Yeah for sure. Homesickness is normal at this stage. I wanted to share this post now because I found it unhelpful when I read blogposts and stuff of people who moved while in their honeymoon period.
You can openly drink alcohol in Germany so often times there will be a lot of drunk people on public transport.
I did start learning German before I left but it will take some time
Agreed that homesickness is normal, good that you know, and that you can anticipate and counteract it.
It is also quite possible that Berlin, being situated in the old communist block, still has some cultural carryovers from before the wall was torn down. Have you visited some of the more westernised cities?
The quickest way to learn a foreign language is to speak and hear it regularly, it's not an academic exercise that one learns from a book. Here the television can help a bit too.
Agreed that the food is mostly bland, even the
coffee dishwater is kak, but you can counter it with spices and products from Spain and Portugal, and fermentation, think proper sauerkraut. And you can brew beer far easier that requires far colder temperatures. But mostly you will have to adapt your palate to foods, veggies and fruits that do better in colder climates, like cherries. And prepare foods in such a way that flavours are optimised, like crushing and pounding the garlic instead of just slicing it.
I have family members who have moved to Portugal, they found the interest rates to be very good, and home loans of up to 30 years are not uncommon, so they bought property, and are still quite happy there.
