# Mert Bulan - Blog & Portfolio > Product-minded developer in Hamburg sharing experiences, thoughts, guides, reviews, and discoveries about building, learning, technology, and everyday life. Public Ghost content for AI and LLM tooling. This file includes a bounded export of public pages first, then recent public posts. Append `.md` to any post or page URL to get the content in Markdown (for example, `/example-post.md`). ## Pages ### About URL: https://mertbulan.com/about/ Last updated: 2026-08-05T07:29:13.000Z I’ve always been drawn to computers, the internet, and making things. I got my first computer in 2005\. Like many kids, I mostly used it for games at first, but soon I discovered forums, websites, and blogs. That opened up a completely different world for me. In 2008, I launched my first real WordPress blog. Over the following years, I wrote hundreds of posts, reached thousands of readers, earned money from my writing, and even received products from well-known brands to review. That early experience shaped me more than I realised at the time. It taught me that you can learn something deeply by creating, publishing, getting feedback, and improving over time. That mindset has stayed with me ever since. I studied **Computer Science** at Dokuz Eylül University in İzmir, Türkiye. I genuinely enjoyed university because it gave me the chance to learn by building things instead of only studying theory. I graduated with high honour, ranking second in my class. During my studies, I did an internship at Protel in İstanbul, where I learned Ruby and Ruby on Rails. I later continued working there remotely and part-time. In 2017, I found a summer internship in Hamburg at **XING** through an Erasmus internship scholarship. That internship changed the direction of my life. I liked the city, the work culture, and the feeling of building products used by real people. What started as a summer internship became a freelance working student role, and later a full-time job. In 2018, I moved to Hamburg. At XING, I grew from a backend-focused developer into a more full-stack role. I became a Senior Developer after a couple of years and expanded my tech stack with **TypeScript** and **React**. Later, during the COVID period, I joined **Shopify** and worked on Shop, their customer-facing app. Working on a product used by millions of people taught me a lot about scale, product quality, collaboration, and the small details that make software feel good. I also learned **React Native** and became more familiar with mobile app development. I enjoy writing code, but I care just as much about the product itself: what problem it solves, how it feels to use, how it can be simpler, and how it can become more useful over time. That’s why I see myself as a product-minded developer. After Shopify, I worked at two smaller companies. Those experiences helped me understand what kind of work gives me energy and what kind of work slowly takes it away. I realised that I wanted a healthier relationship with work, more independence, and more time to build things that feel meaningful to me. That led me to start my own app studio, [fruitful apps](https://mertbulan.com/fruitful-apps/). Today, I build apps for Apple platforms with **Swift** and **SwiftUI**, listen to user feedback, and improve them step by step. I’m especially interested in creating useful, thoughtful, and calm software, products that solve real problems without demanding too much attention. Over time, I’ve also become more interested in building for the place around me instead of trying to reach everyone everywhere. That’s one of the reasons I created [Franzbrötchen](https://franzbroetchen.app/?ref=mertbulan.com), a city super app for Hamburg. I also write [Alsterrunde](https://mertbulan.com/alsterrunde/), a newsletter about Hamburg, everyday city life, and the things I notice along the way. Outside of work, I read a lot. ([check my Goodreads account](https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/38416033-mert?ref=mertbulan.com)) I’m curious about many different topics and I like understanding how things work, why people behave the way they do, and how different ideas connect. I don’t see myself as someone who wants to specialise in only one narrow field. I’m more of a generalist. I enjoy learning from different areas and connecting them in creative ways. I’m interested in minimalism, stoicism, environmentalism, financial independence, technology, books, food, and living a more intentional life. I also enjoy blogging and podcasting because they help me think more clearly and share what I learn. I started [Farklı Düşün](https://mertbulan.com/farkli-dusun/) in 2021 with a friend, a Turkish podcast about Apple, technology, books, and more, for that reason. On this blog, I write about whatever I’m currently curious or thinking about. If you enjoy reading it, don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll be the first to know when I publish a new post. ### Footer URL: https://mertbulan.com/footer/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T11:50:33.000Z _No content available._ ### Books URL: https://mertbulan.com/books/ Last updated: 2026-06-13T12:07:09.000Z _No content available._ ### Hero Intro URL: https://mertbulan.com/here-intro/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T16:31:05.000Z # Moin! I’m Mert. Product-Minded Developer based in Hamburg, Germany. I'm a builder and a lifelong learner who loves diving into new ideas and figuring things out. On this site I share my experiences, thoughts, and discoveries, from how-to guides and reviews to interesting finds and things I'm currently exploring. Subscribe below to be the first to know when I publish something new. ### The Well of Ascension URL: https://mertbulan.com/the-well-of-ascension/ Last updated: 2026-06-08T06:43:13.000Z _No content available._ ### Work URL: https://mertbulan.com/work/ Last updated: 2026-06-14T16:15:31.000Z _No content available._ ### fruitful apps URL: https://mertbulan.com/fruitful-apps/ Last updated: 2026-08-03T07:13:06.000Z I never thought that I'd be working as a full-time employee for the rest of my life. At some point, I knew I would start my own company and develop my own products, but I didn't know that this company would be dedicated to developing apps. Professionally, I develop web apps, both backend and frontend, but at some point I wanted to try building an app. In 2023, I decided to build something small and local. That became my first app. ## Hamburg Trees Since moving to Hamburg, I’ve always been fascinated by the city’s trees. After discovering Hamburg’s public tree data, I built Hamburg Trees, an app that shows more than 200,000 street trees on a map with details like species, planting year, and location. After releasing it, I received an email from someone who takes care of trees in Hamburg. He told me that he used the app every day to make his job easier. That was the moment I realized how satisfying it is to build something that has a real use case. [![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/download.png)](https://apps.apple.com/de/app/b%C3%A4ume-hamburg/id6447700057?l=de&ref=mertbulan.com) ## Not for Me My second app was Not for Me. I was using Twitter a lot, but I was annoyed by the “For You” tab and kept wasting time there. So I built a Safari content blocker that hides the “For You” tab without accessing browser history or collecting any data. [![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/download.png)](https://apps.apple.com/de/app/not-for-me/id6451205605?ref=mertbulan.com) ## FIREcalc After learning about the FIRE movement, I started tracking my progress toward financial independence. Existing tools worked, but I didn’t want to enter the same data repeatedly. That’s why I built FIREcalc, a simple app that helps calculate Lean FIRE, Fat FIRE, and possible early retirement age while saving the data locally on the device. [![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/download.png)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/firecalc-early-retirement-age/id6473696858?ref=mertbulan.com) ## Wunderbar While learning German, I realized that I needed a simple way to improve my vocabulary while working. I tried several language apps, but I couldn’t stay consistent with them. So I built Wunderbar, a minimal macOS app that helps you memorize common words using spaced repetition. It supports multiple languages, includes pronunciation and example sentences, and stays out of the way. [![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/download.png)](https://apps.apple.com/de/app/learn-language-wunderbar/id6479203386?ref=mertbulan.com) ## Charsible When I got back into blogging, I started using Plausible Analytics because it was privacy-friendly and GDPR-compliant. I liked it, but I wanted a faster way to check my blog traffic during the day. So I built Charsible, an app that uses the Plausible API to show website stats directly in iPhone widgets. The API key is stored securely in iCloud Keychain, and the app does not collect any data. [![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/download.png)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/charsible-for-plausible/id6578452086?ref=mertbulan.com) ## Podash After years of podcasting, I realized how difficult it was to track performance across Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and hosting platforms. That led me to build Podash, a podcast analytics app that brings charts, rankings, reviews, Simplecast downloads, and YouTube data into one place. It also includes widgets for quick updates. [![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/download.png)](https://apps.apple.com/de/app/podcast-charts-podash/id6670387816?ref=mertbulan.com) ## Offline Translate I was using translation tools constantly, but I didn’t like depending on an internet connection or opening a separate app every time. So I created Offline Translate, a privacy-friendly macOS menu bar app that translates text in 21 languages completely offline. [![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/download.png)](https://apps.apple.com/de/app/translator-offline-translate/id6686403979?ref=mertbulan.com) ## Hansel I always wanted a location timeline similar to Google Maps while using Apple Maps. After talking about this idea with my friend Murat Çorlu, I built Hansel. Hansel is a low-power location timeline app that logs significant location changes and visits, lets you label places, and keeps your location history private. [![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/download.png)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/location-history-hansel/id6736531033?ref=mertbulan.com) ## Peek After developing several apps, I realized that tracking my own app performance was harder than it should be. App Store Connect has data, but it’s not very convenient when you want to quickly check revenue, subscriptions, and trends. That’s why I built Peek, an app for indie developers to monitor App Store sales and trends. It was also the first app where I made accessibility, especially VoiceOver support, a core part of the product. [![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/download.png)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/peek-for-app-store-connect/id6740280911?ref=mertbulan.com) ## Franzbrötchen After Hamburg Trees, I still wanted to build something bigger for Hamburg. Over time, I collected many small ideas and useful links about the city, and eventually they became Franzbrötchen. Franzbrötchen is a City Super App for Hamburg. It includes everyday tools like rain radar, public transport departures, and public toilets, but also city information, curated lists, elections, public inquiries, and a small District Quiz. [![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/download.png)](https://apps.apple.com/de/app/franzbr%C3%B6tchen-hamburg-guide/id6753984831?ref=mertbulan.com) ## Postponed Most recently, I released Postponed, a smarter chore planner. Instead of blindly repeating tasks on fixed dates, it calculates the next due date based on when you actually completed a chore. With Postponed, you can share chores with others, organize them into categories, write notes, review your completion timeline, postpone tasks when you’re away, and use widgets to check off chores without opening the app. [![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/download.png)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/chores-reminders-postponed/id6762561804?ref=mertbulan.com) ## Haunt After starting my Alsterrunde newsletter, I wanted a quick way to check its analytics without opening Ghost Admin. So I built Haunt: it shows the same data you see in Ghost, presented cleanly, with Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets. [![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/download.png)](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/haunt-for-ghost-analytics/id6777671352?ref=mertbulan.com) ## What connects them Looking back, I didn’t plan to build an app studio. I started with one small app about trees in Hamburg, and then I kept building apps that solved my own problems. What connects all of them is simple: I like building useful, privacy-friendly apps that solve real problems without unnecessary complexity. I don’t know yet what the next app will be, but I know that I’ll keep building, improving, and listening to the people who use them. ### Quotes URL: https://mertbulan.com/quotes/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T16:36:45.000Z ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/client-5.jpg) #### Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/client-5-1.jpg) #### Be aware of the world's magical, mystical, and artistic sides. The most important things in life are not the goal-oriented, materialistic things that everyone and everything tries to convince you to strive for. Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/client-1.jpg) #### Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking. Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/client-4.jpg) #### We suffer more often in imagination than in reality. Seneca, Roman Stoic Philosopher ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/client-3.jpg) #### No one is most hated than he who speaks the truth. Plato, Greek Philosopher ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/client-1-1.jpg) #### Don't worry about what others think. Mind what you think. Watch the movements of your mind, and focus your thoughts on something worthy. Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor ### Posts URL: https://mertbulan.com/blog/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T13:19:14.000Z _No content available._ ### Alsterrunde URL: https://mertbulan.com/alsterrunde/ Last updated: 2026-06-13T09:08:51.000Z I’ve been living in Hamburg for eight years now, and I still enjoy every second of it. Since releasing [**Franzbrötchen**](https://franzbroetchen.app/?ref=mertbulan.com), my city super app for Hamburg, I’ve received an incredible amount of positive feedback from people who use it, love the city, and want to discover more of it. That response made me want to do even more for Hamburg. I’m not planning to leave Hamburg anytime soon. In fact, I can’t really imagine myself living in another city. Maybe that’s why I find myself constantly thinking about Hamburg: its politics, its everyday life, its small details, its hidden corners, and the things that make it such a special place to live. Over time, I realized I wanted a place to share these thoughts, discoveries, and ideas more regularly. A newsletter felt like the right format. The name comes from one of the most Hamburg things I know: taking a walk around the Alster. Just like I named my app after my favorite local pastry, I wanted this newsletter to feel rooted in the city too. In **Alsterrunde**, I’ll share a mix of things: thoughts on local politics, everyday observations, new discoveries, hidden gems, bits of Hamburg history, ideas for the city, and updates from the Franzbrötchen app. Sometimes it will be personal, sometimes practical, sometimes opinionated, and sometimes simply about something I found interesting while exploring the city. If you live in Hamburg, love Hamburg, or are planning to move here, I’d love for you to subscribe to [**Alsterrunde**](https://alsterrunde.com/?ref=mertbulan.com). ### Farklı Düşün URL: https://mertbulan.com/farkli-dusun/ Last updated: 2026-06-11T15:57:21.000Z I have always had a passion for reading, but what excites me even more is discussing books with others. I use Goodreads to keep track of my reading list and connect with people who share similar literary interests. It was there that I discovered Seyfeddin and I had a deep appreciation for many of the same books. That shared interest sparked an idea: why not start a podcast where we could explore and discuss the books we both enjoyed? [Seyfeddin](https://seyfedd.in/?ref=mertbulan.com) was just as enthusiastic as I was, and that marked the beginning of our podcasting journey, even though we had no clear destination in mind at the time. Books, however, were not our only common passion. We also shared a strong fascination with Apple and its ecosystem. Inspired by that, we named our podcast “Think Different” — or “Farklı Düşün” in Turkish — and dedicated our first episode to the highlights of WWDC 2021. Over time, our conversations expanded beyond books and Apple. We began discussing the software industry, technology trends, privacy, personal experiences, and a wide range of thought-provoking topics. The podcast quickly resonated with software developers, technology enthusiasts, and curious listeners eager to learn and stay up to date on both tech and literature. We also started inviting guests to the show, giving us the opportunity to speak with inspiring figures such as Koray Birand, Bilgem Çakır, and many others. Since then, we have produced more than 190 episodes, each around two hours long, and built an audience of approximately 4.000 listeners per episode. Today, our podcast has grown into one of Turkey’s most recognized technology podcasts. You can listen to the podcast on [Apple Podcasts](https://podcasts.apple.com/tr/podcast/farkl%C4%B1-d%C3%BC%C5%9F%C3%BCn/id1572640234?ref=mertbulan.com), [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/show/3imVa0uYZnmgrqKHj3o8Sq?ref=mertbulan.com) and [YouTube](https://youtube.com/@Farkl%C4%B1D%C3%BC%C5%9F%C3%BCnPodcast?ref=mertbulan.com). ### Cuisine and Culture URL: https://mertbulan.com/steve-jobs-in-exile/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T08:06:14.000Z _No content available._ ### Programming URL: https://mertbulan.com/programming/ Last updated: 2026-06-11T13:11:40.000Z _No content available._ ### Incorruptible URL: https://mertbulan.com/incorruptible/ Last updated: 2026-07-06T08:05:55.000Z _No content available._ ### Now URL: https://mertbulan.com/now/ Last updated: 2026-07-04T12:09:31.000Z _No content available._ ## Posts ### More German than many Germans URL: https://mertbulan.com/more-german-than-many-germans/ Last updated: 2026-08-02T06:02:46.000Z In 2017, after I finished the third year of my Computer Science studies, I decided to do an internship in Europe. So while I was applying for the Erasmus Scholarship, I also started looking for internships. In the end I got the scholarship, which helped a lot with the visa process, and I also found an internship at a company in Hamburg. I had never been outside of Turkey before. So I had also never really talked to people from other countries. What I knew about Germans came mostly from the Turkish people who moved to Germany in the 60s for work. Those people came back to Turkey almost every summer and told us about their life there. Most of what they said was the same as what you can read on the internet, the stereotypical German. People who don't laugh, who are cold and unfriendly, who always follow the rules, who speak a language that sounds too harsh, and so on. And of course, someone always brings up the Nazis. Apart from the people I talked to in the interviews, my first real contact was my German flatmate. Before I arrived he showed me the room on Skype and we agreed on it. When I landed in Hamburg, he picked me up from the airport. That was a great start, and during my three months there we chatted in the kitchen almost every evening for half an hour. I had a lot of questions for him and he always answered them properly. On the weekends he picked up his girlfriend and they either stayed home or went rowing. Their relationship looked very healthy to me. She was studying medicine, so sometimes she was working at her desk on a Saturday while my flatmate played Witcher 3 right next to her. I never heard them argue about anything. Near the end of my internship he told me that he and his girlfriend were going to Africa, so I would be alone in the flat for a week. When I asked him what I should do with the keys, he just said to drop them in the mailbox. That much trust after such a short time really surprised me. We had a last dinner together and I told him things were going well at the company and there was a chance I could come back to Hamburg. I was lucky with my flatmate and I was also lucky at work. I had a great team. They taught me new things, gave me responsibilities the other summer interns didn't get, and included me in all the team events. The offsite we had outside the city is something I still remember today. And I was getting all of this while earning minimum wage. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/08/IMG_1198.webp) My first offsite event I was really surprised by how friendly everyone was. We weren't just working, we were having fun. Everything I had heard about Germans until that point was gone. It was the best summer of my life. My lead was happy with my work and offered me a job right away. I could work as a freelancer from Turkey while finishing my studies, and if they were happy with my performance I would get a full-time contract. That is what happened. ## Coming back In April 2018 I got my contract, even before I finished my studies. The next month something nice happened. My German flatmate emailed me and asked when I was coming back, because he already had a room for me for the summer. The company was going to give me a place to stay, but I couldn't say no to him. Right after my last exam, before I even had my diploma, I moved to Hamburg at the end of June and started working full time with the same team, living with the same flatmate. On my first day there were candies and balloons on my desk. Everybody was happy to see me again. One colleague who knew my interest in Apple gave me a German flag pin he got at WWDC18\. He said he tried to swap it for a Turkish flag but couldn't manage it. I was already happy with the gift, because it meant he was thinking about me while he was in California. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/08/IMG_0454.webp) My desk When you start living in Germany you have to register your address. When I went to the public office, the clerk told me I had already lived in Hamburg before. I said I had done a summer internship a year earlier. He just said: Welcome back! That was the moment I felt like I was coming home, not moving to a new country. ## The first years My first months were mostly about finding a flat and figuring out how things work here. Since my German wasn't good enough, my colleagues came with me to flat viewings after work. When I had a problem with my electricity provider, a colleague came along and did all the talking. When I moved to a different place a year later, a German colleague rented a van and helped me carry everything. At the time, the company was one of the biggest internet companies here, with around 2.000 people. Sometimes I saw the C-level in the kitchen getting their own coffee or even washing their own glasses. They had assistants, but the assistants helped with work instead of acting like servants. We also had a CFO who rode a very old bike to the office. Whenever we had a team event or an offsite, the organisers made sure they knew everyone's dietary needs. Vegan, vegetarian, halal, no alcohol, allergies. So everyone would have something to eat and drink. When I was doing a good job, my lead kept telling me to take vacation instead of working more. When I was sick, he told me to stay home until I felt better. I didn't even need a doctor's note. It took me a while to notice this was not only a work thing. You get on a bus or a train here and nobody checks your ticket. I wasn't used to this level of trust. