Good to Know
You have arrived in Siegen and taken care of more or less all the important initial steps. Here, we have compiled some information on a number of matters that might come up during your stay in Siegen or which are simply 'good to know' about.
Shopping
Important: Shops are usually
not open on Sundays in Germany!
A number of types of shops fall within the field of 'shopping'.
Below you will find information on a number of categories of
shops.
Discounters
Discounters usually offer a basic range of food, household
and hygiene products at low prices and often also have
non-food items that are available for a short while only.
Some of the discounters you will find at numerous locations
in Siegen and the region are:
» Aldi
» Lidl
» Norma
» Penny
Other Supermarkets
There are also a number of supermarket chains that do not
belong to the same category as the discounters mentioned
above. They usually have a wider range of products
(including a constant stock of certain non-food items) and
also offer a wider variety of brands.
» Dornseifer
» Edeka
» Kaufland
» Rewe
Sustainable and Organic
While many shops nowadays offer a range of organic
products, most of their products are not organic.
» Denn's
offers an entirely organic range of food, including
vegetables and fruit, and a small selection of zero waste
products.
» The association
fairwertbar e.V. has a store where it distributes
food that is no longer suitable for sale in supermarkets
but still consumable. Their vision is to reduce food waste
with the help of donations. Their opening hours are Monday,
Wednesday and Friday from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. More
information can be found on their website.
Hygiene, Health and
Beauty
Although you will find hygiene, health and beauty products
in supermarkets, there are also a number of shops that
offer a wider variety of said products. Often, they also
offer a small selection of organic foods, too. You will
find some of these chains in Siegen:
» dm
» Müller
» Rossmann
» For
chemists/pharmacies please see here.
Bakeries
Bread is a very important part of German culture. In fact,
it was named an Intangible Cultural Heritage by the UNESCO.
Germans are very proud of their bread and bakeries can be
found almost everywhere. Typical for the
Siegerland is the Siegerländer
Schwarzbrot and the potato breads
[Kartoffelbrot] Riewekooche (made with
raw potatoes) and Bäckel (made with boiled
potatoes. As there are so many different bakeries in the
region, we will not list them. However, usually bakeries
can be found in shopping centers but also attached to
larger supermarkets.
International Supermarkets
For those of you looking for a part of home or wanting to
try out some new recipes from around the world, there are
also a few international shops in and around Siegen. Of
course, larger supermarkets will also offer some
international products, however, often there is little
choice and they are fairly expensive.
» Asian & African
Supermarkets: Dang Asia Lebensmittel (Siegen,
Oberstadt), Asia Markt (Siegen, city center),
Asian & African Shop (Weidenau),
Asia-Afro-Lebensmittel (Weidenau, near Kaufland)
» Arabic & Turkish
Supermarkets: Aksiyon Markt (Weidenau, Haardter
Berg), Bahar Market (Siegen, city center),
City Markt (Siegen, Leimbachstr.), Mahmutoglu
Market (Geisweid)
» Eastern European
Supermarkets: Majak-Markt (Siegen, near
Siegerlandhalle), Mix Markt (Fludersbach),
Polnische Delikatessen (Weidenau, near
Kaufland)
Housing
Second-hand Furniture
In case your flat isn’t furnished and you are looking for
cost-effective furniture, the second hand market could be a
good fit. You can find second hand furniture on flea
markets in and around Siegen, at the At Home
Factory in Siegen-Eiserfeld or on platforms such as
Kleinanzeigen. Moreover, there is the
possibility to join a Telegram group to be informed about furniture
to be given away for free in Siegen and the area.
Of course, you can also sell things you no longer need on
flea markets (or online) yourself and earn a little extra
money. Everything you need to know about flea markets, what
to look out for and where to find them, can be found
here.
Private Liability
Insurance
We highly recommend getting a private liability insurance
if you are moving to Siegen for an extended period of time.
A private liability insurance protects you financially if
you damage someone or their belongings/property
accidentally. Depending on what is damaged, without a
private liability insurance you could be obliged to pay
large sums of money. The insurance, which only costs a
small sum each month, would protect you, i.e. pay for you
up until a certain sum. This is why, sometimes, landlords
expect you to have a private liability insurance when
moving in. Please find some further information here (only available in German). For an
overview and comparison of benefits offered and prices,
please see here.
Electricity
When renting a flat you will often need to find a provider
and cover the costs for electricity yourself. Contracts
usually have a minimum period of one year but offer some
slightly more expensive plans that can be cancelled on a
monthly basis. Some providers of green energy are:
» Q.ENERGY EcoFlex online
» Greenpeace Energy
» grünstrom pur
» LichtBlick
» Polarstern
» SVB –
Siegener Versorgungsbetriebe
Some providers also cooperate with shops and offer vouchers
or a reduction in price if you switch to them. If you know
of any offers, please let us know.
Rundfunkbeitrag
The so-called Rundfunkbeitrag is essentially a TV
and radio license for public service broadcasts. You will
most likely receive mail from ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio
Beitragsservice after having registered your address
at the Bürgerbüro. It is very important that you
do not ignore it.
For further information, please see here.
Internet
In order to have internet access at home you’ll need more
than just the right hardware but most importantly a
provider with good internet speed and a reasonably priced
offer. German internet providers often bundle the internet
access in packages together with mobile or landline phones
(if you don’t need landline phone, please make sure to find
an offer where landline isn’t included). The most popular
types of internet connections in Germany are:
» DSL (Telekom,
Vodafone, 1&1, PYUR)
» Cable/Kabel
(Vodafone)
» Glass fiber/Glasfaser
(Deutsche Glasfaser, PYUR, 1&1)
» LTE (Congstar)
Depending on the internet provider and the type of
connection, it can take up to 4 weeks until the internet is
installed and configurated. We therefore recommend you to
inform yourself as early as possible, either directly with
the different providers or on platforms like verifox or check24.
Other
Paying in Cash and by Card
In Germany, paying in cash is still fairly common. Though
nowadays all larger supermarkets and shops as well as many
restaurants and cafés accept payment by card, there are a
number of places (particularly smaller ones) that will only
accept cash payments. On buses you will also only be able
to buy tickets with cash. Therefore, it is always a good
idea to have some cash on you. However, when getting out
money from a cash machine/atm, please be aware that banks
will usually charge a fee if you withdraw money from
another bank's machine. For information on opening a bank
account, please see here.
German SIM Card
If you are coming to Siegen for an extended period of time,
we recommend getting a German SIM card. There are a number
of options here. Some providers (incl. shops, such as Aldi
or Lidl) offer a prepaid SIM, which you can top up and pay
as you go. Many of these providers nowaydays also offer
packages that you can buy monthly, which will give you a
certain amount of data, calls and texts. What's great about
this kind of SIM card is that you are not contractually
bound and you can easily not pay anything for a month if
you're traveling to a different country, for instance.
A further option are contracts that have a cancellation
period of one month. You pay the same amount each month and
the money is withdrawn automatically from your account.
This is an easy option but slightly less flexible. However,
you are free to cancel the contract quickly, if you need
to.
A third option available in Germany is a contract which
comes with a mobile phone. These contracts are usually
fairly expensive on a monthly basis as you pay for the
phone as well as the data and phone plan. A further thing
to keep in mind is that often these contracts run for a
minimum of two years.
Recycling
As you may have heard, recycling waste is an important issue in Germany. You can find a detailed overview over the different materials and their corresponding bins here.
Please find information on public transport in Siegen in the Traveling in and from Siegen section.