From São Paulo to Munich: The comfortable silence
Authors . City life . SocietyI arrive in the northern part of Munich on a pale Saturday morning. The apartment building looks almost silent from the outside. Bicycles are chained neatly in front of it, a thin winter light pressing through the windows. Inside the apartment complex, I step into the narrow elevator and press the button for the 4th
Chasing a Place to Call Home: Student’s Housing Struggle in Munich
City life . Germany . Society . Student lifeFor almost two months, Cécilia searched relentlessly for a place to live in Munich. She attended more than 30 apartment viewings, both online and in person, before finally securing a room in a three-person shared flat. The rent was around 800 euros per month per person — far from cheap, but a relief after weeks
The disappearing Italy and its cold, demographic winter
City life . Culture . SocietyThere is a sound that is growing increasingly rare across vast areas of the Italian peninsula: the chatter of children leaving school and their laughter while playing all afternoon in that small park amongst the flats and houses. From the ridges of the Apennines to the valleys of the Alps, and across the inland territories
The Liminal Threshold: Negotiating Comfort and Control at the Global Hub
City life . Opinion piece . Society . TravelWhenever we transition to a new phase or domain, we inevitably encounter a boundary. This boundary, where two distinct realities meet, inherently implies negotiation and competition. A night spent at Istanbul Airport revealed a continuous, silent negotiation unfolding within the stillness. Ultimately, this threshold—where individual desire clashes with systemic control—defines the core dilemma of our
【Interview】From Shanghai Buzz to Delft Breeze: My Best Friend Yan’s Exchange Adventures
City life . Interview . Student lifeWhen I think of friendships that brighten my life, Yan is always the first person who comes to mind. We met during the stressful months of preparing for our postgraduate entrance exams, supporting each other through countless long nights of studying. Now she is experiencing a completely different kind of life as a graduate exchange
The Power of Communication in Science: Lessons from the MSCL
Authors . City life . Climate Change . Culture . Excursions . Germany . Health . Media . Opinion piece . Research@IfKW . Science . UncategorizedSometimes, learning doesn’t happen in a lab or on a field trip it happens in a classroom, when someone manages to connect science to real life. That’s exactly what happened during our session with Bernhard Goodwin, executive director of the Munich Science Communication Lab (MSCL). I’ll admit, before that day I had never heard of
Nice to Meet U LMU
City life . Student lifeHey everyone!I’m Jia — nice to meet you all! I’m from Hangzhou, a beautiful city in eastern China known for West Lake, green tea, and a mix of modern life and traditional culture. It’s a really peaceful place to live, with lots of cafés, riverside walks, and creative energy everywhere. This semester, I’m in Munich
The Rhythm of Link
City life . Germany . Student life . TravelGuten Tag! I’m Jeonghyeon Lee from South Korea. But just call me ‘Lily’ because I understand how hard it is to say my name. Even for natives, it can be tricky: for example, my aunt still always call me Jeongyeon and it’s been about 20 years! I want to focus on communication, not pronunciation. My
The far reaches of Journalism in a German landscape
City life . Culture . Germany . Media . Media influence . Opinion piece . Politics . SocietyBy Ollie Standen Media, in general, is defined as “the means of communication, such as radio and television, newspapers, magazines, and the internet, that reach or influence people widely” (Dictionary.com, 2018). Journalism, as a major branch of the media, plays a crucial role in informing and educating the public through these various channels. From a
SZ’s reach within the German landscape
City life . Climate Change . Culture . Germany . Media . Opinion pieceBy Ollie Standen The Suddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) is a Bavarian based newspaper founded in 1945 and is one of the largest newspapers in Germany. The tonality of the newspaper shifts towards a centre-left, liberal stance on politics and views, with readers being typically more educated fitting the A, B and C1 readership demographic. Media organisations