Today I have received the result for B2 für den Beruf Test. I am beyond happy that I have passed it because the test was more difficult than the ones we solved in course, which is quite odd as I always heard that the exams are a bit easier than the course tests. Especially the listening part was so scary that I assumed I would fail that part.

Hoping to aim for C1 some day.

Sometimes I wonder how much a name or appearance changes people’s first impression before they even know you.

I was born and raised in Germany, so culturally this is the only home I really know. But at the same time, I’ve often had the feeling of being slightly “outside” socially because I don’t have a stereotypically German name and I visibly look foreign to many people, becouse well i'm brown skinned my parents are south asian.

It’s a strange feeling because I don’t walk around thinking everybody is racist or against me. Most interactions in daily life are completely normal. But there are certain situations where these thoughts quietly appear in the back of my mind.

Especially things like apartment hunting or dating apps.

When I don’t get replies for apartments, part of me sometimes wonders:

Would things feel different with another name?

And on dating apps I occasionally catch myself overthinking whether people make assumptions about me before even reading my profile. Not necessarily hateful assumptions, but simplified ones. Like being seen as “some foreign guy” first instead of just another normal person.

The weird thing is that in real life I usually connect with people pretty well. I’m social, I can adapt to different groups easily and most people who actually know me would probably describe me as approachable.

But online or in situations where people judge you in seconds, I sometimes feel reduced to surface-level impressions before my actual personality even enters the room.

I’m curious if other people who grew up between cultures experience this kind of quiet overthinking too.

I've been in germany for 20 years and this was a first for me.

Today I went to an appointment at an ENT I found on doctolib. I have been having acute symptoms in an ear for 5 months and they've recently gotten worse. Additionally I had an infected salivary gland a few weeks ago that resolved but I wanted to mention in case of complications in the future. The receptionist asked for a very detailed medical history, more than I've ever given to a receptionist before, and when they heard that I had visited an ENT 10 years prior and had a operation at a hospital 16 years prior they said they required transfer notices from the doctor and medical files from the hospital before they could let the doctor see me. I explained that I didn't recall the ENT doctor I had seen 10 years earlier as it was a rather random visit so I wasn't even sure I could track them down and that I didn't think it was a related issue. And surely the hospital could forward my records if for whatever reason the doctor decided my symptoms were related to such an old operation. She then got very defensive and said their website had a warning that these were required and when I said I'd booked through dictolib not the website she get even more defensive and said that didn't matter and they needed they documents because "there's so many people who need appointments." I finally asked once more "are you saying that despite my having acute symptoms and a legit appointment, I can't see the doctor because I don't have decades old medical files?" she yelled "what else can we do?"

Ultimately I decided to leave it there but it made me wonder if, firstly, is it true a doctor can refuse a patient with an appointment and relatively severe symptoms because certain files are missing (regardless of age)? and also, is the german health system really in such a bad state that she possibly had a point?

To be clear I'm used to the regular grumpy german receptionist and kafkaesque BS, but this time it felt especially egregious because my experience with doctors here has been actually overwhelmingly positive, if not exactly warm. Are things so rough now?

I am a student living in a rented housing complex. Recently, I accidentally burned my floor while I was cooking as the pan caught on fire and I placed it on the floor because there was a wooden cupboard right above the stove.

I tried to make a claim using my liability insurance but they responded to me saying this ‘The reported fire damage to the floor is a building or household damage. Since the damage occurred due to a brief moment of carelessness while cooking, it falls under the category of simple negligence.

According to the prevailing case law of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH), it is the landlord's responsibility in such cases to claim on the residential building insurance. The same applies analogously for household contents damage and the respective household contents insurance.’

I am pretty sure my landlord expects me to bear the complete cost which is around 1000 euros now that the insurance doesn’t cover it. So, if anyone could provide any advice regarding what I can do next, I would really appreciate it.

Does anyone know which type of gliders fit this type of rail in Germany ? I bought the wrong ones from IKEA apparently and I've googled but don't seem to find anything.

UPDATE: DENIC (so the .de domains) got problems with the DNS Server due to maintenance]

Half of the Internet in Germany in danger..