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/08/IMG_0359.webp) My second offsite Across from our office there was an Italian restaurant where we went for pizza sometimes. The pizzas were very tasty and huge, and it was the only place that sold half a pizza. At lunch I saw people in suits eating there, and right at the next table people from the construction site nearby in their work clothes eating the same pizza. Nobody looked at the other table and nobody thought it was worth noticing except me. That is the part that stayed with me. It was completely normal, and it was normal because a man who spent his morning on a building site can afford an Italian lunch and eat it like everyone else. I noticed the same thing in the rich districts of Hamburg. You can walk into one and not feel like you don't belong, and the prices in the shops are not that different from anywhere else in the city. Sometimes they are exactly the same. The more I saw of that, the more I wanted to stay. I believe in social democracy, and this is a country that calls itself one and mostly behaves like it. It didn't take long for me to move up at work. I didn't feel any discrimination, even though people say Germans prefer Germans when it comes to promotions. There were already a lot of people with a migration background at the top. When I ran as a candidate in the works council election, I got the most votes of anyone, even though there were many Germans running and only around 25% of the company were immigrants like me. You see the same thing outside of companies. [Cem Özdemir](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cem%5F%C3%96zdemir?ref=mertbulan.com), whose parents came from Turkey, has been the prime minister of Baden-Württemberg since May. [Sinan Selen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinan%5FSelen?ref=mertbulan.com), who was born in Istanbul, runs the office for the protection of the constitution. Being in the works council gave me more contact with the C-level. Sometimes I found myself arguing with the CTO or the CEO, and later at a company party we would have a beer together and talk about something else. That is when I understood how flat the management is here. I saw the difference later when I worked for an American company, where they made sure you knew you were lower on the ladder. I met hundreds of Germans at that company and they were always super friendly. I say this because years later I still see many of my old colleagues at different events, and most of my friends today are people I used to work with. A lot of immigrants complain that it is hard to become friends with Germans, but that wasn't my experience. ## My landing was soft I should be honest about one thing here. I landed softly. I came into a big international company where everyone spoke English, in a city like Hamburg, with a salary that let me pick where I live. I have worked with other German companies since then, mostly smaller ones, so what I write here is not only about that one place. But the start was much easier for me than it is for most people. A lot of them arrive with none of that, and the country they meet is not the same one I met. Everything I write here is my experience, not a report on how it works for everyone. The language is part of that. Every story I told above happened in English. The team, the flatmate, the works council, the arguments with the CEO, all of it. Once I decided I was going to stay here for a long time, I started taking German classes, and after the citizenship law changed I put much more effort into it. So the German came from the decision to stay. It was not the thing that made me stay. I never really tried to integrate. It just happened that the way I think about life turned out to be similar to how people here think. ## Why I like the rules Most people complain about the rules in Germany, but I like them. It means someone, or a group of people, sat down and thought about that specific thing and decided on a standard for everyone. When you have to do something, you don't feel lost, because you can just look it up. You don't have to find someone who knows. Rules also make normal days easier. Something simple like waiting at a red light even when there are no cars takes away the work of deciding whether to cross. And if everyone does it, you don't have to worry about someone suddenly stepping into the street. Or the fire safety rule that makes exit doors in public buildings open outwards. You never have to think about pull or push. There are also unwritten rules, like being on time. For me the logical thing has always been to aim for 15 minutes before the agreed time, so if something happens on the way I'm still fine. After going on dates with a lot of Germans, I realised they do the same thing. So instead of me arriving early and waiting 15 minutes, we just meet 15 minutes earlier. My favourite one is Ruhezeit, the quiet time between 10PM and 6AM, plus Sundays and public holidays. My sleep is very important to me and I'm a light sleeper, so this rule really helps me. Sometimes I had neighbours who had parties during those hours, and I didn't hesitate to complain (with Lärmprotokoll) to my landlord. Many Germans have told me I'm more German than many Germans. It is probably because of examples like this one. The one time a rule was pointed at me instead of working for me was my first application for permanent residence. I had just left my first company and I was between jobs, and that was enough to get it rejected. That was when I learned what a sustainable livelihood means to the German authorities. It doesn't mean the money you have in your account. It means a permanent contract with the probation time already behind you. I had savings and it didn't count for anything. It was an emotional day. But after I calmed down I could see their logic. A bank balance can be gone in a year and a signed contract that already survived six months says something a number can't. It was the same system I like for every other reason, just this time I was on the wrong side of it. ## Understanding the country The longer I lived here, the more I saw myself spending the rest of my life here. That made me want to read about the country. I'm a heavy reader and I track every book, so here are the ones I read about Germany: - [German Men Sit Down To Pee & Other Insights Into German Culture](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30556935-german-men-sit-down-to-pee-and-other-insights-into-german-culture?ref=mertbulan.com) - [Germany: Memories of a Nation](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25242070-germany?ref=mertbulan.com) - [The German Genius](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12453484-the-german-genius?ref=mertbulan.com) - [Kaput: The End of the German Miracle](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/214631090-kaput?ref=mertbulan.com) - [Man's Search for Meaning](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4069.Man%5Fs%5FSearch%5Ffor%5FMeaning?ref=mertbulan.com) - [Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871 to 1918](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56269907-blood-and-iron?ref=mertbulan.com) - [Why the Germans Do it Better: Notes from a Grown-Up Country](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54443313-why-the-germans-do-it-better?ref=mertbulan.com) Apart from the books, I also watched a lot of documentaries, especially about the Nazi era. Like most people, I didn't know that Germany wasn't one country until the 19th century. It was made of small kingdoms, city states and so on. That is why there are so many kinds of bread, beer and sausage, why some parts have different public holidays, different accents and even a different way of living. The German Genius surprised me the most. It is about 1.000 pages about Germans who contributed to humanity in different fields, and I didn't know how many things in our daily life exist thanks to them. Some of them had to escape the country because of the Nazis and reached their full potential somewhere else, in countries like the US and the UK. The books also helped me understand how Germany built an educated middle class, how workers' rights and social reforms happened, and where the rule about no shopping on Sundays comes from. What stayed with me is that this is probably the only country in the western world that faced its own history properly, admitted the worst things it did, and built a lot of its identity around not repeating them. You feel that here in small ways, not only in museums. In January 2024, after it came out that far right politicians had talked about deporting people who already hold a German passport, 50.000 to 80.000 people filled the streets of my city in one afternoon. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/08/IMG_6681.webp) "Hamburg steht auf!" demonstration In eight years I have not had a single case of racism. I know that isn't true for everyone, and I know the far right keeps growing. I don't think most of those votes are about hating foreigners. Some people believe the story they get every day, that the country is broken and that immigrants are the problem. You find that story almost everywhere. The rest are angry that certain problems here have not been solved for years by the existing parties, so they look for an alternative. For me, Germans are people who give trust before it is earned. People who are friendly without being fake about it. People who make sure everyone is included, down to what is on the table. People who care about someone they will never meet. People who know exactly what happened here and don't look away from it. ## Making it official That is why I decided to become one of them. The chance came when the traffic light coalition, which I think was the most progressive government this country has had in decades, changed the citizenship rules and brought the waiting time down to five years. I was eligible, so I applied. People seem to think a German passport is handed out easily now. It isn't. You have to prove you paid into the social system for at least five years. You have to pass the citizenship test. You need German at B1 level. You need a sustainable livelihood while your application is running. And most importantly, you have to accept the democratic values of this country. For me the process itself was smooth. I applied online by uploading a pile of PDFs. A week later I got a letter saying my application had arrived, with a few papers to sign, scan and upload back. Then the waiting started. In total it took around 14 months to get the email saying my application was successful and that I could come and collect my Einbürgerungsurkunde. I picked it up this week, at an appointment that only took 15 minutes. I am German now. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/08/IMG_1033-2.webp) I believe I have contributed something to this society in these eight years and I will keep doing it. And I will keep complaining about everything that needs to be better. Because that is what real Germans do. ### How to declare taxes in Germany as an App Developer URL: https://mertbulan.com/how-to-declare-taxes-in-germany-as-an-app-developer/ Last updated: 2026-06-11T13:50:57.000Z I released my first app in April 2023\. Since then, I published 10 more apps. Before I started my app development journey, I had so many questions about having an app business, especially when it comes to taxes in Germany. Over the years, I’ve successfully submitted my tax returns without any issues. Thanks to [a blog post in German](https://www.lukaszielinski.de/blog/posts/2019/12/26/wie-wir-die-einnahmen-unserer-gbr-ios-app-business-gegenuber-dem-finanzamt-erklart-haben/?ref=mertbulan.com), I had a starting point. So I thought it would be nice to share how I file my taxes, similar to that blog post, so other app developers can do it in a similar way. I know that many people would like to develop apps and sell them on the App Store, especially with the rise of agentic coding, but they are hesitant because they are scared of the Finanzamt and don’t want to deal with the bureaucracy or pay hundreds of euros for a tax advisor. This is especially true if you need one who understands how the App Store works and can also speak English. I have to mention that I’m not a tax advisor. The way I describe below is how I submit my tax returns, but your case could be different, or I might be doing something wrong. So I don’t take any responsibility for any issues this post might cause. I just want to give you a starting point so you can figure out what you need to do. Before going into the details, I should mention that I have an Einzelunternehmen. If you don’t have one, this should be the first thing you set up if you’re not planning to form a company. You have to apply for an Einzelunternehmen in your city, and also for a new tax ID. If you’re living in Hamburg, you can do that online through [the form here](https://serviceportal.hamburg.de/HamburgGateway/Service/Entry/GWR?ref=mertbulan.com). For getting a tax ID, you can use [the form here on Elster](https://www.elster.de/eportal/formulare-leistungen/alleformulare/fseeun?ref=mertbulan.com) or use [the English form here](https://help.getsorted.de/hc/en-us/articles/7811109584785-How-to-fill-your-tax-registration-form-Fragebogen-zur-steuerlichen-Erfassung?ref=mertbulan.com). I should also mention that the revenue from the App Store is my only revenue. So if you have different revenue sources like freelancing, you might need to fill in your forms differently. I use [the AusweisApp](https://www.ausweisapp.bund.de/home?ref=mertbulan.com) to log in to [Elster](https://www.elster.de/eportal/start?ref=mertbulan.com). Elster (short for Elektronische Steuererklärung) is the official online platform from the German tax authorities where you submit your tax returns. It is completely free to use. So let’s get started. ## The forms ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/forms.webp) If you don’t count your normal income tax form (if you also work full-time for example), there are three forms you have to submit for every calendar year. These are: - Einnahmenüberschussrechnung (Anlage EÜR) - Umsatzsteuererklärung (USt) - Gewerbesteuererklärung (GewSt 1 A) The first one is the main tax form that shows how much you earned from your app business and how much you spent. The second form is for sales tax. This is quite simple because if you only have an app business like I do and receive money directly from Apple or Google, and since they handle the sales tax, you basically declare your sales tax as zero. The third one is for trade tax. You use the total profit from the first form here. Depending on your state and your profit, you might need to pay trade tax on top of income tax. This one is also quite straightforward. ## Einnahmenüberschussrechnung ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/eur-1.webp) On the first step (Allgemeine Angaben) of the EÜR form, you fill in your personal details like first name, last name, and address. The important part is the 4th field. Here you enter the start date of your business and the end of the year. Your business start date is normally written on the letter you receive from the city after you apply for Einzelunternehmen. The 6th field is the type of your activity, which is software development for trade. The 7th field might be different if you also work as a freelancer. The 8th field is the type of income, which is commercial. The 9th field is the business owner, in our case the person filling the tax form. The 10th and 11th fields are not relevant if you didn’t close your business during the calendar year. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/eur-2.webp) After entering the details about your business, it is time to enter the numbers. For that, you start with the third step (Betriebseinnahmen). Since Apple pays the sales tax, as an app developer you only receive the payment after sales tax. So you have to pick the field that fits our case, which is “Betriebseinnahmen, die umsatzsteuerfrei oder nicht umsatzsteuerbar sind oder nach §12 Abs. 3 UStG dem ermäßigten Steuersatz von 0 % unterliegen oder für die der Leistungsempfänger die Umsatzsteuer nach § 13b UStG schuldet”. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/eur-3.webp) Since I only develop apps for the App Store, I enter the money I received from Apple during the calendar year. The important thing here is that you don’t enter how much sales or proceeds you had in, let’s say 2026, the number you see on App Store Connect. You enter the amount of money you actually received from Apple during the calendar year. For Apple, this is mostly the November and December payments from the previous year, and the payments from January to November for the declared calendar year. This could be different depending on when you receive the payment, but you always declare the money that landed in your bank account during the calendar year. If you also develop apps for Google, following the same logic, you can add a second line item in this field. Once you are done with the income part, you can move to the next step (Betriebsausgaben) for the business expenses. On this section, there are multiple steps depending on the expense types: ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/eur-4.webp) - Bezogene Fremdleistungen: This is the field where I add the cost of the Apple Developer Program, and other services I use like Claude Code, Plausible Analytics, Cloudflare, etc. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/eur-5.webp) - Aufwendungen für geringwertige Wirtschaftsgüter nach § 6 Abs. 2 EStG: This one is for hardware you bought for your business. For example, if you bought an iPad as a test device or an SSD for backup. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/eur-6.webp) - Aufwendungen für Telekommunikation: This field is for communication expenses. I don’t put my internet bill here because I also work part-time at a company and that job takes up most of my time. On the other hand, I add the cost of the cellular package I use for the phone number I share on the App Store, because that number is used only for business purposes. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/eur-7.webp) - Kosten für Verpackung und Transport: This is the field where I enter the cost of the post box I rent from Deutsche Post. If you send packages, you can probably also add those here. - Werbekosten (Z. B. Inserate, Werbespots, Plakate): This is the field where I add the cost of advertising like Apple Search Ads. Once you are done with the expenses, you have to fill in two more fields in section seven (Entnahmen und Einlagen i. S. d. § 4 Abs. 4a EStG), but in most cases they won’t be relevant. These fields tell the Finanzamt how much money you added to your business account or how much you withdrew. This could be relevant if you manage a separate business account and spend money from it for personal expenses, or if you earn interest from your business bank account. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/eur-8.webp) In this section, you find the fields “Entnahmen einschließlich Sach-, Leistungs- und Nutzungsentnahmen” and “Einlagen einschließlich Sach-, Leistungs- und Nutzungseinlagen”, then enter a line item with “0”. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/eur-9.webp) That’s it for the EÜR form. If you have different kinds of expenses, you might need to find the relevant fields. Before completing this form, make sure you write down the number in section five (Ermittlung des Gewinns), under the “Steuerpflichtiger Gewinn/Verlust” title, in the field “Steuerpflichtiger Gewinn/Verlust”. This number is your taxable profit or loss. You will need it for the trade tax form. ## Umsatzsteuererklärung ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/umsatz-1.webp) As I mentioned before, since Apple handles the sales tax, you don’t need to declare any sales tax. After filling in the similar “Allgemeine Angaben” in the first section, under the “Art der Besteuerung” title, you select “vereinbarten Entgelten (§ 16 Absatz 1 Satz 1 UStG)” for the “Die Steuer wurde berechnet anhand:” field. When you buy something from the App Store, the VAT is already shown on the invoice. The VAT is due when the invoice is issued, which is why you select this option. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/umsatz-2.webp) Then, you jump to section twelve (K. Berechnung der zu entrichtenden Umsatzsteuer), scroll down to “Steuer”, and fill in the fields “Manuelle Eingabe der verbleibenden Umsatzsteuer / des verbleibenden Überschusses” and “Vorauszahlungssoll 2025 (einschließlich Sondervorauszahlung)” with “0”. Here you are saying that there is no remaining VAT and there was no advance VAT payment. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/umsatz-3.webp) That’s it for the sales tax form. ## Gewerbesteuererklärung On this form, after filling in the first section “Allgemeine Angaben”, you move to the second section “Rechtsform / Art der Tätigkeit”. Here I select the first option “Der Gewerbebetrieb wird als Einzelunternehmen betrieben.”, since I have an Einzelunternehmen. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/gewerbe-1.webp) Then, you jump to the fifth section (Angaben zum Gewerbebetrieb), under “Angaben zur Betriebsstätte”, and select “Nein” for the first three fields. These are related to the location of your business. If you make any changes, you might need to select a different option. Since you selected “Nein”, you also fill in the fields “Wenn nein: Postleitzahl der einzigen Betriebsstätte” and “Ort der einzigen Betriebsstätte” with the zip code and city of your business. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/gewerbe-2.webp) After you are done with the fifth section, you visit the sixth section (Gewinn aus Gewerbebetrieb). Here, you fill in the “Gewinn aus Gewerbebetrieb vor Anwendung des § 7 Satz 4 GewStG (ohne Beträge laut Zeilen 46 und 100 bis 102)” field with the net profit or loss number you wrote down from the EÜR form. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/gewerbe-3.webp) That’s it for the trade tax form. ## Conclusion I hope you find this blog post useful. I should mention that the content of the forms changes almost every year, so the things I showed might be in a different place if you are reading this in a different year. As I said in the beginning, I’m not a tax advisor. I just wanted to share how I file my tax returns on Elster for my app business. The reason I’m sharing this is that I don’t want people to be discouraged from starting a business. I believe the Finanzamt would think the same. People should not be afraid of the Finanzamt. By declaring your taxes, you are already showing that you are honest. If you make a mistake, the Finanzamt will probably let you know and won’t punish you for it. As long as you declare the right numbers for your income and expenses and don’t try to inflate your expenses to pay less tax, I don’t think you would be in trouble with the Finanzamt. Especially if you’re reading this post and not making millions of euros per year, because in that case you would probably already be working with a tax advisor and the numbers would also matter more to the Finanzamt. :) If you’re reading this post, you are most likely developing apps for Apple platforms. If you would like to get a better overview of your sales, keyword rankings, and customer reviews, take a look at my app, [Peek](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/peek-for-app-store-connect/id6740280911?ref=mertbulan.com). ### Einbürgerungsantragsjubiläum URL: https://mertbulan.com/einbuergerungsantragsjubilaeum/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:23:05.000Z As you may know, German is a very flexible language. It lets you create your own words. So I wanted to make my own small contribution and came up with this word: **Einbürgerungsantragsjubiläum**. It means the anniversary of a citizenship application. If you want to get German citizenship under the current law, you usually need to: - Work in Germany for at least 5 years - Have a permanent residence permit - Pass the citizenship test - Have at least B1 level German After that, you are eligible to apply for German citizenship. I have been living in Germany for almost 8 years. During this time, I have been working as a Software Developer, and I still do. Germany would probably describe me as a highly skilled immigrant. I already have permanent residency. Last year, after passing the B1 German test, I applied for citizenship. According to the Hamburg Immigration Office, the average processing time is 14 months. In Munich and Stuttgart, it is around 18 months. In Bremen, people have to wait around 28 months. But this is only the average. I know some people who have been waiting for more than 3 years for their application to be processed. I honestly do not know many other processes that take this long. I know there is a big discussion around citizenship, but as you can see from my case, people like me are also applying. You cannot receive government benefits and apply for citizenship. You have to prove that you have been working, paying into the pension system, and earning enough money to support yourself. Germany needs skilled immigrants more than it often admits. Its pension system is already under pressure from an ageing population, and studies estimate that the country needs around 400.000 net immigrants per year just to keep the labour force stable. Making life harder for the people who already work here, pay taxes, and contribute to the pension system is not a smart strategy. When Germany makes life harder for highly skilled immigrants, many of them start looking at other countries. I know many people who are planning to leave Germany because of the amount of bureaucracy they have to deal with. I also know people who do not choose Germany in the first place for the same reason. Personally, I do not have a big problem with waiting, because I do not plan to leave Germany anytime soon. At the same time, I feel like I have to talk about this problem. Germany should be more attractive for highly skilled immigrants. People like me want to contribute, work, pay taxes, and build a life here. The system should make that easier, not harder. ### My Favorite Books in the First Quarter of 2026 URL: https://mertbulan.com/my-favorite-books-in-the-first-quarter-of-2026/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:23:00.000Z What would you do with the hours you [spend reading the news every day](http://mertbulan.com/2026/01/28/why-i-stopped-following-the-news/)? I found out this year. In the first three months of 2026, I finished 19 books, which is almost as many as I read in the whole of 2025\. Turns out, staying informed is expensive. Last year, I was writing a blog post after every quarter covering books, movies, TV shows and games. This year, since I read so many books, I decided to just write about the books I liked after each quarter. You are reading the first one of this series. ## Against the Grain: A Deep History of the Earliest States I enjoy reading about history, especially when it opens my eyes on a very specific topic. [Against the Grain](https://amzn.to/4sPUIbs?ref=mertbulan.com) by James C. Scott was that kind of book. Most people think of agriculture as a natural step forward in human history and as the foundation of how human society developed. But when you read this book, you see that agriculture was not something people really wanted to do. It required too much work and led to the birth of states, which meant paying taxes and working in other people’s fields. You even learn that the walls built around those early states were not only to protect people from enemies, but also to keep the people living nearby inside so they would work the fields and pay their taxes. Another thing I liked about this book was how it challenges the common idea of barbarians. When we think of barbarians today, we only think of negative things. But those people were actually the real rebels who did not want to live under the rule of those early states or spend their days working on farms. They simply wanted freedom, without being forced to work and pay taxes. Since history was written by the people living inside those states, we never got to hear the barbarian side of the story. We still see them as the enemy. If you are interested in history, this one is hard to put down. You will also never look at a loaf of bread the same way again. ## Man’s Search for Meaning When I first heard about this book, I was surprised that most people around me had already read it and I had somehow missed it. [Man’s Search for Meaning](https://amzn.to/4caHijp?ref=mertbulan.com) by Viktor E. Frankl is about the author’s own experience in the concentration camps. I have watched many documentaries about the Second World War and I know about the horrible things that happened during that time, but what I read in this book was on a completely different level. The author is a psychologist, so he does not just write about his feelings but also about his observations as a psychologist. The second part of the book focuses on logotherapy, which is a school of psychotherapy that sees the search for meaning as the central driving force in human life. That part resonated with me a lot, because finding meaning in my life is something I think about often. It is very short but emotionally quite heavy. If there is one book on this list that I think everyone should read at some point in their life, it is this one. ## Blood and Iron: The Rise and Fall of the German Empire 1871-1918 Since I have been living in Germany for a long time, I wanted to learn more about German history and ended up with [Blood and Iron](https://amzn.to/3Q2SoiS?ref=mertbulan.com) by Katja Hoyer. History books can be quite boring, but this one was very well written. The book mostly focuses on Otto von Bismarck and his role in German unification. I knew a little about him since there is a very tall monument of him in Hamburg. I always wondered what made him worthy of that kind of honour, and now I know why. After covering German unification, the book shifts to the political environment and social life, and how the empire slowly built a nation. You even discover things like the origin of why all shops are closed on Sunday in Germany. A lot of the things I observe here started to make more sense to me after reading this book. At the end, you also see the beginning of the First World War and how things developed over time, including all the lives sacrificed by the Kaiser while