Worst case scenario | Your first travel to Germany | What will you do?

My last article was about the Best case scenario of what could happen, when you land in Germany. If you had missed it then, here is a link (Best case scenario).Let me simulate the worst case scenario of what could happen and it is just a word of caution to prepare yourself for the worst.

Disclaimer: Nothing of this sort will happen to you, but the below scenario is an excerpt from my observations and experiences

Worst case scenario:

Assumptions: Your semester intake: Winter | Your destination city in Germany : Dresden | Your landing airport: Frankfurt | You have got Rail&Fly offer along with your flight ticket | Your student buddy has agreed to pick you up from the railway station.

You started to apply for the winter intake only in the month of March, hence most of the top courses are already way past their deadline. So you settle for some mediocre course and start with all the process of blocked account, VISA, etc., The D-day has come for you to leave to Germany and you try your best to stay positive, so that your parents do not worry much about your departure. You wish everyone goodbye and enter the airport to check-in your luggage. To your surprise, you have more than two kgs of excess luggage and the airline representative is asking you to pay up for the excess baggage. You have no other choice than to pay for it, so you end up paying 5k INR for two kgs. Then leaving behind everything, you peacefully board your flight to Frankfurt.

Since your delay in getting your admit letter, you couldn't find anyone to accompany you from your home country; so you are standing alone in Frankfurt airport waiting for your luggages to come. Frankfurt is one of the biggest airport, yet you are alone in a whole new place. The only satisfaction are the English sign boards that helps you with navigating across the airport. All of a sudden, you realize that one of your bags is missing and all your travel documents, laptop, cash, etc., are in that bag. You go on looking for it and remembering where you'd have lost it, on the way you meet some other people from your home country and they help you to search for your bag. But, all efforts end up in vain; you don't have any other option than to goto the airport police and lodge a complain. So that, you can use it for your travel and id purposes.

After the bitter experience in Frankfurt, you collect some money from your new friends and book a bus to Dresden, but the bus station is at another terminal and you have to catch a tram to go there. As soon as you step out of Frankfurt airport, you experience the november weather of Germany at around 5 degree celcius. You quickly zip up your jacket and get into a tram and catch your bus to Dresden. Fortunately, you had WiFi access in Frankfurt and called up your student buddy, who was able to direct you and help you out.

The busses in Germany are equipped with WiFi, so you call everyone back home to explain your situation. After you get down at Dresden, your student buddy is already waiting there to receive you. You keep all your luggage in his room and run to the nearby police station to report your situation. The irony is that, the policemen do not understand English and that is where your student buddy helps you out. Then they give you a copy of your complaint and along with your complaint from Frankfurt police, you can get yourself registered in Dreden and in the university. But, you should also notify the embassy and apply for a duplicate passport, which might take around 3 months for you to receive it.

If you are an Indian national, then in case of emergencies you can contact Indian organizations. Check out this link for Top 5 Indian organizations in Germany you can contact during Emergencies

On the whole, you need to be very careful and always be prepared for everything. So that, you will know what to do next and not sit and sulk. Follow us in facebook for more info and updates - Unofficial: Studying in Germany