Bavaria, Germany. It takes about 4:30h by bus from Prague to get there or 3:30h by car.

I lived in both Erlangen (2 months) and Nuremberg (1 month).

Erlangen has a population of 120k people of which about 30k are students. It felt much smaller in my opinion as you can easily walk/cycle (almost) everywhere and it had a lot of greenery which was super nice, especially in the summer heat. If you are there in June, definitely go check out the Bergkirchweih festival as it is the second largest one in Bavaria (after Oktoberfest). However, except for that, there was not much to be seen or to do and I mostly spent my time travelling elsewhere.

I much preferred Nuremberg as it is much bigger and I never got bored of its beautiful medieval architecture.

If you live in Erlangen, definitely go visit Nuremberg, it's only 25-30 min by train. Apart from that, I would also recommend to go to Bamberg (also super close), Munich (including trip to the Neuschwanstein castle), Leipzig, Berlin (a bit further away but worth it for sure) or Lindau. I didn't like Stuttgart that much but that's also an option.

If you like nature you can visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen or go to the Frankonian Switzerland for a hike.

I worked at the Institute of Particle Technology at FAU. The labs were modern, safe and equipped with everything you need. I got to work with a lot of people there, which was super nice as I also got to know a lot about their research and culture (there are many international students).

I worked on special nanoparticles and my task was to find a way to tune their optical properties and make them more stable. This included techniques such as wet colloidal synthesis, extinction spectrometry and SEM.

My salary was 934€/month, which was sufficient, however, I got paid in only two instalments (1401€+1401€) during those three months so be aware you might need to have more money upfront to cover your expenses until you get your first salary.

I have B1 German and I didn't use it at all, the majority of people there speak English well.

The accommodation in Erlangen was provided by IAESTE and the cost was 290€/month. Don't expect much for this price, however...

There were many summer reception events in June, July and August (almost too many!) so I recommend you to come during this time if you can. Some of them are in the neighbouring countries too.

The other interns were all friendly and I am still in contact with some of them. Usually, our schedules were pretty similar, and we often met after work/during lunch.

If you like hiking and cycling you will definitely get along with the Germans well. As I mentioned above, Erlangen (and also Nuremberg) are bike-friendly and there is a lot to explore in the surrounding nature.

Spezi, spezi, spezi

and beer!

With EU roaming you can use your cellular data and everything at no extra cost.

Travel, travel, travel - Germany is huuuuge and there is a lot to explore. Get a Deutschland ticket or something if you can and be patient with DB!

Strong nerves to fight the German bureaucracy :D

I got to know new people from all around the world and their cultures, I also improved my English speaking skills and got to experience how it is to live in the biggest country in Europe.

10/10, everyone was super helpful