Imagine having this right outside your window or balcony every day. I honestly don’t think I’d ever get tired of it.

Who are the lucky people living here? 😭

Are there any so called posh cities in Germany, where you see a lot of people with very high standards of living, big houses, stylish cars etc.. I don't mean something on the level of Monaco or Dubai but maybe like Singapore, LA, London etc... ofc some shady or bad areas are in every city but instead those cities are known for being posh. I immediately thought of Munich but I'm not sure.

Edit - Many have said düsseldorf, now I am curious what puts düsseldorf there? As I googled online it's 6th-7th largest city of germany

Hello, I live in Germany and have got a beautiful balcony. I really love the traditional German balcony style where the balcony boxes are full of beautiful blooming flowers that spill and trail over the railing. I have attached some images fir reference. I am total beginner and have never had a plant in my house but i want my house balcony blooming with flowers. I am looking for guidance so that i also can have a blooming balcony all year round. My questions are very silly so please bear with me.

• When should I start? When is the right time of year to start planting balcony flowers in Germany? Should I buy seeds and grow them myself, or is it better for a beginner to buy ready-grown/flowering plants from a Gartencenter and put them into my balcony boxes?
• Which varieties flowers last for longest time?
• What happens when the flowers stop blooming in autumn/winter? Do you cut the plants back? Do you leave them in the balcony boxes?
• Do people bring the plants inside for winter?
• Do the same plants survive winter and go back outside in spring and flower again? Or is it more normal in Germany to replace the plants every spring and buy new ones?
• If I want my balcony to look nice throughout the whole year, what would you plant for spring, summer, autumn and winter?
• Are there flowers/plants that can stay outside over winter and come back again the following year?

Can anyone identify this church or know its history?

I never looked carefully what AFD was proposing before. It looks way scary than I thought.

E.g

Under the AfD, the children of refugees would be placed in separate classes to convey the message that "their stay in Germany is merely temporary" and prevent "various ​stresses" on the other children from being around different cultures.

Children with disabilities would also no longer be ​taught in the same classroom as those without, instead being sent to special schools.
Schools would be banned from flying rainbow flags, ‌with the ⁠German national flag raised daily instead. The national anthem should be sung by students and staff at school celebrations.

The AfD would also push to restrict access to puberty blockersf and gender-affirming hormone therapies for children and ​adolescents to counteract what it calls an increasing "trend" towards gender dysphoria”

Question is how much they can do at state level?

Hi everyone, I work at a fast-food chain in Germany (I’d rather not name the company), and something happened today that left me feeling pretty awkward. I’d especially like to hear from Germans about how you would interpret this situation.
A woman came in with her son. She ordered a menu for her son, but for herself she ordered a burger and fries separately. She was asking me about the prices and seemed surprised by how expensive everything was. She said something along the lines of “Oh my God, that’s expensive” and asked how much a menu would cost etc.
I actually agreed with her in my head because a small burger and fries is quite expensive in the place where I work.
Then, somewhat impulsively, I offered her a free drink. At work, employees can have drinks and I don’t really drink Coke/Sprite anymore, so in my mind it was just a small friendly gesture. I wasn’t trying to imply that she couldn’t afford her food or anything like that.
My German isn’t very good yet, so I couldn’t explain myself properly. I basically managed to ask if she wanted a free drink.
She said, “No, thank you, I don’t need it,” which was completely fine. But then she looked at her son and made what seemed to me like a cringing/awkward facial expression. The whole interaction suddenly felt uncomfortable, and now I’m wondering whether my offer could have come across as insulting, like I was pitying her because she had complained about the prices.
So, especially to Germans: How would you interpret this if you were the customer? Is offering something for free in this situation considered strange or potentially offensive in Germany? Or was it probably just an awkward misunderstanding?
I genuinely meant it as a friendly gesture, but I’d like to understand how it might have sounded from her perspective. I am a girl by the way.

Hey everyone! :)
I’m moving to a new apartment in Bonn, around 4–5 km from my current place, and I’m trying to figure out the easiest/cheapest way to move everything.
I don’t have much large furniture to move, so the only thing I’m really worried about is my washing machine. 😅
The situation is:
Current apartment: 2nd floor, no elevator
New apartment: 3rd floor, but there is an elevator
Distance: around 4–5 km
I’ll have a couple of friends helping me, so we mainly need to figure out how to safely get the washing machine down the stairs and transport it.
Does anyone have experience moving a washing machine themselves? Any tips for getting it down two floors without damaging the machine (or ourselves 😂)?
Also, if anyone knows of cheap transporters/van rental services in Bonn, I’d really appreciate recommendations. Since it’s basically just the washing machine, I don’t want to spend a fortune on a professional moving company.
Thanks in advance!!