he enjoyed a peaceful life even after the war ended. It left me with a strange feeling, knowing that some of the patterns from that era are not as distant as we like to think. ## On the Calculation of Volume I, II, III Last year, I noticed I was not reading much fiction, so I wanted to change that. Based on a recommendation from a friend, I started [On the Calculation of Volume](https://amzn.to/4c3qryS?ref=mertbulan.com) by Solvej Balle. The book is about a woman who is stuck living the same day, the 17th of November, over and over again. It is a fascinating story, but what I liked most about it is that because she lives the same day every day, she starts to notice every small detail of life. From the movement of clouds to the sounds her husband makes at home. While reading this series, I noticed that I also started to appreciate the small details in my own daily life, from birds to the behaviour of people around me. That shift in attention felt like an unexpected gift from a book about someone trapped in time. I have already read the first three books of this seven book series and the fourth one is coming out very soon. ## Nuclear War: A Scenario I heard a lot of positive things about this book from friends, so I gave it a try and could not stop reading it. [Nuclear War](https://amzn.to/4c0pZ4s?ref=mertbulan.com) by Annie Jacobsen focuses on a scenario where North Korea fires a nuclear missile at Washington, and what unfolds right after it is detected. The author interviewed many people to get things as accurate as possible, so while reading the book you are both horrified and surprised by what would actually happen if a single nuclear missile were fired today. What stayed with me after finishing it was not the scale of the destruction, but how little time anyone would have to make decisions, and how many of those decisions are already made in advance by automated systems. I hope the scenario in this book never happens, but when I look at what is going on in the world, I always feel there is a small chance it could. ## The Dispossessed A friend pointed out that I had never read anything by Ursula K. Le Guin, so I decided to start with one of her most well known books, [The Dispossessed](https://amzn.to/4v9JyQv?ref=mertbulan.com). It is about a scientist who travels to a sister world after making a scientific breakthrough. That world has a completely different political system from his own. I would not be wrong in saying that while his world leans more toward communism, the world he visits leans more toward capitalism. But unlike most books that would take one side, this one perfectly shows the flaws of both systems, as well as the role of women in each world. I already ordered another book by Le Guin before I even finished this one. That should tell you enough. ## The Tyranny of Merit: What’s Become of the Common Good? If you are confused, like I am, about the growing inequality in the world and the rise of far right parties, this book might help. I first heard about [The Tyranny of Merit](https://amzn.to/4c72pTw?ref=mertbulan.com) by Michael J. Sandel from Olaf Scholz, the former chancellor of Germany, in an interview. The book focuses on meritocracy and how it divides people into two groups: the educated and the non-educated. Over time, politicians started praising meritocracy and pushing the idea that everyone should study, not just for a bachelor’s degree but all the way to a PhD. Of course, not everyone can do that, and the ones who did started to form their own class, separate from those without higher education, and began to control many aspects of life. On top of that, they do everything they can to make sure their children have the same advantages. Even though the book mostly focuses on the US, you can see the same patterns in European countries and in Germany too. It covers the last four decades and shows how the makeup of political parties changed. In the past, you would see workers in parties like the Social Democrats or the Labour Party. Today, you mostly see people with PhDs. This creates a big problem: since only a small group of highly educated people are running things, those without higher education feel left behind. People with PhDs often cannot relate to the problems of everyone else, so they fail to come up with solutions that work for most people. In the end, those who feel ignored look for *alternatives*, not because they believe those other parties can fix their problems, but because they have lost hope in the established ones. I especially recommend this one if you already consider yourself highly educated. It is a little uncomfortable in the best possible way. ### Why I Stopped Following the News URL: https://mertbulan.com/why-i-stopped-following-the-news/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:22:55.000Z If I have to pick my favourite German word, I would probably pick “neugierig” because it describes me very well. It means curious, but that is not the literal meaning. Like many German words, it comes from two parts: neu and gierig. Neu means new, and gierig means greedy. So the literal idea behind neugierig is being greedy for new things. That fits me well. I really enjoy learning new things. That is why I read a lot, watch documentaries, and explore different topics. I am greedy for new information. This also includes what is happening around the world. For years, I followed the news to keep an eye on what was happening in my country, in the world, and in the tech industry. I curated a list of sources that matched my taste, from international newspapers to YouTube channels, Reddit, and tech-focused websites. Every day, I checked these sources through their websites or my RSS reader to stay up to date. At the end of last year, I had some time to reflect on my habits. I thought about what makes me happy, what makes me stressed, and how the things I do every day contribute to my goals. When I looked at the time I spent reading the news and how I felt afterward, I realised it was not helping me at all. Most of the time, I felt more stressed than informed. I also noticed that almost every source focuses heavily on negative stories, simply because those attract more attention and clicks. When it comes to world news, I started to see the same patterns repeating. A lot of headlines about political figures, conflicts far away, and problems I have no control over. I asked myself how much of this actually affects my daily life, and I could not come up with a good answer. Many things are happening in the world, but they rarely change anything in my day-to-day routine. That made me question why I was following them so closely. The same applies to tech news. Most of it revolves around big personalities, constant AI updates, startups getting acquired, people becoming rich, hardware I will probably never buy, and rumours about products that may never be released. In most cases, none of this has any real impact on my life. New technologies are usually easy to learn when they become relevant, and it is hard to know which ones will still matter in a few years. After thinking about whether I really need to follow the news, I decided that I do not. This does not mean I do not care about the world or the tech industry. I am just not interested in following daily updates that do not add much value to my life. One thing I am still interested in is what is happening in my city. For that, I recently discovered a newsletter from Die Zeit called [Elbvertiefung](https://www.zeit.de/serie/elbvertiefung?ref=mertbulan.com). Every weekday at 6 AM, they send a short newsletter about what happened in Hamburg, and sometimes they also recommend a book or a new restaurant or cafe. I start my day by reading it. Since it is in German, it also helps me improve my language skills. For the rest of the news, I am considering subscribing to a magazine that covers important events in Germany, the EU, or the world every few months. This kind of format filters out short-term noise and fear-driven stories. These publications usually make money by selling the magazine rather than ads, so they tend to focus more on quality. (If you have any recommendations, feel free to [reach out](https://mertbulan.com/contact).) At the beginning of this year, I decided to stop following the news. As a result, I started reading more. Last year, I finished 20 books. This year, just in January, I finished 7 books. I still satisfy my curiosity and learn new things, but I just changed the medium. And I feel much better because of it. ### When the Tech Industry Becomes Disgusting URL: https://mertbulan.com/when-the-tech-industry-becomes-disgusting/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:22:30.000Z When I first encountered the internet and began spending hours online, the people I interacted with were mostly nerds in the best sense of the word. They had niche interests, deep curiosity, and a genuine willingness to help others who shared their passions. Technology felt like a playground for people who enjoyed building things for fun, learning obsessively, and solving problems simply because they could. As time passed, consumer tech products began to take off. Personal computers, the iPod, and later the iPhone didn’t just change daily life, they accelerated the entire tech industry. More people became interested in technology, often inspired by the same principles that guided its early pioneers: building things out of curiosity and nerdiness, and only then figuring out how to make enough money to keep going. Eventually, the people building these products (whether software or hardware) started making serious money. Not necessarily because they were creating proportionally more value, but because their products reached a massive, non-technical audience. A small group of company owners suddenly found themselves extremely wealthy. With the rise of social media, they began to showcase their lifestyles: luxury homes, exotic travel, expensive hobbies. For people outside the industry, this was eye-opening. Tech no longer looked like a space for curious nerds, it looked like a fast track to wealth and status. This shift is something I’ve watched from the inside, not as an outsider looking for villains. This realisation triggered a new wave of people entering the tech industry. Unfortunately, many of them lacked the curiosity and enthusiasm of the early builders. They weren’t interested in technology for its own sake or in improving people’s lives. They were primarily interested in money, rather than in the technology itself. This was the breaking point for me. I increasingly encountered people who spoke confidently about technical topics without understanding even the fundamentals. They acted as if they were “changing the world,” imitating figures like Steve Jobs, but without the substance behind the performance. It became easy to identify them. Around that time, the term tech bro emerged to describe this new archetype: confident, performative, and often detached from any real technical depth. Meanwhile, the early entrants to the industry became unimaginably rich. Figures like Sergey Brin, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates reached levels of wealth that are difficult for ordinary people to comprehend. Like many early builders, they started as nerds but extreme wealth eventually translated into unchecked power. Elon Musk was perhaps the first to fully realize this. Instead of limiting himself to technical subjects like rockets or electric cars, he began publicly weighing in on social and political issues. He was clearly under the brain-rotting drug (“Their financial success all too often convinces them that they’re uniquely brilliant, able to instantly master any subject, without any need to consult people who have actually worked hard to understand the issues.”), but neither the public nor the new wave of tech workers recognized it. Instead, they elevated him to a messianic figure. Much of what he said was treated as unquestionable truth by his followers. Once other tech leaders saw Musk’s influence and loyal following, they followed the same path. This wasn’t just about personalities. Venture capital incentives, social media amplification, and winner-take-all markets rewarded loud confidence over competence, and provocation over substance. Ideas they once avoided expressing became central to their public personas. They moved beyond their campuses, directly engaging with governments and political discourse. At the same time, their personal lives took darker turns. Many divorced the partners who had supported them early on. Some publicly pursued much younger partners; others were accused of harassing female employees, and in a few cases, far worse behavior later came to light. The motivation of the new tech elite shifted from building things, to making money, to exerting influence, to indulging every excess made possible by power and wealth. We went from criticising Steve Jobs for rejecting his daughter to celebrating Elon Musk’s ever-growing number of children. Today, opening social media often means seeing startup and mid-sized tech CEOs and executives eagerly praising, defending, or desperately seeking the attention of Elon Musk. It has become very difficult to work in tech without encountering leadership that is openly racist, sexist, or aligned with white supremacist ideas. At some point, the industry stopped being nerdy, curious, and hopeful and became something deeply disgusting. It didn’t rot by accident. It rotted because we rewarded the wrong things and continue to do so. ### About Being Grateful URL: https://mertbulan.com/about-being-grateful/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:22:23.000Z In today’s world, especially with capitalism, many of us are always wanting more. We’re told to buy more stuff, go on more trips, and collect experiences to be happy. Ads everywhere tell us that buying this or traveling there will make our lives better. If you grew up in a developed country and are healthy, you might not really see how others live. Sure, you can travel and visit different places, but you don’t truly know what people’s everyday lives are like. The more I look around, the more I see people who have everything they need yet are still unhappy. They constantly look for new things to make them feel better. I think social media plays a big role in this. Social media shows us more than just the lives of our friends. We end up comparing ourselves to strangers too, and somehow, we’re always seeing people who seem to have more, like bigger houses, nicer cars, fancy vacations. When we see these things, we start to want them, and we focus on getting them. But even when we get them, we just end up wanting more. It’s like an endless cycle that’s hard to break. Some people work more hours or even go into debt just to keep up with this pressure. One thing I’ve been noticing more lately is how people are getting surgeries to change how they look, whether it’s for aesthetics or dental work. People are trying to look “perfect,” but sometimes they end up looking weird or unnatural. And with things like Botox or fillers, if you stop getting them, your face can look even worse than before. I find this incredibly dangerous because people are changing their bodies permanently to feel better about themselves, but the reason they feel bad is often because of how others treat them, especially strangers. This is one of the main reasons I don’t use apps like Instagram or TikTok. It’s hard to avoid the feeling of missing out when you’re constantly seeing others with shiny new things, experiences, or looks. I believe true happiness comes from being grateful for what you already have, not from having more. If you’re healthy and have your basic needs met, you should appreciate that. There are billions of people who don’t have those things, and it’s enough to make you feel happy. You don’t always realize how important those things are until you lose them. When you get sick, you stop caring about stuff, you just want to be healthy again. When you don’t have access to things like clean water or air, those become your only wishes. When you can’t even go outside to hang out with friends, a vacation seems like a distant dream. So, as we enter a new year, I just want to remind myself to be grateful for what I already have. I don’t need more to feel happy. What I have right now is enough. ### My 2025 Q4 Highlights: Favorite Books, Games, and TV Shows URL: https://mertbulan.com/my-2025-q4-highlights-favorite-books-games-and-tv-shows/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:22:08.000Z The last quarter of 2025 offered me a bit more free time, which I mostly spent unwinding and working on my apps. While I didn’t dive deep into entertainment, I did manage to read a few books, watch some TV shows, and play a handful of games. Still, there weren’t many standout favourites this quarter. # Books ## More Everything Forever by Adam Becker If you’ve been following the tech industry for over a decade like I have, you’ve probably noticed some pretty significant shifts, especially over the last five years. Post-COVID, it seems like tech CEOs have become more involved in politics, pushing certain ideologies that weren’t as prominent before. Back in the day, tech felt more like a space for nerdy innovation, creativity, and problem-solving. Now, it often seems driven by profits, with tech moguls increasingly disconnected from society and the consequences of their actions. There’s a growing presence of influential figures whose opinions and moves dominate the conversation—people like Ray Kurzweil, Peter Thiel, Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, Nick Bostrom, and Marc Andreessen. In [More Everything Forever](https://amzn.to/45nwvj1?ref=mertbulan.com), Adam Becker delves into these changes within the tech industry. He highlights how these prominent figures are shaping the future with their personal ideologies, often at the expense of public well-being. The book reveals how their focus isn’t on improving life for ordinary people, but rather on generating fear, promoting controversial ideas (like Mars colonization or transhumanism), and increasing their wealth. If you’re in the tech world or even just curious about what’s really going on behind the scenes I highly recommend this book. It’s a wake-up call to critically evaluate the actions and motivations of the billionaires steering our digital future. ## Status and Culture by David Marx Another thought-provoking read was [Status and Culture](https://amzn.to/3YOfISA?ref=mertbulan.com) by David Marx, which really opened my eyes to the concept of status and how it shapes human behavior. I hadn’t spent much time thinking about status before, mostly because I don’t encounter people who constantly chase it in my daily life. However, in the age of social media and consumerism, understanding the pursuit of status becomes essential. From why people buy certain things to how they behave when interacting with others, this book explores the motivations behind these actions. Marx does an excellent job breaking down how people seek higher status and the societal shifts that influence these pursuits. He also discusses how cultural trends in the U.S. evolve, with once-exclusive trends eventually trickling down to lower status levels, leaving high-status individuals to chase new trends. While the book is mostly focused on American culture, it offers valuable insights into how status plays out globally, though some of the cultural references may feel unfamiliar if you’re not acquainted with U.S. society. # TV Shows # Mr. Scorsese This documentary, [Mr. Scorsese](https://apple.co/4jk0z54?ref=mertbulan.com), about legendary director Martin Scorsese surprised me in the best way. Initially, I thought it might be a bit dry, but once I started watching, I couldn’t stop. The documentary features scenes from Scorsese’s iconic films, with the director himself explaining the stories behind them. While I hadn’t seen many of his older films (Taxi Driver was probably the oldest), I was completely hooked as they dived into more recent classics like Gangs of New York and The Departed. One thing that really stood out was how resistant Hollywood seemed to be to new ideas, even for a director of Scorsese’s stature. He shared how, at times, it was a struggle to get his vision onto the screen and even harder to secure funding for his projects. It was eye-opening to realize just how difficult it can be, even for the most influential filmmakers. ## Acapulco I had never watched [Acapulco](https://apple.co/4pWiwci?ref=mertbulan.com), even though it had already wrapped up four seasons. I’m not sure why I never gave it a chance, but when I finally did, I was pleasantly surprised. It turned out to be one of those feel-good shows that’s easy to watch and fun to get lost in. The series tells the story of a wealthy Mexican man reflecting on his rise to success, starting as a pool boy at a luxurious resort in Acapulco. The story unfolds through flashbacks, as he tells his niece about the pivotal moments of his life. It’s charming, light-hearted, and full of humor. If you enjoy comedy-dramas, I highly recommend it. While the fourth season didn’t quite measure up to the first three, the series did a great job wrapping everything up in the final episode. ## Pluribus [Pluribus](https://apple.co/3MThM9n?ref=mertbulan.com) was a bit of a mixed bag for me. There’s a lot of buzz around it, especially since it was written by Vince Gilligan, the mastermind behind Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. The show follows a woman who writes romance novels and, in a post-apocalyptic world, is one of the few people unaffected by a virus that has connected everyone’s minds. The rest of the world feels constant happiness, while the protagonist struggles to adjust to this new reality as an unhappy person. The premise had a lot of potential, and I liked the concept of exploring what it means to be left out of a collective experience. However, the pacing was incredibly slow, and not much seemed to happen episode to episode. With the next season not arriving until 2027, I’m honestly unsure if it’s a show I’ll be eagerly awaiting. It’s a slow burn, and I’m still on the fence about whether it’s a story I want to keep following. # Games ## ARC Raiders It had been a long time since I tried a game from a completely new genre, but [ARC Raiders](https://arcraiders.com/?ref=mertbulan.com) immediately caught my attention. It’s an extraction shooter set in an apocalyptic world where robots (called ARCs) have taken over the surface, forcing humans to live underground. Each session begins with you heading topside through tunnels, where you explore ruined environments, complete quests, gather loot, and try to make it back safely via metros or elevators. What makes the experience truly tense is the presence of other players. You can either cooperate to take down ARCs or end up killing each other for loot. That unpredictability is easily the best part of the game—every run feels different, and it’s hard to get bored. I’ve spent over 30 hours in ARC Raiders, and overall, I really enjoyed it, even though getting killed by other players can be frustrating. The variety in each session keeps things fresh, but the quest design felt a bit dull and not particularly rewarding. Another downside is the downtime after dying: reorganizing your stash and crafting new gear can take quite a while before you’re ready for the next run. That said, the game shines when played with one or two friends. I’ll definitely keep coming back to it over time. ## Anno 117: Pax Romana I previously played Anno 1800 and loved its setting and progression, so when [Anno 117: Pax Romana](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3274580/Anno%5F117%5FPax%5FRomana/?ref=mertbulan.com) was announced—set during the peak of the Roman Empire—I was immediately interested. I finally had the chance to play it during the Christmas holidays. Anno 117 is a city-building strategy game where you create and grow settlements on islands. You start with basic worker classes and gradually upgrade them by meeting their needs. Each new class introduces more complex demands, which means careful resource management is essential. On top of that, you also need to consider happiness, fire risk, and public health. Overall, I had a great time with the game, much like I did with Anno 1800\. Once I started playing, I was completely hooked—spending more than 10 hours in a single day wasn’t unusual. From that perspective, the game is very engaging. However, once I reached the late game, things started to feel repetitive. There wasn’t much left to do beyond routine tasks like unlocking everything in research or setting up additional settlements on new islands. While you technically have the freedom to expand endlessly, it eventually starts to feel like chore work rather than meaningful progression. I played the game via a Ubisoft+ subscription (€18) because I wasn’t sure it was worth paying the full €60\. In hindsight, I’m glad I did. The game doesn’t introduce enough new ideas compared to Anno 1800 to justify the full price. If you’re interested, I’d recommend waiting for a discount rather than buying it at launch price. ### What is a City Super App and Why Every City Needs One URL: https://mertbulan.com/what-is-a-city-super-app-and-why-every-city-needs-one/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:22:01.000Z Before diving into what a city super app is, let’s first explore the concept of a super app itself and why it’s becoming essential in modern digital life. ## What is a Super App? Super apps are not a new concept. They’re more common in Eastern countries, which is why you may not be as familiar with them in the West. In Southeast Asia, for example, the most well-known super app is WeChat in China. On WeChat, you can access social media, payment tools, online shopping, ride-booking, travel bookings, and food delivery — all within a single app. The success of WeChat inspired many startups in the West to explore the super app concept. While no app has reached WeChat’s level of integration, several are heading in that direction: - **Uber**: Started as a ride service and now offers food delivery, package delivery, and groceries. - **Wolt**: Began with food delivery and now includes package and grocery delivery, with plans to offer banking and payment services. - **Revolut**: Started as an online bank and now provides investment tools, insurance products, eSIM data plans, and travel services. Some argue that this model benefits companies because they don’t have to spend much to acquire users for new services, and they can gather more data. It’s also convenient for users since they can access many services from one place. However, others warn that when users stay within a single app, they might miss out on better services or lower prices available elsewhere. If one service within the app fails, users could lose access to several other services they rely on, such as their bank account. I’m not sure if this model will work in the long run, but I do believe that the core services these apps were originally built for will suffer over time. As companies focus more on adding new features and growing their user base, they may stop improving the services they were originally known for. ## What is a City Super App? Now that you understand what a super app is, you can probably guess what a city super app might be. It’s an app that brings together everything about a city. But what exactly do I mean by everything? That’s the exciting part — it can include anything that’s related to the city. So, what makes a city a city? It’s not just the buildings and streets, but its legal status and how it’s governed. I live in Hamburg, which is a city-state, so elections are an important part of civic life. This would be a good starting point for a city super app. You could access information on local parliament members, find out how to reach them, ask questions, check past election results, and view upcoming election polls. These features help you engage with your community and participate in your civic rights. But why would you need an app for your city? The goal is to make city life easier. Maybe you enjoy long walks and want to find public toilets or water stations without searching around. Or maybe you need to charge your electric vehicle or find a pharmacy at night. A city super app can bring all this information together in one place. Sure, you can find this information on separate websites, but that’s the problem. You have to search for it, verify the data, and wade through ads or poorly designed pages. All you want is to find a place to pee or charge your car. Beyond these basic needs, a city super app can help you discover more about the city. Nature spots, playgrounds, bike routes, festivals, public libraries, coffee roasters, and more. You might know websites or Instagram pages for some of these, but they don’t offer a single place to explore everything without pushing products or promotions. A city super app solves that problem. Whenever you need something or want to discover a new part of the city, you can simply open the app. ## Franzbrötchen – Hamburg City Super App A few years ago, I had the idea for a city super app. Thanks to my friends and colleagues, I’ve learned a lot about Hamburg. Over time, I met more people and realized not everyone knows as much about the city as I do. So, I thought: Why not create an app that collects everything I know about the city? I started by writing down everything in the Notes app. I shared the idea with my friends, and they agreed that an app like this could be really helpful for many people. Over the past few months, I began developing the app. Every day, I’d work on a new section, sitting in a café for a couple of hours. By the end of October, I launched it. The response on [Reddit](https://www.reddit.com/r/hamburg/comments/1ojtiul/introducing%5Ffranzbr%C3%B6tchen%5Fhamburg%5Fcitysuperapp/?ref=mertbulan.com) and [LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7389569932856012801/?ref=mertbulan.com) blew me away. People loved the app and the idea behind it! I guess I proved once again that people often don’t realize what they need until it’s right in front of them. I named the app [Franzbrötchen](https://apps.apple.com/de/app/franzbr%C3%B6tchen/id6753984831?ref=mertbulan.com) because it’s a famous pastry in Hamburg, made with cinnamon and sugar. It’s delicious, especially when you get it from a local bakery, not the big chains. People really liked the name! ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/work-11.webp) Here are some of the categories in the app: - **Democracy**: Ask questions to local parliament members, check election results, track petitions, and more. - **Your City**: City demographics, a district quiz game, electricity production sources, consumer inflation rates, and more. - **Everyday Services**: Pharmacies, EV chargers, post boxes, water dispensers, public toilets, garbage collection times, and more. - **Nature**: Street trees, fruit trees, nature reserves, and more. - **Cycling**: Commute routes, recreational bike paths, group meetups, and more. - **Rain Radar**: A must-have in Hamburg, much more accurate than Apple’s default weather app. - **Culture**: Cinemas, theatres, museums, art galleries, and more. - **Regional**: Weekly markets, farms, coffee roasters, breweries, and more. This list goes on. There are probably hundreds of things I could add to the app, but for the initial release, I focused on what would help people understand the concept. Over time, I’ve added more features, and many users have suggested new ideas I hadn’t even thought about. The app has even helped me discover things I didn’t know about my own city! Now, I have a long list of features to add in the future, which will keep me busy for the next few years. It’s time-consuming, but I believe it’s my way of giving back to the community I enjoy living in. The app is completely free and has no ads. I don’t track any user data, and unlike most apps, I don’t focus on engagement. My main goal is to help people solve problems and discover more about their city. When it comes to data, I’m lucky that there’s a law in Germany (Datennutzungsgesetz) requiring public offices to share non-personal data in machine-readable and open formats. This is where I get most of the data for the app. I also curated some of my own lists and linked to non-profit organizations’ websites when necessary. This combination ensures that the data in the app is reliable and verifiable. Of course, sometimes the data can be outdated because public offices don’t always update it regularly, but since things in the city don’t change that often, the information is usually up-to-date. ## Enter Large Language Models Before ChatGPT and other large language models, there were three main ways people accessed information online: 1. **Search engines**: You knew what you were looking for and typed a few keywords into a search engine like Google. 2. **Social media**: You followed people—either friends or influencers—and stumbled upon information when they shared something worth seeing. (Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, etc.) 3. **Forums and Q&A sites**: If you had a specific question, you asked it in a forum or Q&A platform like Reddit, Quora, or Stack Overflow, where people with expertise would answer. These channels have changed a lot in the past few years. Companies figured out how to manipulate them to make money. As a result, they started showing more ads, requiring accounts, and making the platforms addictive, so people spent more time on them and saw even more ads. Then, in 2022, ChatGPT arrived. What ChatGPT did was scrape the entire internet and offer a new way to access information. Instead of searching for keywords, you could ask full sentences and get an answer right away. You didn’t need to wait for someone to respond or sift through multiple answers. It was like having a conversation with a knowledgeable friend. But there’s a downside to ChatGPT. Since you interact by chatting and only get one answer, unlike search engines or forums, you might assume the answer is correct and not look for other options. ChatGPT generates responses based on what’s most commonly mentioned in its training data, but sometimes it can be wrong or even create hallucinations. That’s just how the system works. So, what does this have to do with a city super app? Some people might think that ChatGPT could replace a city super app, but the problem I mentioned above still applies. While ChatGPT offers a more conversational way to access information, you can’t always trust the answer. For example, if you ask for your district representative’s name, ChatGPT might get part of the answer right, but not the full, correct answer. This is where a city super app integrated with a voice assistant could solve the problem. Instead of Siri trying to answer questions about Hamburg based on its own model or the internet, it could pass the question to my *Franzbrötchen* app. Since most of the information in my app comes from official sources or non-profits that focus on accuracy, Siri could deliver a 100% correct answer. The good news is that Apple is already building the system I’m talking about with [App Intents](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appintents?ref=mertbulan.com). While it’s not perfect yet, when apps like mine integrate with this system and Siri gets its long-awaited update next year, I believe this will change how people access information on their digital devices in a couple of years. ## How Will It Be Sustainable? You might be wondering how a city super app can be sustainable, given the amount of time and effort required to build it. Well, I believe these apps will either rely on donations from users (like mine) or receive public funding. Companies offering voice assistants might also pay apps based on the number of queries answered. I don’t think any big company can create a city super app for every city in the world and guarantee reliable information. This is why I believe every city will need to create its own. A company based in California can’t create a better app or service for a city thousands of kilometers away. The locals know their city best. We’ll have to see how this all plays out. ### My 2025 Q3 Highlights: Favorite Books and Movies URL: https://mertbulan.com/my-2025-q3-highlights-favorite-books-and-movies/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:21:44.000Z This summer didn’t feel much like summer, but I did get the chance to visit two cities: Munich and Krakow. Maybe because I was traveling and making the most of the summer, I didn’t watch many TV shows or finish any books. However, I did manage to watch a few movies, including one at the cinema. Let’s take a look at the books and movies I enjoyed during the third quarter of 2025. ## Books ### Apple in China I’ve probably read almost every book about Apple, but [Apple in China](https://amzn.to/4pW9bSc?ref=mertbulan.com) by Patrick McGee was still pretty interesting. The first 100 pages felt unnecessary because they covered things I already knew. However, after that, I learned a lot about how Apple makes its products and how its supply chain works. The book gives a lot of insight into how Apple gets such low prices from suppliers, how it deals with the Chinese government, and what the factories are like in China. One detail that really stood out was how one million Chinese workers move to the coast to make iPhones for a short time and then return to their towns, not even allowed to stay in the coastal cities. It was eye-opening. If you’re interested in Apple, supply chains, or China, I highly recommend this book. ### The Railway Journey Last quarter, I mentioned a book called The Taste of Paradise by Wolfgang Schivelbusch, and I said I wanted to read more by the same author. Since I love traveling by train, I decided to pick up [The Railway Journey](https://amzn.to/4gT7IYK?ref=mertbulan.com) to learn more about the history of train travel. It was hard to find, so I ended up buying a second-hand copy from the UK, but it was definitely worth it. The book goes into great detail about the history of trains, how they started, and how they’ve developed over time. I was fascinated to learn that train travel was the first way to travel long distances faster than horse-drawn carriages, and how it changed how people viewed space and time. I was also surprised to find that older trains had cars where you couldn’t walk between them. The book also covers early train accidents and how they changed how people reacted to shocks. If you’re a fan of trains like I am, I highly recommend this book. ### Material World Another interesting book I read last quarter was [Material World](https://amzn.to/3IvaNBN?ref=mertbulan.com) by Ed Conway. The book looks at the history and uses of six different materials: sand, salt, iron, copper, oil, and lithium. I learned a lot about these materials and some uses I never would have thought of. For example, I didn’t realize how important salt is for clean water, or that there are different types of sand for different purposes. The book also talks about the oil refinery in Wesseling, Germany, which was used to turn coal into oil, and how complicated it is to make a chip. It was interesting to read about countries that have these critical materials or factories that turn them into something useful, especially since these materials are becoming more of a national security issue. It was an easy read for me during my train journey from Krakow. ## Movies ### The Zone of Interest I’m really into movies, documentaries, and TV shows about World War II, and [The Zone of Interest](https://apple.co/46THGjw?ref=mertbulan.com) was one of the most interesting ones I’ve seen. Unlike many other films about the war that show the horrific events directly, this one doesn’t show the violence at all. Instead, it gives small clues and lets you piece together the darker side of the story. The movie focuses on a Nazi commander’s family living in a house next to a concentration camp. You don’t actually see what’s happening in the camp, but you see the family’s everyday life. Small details like smoke rising at night from the factory, blood on the commander’s boots, and bones found while swimming in the river are scattered throughout. I found this approach even more horrifying than showing the violence directly because it makes you think more about it. The acting, especially by the commander and his wife (played by my favorite German actress, Sandra Hüller), was excellent. I highly recommend this movie. ### F1: The Movie I’m not really into F1 and still don’t understand why so many people love it. But I try to watch as many movies and TV shows from Apple as I can, since they’re usually pretty good. Even though I liked [F1: The Movie](https://apple.co/3VPYKBW?ref=mertbulan.com), it felt like a typical Hollywood film. The story is about a former driver (Brad Pitt) who is doing his own thing, and his friends try to convince him to drive for their team. He refuses at first, but eventually agrees. He struggles at the start because he’s an outsider who can’t do things the usual way, but in the end, he wins the race. Of course, there’s also the predictable romance where he sleeps with a woman who normally doesn’t get involved with her colleagues. The plot was pretty basic, but I did enjoy the shots taken from inside the F1 cars. If you’re into F1, I think you’ll like this movie. ### Idiocracy I remember starting [Idiocracy](https://apple.co/4nC1U8M?ref=mertbulan.com), but I wasn’t sure if I actually finished it. It’s a movie that shows a dystopian future in a funny way. The society in the movie is so messed up—people use energy drinks to farm, everything is covered in ads, and life has become incredibly dumbed-down. Even though it’s a comedy, based on where society is heading right now, I can actually see some of the things in the movie happening in the future. ### The Brutalist I still remember The Pianist and Adrien Brody’s incredible performance in it. In [The Brutalist](https://apple.co/42s0lSe?ref=mertbulan.com), he delivers another great performance. He plays a Hungarian Jewish architect who escapes the war in Europe. In the U.S., he stays with a friend and starts doing some work. Eventually, a wealthy person discovers who he really is and hires him for a project. Throughout the movie, you see his struggles as an obsessed architect determined to finish his masterpiece, while also dealing with problems in his marriage. It’s a long movie, but definitely worth watching. ### Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write about a Serial Killer I came across [Psycho Therapy](https://apple.co/3KHAaRn?ref=mertbulan.com) because both the writer and director are Turkish. When I saw that it also starred Steve Buscemi and Britt Lower, I had to check it out. They’re both great actors—Buscemi’s performance in Boardwalk Empire is unforgettable, and Lower’s performance in Severance (one of my all-time favorite shows) is amazing. The movie didn’t disappoint. It’s about an unsuccessful author and a retired serial killer. While it’s a comedy, I don’t think everyone would enjoy it, but I did. The movie shows their strange interactions and also the relationship between the author and his wife. I really liked Britt Lower’s cold character throughout the film. ### One Battle After Another I can’t remember the last time I went to the cinema, but I felt it was time to go again for DiCaprio. I’ve probably seen almost every movie he’s been in because he’s really picky about the roles he takes. [One Battle After Another](https://apple.co/4pSZvYI?ref=mertbulan.com) is about a revolutionary who takes part in a lot of events and then has to escape with his baby to avoid being caught. Later, he tries to save his daughter. The movie is packed with action and suspense, but it also has some funny moments that I really enjoyed. Besides DiCaprio, I have to say that Sean Penn also did an excellent job in his role. ### We'll Never Have Flying Cars URL: https://mertbulan.com/well-never-have-flying-cars/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:21:37.000Z Flying cars have been a big part of science fiction for decades. They often show up in movies or futuristic stories, and some people even see them as a sign of progress. But I’ve never really understood the obsession. What problem are they supposed to solve? Why do we even need them? Sometimes I think the idea of flying cars might have come from living in tall buildings. If you’re on the 30th floor and need to visit someone on the 40th floor of another building across town, it seems inefficient to take the elevator down, drive across the city, and then take another elevator up. Flying directly between them might save time. But this idea only makes sense in places full of skyscrapers. In Hamburg, Germany, where I live, we don’t really have many tall residential buildings. Most high-rise buildings are offices, hotels, or social housing. When people have more money, they usually want to live in a house with a yard, not on the 25th floor. So there isn’t much motivation here to build tall buildings, except maybe to reduce the cost per square meter. If most people aren’t living in skyscrapers, then the whole “flying between tall buildings” idea doesn’t hold up. Another argument for flying cars might be speed, getting from point A to B faster. In some big cities, rich people already use helicopters to avoid traffic. That sounds nice in theory. But what happens if flying cars become common? The sky would get crowded, just like roads are now. Once air traffic increases, there would be regulations and limits to keep it safe. So you wouldn’t really go faster. You’d just be stuck in “air traffic” instead. There’s also the problem of noise. Think about drones, helicopters, or airplanes, none of them are quiet. People living near airports already complain about the noise. Now imagine thousands of flying cars buzzing overhead every day. Going outside would be unbearable. And then there’s the issue of accidents. With more flying vehicles in the air, the chances of mid-air collisions would go up. And unlike a regular car crash, a flying vehicle crash means something could literally fall out of the sky. That’s not just dangerous, it’s terrifying. This kind of risk is already a big concern with drones, and it’s one of the main reasons we don’t see drone deliveries happening in cities yet. For all these reasons, I don’t think flying cars will become a thing. Instead, we should be thinking about [hovercars](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hovercar?ref=mertbulan.com), cars that float slightly above the ground. With electric vehicles, we’ve already reduced a lot of pollution and engine noise. But cars are still loud because of their contact with the road. Hovercars could eliminate that friction, reduce noise even more, and cut down the cost of maintaining roads. Of course, my real preference would be investing in better cycling infrastructure, more bike lanes, fewer traffic lights for cyclists, and incentives for using e-bikes. Cycling is still the most efficient and affordable way to get around. But since cars aren’t going away anytime soon, I think focusing on improving them (rather than trying to make them fly) is the smarter move. ### The Differences Between Expats and Immigrants URL: https://mertbulan.com/differences-between-expats-and-immigrants/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:32:43.000Z As someone who lives in a country different from the one I was born in, I often see people confuse the terms *expat* and *immigrant*. Instead of giving textbook definitions, I want to share how I understand these two words based on my own experience. ## Who Are Expats? To me, an expat is someone who moves to another country for a short time. This could be for a few months or a few years. Their main reason is usually to explore a new place, meet new people, and maybe enjoy a different lifestyle. A lot of them work in the tech industry. Some work remotely and choose to live in countries where the cost of living is lower. This way, they can enjoy a higher quality of life while earning the same salary as in their home country. Expats often spend time with people who are just like them. Many are not very interested in learning about the local culture, history, or rules. They often compare everything to their home country and get frustrated when things are different. It is hard for them to make close friends with locals. They tend to look for the same food, sports, or social life they had back home. Most expats live in a kind of bubble and are not very involved in local politics or communities. Many of them are single or with a partner, but usually without children. When choosing a country to live in, expats often care about how cheap it is and how much tax they will need to pay. They try to move to places that offer special visas or low taxes. If those benefits disappear after a few years, they usually move on to another country. They also visit their home country whenever they can. When problems come up, they look for help from people from their own country or go back home to solve it, instead of learning how things work locally. They often live in areas popular among other expats, even if rent is high. ## Who Are Immigrants? On the other hand, immigrants are people who choose or are forced to move to a new country to build a new life. Their goal is to stay long term, so they learn the language, culture, and laws. They or their partner usually take part in integration courses. Most are married or have children. Their kids go to local schools and have local friends. Immigrants are active in their communities, whether it’s helping others settle in or joining groups that match their interests. Instead of complaining, immigrants try to understand how things work in their new country. If they arrived single, it is likely they now have a local partner. They follow local news and politics, and if they get citizenship, they or their children may even take part in politics, like joining the local council or parliament. They take part in local sports and activities, like hiking or skiing, depending on where they live. Immigrants often work in different industries, not just tech. They usually work for local companies and are willing to pay taxes because they see the long-term benefits, like free education for their kids or support when they retire. When problems come up, they work with locals to find solutions. They live across different parts of the city, not just in one area. They also tend to value what the country offers instead of always looking for things to complain about. # My Personal Experience Of course, not every expat or immigrant fits these descriptions perfectly. There are always exceptions, but this is the general pattern I’ve noticed. I meet people from both groups often. When I talk to expats, the conversation is usually about how different Germany is from their home country. When I talk to immigrants, we talk more about local politics, things to do, or new places they discovered. I often find expats frustrated with their lives. Immigrants, on the other hand, seem more settled and are planning long-term things like starting a family or buying a home. If I were a government decision maker, I would focus on attracting more immigrants than expats. I believe immigrants bring more long-term value to a country. Expats, while they bring some benefits, can also cause problems. They may push up rent prices and make it harder for locals to afford housing. The neighborhoods they move into can change, with local shops closing and new ones opening to meet expat demand. This can make the area feel less like home for the people who have lived there for a long time. At the end of the day, both groups shape the places they move to in different ways. But from what I’ve seen, it’s the immigrants who stay, grow roots, and contribute to the future of the country in a deeper way. ### Why Paying for Spotify Mostly Pays Taylor Swift URL: https://mertbulan.com/why-paying-for-spotify-mostly-pays-taylor-swift/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:21:02.000Z These days, most people listen to music through streaming apps like Spotify, Apple Music, or YouTube Music. Some people pay for subscriptions, while others use the free versions with ads and limited features. If you’re paying, you might assume your money goes to the artists you listen to. But that’s not really how it works. Spotify often says they pay about 70% of their revenue to music rights holders. But how they split that money is not based on what *you* listen to. Instead of dividing your monthly fee based on your personal streams, they put all the money in one big pool and pay artists based on their share of total plays across the entire platform. Let’s say there are only two users on Spotify: - User A listens to 50 Parcels songs - User B listens to 200 Taylor Swift songs - Spotify keeps 30% of the money ($3 out of each $10 subscription) Here’s what people might *think* happens: - Each artist gets paid based on what their listeners listened to - Parcels gets $7 from User A - Taylor Swift gets $7 from User B - Spotify keeps $6 But here’s what *actually* happens: - Taylor Swift got 80% of the total streams - Parcels got 20% - Spotify puts the leftover $14 (after keeping $6) in a pool - Taylor Swift gets $11.20 - Parcels gets $2.80 So even if you only listen to indie artists, your money still mostly goes to the big names, because the payout is based on total listening across *all* users, not just you. In 2024, here were the top artists by streams: | Rank | Artist | Streams (Billions) | | ---- | ------------- | ------------------ | | 1 | Taylor Swift | 28.21 | | 2 | The Weeknd | 13.27 | | 3 | Drake | 12.11 | | 4 | Bad Bunny | 12.08 | | 5 | Billie Eilish | 12.00 | | 6 | Ariana Grande | 10.03 | | 7 | Kanye West | 9.67 | | 8 | Peso Pluma | 9.38 | | 9 | Travis Scott | 8.41 | | 10 | Bruno Mars | 8.36 | Spotify had about 4.8 trillion streams in 2024\. They say they paid out $10 billion to artists. Since Taylor Swift had about 0.6% of the streams, she got about $60 million from that alone. The Weeknd got around half of that, and so on. Now let’s talk about a smaller band. Say an indie group has 10,000 fans who each listen to their songs 10 times a day. That’s 36 million streams a year. Sounds like a lot, but it’s just 0.00076% of all streams on Spotify. That would earn them around $76,000 for the whole year, not per month, as many people might expect. This is why many smaller artists say streaming doesn’t pay the bills. If Spotify changed the model to pay based on each *user’s* listening habits, big artists would still make a lot, but smaller artists would make much more than they do now. Apple Music does the same kind of global payout, by the way. So Taylor Swift likely earns way more than $600 million a year from all platforms combined. What are the alternatives? Not many. You could try buying songs on Apple Music, but those versions often don’t come with lyrics or high-end features