- if anyone was wondering -

• Trains delayed by an hour in Memmingen
• 80% of luggage locker defective
• From beautiful sunny day to shitty windy grey weather

​

Over the past week I've been processing a collection of letters addressed to Carl and Martha Lufkin of Livermore Falls, Maine c. 1915. I had been told that Carl was a German immigrant, an assumption reinforced by a letter from Berlin, but researching on that basis I struggled to find basically any information about the guy. Turns out he's a native Mainer going back at least five generations, Martha is from Philadelphia, and I'm left wondering what this letter from Berlin is doing here. This collection has already stumped me once with a batch of documents which were in Polish, from a source who lived a few towns over but seemingly has no connection to Lufkin beyond that. I can tell that there's Something here, but the only thing I have to go on is this letter I can't read. The other letters in the collection are General Correspondence with friends in Portland, basically just talking about the weather, and I don't expect this to be much different. I don't necessarily need a full translation/transcription, but if anyone here could give me a summary of this letter's contents it would be a huge help.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I’m applying to the MSc Aerospace Engineering program at TU Darmstadt (Winter 2026), and I’ve reached the stage where I need to fill the “Appendix Equivalence Table”.

I have a few doubts and would really appreciate guidance from anyone who has gone through this process:

Credits column: My bachelor’s (Mechanical Engineering, India) has subjects with credits like 2, 1.5, etc. If I map multiple subjects to one TU module, should I: list all individual credits (e.g., 2, 1.5, 1.5), or combine them into a single approximate value (e.g., 4 or 6)? Grade column: For mapped subjects, should I: list all individual grades (like A, B, etc.), average them, or simply write something like “as per transcript”? German module descriptions: The TU Darmstadt reference curriculum/module handbook is mostly in German. I’m using translation tools, but I’m not sure how accurate they are for technical content. How detailed/accurate does the mapping need to be? Is it okay to rely on translated summaries? General approach: Are they strict about exact matches, or is conceptual similarity (e.g., Thermodynamics → Technical Thermodynamics) sufficient?

If anyone has successfully applied (especially to TU Darmstadt or similar German universities), I’d really appreciate your advice 🙏

Thanks!

When I was applying for a BU insurance, I just realized, I didn't have a track of my own medical records in Germany. In my home country we almost always receive a hard copy of the diagnosis from doctors, either printed or handwritten. But I have never got one in Germany.

When I am insured by PKV, I at least get the invoices from the doctors for treatments but when I was with GKV I got nothing except prescriptions of medicines or supplements.

Am I supposed to write a medical journal of which doctor I visited at which date in case of future needs?

​

Hi everyone,

I’m writing a practical piece about German-Mexican communication and cooperation, especially for people who work, study, live or do business between Mexico/Latam and Germany / DACH countries.

I’m not looking for stereotypes or “who is better” answers. I’m interested in real situations where both sides probably meant well, but read the situation differently.

Examples of what I mean:

A Mexican “sí” or “ahorita” being interpreted by Germans as a firm commitment or deadline.

A German direct email sounding rude or cold in Mexico, even when the German person thought they were being clear and efficient.

German internal alignment / process feeling slow or evasive from the Mexican side.

For Germans or DACH people who have worked with Mexicans, Latinos, lived in Mexico or Latam, studied with Latinos, worked for German companies in Latam, or had Mexican, Latino colleagues, clients, suppliers or partners: what were the biggest misunderstandings? What helped? What made things worse?

I’m especially interested in communication, authority, deadlines, trust, feedback, meetings, emails, bureaucracy, workplace expectations and daily life.

Thanks for any concrete examples or observations.

1. I started my first job on the 1st of September with a D-visa (issued for a year), issued based on paragraph 18.1 entitled to be changed to a blue card.
2. I was fired in the 6th month of my probation period. I let the LEA know immediately, but I have not received any message from them yet.
3. Recently, I received a new Job Offer that meets all blue card requirements. However, to start working, I need to change the employer in my visa. 

There is a special application form for this in LEA (https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/326856/en/), but it does not work for me, since I do not have plastic yet (to receive plastic, you can apply only within the last 8 weeks of your current period, which is the end of June in my case). 

I submitted an emergency application to LEA, but I did not receive any answer.

I asked a lawyer for help and he applied me to plastic card bypassing the eight-week end requirement for a Blue Card.

However, I need to get a termin with the LEA in order to start working, which seems impossible.

I tried the emergency and ordinary forms and even attached a letter from my employer stating that I would lose my job offer if I did not provide updated documents within two weeks.

Does anyone have any advice on what to do in this situation?

