KREMS
SURVIVAL GUIDE
Acknowledgements
Soon you will land in Europe to start the great Media Arts Cultures adventure!
This guide aims to help you move around and find your ground for your first
days in Krems. Classmates of the batch 2016-2018 have all kindly contributed
to set up this guide, so feel free to contact any of us for any further questions.
We hope that you will enjoy this 2-year experience as much as we do (still) :)
- Dom
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Krems at a glance
Krems could be assimilated to the "countryside" of Vienna (1h30 by train - 2
trains). It is a quiet, safe and wealthy town, renowned for its vineyards. Krems
is basically divided in 4 main areas: Krems Stein, Krems an der Donau,
Mitterau and Mautern an der Donau (cfr map).
Temperatures in Krems start around 27°C in September but drop very quickly
around late October (a fall of +- 15°C) and the weather is quite cold in
December with temperatures ranging under 0°C (you will then need a proper
winter coat, wool sweaters and warm socks/stockings).
Also, like almost everywhere in Europe, the hours and amount of light per day
diminish while entering wintertime (in December: 6hours of light per day).
Hence, you might want to buy D Vitamin at the Pharmacy to compensate a
blood deficiency or a mild winter depression.
What to do?
As Krems is a really (cute) small town, you will be quickly done with the
visiting sites. However, they are worth seeing. Here is a non-exhaustive list:
• Göttweig abbey (you will probably visit it within the Media AC
curriculum): https://www.stiftgoettweig.at/site/home
• The Karikaturmuseum: http://www.karikaturmuseum.at/de
• Old Krems free audio tour (In different languages - approx 2 hours tour)
https://ru.ever.travel/walking-tours-austria/2773549-krems-an-der-
donau-walking-tours
• The Heurigers: a Heuriger is a typical inn serving local wine/traditional
alcohol and appetizers (just like tapas) or cheese - cold meats plates
for small prices (they are also vegan-friendly if you ask for it). Most of
them are located in Stein and open for a short period of time directly
related to the wine harvest of the wine that they are serving in the
specific Heuriger. Heurigers pop up along the year and you can check
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the Heuriger calendar here: http://www.krems.info/de/home/essen-
trinken/heurigensuche/
• Badearena: Krems has a swimming pool complex with an inside
swimming pool and an outdoor one. The latter is really nice as it is a
big swimming pool with a few sliders but most important it has a big
green grass area where you can get a tan (and you are allowed to
bring your booze in - at least we did). More info here:
http://www.badearena.at/
• Danube's "beaches": alongside the Danube you also have green grass
areas where other people eat popsicles, drinking booze, play volleyball
or get a tan. You can swim in the Danube as it is reputed to be really
clean (and if you are lucky you could even spot some otters from time
to time)!
• Danube's water activities: some companies propose some water
activities to do on the Danube like kayaking, paddling, etc. Look for it
on Google.
• Close cities around: Melk, Dürnstein, Spitz
• If you are super rich you can afford to go skiing
What to expect from Austrians?
Austrians are friendly but appear to be "cold" (depends on where you are
from). Most of young people speak English but you may struggle with older
people (40+ yo). Also, Austrians really love administrative processes but this
also makes your life easier as you will almost every time find an answer to
your questions. In Krems, they might stare at you a bit if you are original in the
way you look or dress but always out of curiosity, never out of meanness.
Fun fact: Austrians love titles, they sign official documents with any degrees
they earned and never should you call a doctor "Sir". Always be sure to
celebrate all of their titles, they will appreciate it ;)
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Social Austria
Here are some links to Facebook groups that could be of your interest. Also,
do not forget to check the events that Facebook suggests you as it is based
on your location :)
IMC (the university on the same campus than DUK) - Ask a student
https://www.facebook.com/groups/imcfhkrems.ASKaSTUDENT/?fref=ts
Share flats and rooms in Krems
https://www.facebook.com/Wohnungen.WGs.Jobs.Tarife.KREMS/?fref=ts
Shared flats and rooms in Vienna
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Wohnen.Wien/?fref=ts
Flea market/second hand Facebook groups
https://www.facebook.com/groups/272401269439354/?ref=br_rs
https://www.facebook.com/groups/251774605009370/?ref=br_rs
https://www.facebook.com/groups/469684183056547/?ref=br_rs
Where to live
Some people of the 1st cohort lived in Vienna and commuted every day to
DUK. Depending on your priorities (saving time or living in a dynamic
environment), you will choose to live in Vienna, Krems, or even Franz Joseph.
