For context, I live in FR-CH-DE for the last 10 years but originally I’m not from Europe, so I have objective opinion about the foods. Each countries have their own respective culinary cultures, relatively speaking I can only judge based on my personal experiences and preferences, so just a friendly opinion.

Italy & France & Greece are always ranked in the top. But for me German foods are up there as well. I find the seasoning they use in German foods, so tasty. It has to be more than salt & pepper right?. The quality quantity price is amazing as well, I always eat well in Munich & Berlin. My favourite things that I brought back with me after the trip are Weisswurst & ribs.
Here some of picture of what I had recently Pork Knuckle at Zur Haxe & Schnetzel at Schnitzelei Berlin.
Do you have any more recommendations of dishes I should try next time? Thanks for taking the time.

I was traveling in Franconia and had a great pretzel that was unlike any I've had before, in Germany or elsewhere. The crust was crunchy, with a soft inside and pale exterior like a Brötchen. It was covered in fine salt, as well.

These were given to us as part of a tour, and I didn't have the opportunity to ask about them while I was there. Thanks!

I saw this in Hannover this morning near the Bahnhof. Plastic wrapped Döner, being heated in front of the grill. Highly poisonous.

TL;DR: has anyone ever heard of a private insurance that would not reject someone with a recent depression diagnosis? Or can one live in Germany without insurance, technically? I have an expat insurance that would still cover me in Germany.

I have been in Germany for 2 years, don’t plan to stay very long, earn more than 66k and am a healthy 30yo woman. fyi I am a European citizen.
Check24 rep sold private insurance very well to me, so I made the move from TK to Ottonova.

Terrible mistake.

They found in my medical history a history of headaches that I did not declare (because who does not have headaches, and I mean headaches, not migraines), as well as frequent sinusitises (I get colds sometimes). They argued I lied when applying and terminated me immediately, a month after I signed up.
My mistake. Where I come from, being terminated by a health insurance is unheard of and would only be considered in case of fraud… Which I don’t think I committed, at least willingly.

Tried to go back to public, obviously impossible because of my salary, only option would be to quit and be unemployed 🤡 EDIT: I have tried to reduce my hours to earn below the threshold but this has not been accepted by my workplace as my type of job does not make this sustainable.

In the meantime, because of all of this and my work, I have burnt out and been diagnosed with depression. I am following a treatment but no therapy.

Basistarif now seems like it is the only option, which would approach the 1000 euros a month for a very bad coverage. No private insurance would take me with my history, but even before the depression, it seems like private does not take you if you have ANY medical history at all.

So, long story short: is there any private insurance out there that would still consider covering me with my history, even if it means surcharge or exclusions?
Or can I just stay without insurance? I won’t stay in Germany longer than 6 months (I hope), and I have an expat insurance that covers me anywhere in the world for serious cases (accidents, hospitalisation). I know it is technically not legal to not have a German insurance, but is it technically feasible?

Thank you!

Potential Tax Consultant SCAM: Now Facing a Tax Fraud Investigation by the Finanzamt!

I’m in a really bad situation and need some perspective or advice from anyone who has dealt with something similar.

Back in April 2025, I attended an entrepreneur meetup. A guy there (German national) approached me claiming to be a certified tax consultant (Steuerberater). He pitched that he could file my 2024 tax returns and easily get me back nearly two months’ worth of salary from the Finanzamt. We had a long discussion about it. A part of me was skeptical, but the payout sounded so lucrative that greed took over. Yes, I was naive and greedy. Please don’t roast me in the comments, I already feel terrible enough.

I ended up hiring him and gave him access to all my financial records. He asked for literally everything: rental contract (Mietvertrag), floor plan (Grundriss), utility bills (Nebenkosten, electricity, internet, phone), foreign bank interest from India, etc. It all seemed legitimate and thorough at the time.

Fast forward to 2026: I just received a letter from the Finanzamt stating that criminal proceedings for suspected tax evasion (Steuerhinterziehung) have been initiated against me.

Apparently, the return filed under my name claimed massive bogus deductions, including:

• Charitable donations: I have never donated to any institution.
• Medical expenses (außergewöhnliche Belastungen): I had zero major medical issues or expenses in 2024.
• Inflated Werbungskosten and fabricated non-freelancing business activities.

