.

In our class we spoke about everyone’s weekend plan, what’s happening in Munich, about weather, about everyone’s future plans, school system in Germany etc. etc.

This not only improves communication but also the general knowledge about surroundings.

Still I have one week to complete my A2.2. No doubt in one week too I am going to learn many things, so right now I am revising the topics covered so far. I am glad I am attending the best german course in Munich.

Swarali

Munich has got a lovely location in southern Germany. Austria and Switzerland are the nearby and easily accessible countries from Munich. I travelled a lot to Switzerland and Austria while living in Munich.

Bavaria is also very beautiful to explore the places. I would like to recommend the top 3 places in Bavaria to students who come to Munich for just one or two months and like to explore the surroundings.

Neuschwanstein castle which is just 1.5hrs from Munich is very beautiful. Mountains behind the castle enhance castle’s beauty. This castle was a residence of King Ludwig II. It is built in a rock. Many people call it as a fairy tale castle. So this is the most visited castle of Europe.

One more amazing place near Munich is Königssee. Water of this lake is literally green like emerald. Here one should take a boat ride and enjoy the scenic Alpine ranges. There is one point during the boat ride called as an echo point where we can hear echo. So during the ride, at this point people play the music instrument and we get to hear its echo.

Third place I would suggest is Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Here is the Germany’s topmost Alpine pick- Zugspitze. One can go up hiking or with cable car. View and feeling on top are just amazing. One has to experience it!

Munich is such a happening city that there’s always something new to explore.

So those who like traveling and exploring surely will enjoy being in Bavaria.

Swarali

As I started learning German, I started liking it. Many words and pronunciations are similar to our ancient Indian language ‘Sanskrit’. I have learned Sanskrit for 5 years during my high school so German pronunciations are little bit easy for me.

I feel that if we read something we catch many words with its correct spelling and grammar.

So as a beginner I read some children’s books and get to know about few newer words.

For speaking any language proper hearing of that language is equally important. So whenever I travel in S-bahn or bus, I listen carefully to other people’s conversation… especially school going children’s conversation in between them. This is little bit funny but I do so…and am happy that I understand it up to 80 Percent!

My son goes to German kindergarten so he speaks and understands German well. So whenever he sees cartoons, along with him I also see it and the advertisements which come in between I listen  them carefully and practice my hearing part.

If I don’t understand any word then I ask my son and he tells me the meaning. So I’ve got a little teacher at home too!

Now the important motive of my German learning is to speak German.. so here in Germany it is a good platform to practice my German speaking. So whenever I step out of home I try my level best to communicate in German.

May it be restaurant, bakery, and supermarket or with the bus drivers or old people I speak only in German. Best part is, people understand whatever I speak and always guide me properly when I need help.

This gives me immense encouragement and I study more and more with boost!

Swarali

Berlin-the capital city of Germany is in the northern part of Germany. The city itself has got the terrific history from world war two. The former city was totally destroyed during war and now which we get to see is everything rebuilt.

Last weekend, me and my family were in Berlin for 3 days.

We went to see the famous TV tower of Berlin and the view from top observatory was awesome! After that we went to nearby Alexa mall and I enjoyed shopping there. Next day we took the boat trip through the river which was fabulous.

Berliner Dom is a must visit place. Interiors of the church are so nicely carved and painted that I couldn’t take my eyes off! They are meaningful too. I climbed up the steps and went on the top to enjoy the city view from top once again.

After that we went to see Germany’s parliament. To view it from inside one has to take appointment which we didn’t know. So unfortunately we couldn’t see it from inside. From outside I saw it and the hugeness and architecture amazed me! I satisfied myself only by clicking many photos.

Third important sight we visited was check point Charlie and wall memorial. It was little bit sad visiting it but for history point of view I visited it.

After that to cheer up the mood we thought to have a balloon ride but again it was a windy day and balloon ride was cancelled on that day. So we moved to mall of Berlin. It is such a huge mall that I couldn’t visit 1/4th of it! So many newer brands I could see there which are still unavailable in Munich. Time passed so quickly wandering in mall. There we relished very tasty Mexican food.

It was our last day in Berlin and we had our return train on the same evening so we had to hurry up.

So most of the famous places we covered in Berlin and returned happily to Munich.

Swarali

Even though it’s a spring time in Germany, the weather is very cold and windy these days.

Today morning it was 3 degree Celsius and everyone came to class wearing a winter jacket.

Co incidentally today’s lesson was about weather and our teacher asked us to write the words related to summer and winter. We found out the words as many as possible.

Then our teacher Anni asked everyone whether he or she likes summer or winter.

When it came to me I said I like summer in Germany as I like to go out, I like eating ice cream and days are longer in summer.

It was nice to hear about everyone’s opinion.

Then after the break we learnt about lokale Präpositionen in Akkusativ und Dativ.

For example:

In Akkusativ- Ich fahre an den see.

In Dativ- Ich bin an dem see.

After that we solved an exercise related to it and then played one game of sentence forming related to today’s grammar.

Day by day my vocabulary is increasing and my communication is also improving so am feeling happy!

Swarali