Please refer to the next page to find the information about the 2nd cohort
accommodations. Google map them so you can see how much time it will
take you to go to school by bike/on foot.
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LANDLORD'S LANDLORD'S MEDIA AC
ADDRESS
NAME CONTACT CONTACT
Reisperbachtalstra Alfred alfred.freudenseher
Dominique Vinck
sse 78 3500 Krems Freudenseher @gmail.com
3500 Krems, Dr. Luis Bracamontes
Markus & Manuela anfrage@krems-
Josef-Maria- or Karla Zavala
Riedl wg.at
Edergasse 1/10 Barreda
Hohensteinstraße
Herr Kirchhofer +43 2732 85107 Melanie Henke
4, 3500 Krems
Rabia Shamail
3512 Mautern, Kazmi, Rodrigo
Christine Patzelt patzelt@tmo.at
Rathausgasse 2 Guzman or Adriaan
Ondendaal
Schmelzgasse 9, beate.bierbaum@g
Beate Bierbaum Eunice Sandoval
3500 Krems mx.at
Hohensteinstraße
/ / Tatiana Villacob
4, 3500 Krems
Ringstrasse
/ / Bilge Hasdemir
26,Krems
Dachsberggasse mario.berger01@o Stefan Palitov or
Mario Berger
12/1/1 utlook.com Hadas Kedar
Nikolaigasse, 3512 fabiola.fuchs@noe
Fabiola Fuchs Bengü Ozakinci
Mautern gkk.at
Austrasse 31/2,
/ / Ina Čiumakova
3500 Krems
Wilhem-Gause-
stefan.kobli@kuksp
Gasse 5, 3500 Stefan Kobli Mia DeBakker
ort.at
Krems
Landersdorferstr. Alpha1@alphacraft Khatia
Dr. Iris Brune Erber
18/1A-3500 Krems .net Tchokhonelidze
Krems an der
Donau, 3500, Am Anna Modritz anna.mo@gmx.at Olga Timurgalieva
Steindl, 2
52 Ringstrasse, stefan.kobli@kuksp
Stefan Kobil Jerin Sultana Ismet
Krems 3500 ort.at
25/2
stefan.robek@aon.
Bethovenstrasse, Stefan Robek Ronit Ghosh
at
Krems 3500
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Moving around
Bikes
The best way to move around in Krems is to ride a bike, even though you
don't NEED one as the city is quite small; it is just more convenient.
(Sometimes there are some hilly areas, but nothing impossible to bike on!) If
your landlord didn't include a bike in the place you rent, here are some
alternatives:
• Check the Facebook groups to find or ask for one
• Buy one at the Flea Market (Floh Markt in German)
• Go to a bike shop and ask for second hand bikes (Ex: Sport Direct
Krems - Hafenstraße 2, 3500 Krems an der Donau)
• Sometimes Carla (the second hand shop) sells some too
Trains
Please refer to the map to see where Krems train station is located (in
German: Bahnhof); it also happens to be Krems main bus station.
The rail company in Austria is called ÖBB and they have a very friendly
website that also exists in English: http://www.oebb.at/en/
And a free app: Quando
Don't forget to get the "Jugend Vorteilscard" (= "Young advantage card") to
get up to 50% off your travels. You ask for it at the train station, it costs 19 €
and right after paying you get a provisional card. The actual card will come
through the mail (so know your address when you get there!) +- 2 weeks later.
The Jugend Vorteilscard is for the under-26yo only. Above that age, you can
have a Classic Vorteilscard that costs 99 €.
Buses in Krems
There are 4 bus lines in Krems, however you won't really ever have to use
them as Krems is kind of small and with a bike you can go everywhere.
Here is a plan of the lines and the prices (yep, only available in German):
file:///Users/admin/Downloads/NetzplanStadtbus2016.pdf
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Flixbus
To travel in Austria's neighborhood countries, Flixbus is the best! They are
low cost, have wifi on board (well, when it works...) and can bring you to 20
different countries! Don't forget to tick the "student" box at check out so you
can get an even better price!
https://www.flixbus.com/
They have an app of the same name.
Blablacar
Blablacar is a car-pooling system that is trustworthy and used a lot in Europe.
As a driver you can propose places to "rent" in your care for people going to
the same destination and as a traveler, you can hop in somebody's car and
make your ride social and less expensive.
https://www.blablacar.com/
They have an app of the same name.