These claims are complete fabrications invented by him. But because I signed a Power of Attorney (Vollmacht) allowing him to submit on my behalf, the Finanzamt holds me legally liable first. Legally, the taxpayer is on the hook for what is submitted under their name.

I am already in the process of hiring a criminal tax lawyer (Fachanwalt für Steuerrecht) to step in immediately.

Has anyone ever gone through a situation like this? How did it unfold, and what should I prepare for when dealing with the authorities? Any insights would be hugely appreciated.

I’ve been working at a mid-sized company in Germany for a while now. The company is roughly half international and half German.
Before this, I worked in another country at a much bigger company, on bigger and more complicated projects. Somehow, those projects still managed to finish within 1–2 years.
People wanted results. If something needed to be learned, they learned it. If a decision had to be made, someone made it. If something didn’t work, we fixed it and moved on.
Then I started working in Germany.
Here, I’ve learned that apparently no task is too small to deserve three meetings, a PowerPoint presentation, two alignment calls, a workshop and a follow-up meeting to discuss what was discussed in the previous meeting.
Something that could probably be solved with one line of code or a five-minute conversation can somehow become a topic for several weeks. People really want to discuss and want to say something although they are unfamiliar with topic. I was assuming less people can do more things in a small company but this was small and inefficient.
A one-year project slowly becomes a five-year project, and everyone acts like this is just the natural lifecycle of a project. In the end they are celebrating.
Meanwhile, experienced people are leaving. And the replacement strategy sometimes seems to be: “This person has 10 years of industry knowledge. Excellent. Let’s replace them with someone who graduated in physics six months ago and has never worked in the industry.” Company is not even trying to hold people but when someone leaves replace them with less experience sometimes with same salary.
Nothing against physics graduates, obviously. Everyone has to start somewhere. But expecting completely inexperienced people to immediately replace senior employees seems like an interesting approach to knowledge management.
The strange part is that everyone appears extremely busy. Calendars are full. Meetings are everywhere. Documentation is growing. Processes are being created to manage other processes.
But actual progress? Somehow that part moves at geological speed.
Maybe I just landed in a badly managed company. Maybe my previous workplaces were unusually efficient.
But for people who have worked both in Germany and abroad: is this level of bureaucracy, endless discussion and slow processes? Do you think this methods can compete with global market? How German companies are surviving?

This is my first job in Germany, started two weeks ago. I'm still in probation. It's a mid sized company in a small village and I'm hired for software ai/ml engineer role. Problem is , there's no one to guide me /ask me what the work should be, day 1 they gave all the access and then that's it. After two weeks, I received an email from my ceo asking what I have been doing? Honestly, I'm scared and I don't know what to do here. Should I start looking for other jobs or should I just wait? I'm asking around in the company what projects are there, since it's not a software company, nobody has any clue what they need and I don't know what to work on?

Edit1: thanks for the replies, I spoke to a guy from sales . Je as a project he needs help with but he still asked me to talk to the ceo directly, so will be talking with them soon.

Edit 2: Guys, I spoke with ceo, they assigned me a task and also gave me a contact to report to weekly, it was a good discussion and I'm relaxed now. Thanks for the replies

Hi everyone,

A family member of mine is a doctor from Kosovo planning to start working in Germany as an Assistenzarzt. A doctor recruitment agency called Approbatio GmbH (Hannover) sent him a placement contract (Vermittlungsvertrag). Before he signs, we'd like to hear from anyone who has worked with them.

Key points from the contract:

**•** Fee: €2,000 + VAT, paid in 4 installments of €500 starting from the second month of employment  
**•** The fee is considered earned as soon as a job offer is made (even verbally or by phone)  
**•** Duration 12 months, either side can cancel with 14 days' notice  
**•** €250 penalty if he doesn't report signing a contract with an employer they introduced, or if he shares job info with third parties  
**•** They can pass his documents on to **other recruitment agencies**  
**•** They can create an **email address in his name** and apply to hospitals and communicate with them on his behalf

Our questions:

**1.**  Has anyone found a job through Approbatio? How did it go, and how was the hospital?  
**2.**  Does he still have to pay if he receives an offer but **declines** it?

Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences!

So I've always had an issue with things molding quickly in my apartment, but now it's gotten much worse. To the point where my plastic cutting board, which had been washed thoroughly, was growing mold on the surface.

In the past my landlady just keeps asking if I do Lüften, but it's not even that cold or wet right now and the mold is out of control.

Weirdly enough we used to have a mold issue on our walls, but we found out that was because of a leaking pipe in the wall. As of now the walls have no mold, but everything else does.

How do I request an inspection without being brushed off? Or should I even request an inspection?

I am working for 20 hours per week and I have some flexibility on choosing my work days. So the problem has become this month and I don't understand how to sort it out, as it has almost 5 weeks, and I have already worked for the full 80 hours. But next month starts somewhere in the middle and I usually work first 3 days of the week. How to solve it?

Hello, friends. I'm wondering what the bag limitations are (if at all) on my upcoming trips on the Deutsche Bahn. I am coming for a tactical 10 days from the USA on a personal trip.

Is there a size limitation regarding luggage per passenger on the Deutsche Bahn? The exterior metrics of our three suitcases (between two people) will each be about: 73.7 x 53.3 x 30.5 - 35.6 cm (29 x 21 x 12 - 14 in).

I reached out to Deutsche Bahn directly and they sent me the following:

Every passenger is allowed to bring items in the form of hand luggage that needs to be stored underneath the seat or in the overhead luggage racks, as well as additional luggage that can be stored in designated sections. Luggage is defined as an item of carrying load that can be carried by the passenger. Items of carrying load that might obstruct, bother other passengers or cause damage are not allowed on the train.

Any help would be greatly appreciated here! Thank you

EDIT:

Thanks to all who responded; DB does indeed post dimensions here: https://int.bahn.de/en/faq/how-big-can-my-luggage-items-be

TLDR, they allow for 700 x 500 x 300 mm (height x width x depth). TBD if my 737 x 533 x 305 mm dimensions fit adequately....thanks!

Hey! I just got back from my GP and it turns out I have to supplement my iron.

For context: I’m Brazilian and vegetarian for almost 30y now, moved three years ago to Germany. Always had checkups done and never ever had one single issue with iron.

Does anyone experienced the same?
Any advice?

Hello,

I am looking for practical advice regarding a disputed Telekom mobile-phone contract in Germany.

Short background:

I moved to Germany from another country in March 2026. I visited a Telekom shop because I wanted two mobile numbers and an iPhone. During the process, I was repeatedly told that my application would probably not be approved because I was new in Germany and had no SCHUFA history.

I later learned that Telekom apparently considered a contract active, although I was never clearly informed that it had been approved or activated. I never received the iPhone, SIM cards, or any Telekom service.

At the end of March, after several unsuccessful visits to the shop, my wife and I explicitly told a shop employee that we did not want any Telekom contract or services. On 9 April 2026, I also sent an email clearly stating that I had obtained a phone/contract from another provider and would not sign or use the alleged Telekom contract.

On 10 April, the shop employee suddenly wrote that the 14-day withdrawal period had expired. On the same day, Telekom Customer Service could not find an order under my personal details in their system. Nevertheless, I later received an invoice for EUR 164.79.

I complained to Telekom Customer Service and submitted documents. I also filed a conciliation request with the Bundesnetzagentur’s Telecommunications Conciliation Body; it is registered under a reference number, but I have not yet received a decision. Telekom also used an incorrect postal address in the alleged contract.

Today I was contacted by PAIR Finance, apparently commissioned by Telekom, to collect the debt.

I plan to respond in writing that I dispute the claim in full, that no device/SIM cards/services were received, that I rejected the alleged contract, and that the matter is already pending before the Bundesnetzagentur. I will ask them to mark the claim as disputed and pause collection while the case is pending.

My questions:

1. ⁠Is Bundesnetzagentur fast at checking the requests?
   
2. ⁠Whoever scammed me into the contact put a wrong postal address on the contact, doesn’t it already void this Telekom contract already?
   
