“Where in Germany is it you work again? Berlin?”

Sarah Armstrong Wilson

Imagine the complete opposite of London, add a few more cobbled roads, a very steep path up to a castle and you’ve got Nuremberg. When I started my internship at the beginning of February I had no idea what to expect from this small town in Bavaria, Germany. It seemed anyone who knew anything about the war knew of the city but the only place I had been in Germany to compare it to was Berlin and although only a few hours apart by train it feels like it is on a different planet.  


So what is Bavaria like?


First  off, the super markets shut at 8pm 6 days a week, meaning no midnight snack or beer runs here. The only reason it is 6 days a week is because everything is shut on a Sunday. So Saturday evenings in shops are a complete write off as everyone acts like they are stocking up for weeks and not just until Monday morning. After getting used to it at first I would say that I don’t really miss shopping on Sundays anymore. It has forced me to make plans other than just going shopping and going in the same shops over and over again. The work life balance is something that is really important in Germany which I still find very strange but great also. My weekly hours are 39 as an intern and I am aloud to make these up throughout the week however I wish as long as I don’t work past 8pm or work on a Sunday. Also any overtime you do you get back so even thought I already get holidays I can take extra ‘flexi days’ if I have hours left over.


Everyone I have spoken to about my internship so far seems so surprised that the adidas global headquarters are based pretty much in the middle of nowhere. The HQ is in Herzogenaurach (don’t ask me how to pronounce or spell that one) which is around 40 minutes outside of Nuremberg. It’s like a completely different world from the city which is already pretty small but this is next level. At first it was super annoying to get to and from work but once I got the hang of the company shuttle bus I started to really appreciate the feeling of being out in the country side for the best part of my week. Because the campus is in the middle of nowhere adidas have been able to build this amazing campus that caters to pretty much everyone’s needs with sports courts to on-site restaurants with that five star holiday buffet vibe.



Now at the half way point of my internship I have had enough time to settle in, make friends (including the campus geese) and learn to love the city for what it is, small but lively and I probably will miss it when I am back in London in a few months.