Winter is coming!

From the 13th of December until the 14th of January next year, the hotline for International Students will only be open on Mondays from 10:00-13:00. Not only that, our ISS offices will be closed from the 23th of December this year until the 7th of January next year. This means that we will not be available for in person or online consultation hours during the winter break. What about the counter, you may ask? The International Counter will be closed during the official university winter break. However, the online counter will already be available from the 2nd of January 2024.

Now that we’ve gotten some crucial information out of the way, we would also like to give you some tips on how to spend the wintertime in and around Darmstadt:

• The Christmas Market: this is a widely known winter attraction in the entirety of Germany, with each city and even villages having their own unique Christmas markets. There are some really big Christmas markets like the one in Frankfurt and they can get really crowded, so we would recommend you to go on the weekdays instead of the weekends, but if you still find it too crowded for your tastes, you can also try visiting other Christmas markets like…
• Christmas Markets in and around Darmstadt: As a student of TU Darmstadt, you will undoubtedly be passing by the Darmstadt Christmas market which is already open from the 20th of November, but there are more Christmas markets in the area which you can also visit if you’re in need of a little change of scenery like the ones in Arheilgen, in Bessungen, in Bensheim, and more! A lot of university groups often offer excursions to these markets, so make sure you don’t miss out!
• Ice skating: this is a typical winter activity that maybe some of you have never tried before, but luckily, Darmstadt has an ice rink that you can visit! There are also other ice rinks in the area like in Frankfurt, but Darmstadt’s ice rink is easily reachable with the tram lines 4 and 5. Not only that, students have to pay less compared to the normal adult prices and there are even group tickets you can buy when visiting with friends! You can check out the website of the ice rink for the prices and opening times.
• Staying active: be it working out from the comfort of your home, joining the Unisport-Zentrum’s programs or taking advantage of their facilities, doing indoor sports like bouldering, or taking a walk or run around Darmstadt, it’s definitely important to still try to stay active during the winter times! Even if the weather makes you want to stay indoors, it’s helpful for both your mental and physical health when you make sure to keep yourself active even in the cold!
• Cozy activities: For those of you who prefer staying at home during the winter, there are of course also a wide variety of activities that can be done from the comfort of your own home like catching up on films and series, drinking hot tea or cocoa, cooking, or even baking some Christmas cookies. Maybe you don’t really have the motivation to do things like baking alone? Then you can join the ITT team in their Cook ´n Eat event where you’ll be baking cookies and baklava together! Or maybe you’re in need some ideas for cooking at home? Then you can check out #studentsofTUdarmstadt’s cook book for some inspiration!

Hopefully this article can help you make sure that you’re well-prepared for the winter! Don’t forget to take care of any bureaucratic matters as soon as you possibly can and also to contact us as early as possible if there’s anything we can help you with. Please take good care of yourself as we enter the winter months and we wish you a lovely end of the year and a pleasant winter break!