like Dolby Atmos. So you get less for the same price. One option that still helps artists is going old school: buy vinyl records. You get better sound, cool artwork, and your money goes more directly to the musicians you want to support. **EDIT:** A friend of mine recommended [Bandcamp.com](https://bandcamp.com/?ref=mertbulan.com) after reading my post. It looks like a great alternative to other platforms, offering high-quality album downloads while directly supporting the artists. I’m definitely going to try it out. ### How digital is Germany? URL: https://mertbulan.com/how-digital-is-germany/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:34:27.000Z I’ve been living in Germany for seven years. During that time, I’ve gone through many bureaucratic processes — from getting my Blue Card to setting up a sole proprietorship (Einzelunternehmen). I’ve also changed jobs a few times and was unemployed for a short while. If you search online, you’ll find a lot of jokes about Germany still using fax machines and how the country is behind when it comes to digital systems. In this post, I want to share my personal experience with how digital or non-digital things really are. First of all, I’ve never had to use a fax machine. I’m not sure where that stereotype still comes from, but I also don’t know anyone who has actually used one here. Let’s look at some specific examples so you can get a better idea of how the bureaucracy works in practice. Just keep in mind, this is based on my experience living in Hamburg. Things might be different in other parts of Germany, so don’t treat this as the full picture. # Digitalized Processes ## Visa Over the past seven years, I’ve gone through several visa-related processes in Germany. I first applied for a Blue Card, later renewed it because I got a new passport, and eventually applied for permanent residency. All of these steps were handled digitally. I booked my appointments through the official Hamburg state portal and uploaded all the required documents as PDFs. When it was time for the appointment, I just brought the original documents so the officer could verify them in person. After the process was complete, I got a letter letting me know my ID was ready. I booked another appointment online to pick it up — and that was it. As for the supporting documents, like proof of health insurance or pension contributions, I was able to get all of them from the websites of the relevant providers. For example, when applying for permanent residency, you need to show your pension payment history. To do this, you can log in to [the official portal](https://www.deutsche-rentenversicherung.de/DRV/DE/Home/home%5Fnode.html?ref=mertbulan.com) using your Blue Card. Here’s how it works: You open the [AusweisApp](https://www.ausweisapp.bund.de/home?ref=mertbulan.com) on both your computer and smartphone. Then you connect the devices, hold your Blue Card on your phone to scan the NFC chip, enter your password, and log in. Once you’re authenticated, you can download your pension history — and this system works across many government websites. Honestly, I find this system quite impressive. It’s secure, straightforward, and works well (at least in my experience). ## Work When it comes to work, most companies in Germany now allow you to sign your contract digitally — using tools like DocuSign, for example. That said, some employers still ask for a physical (wet) signature, even if you’ve already signed it digitally, just to be on the safe side. However, when it comes to resigning, things are less flexible. You always need to hand in a signed resignation letter, and digital signatures are not accepted for some reason. It has to be on paper, with your actual signature. When I started my first job in Germany seven years ago, I used to receive my payslips by post every month. Any promotion or salary change also came with physical documents. Over time, this process has become more digital. Many companies have stopped sending paper payslips and now use platforms like Workday, Personio, or [DATEV](https://apps.datev.de/ano/?ref=mertbulan.com) to share payslips and other HR documents in PDF format. ## Starting a Company If you have permanent residency in Germany, you’re allowed to start your own company. I wanted to do that because [I develop apps](https://fruitfulapps.com/?ref=mertbulan.com) and earn income from them. Starting a sole proprietorship (Einzelunternehmen) was actually quite simple. I went to [the website of the responsible office](https://serviceportal.hamburg.de/HamburgGateway/Service/Entry/GWR?ref=mertbulan.com) and filled out an online form. After that, I used [a third-party accounting service](https://en.getsorted.de/?ref=mertbulan.com) to submit another form to the Finanzamt (tax office) to get a new tax ID. I think you can also do this through [Elster](https://www.elster.de/eportal/start?ref=mertbulan.com), but I didn’t take the time to figure it out. The biggest downside was the waiting time. If I remember correctly, it took around six months to get the official confirmation that my company had been registered. But honestly, this wasn’t a huge issue because I received my tax ID after just a couple of weeks. That was the important part — it allowed me to start selling apps right away. Like most bureaucratic processes in Germany, I got several letters in the mail confirming different steps along the way. ## Taxes When it comes to taxes in Germany, if you’re working full-time as an employee, you usually submit your tax forms the following year. Your employer will send you a document that shows how much you earned and how much tax you paid. You can then use Elster to submit your tax return. The cool part is that you can authenticate yourself through the NFC chip in your ID card to log in to Elster. The good thing about Elster is that the information your employer sent you is already loaded into the system. You don’t have to manually enter the numbers. You can just use what’s already been submitted. This also applies if you paid for health insurance out of pocket during a gap between jobs, or if you received unemployment benefits. You can see all these documents directly in Elster. However, the worst part of Elster is definitely the user interface. Since Elster is available to everyone, and taxes are complicated, the forms can be super overwhelming. If your German isn’t great, it’s almost impossible to navigate and figure out where to put certain numbers. If you’re just submitting the standard information from your employer, it’s not so bad. But if you want to deduct some expenses for tax returns, report investments, or account for freelance work, it gets really tricky to figure out. Because of this complexity, there are several third-party services that help with filling out tax forms, like [SteuerGO](https://www.steuergo.de/en?ref=mertbulan.com) or [Taxfix](https://taxfix.de/?ref=mertbulan.com). For the first few years, I used SteuerGO to handle my taxes, but in the last couple of years, I decided to switch to Elster, even though my forms got more complicated due to my sole proprietorship. I wanted to learn the entire process because I’ll need to submit tax returns every year for the rest of my life, and I didn’t want to rely on a third-party service forever. Plus, those services charge around €30, while Elster is free. I really hope that one day the Finanzamt realizes how difficult Elster is to use and improves the user experience. Once you’ve submitted your tax forms, you’ll receive a letter from the Finanzamt that tells you how much you owe or how much you’ll be refunded. ## Letters So far, I’ve mentioned quite a few letters. If you live in Germany, you’ll definitely need a folder to keep track of all the letters you’ll receive. From my understanding, letters are still the preferred method of communication because it’s the most reliable way to ensure you receive important information. The alternative would be using emails, but then there’s the issue of needing some form of tracking to confirm that the person opened the email. Plus, emails aren’t encrypted, so there’s a privacy concern as well. At some point, maybe the government will introduce a system to replace physical letters. Some government offices already offer digital-only communication options, meaning you can choose to receive only emails and not letters. But if you miss something, it’s on you. In these systems, you’d get an email notifying you of a new message, and then you’d need to visit the official website to view the content of the message. Dealing with all these letters can be overwhelming, especially if you’re constantly checking your mailbox. That’s where Deutsche Post comes in with a free service that notifies you when a letter is on the way via [the DHL app](https://www.dhl.de/en/privatkunden/kampagnenseiten/dhl-app.html?ref=mertbulan.com). I really appreciate this because I don’t have to check my postbox every day. You just register for the app, confirm your address with a letter, and from then on, you’ll get notifications whenever a letter is on the way. They even send you a scan of the letter, so you can see who it’s from before it arrives. In most cases, you get the letter the same day or the next day. The app also notifies you when a package is on the way, which I find super useful. This service is one of the main reasons I always use DHL for my packages. ## Health A couple of years ago, when you got a sick note from your doctor, you’d receive three copies: one for your insurance, one for your employer, and one for yourself. You’d then submit the papers to your employer and health insurance. Some companies even allowed you to take a sick day or two without a note, so you didn’t have to deal with any paperwork. But in the last few years, this whole process has been completely digitalized. Now, when you get a sick note, the doctor submits it directly to both your employer and health insurance — no more paper handling. The same goes for prescriptions. These were also digitalized recently. If your doctor gives you a prescription, you can simply go to the pharmacy and redeem it by showing your health insurance card. If you need a refill for medication you regularly take, you can usually just email your doctor to request it. There are also services where you can see a doctor via an online call, so many aspects of healthcare are now fully digital. When it comes to payments, you typically don’t pay for most health services, but if you’re staying in a hospital after surgery, you’ll pay €10 per day. Once you’re discharged, you’ll get a letter for the payment. The same process applies to dental treatments — you get the service and then a letter for the payment. There are a few issues I’ve noticed with the health services, though. One is the lack of a standard way to make appointments. Some doctors use services like [Doctolib](https://www.doctolib.de/?ref=mertbulan.com) or [Jameda](https://www.jameda.de/?ref=mertbulan.com) to manage their appointments, while others have their own system, or some don’t use any online service at all. In those cases, you have to call them, which I personally dislike, especially when I have to do it in German. That’s why I always prefer doctors who offer a digital appointment system. Another issue I’ve encountered is when you switch specialists. Your old doctor prints out a bunch of papers for your new doctor, who then scans those papers into their system. It’s a bit old-fashioned, but I believe this problem is being addressed through the introduction of digital health records (ePA). With this system, you won’t have to carry physical papers from one doctor to another. # Unemployment During my 7 years, I also lost my job once and was unemployed for a while. I was really surprised by how digital the whole process was. I’ll write another blog post later about what to do if you lose your job in Germany, but for now, I can say that you do almost everything through [the Agentur für Arbeit website](https://www.arbeitsagentur.de/?ref=mertbulan.com). You just sign up using your ID card, fill out some forms about your situation, and upload the letter your employer gave you about the job ending. Most of the time, you’ll need an appointment to speak with someone about your case, but you can also do that online if you prefer. Sometimes, you may need to send them a letter, but if you use your ID card, you can send it online by signing the document digitally. You can also choose to get all messages through the website instead of by mail, and they’ll send you an email when there’s something new. When I told my German friends about this, they were also surprised at how digital it is. The website even has [Passkey](https://www.passkeys.com/index.html?ref=mertbulan.com) support now, which was another surprise for me. Through the Agentur für Arbeit site, you can tell them you’re unemployed and looking for a job, set up an appointment and have a video call, apply for benefits, send an appeal, get a confirmation that you’re unemployed, and later let them know when you’ve found a job. It’s all online, no need for paper. ## Payments When it comes to payments, you can use your card almost everywhere in Germany these days. Of course, there are still some places that don’t accept MasterCard or Visa — they only accept [Girocard](https://www.girocard.eu/?ref=mertbulan.com), which is a local payment system with lower fees. From what I’ve observed, most places offering cheaper products tend to avoid card payments, but this is probably true for only about 10% of the places. If you need to make a payment at a government office, you’ll usually need either a Girocard or cash. I assume the reason for this is that they don’t want to pay commissions to MasterCard or Visa. One other common thing I’ve noticed is that many Döner shops don’t accept any cards at all, so keep that in mind. For person-to-person payments, PayPal is still the most widely used method. If you’re selling something you no longer need, most people prefer paying through PayPal. Similarly, if you’re paying a friend for something, PayPal is usually the go-to option. In the past few years, many supermarkets have introduced self-checkouts, where card payments are the only option. This is part of the shift towards cashless transactions. For public transportation, many people now use the [Deutschlandticket](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutschlandticket?ref=mertbulan.com), a subscription that lets you travel without limits. You can also buy tickets through a mobile app developed by the transportation company in your city. The cool part is that there are no card readers on buses or trains. Instead, there are random ticket checks to make sure you have a valid ticket. You can add your Deutschlandticket to Apple Wallet, for example, and just show the QR code on your Apple Watch during those checks. ## Renting a Flat and Managing Utilities When it comes to renting a flat in Germany, there’s one rule that keeps the process from being fully digital: you have to see the flat in person. Before that, though, you need to somehow secure an appointment for a viewing, which can be tricky due to the high demand and limited supply. In most cases, landlords post their ads on websites like [ImmobilienScout24](https://www.immobilienscout24.de/?ref=mertbulan.com), and within minutes, they receive dozens of messages from interested tenants. These messages typically include basic information about the applicant, like their job, salary, and other personal details. Once you secure a viewing, you’ll go to the flat, and if you’re interested, you’ll fill out a form with the same information you shared earlier to show your intent to rent. If the landlord chooses you, you’ll get the contract, which you’ll sign in person. So, while the process is mostly digital, the in-person viewing and signing remain essential steps. After you’ve signed your contract, managing utilities is fairly simple and can be done entirely online. If you’re moving from another flat, you just inform your internet or electricity provider, and they’ll update your address in their system. This means no interruptions in service. If you want to cancel a utility contract, it used to be necessary to send a signed letter, but thanks to the [Kündigungsbutton law](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/bgb/%5F%5F312k.html?ref=mertbulan.com), companies now have to provide a cancellation form directly on their websites. However, some providers try to hide this cancellation option by burying the link deep in their site or making it hard to find. Their goal is to get you to call them so they can try to convince you to stay. In addition to utilities, phone contracts are also easily manageable and cancellable online. If you switch your phone number or bank account, you might need to verify your identity. In most cases, you can do this via a video call where you show your ID or by simply uploading a photo of your passport or ID through an app. No need to visit offices or send physical letters anymore. ## Other stuff There are probably some things I didn’t mention here because I haven’t needed to deal with them or just forgot. A friend of mine also mentioned that when you buy a second-hand car, you can handle everything digitally. I’m not a German citizen, but I know that for elections, you can either vote by mail or in person. However, when you vote in person, you still use paper ballots. For things like museums, concerts, and other events, you usually get a QR code for your ticket, and that’s all you need. You can also add it to your Apple Wallet sometimes. Gone are the days of printing tickets! # So, what’s the issue? If you’ve made it this far, you might be wondering, “Germany seems fairly digital—so why do people still complain about bureaucracy or the lack of digitalization?” There are three key reasons for this, and they’re exactly why I wanted to write this post—because these issues often don’t get the attention they deserve. ## 1\. What does “digitalization” actually mean? One major problem lies in how digitalization is defined. Take this year’s elections in Hamburg, for example. When I tried to learn about the political parties’ platforms, I visited their websites. Instead of finding clear, digestible summaries, I was faced with 100-page PDF documents packed with dense policy details. Technically, yes, that’s digital—they’ve uploaded their programs online. But realistically, that’s not useful. A giant PDF isn’t reader-friendly. There are much better digital tools out there—web pages with interactive elements, infographics, or summaries that make information accessible. So while something may be available online, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s been digitized in a meaningful or user-friendly way. And that brings us to the deeper issues. ## 2\. Poor integration between government offices Even though many administrative processes are now online, you still have to collect and resubmit the same documents multiple times. For instance, if you hold a Blue Card and want to apply for permanent residency, you’ll need to provide your address registration (Anmeldung), pension history, and other records—again. Even if you’ve already submitted them elsewhere. This redundancy slows everything down. In a truly digital system, government offices would be able to access the data that’s already on file, pulling your information automatically from connected databases. This wouldn’t just save you time—it would ease the burden on civil servants too, reducing manual work and room for error. ## 3\. Long processing times Even with online forms and uploads, many processes still move at a snail’s pace. A big part of the problem is staffing: there simply aren’t enough people working in government offices to handle the volume of requests. So even if you submit your documents digitally, you might still be waiting for months. This is especially frustrating for critical applications like visas or residence permits—delays here can affect your ability to work, relocate, or make long-term plans. If agencies were digitally integrated and systems could communicate, that alone would speed things up significantly. There’s also potential for express services, where applicants pay extra for faster processing, which could help fund more staff and reduce overall wait times. And when I say “long,” I don’t mean a few days or weeks. I’m talking about months, sometimes even years. I know people who waited six months just to get an appointment, and then another three months for their Blue Card to be issued. Citizenship applications are even worse—despite going digital recently, the process still requires collecting documents from different offices, facing repeated requests for more paperwork, and enduring radio silence for years on end. Some people have had to hire lawyers just to navigate the delays. In fact, [over 1.000 people sued the immigration office in Berlin](https://www.thelocal.de/20250226/why-more-than-1500-berliners-sued-the-citizenship-office-last-year?ref=mertbulan.com) for its lack of action. As a result, the process has improved, and now, while naturalization still takes years in many cities, in Berlin, it can sometimes be completed in just a few weeks. --- Like my previous blog posts, this one turned out to be pretty long, but I think I’ve made my point. Everywhere on the internet and in the news, you hear a lot about digitalization and bureaucracy. But I think these terms don’t really capture the real issue. What we should be talking about is the integration of government offices and reducing waiting times. Government offices need to be held accountable for how long people have to wait, and they should be incentivized to speed things up. One idea is to share average waiting times on their websites, just like Deutsche Bahn does with train delays, and compare between the cities. That could give people a clearer picture and push for improvements. ### My 2025 Q2 Highlights: Favorite Books, Games, and TV Shows URL: https://mertbulan.com/my-2025-q2-highlights-favorite-books-games-and-tv-shows/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:20:37.000Z The second quarter of this year went by faster than I expected. For some reason, I didn’t read or watch as much as I did last quarter, but I still read some really good books, watched interesting TV shows, and played games that reminded me how fun gaming can be. Let’s get into it. # Books This quarter I read six books. I liked many of them, but three really stood out because they opened my mind to new ideas. ## The Utopia of Rules Like last quarter, I couldn’t resist reading another book by David Graeber. He might be my favorite author. I’ve read four of his books so far, and none have disappointed me, including this one, [The Utopia of Rules](https://amzn.to/45RjnUI?ref=mertbulan.com). This book is a collection of three essays and one movie review. I really enjoyed it because it shows how smart Graeber is. He talks about how bureaucracy started and how it affects our lives. Then he asks why we still don’t have flying cars. He also connects video games to bureaucracy, and ends by criticizing a superhero movie—specifically The Dark Knight Rises by Christopher Nolan. Like his other books, this one taught me things I didn’t know before, made me think about new topics, and helped me question ideas I had accepted without much thought. ## The World Atlas of Coffee If you like coffee, you probably know James Hoffmann. After struggling with my capsule coffee machine and finally buying an espresso machine, I wanted to learn more about coffee. The coffee world is very big, with lots to know—from types of beans to brewing methods. When I said I wanted to learn more, a friend recommended Hoffmann’s [The World Atlas of Coffee](https://amzn.to/3G39iJS?ref=mertbulan.com). This book was exactly what I needed. It starts by explaining the coffee fruit and its different kinds. It shows how coffee is grown, harvested, separated from the fruit, dried, roasted, and shipped. Then it explains how to brew coffee in different ways. At the end, it talks about the main coffee-producing countries and their taste profiles. I found this book very helpful. It made me more comfortable talking about coffee with friends. I even wrote down some countries I want to try beans from. My coffee journey has just started, and I think I’ll write more about it later. So, stay tuned! ## Tastes of Paradise Maybe because of my interest in coffee, I finally bought [Tastes of Paradise](https://amzn.to/400c49r?ref=mertbulan.com) by Wolfgang Schivelbusch, a book that had been on my reading list for years. This book is about the history of spices, stimulants, and intoxicants—all covered by one German word, Genussmittel. It talks about how tobacco, chocolate, coffee, tea, and alcohol became part of our daily lives. I love reading about everyday things and their origins, and this book gave me just that. For example, learning how a simple spice like pepper changed the world, or how coffee was once used as medicine, surprised me and made me want to read more history. The way the author tells the story is very engaging. Because of that, I added two of his other books to my list: one about train journeys and another about the history of light in the 1800s. I’m excited to read those too! # TV Shows This quarter, thanks to a friend, I finally found a way to subscribe to HBO from Germany. At first, I planned to watch The Last of Us Season 2, but after the second episode, I lost interest. Then I looked for another show to watch before my HBO membership ended—that’s how I found The Pitt. ## The Pitt [The Pitt](https://apple.co/44H7mzX?ref=mertbulan.com) is a show that follows the emergency room of a hospital in real time. There are 15 episodes, and each one covers one hour of a single shift on the same day. I really liked this style because it shows what healthcare workers face every day. There are also intern doctors and students, which adds interesting points of view. You see their different behaviors and how they work with others. As you might expect from HBO, there are some tough scenes—blood, surgery, childbirth, and more. So if you’re sensitive to that kind of thing, this might not be for you. But if you want a realistic look at how an emergency room works, this show does it well. You see how they treat patients, decide who needs help first, and what happens in big emergencies. Another thing I liked was the lead doctor, played by Noah Wyle. At first, I didn’t recognize him, but once I did, I was happy to see him again. The last time I saw him was in The Pirates of Silicon Valley, where he played Steve Jobs. There have been many movies about Jobs since then, but none as good as that one. ## Andor (Season 2) It’s hard to know where to start, but I’ll just say it up front—[Andor](https://apple.co/4euaWAX?ref=mertbulan.com) was probably one of the best shows I’ve ever watched. And I say that as someone who isn’t a Star Wars fan. The great thing is, you don’t even need to know anything about the Star Wars world to enjoy Andor. What makes this show so good is how well it tells its story and how deeply it builds its characters. Unlike other Star Wars shows or movies, there’s no Force, no lightsabers. Instead, the focus is on the early days of the rebellion—how it starts, who joins it, and what they give up for the cause. You also see how harsh and cruel the Empire really is, and how normal people are treated under such a system. One of the things I liked most about the show is that it doesn’t rely on one great actor—there are many strong characters, and all of them are played really well. You get to see