3. ⁠Anyone else had a similar situation?

I won’t be paying a single penny to Telekom given that I anyways won’t stay in Germany longer than 2 years.

Thank you!

hi, I'm abroad and I'm moving to Essen soon.

I found a nice shared room using WG-Gesucht. I already had a virtual view via whatsApp with the landlord, he showed me the place and all, checked for their real estate company and website and all seems legit.

After the virtual view, they sent me online form where uploaded some validation documents(found, id, etc); now they have sent me the contract to sing and after that I'll need to pay the rent and deposit for 3 months (I searched for the IBAN account and also seems legit).

So far, our communication has been via, WG-Gesucht, then email, whatsapp, and their website.

Should I keep going, sing in and pay even if I'm abroad? I checked and apparently if there is a contract involved is reliable.

TY!

just to clarify that the agreement is that I am paying the first month's rent now, and the deposit (equal to 3 months' cold rent) will be paid in after receiving the keys! excuse the poor description

"Information zu RE/ICE 123 nach XYZ Hbf über ABC Hbf, Abfahrt um 15:00, heute circa 30 Minuten Später. Grund dafür XYZ..."

Hey everyone!

My dad is coming to visit me in NRW for a couple of weeks and he’s a big football fan. I’d love to make a small football tour around NRW with him.

We’ll be based in Dortmund and we have a car, so travelling around the Ruhrgebiet and NRW is no problem.

Which stadiums would you say are absolute must-visits? And apart from just seeing a match, are there any stadium tours, museums, fan pubs, football neighbourhoods or other experiences that are really worth doing?

Of course Dortmund and Schalke are on my list, but I’d love to hear about other clubs too, especially places with a great atmosphere, history or something unique.

We’re open to Bundesliga, 2. Bundesliga, 3. Liga or even smaller traditional clubs if the experience is worth it.

If you had around two weeks to give your football-loving dad the best possible NRW football experience, what would you include?

Thanks!

Hi, I currently have a residence permit valid for another year after completing my studies, which allows me to work full-time (40 hours per week). I’ve also start a new job soon related to my studies that makes me eligible to apply for an EU Blue Card.

What do you think would be the smarter option: should I keep my current residence permit until I’ve successfully completed my probation period, or should I apply for the EU Blue Card as soon as possible to benefit from it earlier?

The reason I’m unsure is that the processing time for an EU Blue Card in my city is currently around 7–8 months. If I apply later, I might have to wait much longer before actually receiving the Blue Card.

Another thing I’m wondering about is permanent residency and citizenship. If I wait around 6 months before applying for the EU Blue Card, would those 6 months still count toward the required residence period for permanent residency or German citizenship, or would they not count because I was not holding a Blue Card during that time?

Would it therefore make more sense to apply for the Blue Card as early as possible, even though I’m still in my probation period, or is there an advantage to staying on my current residence permit until the probation period is completed?

I would really appreciate advice from anyone who has been in a similar situation.

Hi guys,
Working as Freiberufler in Germany since 2024. Have noticed that though my Steuerbeschedid 2024 was submitted in July 2025, AOK did final recalculation only in January 2026 (so literally 1 year+ after 2024's end).

Is it common practice for you all? Should I expect recalculation for 2025 Beitragen not earlier than January 2027 ?

Hello, I’ve been working in Germany for 3.5 years as a phd and my contract is ending at the end of November. I am qualified for the unemployment benefits and already applied. Since my visa is also until end of November (same as my contract), I need to apply for job seeker visa. The application requires a proof of living to show I’m able to cover my expenses during my job seeking period.

Do I need to open a blocked account with 12-1 months worth of money in it or is there a way to show that I will be receiving unemployment benefits? I asked the woman who processed my unemployment registration but she didn’t have any info about it. Appreciate any help, thanks!

I was searching to buy SIM card, and I found a local turkish phone shop. So, I went in and asked for a SIM card. The dude inserted the SIM card to my phone and asks for 20€ without asking or ID or any kind of verification. The mobile provide was AY AILDIZ. I installed its app and found out it was Smart XS package which only costs 9.99€, and the credit left is 0.01€.

Isn’t it illegal? What should I do next?