Boat
Look on Google for some boat trips or cruises in the Wachau region or to
other countries (Danube is Europe's second longest river and crosses
respectively: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria,
Romania, Moldova, Ukraine).
Flights
The cheapest and fastest way ever to fly in Europe remains the low-cost
company Ryanair. Sometimes it is cheaper to fly from Ljubljana, Slovenia then
take a bus than to take off from Vienna. Check it out: https://www.ryanair.com
They have an app of the same name.
Mobile networks
You can buy a sim card (chip) in a mobile phone shop, some supermarkets,
some tobacco shops (that look like small wooden cabins), or multimedia store
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(like Mediamarkt) etc. Here are the main mobile network companies: Lyca,
A1, 3, Orange, T-mobile, Yesss.
To top up money on it, you only need to buy a voucher at the supermarket
(there are at the checkout when you pay your groceries), the cashier will then
give you a ticket with a code and the different steps to follow. Some
companies allow you to top-up money online.
Most of us chose Yesss or Lyca. This page might help you to make a different
choice: http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Austria
Shop groceries
There are plenty of grocery stores/supermarkets in Krems, check out their
websites to locate the closest one to you! The main ones: Hofer, Billa (tip:
sign ASAP to their discount card so you can accumulate the discounts),
Penny's, Spar (the most expensive).
Sport
If you are into sports, know that gyms and fitness center memberships are
crazy expensive. An alternative is to enroll in Campus Sport from DUK
(https://www.facebook.com/campussport). Their office is located on campus,
on the basement level. Unfortunately you cannot register in advance, you will
have to wait around October to be able to select classes you want to
subscribe to. Some classes take place on campus, others in other places,
sometimes far from university so be careful and choose wisely :)
Some great news now: as part of DUK you get 20% off and as part of the
Erasmus Mundus program you get another 20% off (because you won't be
attending the whole period as you are in Krems for only 6 months). You might
need to ask them again for this though as we pressured them to get this
discount.
If you are into yoga, here is a useful Facebook group:
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/1138017172908313/?hc_location=ufi
Finally, you also have the swimming pool (Badearena).
visa
I guess you have all already applied for your visa. If not, you should apply
ASAP. For your information, people from Turkey, Bangladesh and Georgia of
this second cohort had a really hard time getting theirs.
It is strongly advised that for your Danish visa you apply ASAP and while you
are still in Austria!
Also, in Europe there is the Schengen area which is an area of free circulation
of people, goods and services, which means that if you have a European visa
or a permit from a European country, you can stay and enter (as many times
as you want) any country of the Schengen area without passport controls and
for 90 days in any given 180 days period without needing any other
documents (but don't forget to always carry your passport just to be sure).
Banking
Austria loves banks, you will find them everywhere in Krems, as well as
ATMs. Some Europeans kept their bank in their home country, it is up to you.
However, people from abroad have to open a bank account in Austria. Most of
them did it in these banks:
• Krems Sparkasse Bank: free for people under 30yo
• Bank Austria: functional with the online banking and the cheapest
option if you are 30+ yo
• Raiffensen bank: super friendly and easy to open an account there
Remember that to buy online, you need a Mastercard or Visa Card (or an
American Express or a Paypal account). Banks often only provide you with a
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Maestro card. An alternative to buy online is to get a Prepaid Mastercard (so
you transfer money on it) that you can get from the post office (yes, the post
services also provide banking services). It takes 5 minutes and works online.
See the address of the post office on next page.
Emergency numbers
Police 133
Fire brigade 122
Emergency 112
Poisoning center 01 406 43 43
MAP & ADDRESSES
Remember that in Krems, like mostly everywhere in Europe, shops/services
close on Sundays (except the 24/7 small Spar shop at the oil station). Tip: if
you cannot find the letter "ß" on your keyboard while typing an address,
replace it by "ss" ;)
Here are the most important places to know. You only need to Google them to
spot their location then place them on the map that is on the next page.
Danube University Krems
Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30
Pedestrian area
Obere landstraße
Bühl Einkaufscenter AG (shopping center)
Wr. Str. 96-102
Badearena (swimming pool)
Strandbadstraße 5
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Postfiliale und BAWAG P.S.K. (post office)
Brandströmstraße 4
Krems/Donau Bahnhof (Train/bus station)
Bahnhofplatz
Xo bar & Quba bar
Margarethenstraße
24/7 Spar shop (in the Shell gas station)
Steiner Donaulände 17
Carla Krems (second hand shop)
Sankt-Paul-Gasse 12
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