each person’s backstory, understand their reasons, and see why they make the choices they do. That makes it easy to connect with them. Another thing that stands out is the main character, Andor. He doesn’t follow the usual “hero’s journey” you see in most shows. Things don’t always go as expected, and that makes the story feel more real and surprising. As a viewer, you’re the only one who sees all the sacrifices people make. You start to wish the characters in the story could know what each other went through. Especially with Andor himself—he goes through so much pain and loss, and you just want his story to be known, especially by the leaders of the rebellion. There are also other characters who give up a lot, but their efforts are never recognized. That’s part of what makes this show so powerful—it shows the hidden costs of fighting for change. I highly recommend watching Andor. I got Disney+ just for this show, and I can honestly say it was worth it. # Games After selling my gaming PC, I decided to buy a second-hand Xbox Series X so I could keep playing games using Xbox Game Pass. I felt this was the best way to finally get rid of the last computer that uses an x86 processor and stop using Windows. ## Blue Prince I’ve loved puzzle games since I was a kid. I started with flash games online, and later played big franchises. I still remember enjoying Portal, Portal 2, and The Stanley Parable. I would put [Blue Prince](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1569580/Blue%5FPrince/?ref=mertbulan.com) in the same league as those. In Blue Prince, you play as a child who inherits a big mansion from his uncle. But before you get it, your uncle sets a challenge—you have to solve the puzzle to claim the inheritance. The mansion itself is the puzzle. There are 45 rooms, and you need to find the 46th. The tricky part is you have a limited number of steps each day. Every time you use all your steps and start a new day, the rooms change their places, so you have to think carefully about your moves. I really enjoyed Blue Prince. It was probably the first time in a long while that I needed to use pen and paper to solve puzzles. There are many different puzzles, not just one, so you have to think hard. Sometimes it can get frustrating, but it feels great once you solve a puzzle. As you solve more, you learn more about the uncle and his family’s story. If you like puzzle games, I definitely recommend this one! ## Doom: The Dark Ages I don’t really remember if or when I last played Doom, but I always wanted to try it because it’s one of the classics of the gaming world. When I saw the new game was on Xbox Game Pass, I decided to give it a shot. And wow, it was a really fun experience that I hadn’t had in a long time! [Doom: The Dark Ages](https://store.steampowered.com/app/3017860/DOOM%5FThe%5FDark%5FAges/?ref=mertbulan.com) is a first-person shooter with very simple controls. You have guns, a shield, and a health and armor bar. There are 22 chapters where you complete missions by killing monsters from hell. Timing is very important—you have to time your shield and attacks well to avoid taking too much damage and to kill enemies quickly. When you get the timing right, the game is really fun. I can’t say much about the story, but it keeps you wanting to play more. I also liked the heavy metal music in the background—it fits the action perfectly and keeps you pumped. You can upgrade your guns, shield, and melee attacks. After a while, I found my favorite setup—the Super Shotgun and the Cycler—and I stuck with them for the rest of the game. Because of that, I lost some interest in collecting upgrade items like gold and rubies since I didn’t need to change my gear, and collecting took extra time. Even though I had fun with the game, I don’t think it’s worth 80€. If I were to buy it, I’d pay no more than 30€. So I recommend playing it on Xbox Game Pass instead. Once you finish the story, there’s not much else to do—no multiplayer mode. If you want a fun, simple game to play after a long day without needing to think too much, this is a great choice. --- If you enjoy this blog series, don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter so you’ll know when I post new updates. I already have lots of books, games, and shows lined up to share. See you in the next post! ### Budgeting 101: How to Save More to Enjoy More URL: https://mertbulan.com/budgeting-101-how-to-save-more-to-enjoy-more/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:20:23.000Z If there’s one thing I’ve learned to do well, it’s budgeting. Ever since I was young, I’ve understood the value of knowing where my money goes and how to get the most out of it. That’s why I want to walk you through my budgeting process, so you can learn how to save more and spend more on the things that actually make you happy. Let me be clear: the goal of budgeting isn’t to live a boring life or to cut costs on everything just to have more money sitting in your bank account. Budgeting is really about making better choices with your money. It’s about dividing your income wisely so you can enjoy life both now and in the future. Before we get into the details, I should mention that I’m a single person living in Germany. So, the examples I share will mostly reflect that lifestyle and might be more useful if you’re in a similar situation. # Essentials The first step in budgeting is figuring out your essential expenses. These are the things you need to pay for no matter what, things you simply can’t live without. Here are some examples from my own budget: - Rent - Utilities (water, electricity, heating, internet, phone) - Groceries - Insurance and taxes - Self-care - Transportation Since these are fixed costs that come up every month, even small savings here can make a big difference over time. That’s why I review my essentials every year to see if I can cut back or switch to better deals. Let’s go over each of these categories so you can get an idea of how to optimize them. I’ll also share some of my actual numbers to give you a point of reference, especially if your lifestyle is similar to mine. ## Rent In Germany, rent is usually split into two parts: cold rent and warm rent. Cold rent is just for the apartment or house itself. Warm rent includes additional costs like heating, water, and sometimes other shared building expenses. In many cases, there’s not much you can do to lower your cold rent unless you move to a smaller place, a different neighborhood, or live with a partner or flatmate to share costs. However, warm rent gives you more room to save. One way I’ve cut costs is by using smart radiator valves, like the ones from Eve. Since I installed them, my heating bill has dropped by about 30%. These devices control the heat more efficiently, so you don’t waste energy. The upfront cost pays for itself in about a year or two, and after that, you’re just saving money. ## Utilities When it comes to utility bills like electricity, internet, and mobile plans, there’s actually a lot you can do to save money. In Germany, most companies use the same infrastructure, so the quality of the service stays the same no matter which provider you choose. This means you can switch providers without losing quality, and often pay much less. One of the easiest ways to save is by taking advantage of special offers for new customers. Many companies offer lower prices or bonuses during the first year or two of a contract. Websites like CHECK24 can help compare offers, but keep in mind they often only show deals from companies that pay them a commission. Because of this, you might find even cheaper options by looking directly on company websites or using other comparison tools. When comparing offers, don’t just look at the monthly cost. Some contracts come with bonuses, cashback, or discounts that only show up if you calculate the total cost over the full contract period. Always check how much you’ll pay in total over 12 or 24 months, and use that number to compare. Once your contract ends, never just continue with the same provider. Prices usually go up after the first contract period. It’s better to switch again and take another new-customer deal. This might sound like extra work, but switching is actually very simple in Germany, especially for electricity, internet, and mobile. Most of it can be done online with no paperwork. You can also save more by waiting for Black Friday deals. Many companies offer bigger discounts during that time. If you time your contract to start on Black Friday, you can plan to switch again the following year when new deals come around. I review my contracts every year to make sure I’m not overpaying. Just by doing this, I’ve significantly lowered my internet and phone bills. I also [tried switching to an hourly-rate electricity contract to save more](https://mertbulan.com/2023/11/05/how-did-i-cut-my-electricity-cost-by-30-percent/), but this year it didn’t work out as expected due to low wind energy. Still, I believe it will be cheaper in the long run. Here’s what I currently pay: - **Internet:** €25/month (100 Mbit/s) - **Electricity:** €45/month (80–90 kWh usage, green) - **Mobile:** €4/month (3 GB data only) I only use 3 GB because I don’t stream videos, and I spend just 2–3 hours a day on my phone. I also use FaceTime for calls, so I don’t need a phone or SMS package. ## Groceries One of the biggest money drains in many people’s budgets is ordering food. I can’t stress this enough: ordering food regularly can quickly add up. I’ve seen many of my friends spend a lot of money on food delivery, and it’s not just a small expense. If we look at the order value and revenue of major food delivery companies in 2024, it’s clear how much money is at stake: - **Uber Eats:** $74.6 billion / $13.7 billion - **Just Eat Takeaway (parent company of Lieferando):** €26.3 billion / €5.09 billion - **DoorDash:** $21.3 billion / $2.3 billion - **Delivery Hero:** €48.8 billion / €12.8 billion The top food delivery companies alone are handling over **$200 billion** worth of orders. When you order food, you’re paying not only for the meal but also for the delivery, the restaurant’s profit margin, and the app’s commission. In the end, you end up paying a lot more than if you made the meal yourself. Now, I’m not saying you should never enjoy a meal prepared by a chef, I’ll come back to this later. But the reality is, you have to eat at least two meals a day for the rest of your life. So instead of relying on delivery, there are much cheaper and healthier alternatives. Here are a few options: - **Frozen Meals:** If you’re short on time after work and need something quick, try frozen ready meals. Many people think frozen meals aren’t healthy, but they can actually be a good choice. Unlike other packaged foods, frozen meals don’t use additives for preservation; the cold temperature keeps them fresh. My personal favorite brand is Frosta. They have a wide range of meals that can be heated up in about 7 minutes, and each portion costs between €3–5. - **Cooking for Yourself:** If you have a bit more time, cooking your own meals is always a great option. It’s healthier and way cheaper. You may want to invest in kitchen gadgets like a Thermomix, All-in-One Cooker, or Airfryer. These tools can make cooking faster and more efficient, and while the initial cost might seem high, you’ll save money in the long run. - **Buy Store Brands:** When you’re grocery shopping, look for the store brands. Most of the time, these products are just as good as the big-name brands but much cheaper. My go-to supermarket is REWE, and I buy their own branded items whenever I can. They’re often on sale, and the quality is surprisingly good. If you want even cheaper options, discount supermarkets like ALDI or PENNY have great store brands as well. When it comes to my monthly grocery expenses, I spend around €200–250 per month for one person. This includes: - Two small meals a day (yogurt, muesli, and seasonal fruit) - One breakfast (eggs, etc.) - One dinner (chicken or seafood, a side like potatoes or rice, and a salad with seasonal veggies) Compare that to the cost of ordering food. For example, a Big Mac menu ordered through McDonald’s app costs €12.59 for the food, but with delivery fees and service charges, it’s closer to €15\. If you ordered two meals a day, you’d be spending over €1,000 per month. Even if you opt for cheaper fast food, you’re still paying 3–4 times more than if you cooked at home. When I worked in an office, I noticed how expensive it was to eat out for lunch every day. I’d spend around €10–15 per meal, which added up to nearly €200 a month. But many offices in Germany have microwaves, and a lot of people bring meals from home to heat up. There’s even a Reddit community called [Meal Prep Sunday](https://www.reddit.com/r/MealPrepSunday/?ref=mertbulan.com), where people cook for the whole week and store it in the fridge. This way, you just warm it up each day. Since I work from home now, I prefer to cook fresh meals when I’m hungry. ### Toiletries Similar to groceries, I also buy most of my toiletry items from store brands. However, keep in mind that some of these products might not work for everyone, especially if you have skin sensitivities or other specific needs. For example, I’ve used the same shampoo for years, and if I switch, I get skin problems. So, if you do decide to try store brands, make sure they’re right for you. One trick to save even more is to stock up on toiletries when they’re on sale. These products have a long shelf life, so you can buy in bulk and save money over time, while avoiding the impact of inflation. ## Insurance and Taxes In Germany, there are a few key insurance policies that are highly recommended, particularly liability insurance and household insurance. These are both affordable and provide peace of mind. I use Getsafe and pay about €5 per month for both. Depending on your situation, you might also want to consider dental insurance since regular health insurance doesn’t cover all dental expenses. Another unavoidable expense in Germany is the Rundfunkbeitrag (broadcasting fee). This is a contribution to the public broadcasting system and costs €18.36 per month per household. There’s no way around this, so it’s something to factor into your monthly budget. ## Self-care Self-care is essential, but it can vary greatly from person to person, making it hard to set a fixed budget. For example, this category can include things like haircuts, cosmetic products, and other personal care items. For me, self-care expenses are minimal because I don’t use many cosmetic products. When I do buy something like sunscreen, deodorant, etc. I include it in my grocery budget. When it comes to haircuts, during the COVID pandemic, I learned how to cut my own hair. I invested in some tools to help me, and now I cut my hair at home. If you think you could manage this, I highly recommend it. Haircuts are something we all need regularly, and by doing it yourself, you can save a lot of money over the years. If you or your partner can learn to cut hair, that’s a skill that pays off in the long run. ## Transportation I don’t own a car, and I have no plans to get one. I believe owning a car is expensive, and I’m lucky to live in Hamburg, a city with great public transportation. I could pay €58 per month for the Deutschlandticket, which gives me unlimited access to public transport. That said, I don’t use public transport much because the city has very good cycling infrastructure. A couple of years ago, [I bought an e-bike](https://mertbulan.com/2025/04/06/my-cowboy-classic-e-bike-review-after-3000-km/), and now I use it for almost all my transportation needs. So, my transportation costs are practically zero. If you live in a city with great public or cycling infrastructure, I highly recommend you skip owning a car. If you need a car occasionally, consider using MILES or other car rental services for those rare occasions. # Non-essentials This is probably the most fun part of budgeting. Once you’ve followed the advice I’ve shared and saved money on your essentials, you’ll have a bigger budget to spend on things you enjoy. But before diving into the different categories, I want to mention one important thing: savings. What helps me spend money without stress is having a clear savings plan. In Germany, the average savings rate is around 10%. However, this varies depending on your goals—whether you want to build a retirement fund or maybe even retire early. I’ve written more about this in [a different post](https://mertbulan.com/2024/05/05/how-to-retire-early-in-germany/), so I won’t go into detail here. I just want to emphasize that setting aside some money each month is crucial. It’s not just for the future; it also gives you peace of mind now, knowing you’re financially secure. For me, once my essential expenses and savings are sorted, I know exactly how much I have left for the non-essential stuff. I get my salary, set aside the amount for essentials, send the money I want to invest to my broker, and then I’m left with the rest to spend freely. ## Eating Out I give myself a bit more flexibility in the eating out category since I save money by cooking most of my meals at home. Going out for a meal with friends is a treat, and I don’t stress too much about the cost. Typically, a café visit with coffee and cake costs around €10, while a meal at a restaurant averages €15–20\. For special occasions, I might splurge on a slightly pricier restaurant, but even then, I rarely spend more than €35. Since I only eat out 7-8 times a month, it’s hard to spend more than €150 on eating out. This makes it a manageable and enjoyable category for me. ## Vacation Vacation is one of the non-essential categories where I recommend setting a budget, just like you would for savings. The key is to plan ahead and save regularly, so you’re ready when it’s time to go. Most people don’t take vacations every month, but there are likely a few times during the year when you want to go away for a week or two, plus maybe a couple of weekend trips. To make this possible, set aside a bit of money each month for your vacation fund. The amount you save will depend on how often you go on vacation and how much you typically spend. Here’s how to do it: Estimate how much you usually spend on vacations throughout the year. Once you have that number, divide it by 12 (for the 12 months in a year) and save that amount each month. To keep the money separate from your daily spending, I recommend using a neobank like [N26](https://n26.com/r/mertb5609?ref=mertbulan.com), which has a feature that lets you create separate saving spaces. This helps you avoid accidentally spending your vacation money on other things. The key tip here is to plan your vacation a few months in advance. By doing so, you can score cheaper deals on flights and hotels. These are often the biggest expenses of your vacation, and by saving money there, you’ll have more left over for things like dining out, museums, or activities. Also, don’t forget to look for seasonal discounts. Hotels and airlines often offer discounts in the opposite season. For example, many summer deals are available in the winter months, and winter deals can be found during the summer. If you don’t have kids, consider booking during school periods (before or after holidays) to find cheaper prices, as that’s when fewer families travel. ## Shopping Some people may consider shopping as an essential, especially for things like clothing or household items. However, I include it in my non-essential budget. Typically, you already have what you need, and the desire to buy something new comes when things wear out. While I understand that some people want to buy new things constantly, I don’t find that sustainable. My approach is simple: I focus on buying items that last longer, rather than purchasing a lot of cheap things. For clothing, I prefer UNIQLO; for sports gear, I go to DECATHLON; and for electronics, I stick to well-known brands like Apple. If I’m saving for something big—like a new device or a piece of furniture—I follow the same method I use for vacations: I save a little each month until I’ve reached the amount I need to buy it. If an unexpected need arises, like a broken phone, I tap into my emergency fund and then replenish it by saving a bit each month. ## Leisure Leisure spending can vary a lot depending on your interests. For some, it includes streaming services, gym memberships, or going to concerts/cinema. Personally, I don’t have a gym membership; I prefer exercising at home or in the park unless I’m going bouldering with friends. When it comes to streaming, I avoid juggling multiple subscriptions. Instead, I cancel one after I’ve finished watching, then switch to another when I’m ready for something new. This keeps things interesting, and by the time I return to a service, there are usually plenty of new shows to catch up on. The biggest part of my leisure budget goes to books. I buy a lot of them, but I always try to shop second-hand on sites like medimops to save money. The key here is setting a clear leisure budget. It’s easy to overspend on things you enjoy, so having a spending limit ensures you don’t go overboard. Another way to stay on track is to plan your activities in advance. For example, if you love concerts or festivals, set a goal of attending like 4 per year. If you’re into video games, you might decide on buying 4 AAA games and 3 indie games each year. # Conclusion I hope you found this post helpful! As I mentioned at the start, the goal here is to share how I approach budgeting. I focus on saving money in areas I don’t mind, like cooking at home or buying supermarket brands, so I can spend more on things I truly enjoy, like eating out, buying books, and traveling. Of course, your priorities might be different, but the key takeaway is this: you need to save in some categories to enjoy more in others. It’s all about finding a balance that works for you and making sure your spending aligns with what brings you joy. ### Why I don't ride the AI Hype Train URL: https://mertbulan.com/why-i-dont-ride-the-ai-hype-train/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:20:02.000Z Ever since ChatGPT came out, the tech world has jumped on a new hype train—just like it did before with crypto, NFTs, and the metaverse. This time, I think the hype spread even faster because it was so easy to try—just open a website and start typing. ChatGPT quickly became one of the fastest-growing products ever, reaching 100 million users in 2 months. Like past trends, it also brought a lot of debate and strong opinions. I’ve used ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs), and I’ve even added them to products at work. But even with all that, I’m still not on the AI hype train. In this post, I’ll explain why. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/100-million-users.webp) # Creation of the Models The models behind ChatGPT and others are trained using text from across the internet. The problem is, these companies didn’t ask for permission from the people or websites that created the content. They just crawled the web and copied whatever they could find. While doing that, they also caused a lot of traffic to some websites, which led to higher bandwidth costs for those sites. ([How OpenAI’s bot crushed this seven-person company’s website ‘like a DDoS attack’](https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/10/how-openais-bot-crushed-this-seven-person-companys-web-site-like-a-ddos-attack/?ref=mertbulan.com)) Big publishers like news websites have already sued OpenAI for this ([The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement](https://www.theverge.com/2023/12/27/24016212/new-york-times-openai-microsoft-lawsuit-copyright-infringement?ref=mertbulan.com)), and some have made deals to license their content ([A Content and Product Partnership with Vox Media](https://openai.com/index/a-content-and-product-partnership-with-vox-media/?ref=mertbulan.com)). But smaller websites and creators didn’t get a choice at all. Some companies, like Meta, went even further. They didn’t just use web content—they also used pirated books to train their models. ([The Unbelievable Scale of AI’s Pirated-Books Problem](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2025/03/libgen-meta-openai/682093/?ref=mertbulan.com)) If a regular person did this, they’d probably get into serious trouble. But when billion-dollar companies do it, they usually get away with it. And if they do get fined, it’s often such a small amount that it doesn’t even affect their yearly profits. The way these models are trained is already a big issue. But a bigger problem is that they use all kinds of content from the internet. They do this because they need huge amounts of data to make the models better. That’s why Meta turned to pirated books—they had already used most of what was available online. And this is where things get risky. While most people only visit handful of websites, [the internet is full of harmful content](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1BneeJTDcU&ref=mertbulan.com). These models are trained on all of it, and that means they can end up repeating or using that harmful content in their answers. ([The risks of using ChatGPT to obtain common safety-related information and advice](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925753523001868?ref=mertbulan.com)) Since the models often give answers with a lot of confidence, it can be hard—especially for younger people—to tell whether something is right or wrong. Once the companies collect the data, they start training the models. This isn’t like running a normal website. It requires special data centers with powerful graphic cards built for AI training. These cards use a lot of electricity, which means more energy needs to be produced. That’s why companies like Microsoft have made deals to reopen old power plants. ([Three Mile Island nuclear plant will reopen to power Microsoft data centers](https://www.npr.org/2024/09/20/nx-s1-5120581/three-mile-island-nuclear-power-plant-microsoft-ai?ref=mertbulan.com)) Some companies are even building new power plants that run on fossil fuels. ([AI could keep us dependent on natural gas for decades to come](https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116272/ai-natural-gas-data-centers-energy-power-plants/?ref=mertbulan.com)) But it’s not just about needing more electricity. These data centers also cause other problems. For example, they can affect the electricity grid and cause small but important changes to the frequency of the power. ([AI Needs So Much Power, It’s Making Yours Worse](https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2024-ai-power-home-appliances/?ref=mertbulan.com)) That can mess with electronic devices in homes near the data centers. Because they use so much electricity, they also produce a lot of heat. To cool everything down, they need large amounts of water, which can create issues for local water supplies. ([AI is draining water from areas that need it most](https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-ai-impacts-data-centers-water-data/?ref=mertbulan.com)) The situation has gotten so bad that companies like Microsoft, which once aimed to become carbon neutral by 2030, might not be able to meet those goals. ([Microsoft’s AI obsession is jeopardizing its climate ambitions](https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/15/24157496/microsoft-ai-carbon-footprint-greenhouse-gas-emissions-grow-climate-pledge?ref=mertbulan.com)) # Usage of the Models After using huge amounts of data and electricity