I was travelling on an ICE from Hamburg to Cologne and sitting alone in one of those six-seater compartments.

I went to the toilet for a few minutes and left my bag there. My laptop, charger and power bank were inside. Luckily, I came back pretty quickly and saw a guy in the compartment. I immediately noticed that my bag was open, even though I had left it closed.

When I confronted him, I discovered that my laptop, charger and power bank were in his bag, which was full of bottles. I couldn't completely understand what he was saying, but he claimed that he was going to take my things to the "Büro."

I managed to get my belongings back and took a few clear pictures of him before he left.

I'm still on the train and I'm going to speak to the train staff about it. I'm also thinking of reporting it to the Bundespolizei.

Has anyone had something similar happen on an ICE? Is it worth making a police report even though I managed to get everything back? And does anyone know if there are cameras inside ICE trains that the police could check?

Definitely learned my lesson about leaving my bag behind, even if it's only for a few minutes.

Update: I saw the guy again on the train and tried to warn other people about what he had done. Once I reached Köln, another guy approached me with a bag he had found that belonged to someone else. He suspected that the same guy had stolen it. We both reported everything to the police there and showed them pictures of him.

Ps: i just modified the original post because chatgpt missed one very important detail before.

I have been working as a software developer in a company for 5 years. My contract has always been permanent and full-time (40 hrs/week).

I'm embarrassed to say my language skill is still very basic. I have tried many times to properly start studying German language, but soon after, I lose motivation. On top of that, all the full-time courses in my city are either in the morning or in the afternoon. There are none in the evenings.

If I reduce my working hours for a year to properly study the language, how will it affect my health insurance contributions? Will it affect my permanent residency?

​

​Hi everyone,

​Has anyone transitioned from a standard Work Visa (or Blue Card) to the new Opportunity Card while actively receiving Arbeitslosengeld 1 (ALG 1)

​My work visa is coming up for expiration while I'm on ALG 1. My main questions are:

​Does the Agentur für Arbeit continue paying full ALG 1 once you switch to the Opportunity Card?

​Does the Chancenkarte satisfy the "availability to the labor market" (Verfügbarkeit) requirement for ALG 1, or does the Agentur für Arbeit treat it differently than a job seeker visa ?

​If anyone has gone through this exact transition recently or spoken with the Agentur für Arbeit / an immigration lawyer about this, I’d really appreciate your experience!

Thanks in advance!

I just moved into a furnished apartment and saw mold all along the windowsill and on two walls. The landlord mentioned that the previous tenant didn’t ventilate properly causing the mold and wallpaper degradation. The landlord also mentioned that he had the mold on the windowsill inspected and at the moment it’s not possible to get rid of the mold (i’m assuming it means the windows need to be replaced). I am concerned because I have asthma and i’m sensitive to mold. The landlord told me to wait it out till the winter to see if the mold gets worse before attempting to come up with a solution. I’m new to Germany and want to know if his plan for mold is normal or if I should push for a solution sooner. I’ve attached pictures for reference.

To all residents of Saxony-Anhalt: Don’t forget to vote today!

I find the latest polls alarming. Over 40% want a party that opposes everything that benefits so many people in Germany:

• Free travel across European borders
• Collective bargaining agreements, meaning high wages for many workers
• Minimum wage
• Taxation of the ultra-wealthy
• Skilled workers from abroad

Instead, the AfD wants to give tax breaks to the super-rich, which doesn’t benefit the middle class at all. And it’s precisely this middle class that apparently votes for them. I can’t understand that.

And on top of all that, there’s the racism and hatred this party stokes, the embezzlement of taxpayer money, the lies—all of that as well...

Hey everyone, need some advice on the Blue Card situation. I'm currently living in Darmstadt and just signed my contract for a remote job starting February 2027. I'm still a student and enrolled at the uni here until January. Since my job is remote, I can move to another city before I get stuck in Darmstadt forever (even for blue card application one waits 6-7 months and even more). What's the smarter move ; apply for the Blue Card here and then relocate, or wait until I move to the new city (Bonn for example i heard it has faster application processes )and apply there? Also, is there any way to speed this up by telling the Ausländerbehörde in advance that I already have a contract? Like, can I somehow get the Blue Card ready to go as soon as I start the job in February? Anyone been through something similar? Thanks!

Hello everyone, I would like to know if you have to take the job when you apply as a job seeker with Agentur für Arbeit and you receive a job offer ? Because I already have a job but I just want to register just in case I lose mine.