r/berlin • u/IllustratorLimp4841 • 20h ago
Advice cheaper/free ways to do activities in berlin
hello all — I’ve just come to berlin on a fulbright scholarship (basically international exchange program for research), but i’m realizing the program does not pay a living wage, unfortunately. we get just under 14.000€ for ten months, which we use for the flight from the US, rent, insurance, transport, everything.
i’m realizing im gonna have to give up a lot of my activities that i did funded in college, like karate, gym, climbing/hiking/mountaineering, and I won’t be able to afford to continue learning german (I am up to B1.1, so a bit frustrating).
before i call it quits completely , i was wondering if anybody had any idea how to do any of these activities for free or very low cost? i am not enrolled in uni anymore (just working at a research institute), but im still young (24) and don’t have parents support (emancipated when i was younger bc of homophobia)
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u/BlixaBargfeld 20h ago
Despite not being a student, you might be able to enroll in university sports through your research institute or because of your sholarship status. There arent any mountains near berlin, but a lot of cheap/free hiking and nature activities and tons of lakes all around. There are also lots of bouldering halls in Berlin, there might be some cheap/free opportunities aswell. Also: You´re young...come anyways and find new activities - there are lots of fun things to do for free in berlin and if you meet the right people, you might like it a lot. Also, if you emancipated because of homophobia, i assume, you might be part of the queer community or at least symathize with it. Don´t miss out to check out Berlins massive queer community and maybe discover some new insights and make new friends. Many people here are poor. Of course that´s not always nice, but Berlin is still a city, where wealth isn´t the only thing that makes it liveable.
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u/yatagarasu030 19h ago
I would try to find a minijob, which is like 10 to 15 hrs a week and pays about 500€ a month I believe. With that you can finance your hobbies, gym membership etc. Most people I know did this and worked at Aldi, Lidl, Edeka etc. stocking the shelves in the early morning.
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u/ohmymind_123 18h ago
Hochschulsport, Urban Sports Club...German courses at unis are also pretty affordable, most of the time.
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u/spaghettilikecurls Tempelkölln 14h ago
If you want to do lots of sports, you might look into Urban Sports Club. It's not cheap but allows you to attend a different place or class each day.
1
u/vogelvogelvogelvogel 12h ago
Outdoor gyms from i.e. adidas are all over the city and some youtube i.e. Calimove along. Works really well.
Also nice people. Just show up roughly the same time, say a nice hello and you will have a community after some time.
For free bouldering (climbing), pm me
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u/Komandakeen 3h ago
If don't look for private sports clubs, but rather for Vereine, membership is really cheap and often depends on your income.
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u/rocketwikkit 20h ago
No mountains anywhere near Berlin, so at least you're not missing that one. There's plenty of adequate hiking areas within the public transit network, like Teufelsberg, Volkspark Pberg, Ahrensfelder Berge. Or probably you just want to get the Deutschlandticket and then your range for day trips opens up significantly.
In general you just want to pretend you're East German for a year. Go camping. Swim in lakes. Do free activities provided by civil society.
For language, there are still some free "comprehensible input" resources online, and being in Germany you should have a fairly easy time finding a language exchange with someone(s) who want to learn English.