Information for Parents

Dear Parents,

On behalf of the Hessen International Summer University at the University of Marburg, welcome! We are pleased that you and your child decided in favour of our program. Your son or daughter will make new friends and gain essential skills in a safe and exciting surrounding. The participants of the program will not only improve their language skills, but also immerse themselves in a new culture and get to know exciting new places.

On this page we would like to provide some information which will be hopefully helpful both for the preparation and duration of the stay here in Marburg.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us, we will be happy to answer any questions or concerns you may have.

Sincerely,
Team ISU Marburg

• Information on Germany and Marburg
• What Parents can do to Stay Informed
• Sending Money to Germany
• Mail to Germany
• Important Documents
• Legal Services
• Insurance, Health and Safety
• Accommodation and Meals
• Contact Information

Information on Germany and Marburg

The Federal Republic of Germany is now the most densely populated country in Europe. Anyone who is interested in finding out more can do so on the following websites:  “US Department of State’s Background Notes”, the Federal Foreign Office or the Germany State Portal.

In addition we can recommend the following guide and reference books:

• Gebrauchsanweisung für Deutschland: A satirically written book about Germany. Due to an interesting point of view that the book is written in, a lot of secrets unravel; only available in German
• Lonely Planet: Probably the best liked and well-known guidebooks and phrase books among backpackers
• Let’s Go: Leader in "budget travel", young and budget-savvy travelers turn to Let’s Go for the freshest coverage, insider tips, and an authentic perspective
• Rough Guide
• Culture Shock!/Kultur Schock: A dynamic and indispensable range of guides for those travelers wanting to truly understand the countries they are visiting; available in English and German

Thanks to its picturesque Old Town, its scenic landscape of rolling hills and the river Lahn, the University of Marburg, which is the oldest Protestant University in the world, offers an attractive environment for study.
Please find further information and pictures on Marburg's official website, on the "Landesportal-Hessen" or from the Tourism Bureau of Hessen.

If you would rather have printed versions of information, we recommend these books to you:

• Marburg an der Lahn: City guide from G.U. Großmann; bound – May 2006
• Marburganderlahnbuch: Paperback from N. Folckers und A. Waibel – December 2003
• Die Blauen Buecher, Die Elisabethkirche in Marburg: Paperback from E. Leppin – March 2002

Of course this is just an assortment of informative literature.

What Parents can do to Stay Informed

Students can lend a mobile phone here. The number we try to provide before the students` arrival, so that parents and friends can call.

To keep you up-to-date, you can get information about current affairs in Germany and the world on several web pages:

• Tagesschau (German)
• Spiegel online international (English) 
• Deutsche Welle (German/English) 
• Online News of the FAZ (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, in German)

Money Matters in Germany

Basically we recommend that your child takes along some cash, an ATM card (with PIN) and/or travelers cheques, which can be cashed in local bank branches. In addition we advise the bringing of a credit card with PIN to Marburg (unlike other countries, sometimes the credit card PIN must be used to authorize transactions in Germany, become more rare now though). Admittedly credit cards are not able to be used as widely as elsewhere in the world, though becoming more popular. Do not count on being able to use them for all transactions!

Furthermore there is the possibility for you to transfer a desired sum of money into our university account if your child is hard-pressed for money. Then we will pass the assigned amount of money on to your child. This opportunity is just meant for emergencies, as bank transfer can take long. We will provide such information on request.

Mail to Germany

Certainly your child would be happy to receive a letter or package from home. Before you mail something, please bear a few conditions in mind: Normally shipping to Germany from the USA and Canada takes about four to seven days.  From Australia, it takes approximately seven to ten days. We advise you to ask your local post offices (or shipping companies) about the period time and the exact price of mailing. Please be aware that many items are subject to either import tariffs or customs duties or both. Most articles intended for personal use during your studies can be imported duty free. Labelling must be clear.

Please visit the following websites to find out more about precise regulations:

German Customs Tariff Information
Mailing Packages to Germany

Important Documents

Students need to bring along several documents to Marburg. In addition to the required passport and visa, they should also bring copies of all insurance- and health-related documents with them. Furthermore we recommend backup copies to be left at home in case of an emergency.

Legal Services

Please visit the website of the federal foreign office for the most relevant and up-to-date information.

Insurance, Health and Safety

Germany has  high-class medical care.  Internationally valid health insurance should be purchased in the home country of the student.  If this option is forgone, there will be the opportunity to sign up for insurance on the day of arrival in Marburg.  Liability insurance should exist in advance.

There are no obligatory inoculations for the stay in Germany. However, inoculations against diphtheria and tetanus are recommended, but also for risk groups and against FSME (Frühsommer Meningoenzephalitis), hepatitis B and rabies.

The FSME virus, which is transferred by a tick bite, is mainly spread in Germany in areas such as Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg, but also in specific areas with risk zones such as Hessen, Thuringia and Rhineland-Palatinate. As Marburg is among the areas at risk, please talk to your general practitioner about the urgency of an inoculation against FSME as a preventive measure for your child. Protection against ticks in general is always advisable particularly during recreation (a day in nature).

Additional health and safety information for Germany is available from the medical information service.

Accommodation and Meals

The ISU Marburg will place the students in a single room in one of the students` dormitories. There is a washing facility in the room. Bed-linen will be provided. There are plenty of showers on each of the floors.  There are kitchen and laundry facilities available in the housing structures. The rooms will be assigned to the participants upon arrival. We cannot arrange private accommodations. We also point out that the dormitory rooms are not equipped with TV, telephone or Internet. 

There are many opportunities to buy snacks and drinks a few steps from the events. Students can buy (warm) meals at the price of around EUR 1.50- EUR 3 in the cafeteria.

Contact Information

Please see "Contact". During the time of the ISU, we will also have an emergency telephone number posted there.