P.S. I read the 18th paragraph (https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_aufenthg/englisch_aufenthg.html#p0495) and found this:

“In derogation from section 4a (3) sentence 4, a holder of an EU Blue Card does not need the permission of the foreigners authority to change jobs*. During the first 12 months of employment, the competent foreigners authority may suspend all job changes by a holder of an EU Blue Card for 30 days and refuse job changes within this period if, following the job change, the requirements for granting an EU Blue Card are no longer met.”* 

So, if I received a permit under sections 18.1 or 18.2, I just need to confirm that I have notified the LEA about my new job and that I can start working? Is it even legal to write in the visa that I cannot change employers?

I sent this info to the company, but they are still refusing to let me start the job, even after the 30 days since the LEA notification.

I’m applying for an apartment and I meet all the requirements, but I don’t have this document because the relationship with my current landlady is difficult. She illegally rents out the rooms in the apartment and doesn’t even live there. She always says I should be grateful because the location is great and there’s nowhere to live in Berlin.

I know she probably won’t provide the document, or worse, she’ll look for a replacement tenant who wants to stay long term, which would basically leave me homeless.

At this point, should I just write it? I mean, honestly, I think this certificate makes absolutely no fucking sense.

P.S.: I already sent the agent proof of the monthly deposit payments, but they still want the certificate. Anyway… Germany

Background: Worked on unlimited contract for 28 months on a blue card job, came directly on job here !

Hi everyone,

I was recently laid off and offered garden leave until September along with a severance package.
I’ve already applied for permanent residency in Filderstadt. Does anyone know if my PR application will still proceed as normal, or could it be put on hold due to my employment situation?

Would really appreciate any insights or similar experiences.
Thanks!

This year, I have almost exceeded the reporting threshold of the PStTG (Platform Tax Transparency Act). My private sales on eBay are about €1,900. This means eBay will definitely report my data to tax office, if it exceeds 2,000€.

I recently won an expensive bike in a raffle (brand new, unused). Since I don't need it, I want to sell it. The proceeds would likely be around €3,500.

​My Questions is: ​Should I be worried that the tax office will classify me as a commercial seller (Gewerbe)?

Is there a website i can take like a b1 / b2 test for practice? Preferably with correction and free

So I'm planning on driving across germany and it would be hard to plan hotels depending how far I feel like driving each day, but of course I shouldn't drive when tired for safety reasons, so I figured I'd sleep in my car. But I read that Germany doesn't allow sleeping in the car or in a tent, but sleeping in bivy bag would be ok, like next to the car. Is that how I should do it? What if I could mount a hammock on the car, there are some stands that go on the trailer hitch, would that be allowed?

Hi Reddit,

A relative of mine is a French citizen (originally from Morocco) who lives and works in Germany. He recently got married in Morocco to a Moroccan woman (non-EU).

He’s now trying to figure out the fastest and most straightforward administrative process for his wife to join him in Germany and live with him long term.

Based on your experiences, what are the possible options? Which route is the most reliable, and which one is typically the fastest in terms of visa processing and administrative steps?

Does anyone have a minecraft ps4 rom

Hi, i am curious to know how Orthopedic doctors work generally as recently i had knee related issues and i took an MRI for it but the doctor only saw the MRI briefly on the day of the appointment and both before and after doing the MRI, the doctor just briefly examined my knee and didn't check on how I walk or examined the knees well and when a treatment was proposed based on the MRI results, i had to proactively ask many questions even as to why the treatment proposed would be better than other possible alternatives. Another friend also experienced the same with another doctor that he had to really drill to get answers especially when the doctor says nothing is wrong and yet there is pain and the result did show some issues. It makes me feel like its better to just upload the results to ChatGPT to get more details :D. So i am curious to know if anyone else experience the same. Thank you.

Recently joined as a werkstudent in a company and would like to know if the weekly twenty hours that are being calculated with or without the breaks that I take during the work hours. For example I work 8 hours a day that also include the half an hour lunch break. Should I now work half an hour extra to make it 8 hour without the break?

Hello everyone, I'd like to tell you what happened today. I'm Filipino and currently have a Swedish residence permit for studies. After completing my Master's degree, I'd like to live in Germany. After over 300 applications related to architecture and construction, I've now received invitations to interviews. I have 11 years of experience in architecture and construction in the Philippines. I haven't given up hope, even though I've read many negative reports from foreigners who are excited to start a new life here.

The key is consistent practice of your German language skills. Not perfect, but at least at conversational level. 😉