Servus, Frankfurt!

Decho: Back in secondary school, I studied at a German school in Bulgaria where I took my final exams in both Bulgarian and German. I have travelled in Germany and attended an exchange and the German youth science competition Jugend forscht in 2019.

Fast forward to me being a university student. I saw that the University of Vienna had an Erasmus partnership with the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management – a highly respected private university in Germany, with a brand-new campus from 2017.

Unlike Vienna, students there have 24/7 access to the library, plus the school offered some interesting courses. I was also curious to see what studying at a private university would be like. Moreover, Frankfurt itself didn’t seem too hard to reach – just six and a half hours by train with three departures a day. And culturally, Germany isn’t unfamiliar territory for me, so I figured adapting wouldn’t be a problem. I didn’t exactly choose the school for the appeal of the city, but rather to deepen my knowledge of business administration. It was pretty much a no-brainer.

Decho: Another standout memory is that I made friends with some Mexican students, and a few of them continued their Erasmus in Hamburg after Frankfurt – we really bonded, and they made my Erasmus experience genuinely enjoyable.

Thanks to my past travels and events like the ones organised by EUSTORY, I’ve met loads of Europeans. But this experience connected me with people from all over the world – Canadians, Americans, Mexicans, Indonesians, Brazilians… It expanded my global perspective even more.

Decho: Erasmus Student Network organised a four-day trip to the Netherlands for King’s Day. That was hands down the biggest birthday celebration I’ve ever attended – it felt like a massive festival. I’d never heard of it before, but I got to experience something every Dutch person lives through every year. Everyone wears orange, the national colour. That’s the beauty of travelling: being part of another country’s traditions. Sure, you can always go to Amsterdam, but this was something else.

Decho: I’ve always considered myself adaptable, but this made me even more so – I learned how to grit my teeth and get through tough spots. I also learned how to stand up for myself. When I saw that tiny room with unwelcome bugs, I took the risk of moving in with someone I didn’t know. That flat-sharing situation is common in German-speaking countries, but I’d rather live alone. You never know if your flatmate will be normal, and even if they are, your habits might be totally different.

Frankfurt School has brand-new dorms that are surprisingly affordable. But the university’s housing office wasn’t helpful – they only offered 6- or 12-month contracts, which isn’t ideal for most Erasmus students.

Decho: The drive to study – students there are incredibly motivated and analytical. I grasped a unique atmosphere where you can devote yourself to mastering your business knowledge and work consistently to a successful career.

Decho: I missed the more indulgent side of Viennese life. But if it doesn’t come from your environment, you create it yourself – I’d grab my sunnies, sit in the sun and enjoy my coffee.

Decho: At first, there’s the bitterness from all the hassle, but then I remember how exciting it was at university, how inspired I felt to push myself. I got to see a different way of teaching. The networking, though short-lived, was intense and priceless. These are emotions and experiences I wouldn’t trade for anything.

I’d live in Frankfurt if close friends or family were there. But cities like Vienna are different – even if you’re alone, you’re never really lonely. You can go for a walk in a beautiful park, admire the architecture, and there’s always something happening.

Frankfurt is surprisingly compact – you can walk the entire city centre in about 30 minutes.

Many fellow students spent their exchange semesters in exotic places such as New Zealand or Singapore. Even though I had my exchange in a culturally similar country to my home university, this experience was still enriching. The memories I made are still living in my heart.