to train these models, you’d expect something truly useful. But even though companies promote these models like they can solve the world’s biggest problems, the way people actually use them can be disappointing. A lot of students use these tools to do their homework, both in school and university. ([26% of students ages 13-17 are using ChatGPT to help with homework, study finds](https://www.npr.org/2025/01/18/g-s1-43115/chatgpt-teen-school-homework-classroom-ai?ref=mertbulan.com)) When teachers notice that homework quality has gone up, they start using these tools too—to grade the homework. ([Teachers are using AI to grade essays.](https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/06/tech/teachers-grading-ai/index.html?ref=mertbulan.com)) Lawyers have also been caught using AI tools to help with their legal cases. ([Law firm restricts AI after ‘significant’ staff use](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cglyjn7le2ko?ref=mertbulan.com)) Many people now use AI for advice on money, relationships, or even health. ([AI models miss disease in Black and female patients](https://www.science.org/content/article/ai-models-miss-disease-black-female-patients?ref=mertbulan.com)) And if you look at the leaked chats with Meta AI, you can see how everyday people are really using these tools. ([Meta Invents New Way to Humiliate Users With Feed of People’s Chats With AI](https://www.404media.co/meta-invents-new-way-to-humiliate-users-with-feed-of-peoples-chats-with-ai/?ref=mertbulan.com)) ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/meta-ai.webp) These use cases are often ignored, especially by software developers who push AI tools heavily. As a software developer myself, I can say that many in our field don’t really think about the long-term impact of the tech they build. They’re often focused on interesting problems and high salaries. For developers, it’s easy to test the output of these models by running the code or writing automated tests. If something breaks, you can just undo it. But for others—like students or lawyers—it’s not that simple. A student might get a bad grade ([School did nothing wrong when it punished student for using AI, court rules](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/11/school-did-nothing-wrong-when-it-punished-student-for-using-ai-court-rules/?ref=mertbulan.com)), and a lawyer might embarrass themselves in front of a judge. ([Mike Lindell’s lawyers used AI to write brief—judge finds nearly 30 mistakes](https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/04/mypillow-ceos-lawyers-used-ai-in-brief-citing-fictional-cases-judge-says/?ref=mertbulan.com)) There’s also a growing group of people using these tools to create content just to go viral or make money from ads or affiliate links. This floods social media and websites with low-quality, copy-paste content. ([AI Slop](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWpg1RmzAbc&ref=mertbulan.com)) Even newspapers have used these tools to make book lists that include books that don’t even exist. ([How an AI-generated summer reading list got published in major newspapers](https://www.npr.org/2025/05/20/nx-s1-5405022/fake-summer-reading-list-ai?ref=mertbulan.com)) Worse, some people use AI tools to replace real social interaction. There are now startups offering AI girlfriends. ([AI Tinder already exists: ‘Real people will disappoint you, but not them’](https://english.elpais.com/technology/2023-10-09/ai-tinder-already-exists-real-people-will-disappoint-you-but-not-them.html?ref=mertbulan.com)) Kids talk to these tools like they’re real friends—some have ended up with serious mental health problems, and in tragic cases, even suicide. ([A 14-Year-Old Boy Killed Himself to Get Closer to a Chatbot. He Thought They Were In Love.](https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/a-14-year-old-boy-killed-himself-to-get-closer-to-a-chatbot-he-thought-they-were-in-love-691e9e96?ref=mertbulan.com)) People now argue by quoting AI responses instead of doing real research. I’ve had friends who do this—they trust ChatGPT over actual facts. I end up spending time correcting them with real, trusted sources, especially on serious topics like law, taxes, money, and health. The long-term risks are even bigger. We might raise a generation that doesn’t know how to write essays, can’t read and understand long articles, can’t communicate well, and struggles with real relationships. ([Your Brain on ChatGPT: Accumulation of Cognitive Debt when Using an AI Assistant for Essay Writing Task](https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.08872?ref=mertbulan.com)) Most people don’t know that these models don’t really “understand” anything—they just predict the next word in a sentence. They’re not intelligent, but they look smart because they talk like us. Companies use words like “thinking” and “understanding” to describe these tools, which makes people believe the models are smarter than they really are. In truth, these models can make things up completely. ([What Happens When People Don’t Understand How AI Works](https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2025/06/artificial-intelligence-illiteracy/683021/?ref=mertbulan.com)) Many companies now push these tools as replacements for entry-level employees—especially interns and junior roles. But they don’t think about what happens later, when there are no trained juniors to become seniors. Klarna, for example, replaced their customer support with AI ([Klarna CEO says the company stopped hiring a year ago because AI ‘can already do all of the jobs’](https://www.businessinsider.com/klarna-ceo-sebastian-siemiatkowski-ai-jobs-2024-12?ref=mertbulan.com)), but later had to go back to using humans. ([Klarna Slows AI-Driven Job Cuts With Call for Real People](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-08/klarna-turns-from-ai-to-real-person-customer-service?embedded-checkout=true&ref=mertbulan.com)) Because at the end of the day, people want to talk to other people—especially when they need help. More and more people will depend on AI tools and slowly lose their ability to think for themselves. As a software developer, you might feel like you’re working faster thanks to AI. But your own skills might slowly get worse. And by the time you realize it, you might be out of a job—and not ready for the next one. The scariest part is, you might not even notice it’s happening, because the output at work still looks good. # Money Problem ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/capex.webp) When you see AI everywhere, it’s not by chance—it’s because companies are spending huge amounts of money on it. Big names like Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Google are spending tens of billions of dollars every few months just to buy the graphic cards needed to train these models. They’ve spent so much money, but they aren’t making enough in return from the AI tools they offer. ([AI’s $600B Question](https://www.sequoiacap.com/article/ais-600b-question/?ref=mertbulan.com)) To make their financial reports look good, they’ve started laying off employees. ([The ‘white-collar bloodbath’ is all part of the AI hype machine](https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/30/business/anthropic-amodei-ai-jobs-nightcap?ref=mertbulan.com)) At the same time, they say AI is making them more productive, so they don’t need as many workers. Smaller companies are copying what the big ones are doing. They’re also putting money into AI and claiming they’re getting more work done. But in many office jobs, it’s hard to actually measure productivity in a clear way. ([Cannot Measure Productivity](https://martinfowler.com/bliki/CannotMeasureProductivity.html?ref=mertbulan.com)) Because of all this pressure, even Apple—usually slow to jump on tech trends—felt the need to quickly release “Apple Intelligence.” But many of the things like Swift Assist and Siri improvements aren’t even available yet, and the parts that were released aren’t being used much. ([Apple’s AI isn’t a letdown. AI is the letdown](https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/27/tech/apple-ai-artificial-intelligence/index.html?ref=mertbulan.com)) The hype has now grown so big that both companies and governments are being pushed to use AI, just so the investors who poured billions into it can try to get their money back. ([The US intelligence community is embracing generative AI](https://www.nextgov.com/artificial-intelligence/2024/07/us-intelligence-community-embracing-generative-ai/397849/?ref=mertbulan.com)) Meanwhile, there are startups with no real product being bought for billions of dollars—like the one Jony Ive is working on. ([OpenAI is buying Jony Ive’s AI hardware company for $6.5 billion](https://www.theverge.com/news/671838/openai-jony-ive-ai-hardware-apple?ref=mertbulan.com)) If you look at how these startups are valued, it’s hard to see how they could ever make enough money to justify it. ([AI Valuation Multiples 2025](https://aventis-advisors.com/ai-valuation-multiples/?ref=mertbulan.com)) All this leads to a big problem: monetization. ChatGPT has around 500 million weekly active users, but only around 20 million of them actually pay for a subscription. That means the vast majority of people think it’s not worth $20 a month. ([OpenAI Is A Systemic Risk To The Tech Industry](https://www.wheresyoured.at/openai-is-a-systemic-risk-to-the-tech-industry-2/?ref=mertbulan.com)) Other companies like Canva and Salesforce, which have added AI features to their tools, have also raised their prices. ([Canva says its AI features are worth the 300 percent price increase](https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/3/24234698/canva-price-increase-300-percent-ai-features?ref=mertbulan.com), [Salesforce Increases Prices as it Promotes New AI Features](bloomberg)) Even if you never use the AI tools, you still have to pay the higher price. That’s because they’ve spent so much money building and running those features—they have to make up for it somehow. Because only a small number of people are paying, companies like OpenAI, Antrophic, Microsoft, and Meta offer AI tools for free—but with limits. And as anyone in tech knows: if something is free, you are the product. People often share very personal thoughts with these tools, sometimes things they wouldn’t even tell friends or family. That lets companies build detailed user profiles, which they can then use to sell ads and try to make money. ([ChatGPT is getting ‘memory’ to remember who you are and what you like](https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/13/24071106/chatgpt-memory-openai-ai-chatbot-history?ref=mertbulan.com)) But even that won’t be enough. The investment money in AI is bigger than anything we’ve seen in tech—or maybe in any industry. So now governments are stepping in with contracts. ([Introducing OpenAI for Government](https://openai.com/global-affairs/introducing-openai-for-government/?ref=mertbulan.com), [Expanding access to Claude for government](https://www.anthropic.com/news/expanding-access-to-claude-for-government?ref=mertbulan.com)) These tools will be used for surveillance—not just for their own citizens, but for people in other countries too. There are already reports that the U.S. military has hired employees from companies like Meta and OpenAI. ([The Army’s Newest Recruits: Tech Execs From Meta, OpenAI and More](https://www.wsj.com/tech/army-reserve-tech-executives-meta-palantir-796f5360?ref=mertbulan.com)) It’s also known that companies like Microsoft and OpenAI are getting government contracts. ([OpenAI wins $200m contract with US military for ‘warfighting’](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/jun/17/openai-military-contract-warfighting?ref=mertbulan.com)) One day, you could use ChatGPT to talk about a sensitive topic, and later find yourself denied a visa or even deported—without ever knowing why. Since most individual users aren’t paying, the money is coming from big companies. I know some of them are buying bulk licenses from companies like Anthropic and Cursor, and then pushing their developers to use these tools. That might help companies work faster, but employees don’t benefit from this productivity boost—in fact, they may become even more dependent on AI. ([Time saved by AI offset by new work created, study suggests](https://arstechnica.com/ai/2025/05/time-saved-by-ai-offset-by-new-work-created-study-suggests/?ref=mertbulan.com)) And when the company decides to lay off workers, those same people may have to keep using AI tools on their own and start paying for it out of pocket. Right now, the most advanced AI models cost up to $200 a month. Not long ago, it was just $20\. Even at those prices, companies like OpenAI and Anthropic still aren’t profitable—so they might raise prices again. In the end, you could find yourself having to pay a lot of money just to keep doing your job. # Motivation of the Companies If you want to understand what’s going on in the tech industry right now, you need to look at what motivates these companies. There are two groups: the new players and the existing tech giants. OpenAI started as a non-profit, but now it’s the face of the AI hype. ([The Accidental Consumer Tech Company](https://stratechery.com/2023/the-accidental-consumer-tech-company-chatgpt-meta-and-product-market-fit-aggregation-and-apis/?ref=mertbulan.com)) It’s trying to break into the ranks of the big tech companies—maybe even become the next Apple. Some former OpenAI employees started Anthropic, but outside of software developers who use Claude Code, not many people even know about it. These companies all have one goal: to become the next big tech. As for the big tech companies—Microsoft, Google, and Meta—they’re trying to protect their position. Microsoft has added AI features to all its products, but I doubt anyone at Microsoft really believes these features will directly make a lot of money, other than letting them raise prices on existing products. ([Microsoft bundles Office AI features into Microsoft 365 and raises prices](https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/16/24345051/microsoft-365-personal-family-copilot-office-ai-price-rises?ref=mertbulan.com)) Their real focus is on the infrastructure—providing the tools and servers that others use to train and run AI models. Google is in panic mode. Their entire business depends on search, and search is where they make most of their ad money. Now that AI could change how people search, they’re doing everything they can to keep up—but it’s not going well. ([Google defends AI search results after they told us to put glue on pizza](https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/30/24168344/google-defends-ai-overviews-search-results?ref=mertbulan.com)) Meta tried to stand out by releasing their models to the public. But people quickly lost interest when they saw the low quality of the models—and the fact that Meta manipulated the results of model tests to make them look better than they actually were. ([Meta cheats on Llama 4 benchmark](https://www.heise.de/en/news/Meta-cheats-on-Llama-4-benchmark-10344087.html?ref=mertbulan.com)) Mark Zuckerberg seems obsessed with finding the “next big thing.” First, he poured $50 billion into the metaverse, but I don’t know anyone who actually uses it. ([The VR winter continues](https://www.ben-evans.com/benedictevans/2024/7/8/the-vr-winter-continues?ref=mertbulan.com)) Now he’s putting AI into every Meta product—WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook—and calling it “Meta AI.” Lately, he’s even been buying startups and hiring top talent to build a team focused on creating “superintelligence.” ([Meta launching AI superintelligence lab with nine-figure pay push, reports say](https://www.axios.com/2025/06/10/meta-ai-superintelligence-zuckerberg?ref=mertbulan.com)) ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/meta-spending.webp) Amazon and Apple, meanwhile, are trying to catch up. Maybe they didn’t think the AI wave would be this big. Maybe they didn’t have enough data or talent. Or maybe they just want to take a different path. To me, Apple stands out. They aren’t trying to build a chatbot that knows everything. Instead, they’re focused on using AI as a tool to help people interact with their apps and data in smarter ways. They’re also working on on-device AI and private cloud systems, so your data stays on your device—or when it doesn’t, it’s handled with privacy in mind. ([Private Cloud Compute: A new frontier for AI privacy in the cloud](https://security.apple.com/blog/private-cloud-compute/?ref=mertbulan.com)) The downside is that Apple’s models aren’t very good yet. But I think they’ll catch up, especially since models from OpenAI and Anthropic have also stopped improving lately. ([Recent AI model progress feels mostly like bullshit](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/4mvphwx5pdsZLMmpY/recent-ai-model-progress-feels-mostly-like-bullshit?ref=mertbulan.com)) What I really respect is that Apple isn’t trying to make money from Apple Intelligence, unlike the others because they’re already making a lot of money by selling you hardware. What surprises me the most is how quickly people trust these new companies. They share personal thoughts, give access to their devices, and let these apps do all sorts of things. When you install their apps, you’re often giving them permission to control your computer. Some companies are integrating their APIs deep into their systems with just a few lines of code. And these AI companies? They’re not profitable. They don’t have a long history of earning trust. What they do have is a huge hunger for more data to train their models. ([“I lost trust”: Why the OpenAI team in charge of safeguarding humanity imploded](https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2024/5/17/24158403/openai-resignations-ai-safety-ilya-sutskever-jan-leike-artificial-intelligence?ref=mertbulan.com)) And finally, there’s one thing these companies keep shouting: “AI will replace jobs.” They say it all the time, but economists don’t fully agree. ([Nobel Laureate Daron Acemoglu: Don’t Believe the AI Hype](https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/ai-productivity-boom-forecasts-countered-by-theory-and-data-by-daron-acemoglu-2024-05?ref=mertbulan.com)) I don’t think the people who built personal computers went around warning that typewriters would lose their jobs. The goal of these AI companies doesn’t seem to be making people’s lives better, but making them jobless. # Product Problem ChatGPT didn’t start as a real product—it was more like a research tool. But over time, it turned into a way for people to interact with large language models. In some cases, a chat interface makes sense, but most of the time, I don’t think it’s efficient. If you’re looking something up, you usually type a few keywords and get a list of links. But with a chatbot, you have to write full sentences, and how fast you can type limits how fast you can interact. Then, instead of getting quick, scannable links, you get a big block of text. You read it—but you’re always aware it might be wrong. On a regular search engine, you can judge a source just by looking at the domain of the website, the design of the page or even reading the “About” page. You can make quick decisions with a few clicks. In short, searching and skimming is usually much faster than reading chatbot answers. It’s like someone describing a view in a paragraph vs. just showing you a picture. OpenAI seems to have realized this, because they added a voice interface. ([ChatGPT can now see, hear, and speak](https://openai.com/index/chatgpt-can-now-see-hear-and-speak/?ref=mertbulan.com)) That might work for some people, but it’s also slow. You can’t skim a voice reply, and it’s not private—you can’t really talk to it in public. So it’s still not a perfect solution. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/product-market-fit.webp) Eventually, these companies tried something new: agents. The idea is that instead of just answering questions, the AI would actually do things for you—like a smart assistant. But in order for that to happen, someone first has to define all the functions the agent can handle. Then, when you ask the chatbot for help, it picks the right tool, sends your request to the third party service, and shows you the result. This isn’t new. We’ve had bots that do things for years—the only difference here is that now you ask in a chat box instead of clicking on buttons. At first, agents sounded exciting, especially for businesses. But again, there’s a catch: someone has to define every tool the agent can use. These models aren’t smart enough to just find a random tool online and figure out how to use it. So Anthropic released something called the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which is basically just a new way of writing an API doc—except this time, it’s for chatbots, not human developers. ([Introducing the Model Context Protocol](https://www.anthropic.com/news/model-context-protocol?ref=mertbulan.com)) You hook up all the MCPs you need, and your chatbot uses them to get things done. This is especially useful for people who don’t know how to code. I know many people who already use [Zapier](https://zapier.com/?ref=mertbulan.com) to automate their work. With agents, they won’t even need to build a flow—they can just ask the chatbot to do it. But here’s the real issue: if agents just use third-party tools to do the actual work—like translation, calculation or retriving information—why are these companies spending so much time and money training massive language models? These models take months to train and use more electricity than an entire village. If their only job is to talk to the user and hand off tasks, we don’t need models with all of human knowledge—we just need one that’s good at chatting and picking the right tool. If you need information, just connect to something like Wikipedia’s MCP. That’s why I think companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta have a serious product problem. On the other hand, companies like Apple and Google already have an edge. They own the platforms—macOS/iOS, Android—and they can build their own MCPs for default apps like Mail, Calendar, Notes, and so on. This is already something Apple promised but couldn’t ship it yet. ([Leaked Apple meeting shows how dire the Siri situation really is](https://www.theverge.com/news/629940/apple-siri-robby-walker-delayed-ai-features?ref=mertbulan.com)) They can also let other developers create MCPs that plug into their systems. That’s a real ecosystem, and it might actually work. ([Integrating actions with Siri and Apple Intelligence](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/appintents/integrating-actions-with-siri-and-apple-intelligence?ref=mertbulan.com)) Maybe that’s why Anthropic launched [Claude Code](https://www.anthropic.com/claude-code?ref=mertbulan.com). Coding is very structured. You can test the output easily—run it, write tests, see if it works. For software developers, tools like this can boost productivity and save time on things like reading documentation or hunting down bugs. But for most other professions, I don’t think these tools help much. Honestly, I see it more like how Figma made designers more productive compared to Photoshop. Figma didn’t get hyped like this, even though it costs about the same ($20/month). And Figma was valued at $20 billion—after six years of actual product usage and growth. ([Adobe to acquire Figma in a deal worth $20 billion](https://www.theverge.com/2022/9/15/23354532/adobe-figma-acquisition-20-billion-official?ref=mertbulan.com)) Not only these companies, now every company is racing to create a product with “AI”. What they really mean is: “you can now use our app through a chat window.” That’s it. They’re marketing it like it’s a huge innovation, but most users don’t even use them. ([Customers don’t care about your AI feature](https://www.growthunhinged.com/p/ai-messaging-study?ref=mertbulan.com)) # Feel the AGI One of the biggest problems with the current AI hype is the people who are driving it. The folks who built these models or launched startups around them act like they’re changing the world. Because they’ve raised millions in funding, they already see themselves as successful—even if their companies don’t make any profit. This is especially true for people who work at OpenAI or used to work there. ([Inside the Chaos at OpenAI](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/11/sam-altman-open-ai-chatgpt-chaos/676050/?ref=athenil.com)) Some of them are treated like tech celebrities. There are even groups that act like fan clubs—or even cults—where everything these people say or do is cheered without question. ([OpenAI’s anarchist science chief is a techno-spiritual culthead](https://athenil.com/openai-scientist-ilya-sutskever-cult-spiritual-chatgpt/?ref=mertbulan.com)) With so much attention and praise, it’s no surprise that they’ve started making bold claims. One of the biggest ones is that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is just around the corner—and that they’ll reach it using the same methods they used to build today’s large language models. ([‘Empire of AI’ author on OpenAI’s cult of AGI and why Sam Altman tried to discredit her book](https://mashable.com/article/empire-of-ai-author-karen-hao-open-ai-revelations?ref=mertbulan.com)) But there are many studies that show these models can’t really reason or think in the way humans do. ([Proof or Bluff? Evaluating LLMs on 2025 USA Math Olympiad](https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.21934v1?ref=mertbulan.com)) Calling them “intelligent” just because they use language well feels misleading. ([The Illusion of Thinking: Understanding the Strengths and Limitations of Reasoning Models via the Lens of Problem Complexity](https://machinelearning.apple.com/research/illusion-of-thinking?ref=mertbulan.com)) Still, regular people hear these claims and get pulled in. They believe them without question. It’s becoming harder to explain to people what these models can and can’t do. Many truly believe that these tools can solve any problem. They ignore the warnings, don’t question the answers they get, and treat the tools like magic. ([ChatGPT Is Becoming A Religion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKCynxiV%5F8I&ref=mertbulan.com)) In the end, we’re left with a group of people living in a kind of bubble. They believe these tools will change the world—but they’re not really looking at what’s actually happening. # Conclusion This post turned out longer than I expected, but I wanted to cover every angle to explain why I’m not riding the AI hype train. There are just too many red flags—how the models are built, how they’re used, the impact on people and the planet, the money behind it all, and the motivations of the companies pushing it. All those companies are throwing everything they’ve got behind AI like it’s destined to be the next big thing. But here’s the thing—none of the past “big things” were pushed like this. They didn’t get flooded with billions in investment before proving themselves. The iPhone, for example, wasn’t even designed to support third-party apps. That only changed because developers wanted in. It grew organically, from real demand. You can’t force a revolution by brute-forcing money into it. That doesn’t mean these tools are completely useless. I use them myself, sometimes—for proofreading or solving tricky programming problems. But I don’t rely on them. I don’t pay for them. I don’t use them with an account. And I definitely don’t treat them like they’re going to change the world. They’re just tools. If they disappeared tomorrow, it wouldn’t affect how I work or live. In the end, I see AI for what it is: a powerful but limited tool—not a revolution, not a replacement for human thinking, and definitely not something worth worshipping. It has its place, just like every other piece of tech that came before it. But I won’t buy into the hype. I’ll keep using it when it helps, ignore it when it doesn’t, and question it always. That’s not resistance—it’s just common sense. ### Munich from a Hamburger's Perspective URL: https://mertbulan.com/munich-from-a-hamburgers-perspective/ Last updated: 2026-08-05T07:21:21.000Z Over the long weekend, thanks to Whit Monday being a public holiday in Germany, I decided to visit a friend who lives in Munich. I spent about three and a half days there and thought it would be a good idea to share my thoughts. I saw a lot during my stay, and since I live in Hamburg, I naturally started comparing the two cities. There are quite a few differences. Before I go into the details, I should mention that I’ve been living in Hamburg for seven years, and this was my first time in Bavaria. Besides Munich, I’ve also been to Berlin and Magdeburg, but Munich gave me a very different impression. It felt worth writing about. I know German history and how divided the country used to be, so it shouldn’t be a surprise to see these differences. But still, I think people don’t talk about them enough. That’s why I think it’s a good idea to visit both Hamburg and Munich to really notice them. I’m not trying to say that one city is better than the other. This is just my personal take on what makes each place special. If you’re trying to decide where to live, keep in mind that I’m very biased towards Hamburg, so this might not be the most balanced view. # House of Wittelsbach To understand the differences between Hamburg and Munich, I think it’s important to look at the history of both cities. When you visit them, you can really see how their past shaped what they are today. [The Wittelsbach family](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House%5Fof%5FWittelsbach?ref=mertbulan.com) was a Bavarian dynasty that ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918\. The blue and white pattern used in Bavaria today comes from [the coat of arms of the Wittelsbach family](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat%5Fof%5Farms%5Fof%5FBavaria?ref=mertbulan.com). That light blue color is all over the city — you see it on the trams, street signs, and even on house number plates. Around the same time the Wittelsbachs rose to power, in 1189, Hamburg was given the status of a Free Imperial City by Frederick I “Barbarossa.” That made it an important trade city. If you check out [Hamburg’s coat of arms](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coat%5Fof%5Farms%5Fof%5FHamburg?ref=mertbulan.com) today, it still carries the same style and the red color you see throughout the city, just like the blue in Munich. