Cultural Activities in Bielefeld

Once a month TANDEM Bielefeld organizes a day trip that takes place during the weekends and else an activity in Bielefeld.

Some activities are free. Usually students will have to pay for transport and entrance fees, although we always try to keep the prices as low as possible.

Joint activities with course participants and teachers are not only good fun, but you learn a great deal about modern Germany and about its history as well.

Apart from the organised events you will have more than enough opportunity to get to know Bielefeld and its surroundings. We will be happy to help you in planning these.

Some activities that we organize during the week are:

• Bowling
• Bar-tour
• Cultural visit of Bielefeld's castle
• Visit of the local library with instructions
• TANDEM meeting with German students
• Cinema and theatre
• Games afternoon
• Picknick
• Guided visit of the Museum of Modern Art
• Visit of famous Christmas markets in towns nearby as Münster or Paderborn
• Visit of the local animal park and medieval farm museum
• Ice-skating
• Farewell-party

Some excursions that take place during the weekends are:

Cologne, Bremen, Bremerhaven (Visit of the German Emigration Center), Hannover Hamburg, Lemgo (medieval town with the Museum of witches' persecution) Hamelin (city of the famous Pied Piper), Carnival in Münster.

Accommodation Options in Bielefeld

In addition to classes, we organise accommodation for you with Germans. You can choose between different types: a room in a host family, a shared flat («Wohngemeinschaft» or WG for short), or a room in a student hostel.

All host families, WGs and hostels provide towels, bed linen, cutlery and crockery and the use of a washing machine, and can easily be reached by public transport.

Host family

This form of accommodation offers the ideal opportunity to use your German and make friends. Normally, you are the only guest in a carefully chosen host family. You are integrated into the everyday routine of the family, and so very soon develop an insight into German family life. Meals: since the family meets regularly at mealtimes, we recommend arranging half-board (breakfast and one warm meal a day). The family will do its best to take food allergies or dietary rules into account. Naturally you will have your own house-key, and, even in a family, you will be free to spend your leisure time as you please.

Shared flat

«Wohngemeinschaft» means that you live with one or more Germans in a flat. You have your own room, but share the bathroom and kitchen with your flatmates. If the guests and other people in the flat get on well, interesting contacts and conversations result. Life in a WG is often less regulated and more casual than in a host family though. Meals: some WGs share the shopping and cooking, which means you can also join in. If this is not the case, you will still be able to prepare food for yourself in the kitchen.

Student hostel

Accommodation in hostels is in self-contained mini-apartments or else a furnished room, sharing the kitchen and bathroom with a maximum of five other students. The atmosphere may be more anonymous than in a family. Bed linen, cutlery, crockery and cooking equipment are also provided in hostels.