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/ludwig-and-artists.webp) Artists trying to get the attention of the Ludwig I So while Munich was ruled by a single dynasty for centuries, Hamburg was more independent and focused on trade. I believe this played a big role in how the two cities developed. A city ruled by one family means power and money were more centralized. That can lead to big, impressive projects, but it also means the city grows in the direction that one ruling power chooses. A free trade city like Hamburg, on the other hand, had power and wealth spread out among merchants. That means more voices in the room and more variety in how the city grew. There are also clear religious differences. Both cities were Catholic until the 16th century, but during the Reformation, Hamburg became Protestant. You can feel that shift even today. In Munich, the churches are bigger and more detailed. In Hamburg, they’re simpler and more minimalist. When I visited the [Alte Pinakothek](https://www.pinakothek.de/en/alte-pinakothek?ref=mertbulan.com) museum in Munich, I was surprised by how many paintings were focused on the Holy Mary and Christ. Religion still seems to be part of daily life in Munich — you notice it especially when older locals greet you with “Grüß Gott.” ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/residenz-1.webp) ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/ludwig.webp) ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/residenz-2.webp) Residenz München, Ludwig I of Bavaria You can also see the wealth of the Wittelsbach family when you jump ahead to the 18th century and look at [King Ludwig I of Bavaria](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig%5FI%5Fof%5FBavaria?ref=mertbulan.com). While walking around the city, his name kept coming up. From [Ludwigstraße](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwigstra%C3%9Fe?ref=mertbulan.com) and [Königsplat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6nigsplatz,%5FMunich?ref=mertbulan.com) to the museums like the Alte Pinakothek and Glyptothek — many of these were created or shaped by him. [The Egyptian artifacts at the State Museum](https://smaek.de/en/?ref=mertbulan.com) also came from his personal collection. It’s hard to imagine these things existing without someone who had the money and the interest in art and culture. He also moved one of Bavaria’s oldest universities to Munich, which became [LMU Munich](https://www.lmu.de/en/?ref=mertbulan.com). Today, it’s considered one of the best universities in Germany. I think it’s fair to say that without Ludwig I, Munich wouldn’t be as developed and rich in culture as it is today. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/palace.webp) Nymphenburg Palace I also visited [the Munich Residenz](https://www.residenz-muenchen.de/englisch/tourist/index.htm?ref=mertbulan.com) with its 130 rooms, where the Wittelsbachs lived, and the gardens of the Nymphenburg Palace, which served as their summer residence. I didn’t have time to go inside the palace, but the garden was beautiful. There were ducks, geese, and swans everywhere. The whole place felt very peaceful and well kept. If I had to choose one word to describe Munich, I’d go with “wealth.” The wealth of the Wittelsbach dynasty and the way it shaped the city. That’s why I think you can’t really understand Munich without knowing this history — just like you can’t understand Hamburg without knowing about the [Hanseatic League](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanseatic%5FLeague?ref=mertbulan.com). # Nature ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/isar.webp) Isar River On the day I arrived in Munich, I went to the [Isar River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isar?ref=mertbulan.com) with my friend. I was really impressed by how clean the water was. Since it comes from melted snow in the Alps, you can actually see through the water — even the fish swimming inside. Maybe it’s not fair to compare it with the [Elbe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elbe?ref=mertbulan.com) in Hamburg, but seeing such clear water was exciting for me. The flow of the river is also very fast. Of course, I should mention that the Elbe is much deeper than the Isar, so they are quite different in that sense. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/english-garden.webp) Englischer Garten After that, we went to the [Englischer Garten](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Englischer%5FGarten?ref=mertbulan.com). It’s a great place to walk, run, or cycle. It reminded me of [Planten un Blomen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planten%5Fun%5FBlomen?ref=mertbulan.com) in Hamburg. In the Englischer Garten, you can still follow the Isar River. Because the current is strong, it’s dangerous to swim there, but my friend told me that people do group activities like standing or sitting on logs and floating down the river. Sounds like a lot of fun. I also visited the [Olympiapark](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympiapark%5F%28Munich%29?ref=mertbulan.com). If you go up the Olympiaberg, you get a great view of the city and see the Alps. It’s also a spot where people sometimes sit and listen to concerts at the [Olympiastadion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympiastadion%5F%28Munich%29?ref=mertbulan.com). The only thing that bothered me was [the building with the O2 logo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hochhaus%5FUptown%5FM%C3%BCnchen?ref=mertbulan.com). I was surprised that the city allowed it. It really stands out and ruins the view a bit. I did a quick search and found out that after that building was built, Munich had a vote to stop any new buildings over 100 meters tall. I wish they could also do something about that building now. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/olympia.webp) View from the Olympiaberg From up there, you can really see how green Munich is. But while walking around the city, I also noticed several “naked streets,” as I like to call them — streets without any trees. These streets have buildings, sidewalks, and wide roads for cars, but no trees at all. That was a bit disappointing. I had the same feeling when I visited Stockholm. In Hamburg, this is less common. You can usually find trees on almost every street. I think this is really important because trees give shade and help cool the streets, which makes walking much easier. Even though it was only about 20°C, I sometimes felt really hot walking around in the sun. Munich has many parks, but what makes it really special is the number of lakes nearby — like [Starnberger See](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake%5FStarnberg?ref=mertbulan.com), [Ammersee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammersee?ref=mertbulan.com), and [Tegernsee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegernsee%5F%28lake%29?ref=mertbulan.com). You can reach most of them with just about an hour of train ride. You can also visit [Garmisch-Partenkirchen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garmisch-Partenkirchen?ref=mertbulan.com) and go up to [Zugspitze](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zugspitze?ref=mertbulan.com), the highest mountain in Germany. Since this was my first time in Munich, I decided to stay in the city, but I’m already planning a second visit to explore those places. Even though Hamburg has the beautiful [Alster Lake](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alster?ref=mertbulan.com) right in the center, it doesn’t offer as many nature spots nearby that you can reach within two hours. But at least there are lots of forests around the city, and the North Sea and the Baltic Sea are around an hour away by train. That’s something you don’t get in Munich. # Museums ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/glyptothek.webp) Glyptothek When it comes to museums, Munich has a lot more than Hamburg, at least in terms of numbers. The wealth of the city definitely played a big role in building up that collection. During my trip, I visited six museums: - [Alte Pinakothek](https://www.pinakothek.de/en/alte-pinakothek?ref=mertbulan.com) - [Glyptothek](https://www.antike-am-koenigsplatz.mwn.de/index.php/en/glyptothek-en?ref=mertbulan.com) - [Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst](https://smaek.de/en/?ref=mertbulan.com) - [Pinakothek der Moderne](https://www.pinakothek-der-moderne.de/en/?ref=mertbulan.com) - [Residenz München](https://www.residenz-muenchen.de/englisch/tourist/index.htm?ref=mertbulan.com) - [Lenbachhaus](https://www.lenbachhaus.de/en/?ref=mertbulan.com) One thing I didn’t know before buying the tickets is that some museums only charge €1 for entry on Sundays. I really liked that idea, and I hope Hamburg introduces something similar. I also wanted to visit the [Deutsches Museum](https://www.deutsches-museum.de/en/?ref=mertbulan.com), but since it’s quite large, I decided to skip it this time and focus on smaller museums so I could see more. I’ll definitely visit it during my second trip. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/painting-1.webp) ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/painting-2.webp) ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/egyptian.webp) Paintings from Lenbachaus and the Egyptian Musuem Even though Munich has more museums overall, I find the ones in Hamburg more interesting in terms of variety, at least for my personal taste. I’m thinking about places like [Miniatur Wunderland](https://www.miniatur-wunderland.com/?ref=mertbulan.com), the [International Maritime Museum](https://www.imm-hamburg.de/en/?ref=mertbulan.com), and [Museum der Arbeit](https://www.shmh.de/en/museum-of-work/visit-the-museum-of-work/?ref=mertbulan.com). In Munich, the paintings at the Alte Pinakothek were impressive from a technical point of view, but after a while, I got a bit bored — around 80% of them were focused on the Holy Mary and Christ. On the other hand, I really enjoyed the Residenz and the Egyptian Museum. They were more engaging for me and had a better mix of history and culture. # City Life In general, I found Munich to be a very walkable city. The public transportation was also really good, and unlike Hamburg, it has a tram system. I actually enjoy riding trams because they move slower than the U-Bahn, so you can look around and see more of the city. On the downside, I find the tram noise and overhead cables a bit annoying. When I was in Lisbon, the noise from the trams there was awful, but overall I still think trams are an important part of good public transport. There were two things about Munich’s transport system that surprised me. First, some train station escalators were double-sided. That means the escalator doesn’t have a fixed direction — when someone approaches, it starts moving in their direction, whether that’s up or down. I thought that was a pretty smart solution. The second thing was the buses with attachments. At first they looked strange, but I assume they add the extra section during rush hour to carry more people, and remove it later to save energy. That also seemed like a smart idea. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/weird-bus.webp) The weird bus Aside from public transport, I felt Munich was a bit more car-centric than Hamburg. There were bike lanes, but not as many, and the ones I saw weren’t very noticeable. But I guess that makes sense, considering BMW is based in Munich. It was also the first time I saw those black-and-white striped prototype cars that car companies use for testing. Even without the logo, it was pretty obvious they were BMWs. The city also had a lot of long, wide streets, which I don’t like much. They’re harder to cross, reflect more heat, and just don’t look nice. In terms of architecture, the city center had some impressive buildings — large and detailed. But the residential areas weren’t really my style. I think I’m just used to the brick expressionist buildings in Hamburg, which blend in nicely with the trees and feel more natural to me. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/brick-building.webp) Of course, the building I liked had to be brick One thing I really noticed while walking around Munich was how crowded it felt. At first, I didn’t understand why — after all, Hamburg has a larger population. But then I checked the population density: Hamburg has around 2.600 people per square kilometer, while Munich has about 4.900\. That explained the feeling. And if you also count the number of tourists visiting Munich, which is higher than in Hamburg, it makes even more sense. For me, this really matters. I don’t enjoy being in crowded places, and at times I felt a bit overwhelmed walking around. Luckily, the neighborhood where I was staying was calm and quiet. One last thing I want to talk about is the food and beer. Some people don’t really like German food, but I’m not one of them. I actually enjoy trying different dishes. On my first day, I went to [Haxnbauer](https://maps.app.goo.gl/8MyqXNR2qcFN2yhg7?ref=mertbulan.com) in the city center and had Kalbshaxe (veal knuckle). It tasted really good, even though it was a bit expensive. Another day, I had Schnitzel at [Andy’s Krablergarten](https://maps.app.goo.gl/DnhJA7F8fExD4D4t8?ref=mertbulan.com), and I have to say, it was the best Schnitzel I’ve ever eaten. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/schnitzel.webp) The best Schnitzel When I drink beer, I usually go for Weißbier if they have it. Most of the time it comes in a bottle, but in Munich you get it fresh from the tap—and you can really taste the difference. I know there are a few good Bavarian restaurants in Hamburg, but after this trip, I think I’ll visit them more often. Beyond traditional German food, I also had the chance to try something feels home. Thanks to a friend’s recommendation, I discovered a nice spot in Munich called [Altın Dilim](https://maps.app.goo.gl/LaPcxKEEbgNAvkpZ7?ref=mertbulan.com), which serves tasty baklava and other Turkish desserts. Most places that sell baklava in Germany tend to overdo the sugar, but this one struck a good balance and used good-quality pistachios. That said, I wouldn’t personally recommend their baklava. Instead, if you check it out, go for the *Fıstık Sarma* or *Fıstıklı Kadayıf*, those were excellent. One thing to keep in mind: the neighborhood where this shop is located felt quite different from the rest of Munich. So be ready for a bit of a cultural shift when you visit. Hopefully, I’ll be able to find a similar spot in Hamburg someday too. # Verdict Overall, I liked Munich. Even though it’s a German city, during my time there, it felt like I was experiencing a different culture compared to Hamburg. The number of museums and the natural spots nearby definitely made me think about visiting again. Living in Munich also comes with some clear advantages. You’re close to places like Switzerland, Austria, and Italy, which makes it easy to travel. From what I know, big tech companies like Apple, NVIDIA, and Google have offices there, and the startup scene is much stronger than in Hamburg. So, if you work in tech, there are definitely more opportunities. That said, because of the cultural differences, the car-focused layout, and the higher population density, I don’t think I would enjoy living there — at least not as much as I enjoy Hamburg. But who knows where life will take me. ### The American vs. European Mindset on Life URL: https://mertbulan.com/the-american-vs-european-mindset-on-life/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:15:24.000Z There are countless ways to approach life, but two of the most prominent ones I’ve noticed are the American mindset and the European mindset. Because I mostly consume content in English, I often see the American perspective dominating online spaces. Interestingly, people who embrace this mindset sometimes mock or dismiss the European approach, often without making any real effort to understand it. Let me begin with a bit of my own background. I was born in Turkey and spent much of my life there before moving to Germany, where I’ve lived for the past seven years. I bring this up because Turkey has been significantly shaped by European ideas. We have public healthcare, a mandatory pension system, widespread public education, and decent public transportation. When Turkey was being modernized, it even adopted laws from various European countries. At the same time, however, American cultural influence has been very strong. Over the years, society has increasingly leaned toward American ways of thinking. For instance, things like your car or your phone can heavily influence how others perceive your social status. As a result, people often feel pressured to earn as much money as possible to display their success. This mindset also leads to longer working hours, fewer vacation days or sick leaves, and a more competitive work culture with clearly defined hierarchies. Having lived in both systems and currently living in a country that clearly reflects the European mindset, I feel well positioned to compare the two. # What Is the European Mindset, Really? Because of strong American cultural influence, most people are more familiar with the American mindset. It is often centered around hard work, climbing the career ladder, earning more money, and improving your life by owning things — a house, a car, maybe even a second car. I have to admit, it is an attractive idea. The American mindset promises that if you are talented and work hard, you can achieve anything, even become a millionaire or billionaire. That belief is likely one of the biggest reasons why more than a million people move to the United States every year. But there is also another way of living: the European mindset. Unlike its American counterpart, it does not focus solely on individual advancement. Instead, it emphasizes improving the quality of life for everyone. That is why taxes are high, very high in some cases. In Germany, for example, around 42 percent of your gross salary goes to taxes. In return, you get access to things like public healthcare, a pension system, free education, reliable public transportation, and more. You also get generous sick leave, which can last up to six weeks, and [around thirty vacation days](https://www.kickresume.com/en/press/europe-usa-work-survey/?ref=mertbulan.com) every year. The work culture is different too. It is less competitive. People generally understand that working more or harder does not necessarily mean they will earn significantly more. And even if they do, a large part of that extra income goes back in taxes. So instead of chasing a higher paycheck, many people prefer to work fewer hours and enjoy more free time. [According to OECD data](https://www.dw.com/en/have-the-germans-become-lazy-at-work/a-69050174?ref=mertbulan.com), Germany consistently ranks among the developed countries with the lowest average working hours. The Nordic countries are similar. In this mindset, life is less about accumulating more and more, and more about spending time in meaningful ways. This way of thinking surprised me when I first moved to Germany. I remember asking my German flatmate why he used second-hand furniture instead of buying new things. He said he would rather spend that money on another vacation. Over time, I realized this attitude is quite common. People are often content with what they have and prefer to buy used goods instead of working harder just to afford things they do not really need. There is less pressure to impress others with possessions. In fact, openly talking about what you own is not something people enjoy here. Instead, they talk about experiences, most of which do not cost much at all. At work, people aim to do their jobs well and then focus on life outside the office. Work is not everything. Most people have hobbies and interests they enjoy beyond their careers. They do not define themselves by their job titles and rarely talk about work in their free time. As a result, there is less stress. People are not terrified of losing their jobs, because they know the system will support them if they need help. There is also less of a rigid hierarchy in the workplace, unless you work in a very old or large company. I experienced both sides while working for an American company, and the contrast was striking. In that environment, hierarchy was more visible, and leaders made sure their authority was recognized. The company also put a lot of effort into promoting its mission internally, often presenting our work as something world-changing. In contrast, the German companies I have worked for felt more down-to-earth. There was less focus on job titles, less internal marketing, and a more practical approach to work. I will explore this more in a future post, but for now, it is enough to say that the difference is significant. To sum up, the American mindset tends to focus on personal success and achievement through material gain. The European mindset, on the other hand, prioritizes collective well-being and ensuring a high quality of life for everyone. # Finding the Right Mindset for Your Life As someone who grew up in a society shaped by the American mindset, it took me some time to understand and adjust to the European way of thinking. I want to be clear that I am not saying one mindset is better than the other. It all depends on the kind of life you want to live. If you choose one and it makes you happy, then that is what matters. However, I have also seen many people struggle because they live in a society that follows a different mindset from their own. Before I moved to Germany, I was not really aware of the European mindset. I believed the only way to live a good life was to work hard, earn more money, and buy more things. That was the message I grew up with. I thought that having more would automatically make me happier. I did not realize there was another way to approach life. But once I arrived in Germany, I slowly started to understand that this society is not built around that idea. If I had kept chasing the same mindset here, I would have ended up feeling frustrated and disappointed. After a few years, once I understood how the European mindset works, I realized it actually suits me much better. I do not enjoy constantly pushing myself to earn more money, especially when I am not that interested in buying new things. I am not a materialistic person. I live simply, and that makes me happy. I noticed that the money I already earn is enough to enjoy the things I care about. This shift helped me feel less stressed and more content. I no longer feel the need to always aim for more or bigger. I spend less time thinking about what I own and more time enjoying life through new experiences. The reason I wanted to write this post is to share the idea that there is another way to live. As I mentioned earlier, I often feel a strong pressure from people who follow the American mindset. Many of them seem to believe that their way of life is the best. They earn more, they buy more, and they assume this means they enjoy life more. Maybe they do, from their perspective. But there is also a large group of people who find just as much joy, [or even more](https://english.elpais.com/science-tech/2025-04-03/richest-americans-have-lower-life-expectancy-than-europeans.html?ref=mertbulan.com), by living in a society where everyone has access to basic needs and where there is more time for life beyond work and material things. ### My story of passing the telc B1 German exam URL: https://mertbulan.com/my-story-of-passing-the-telc-b1-german-exam/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:14:55.000Z I never planned to move to Germany; it just happened. If I had made any plans, I would have made sure to learn enough German to manage everyday life. It all began when I was talking to a classmate in the administration building of my department. I was taking care of paperwork for my first internship after finishing my second year. I had found that internship in Istanbul, where I would learn Ruby programming from [Serdar](https://www.linkedin.com/in/serdardogruyol/?ref=mertbulan.com) and [Aşkın](https://www.linkedin.com/in/askngdk/?ref=mertbulan.com), who were among the best in the industry. My classmate asked if my internship was in another country. I was a bit surprised and realized that maybe people expected me to do an internship abroad, especially since I was good at Computer Science. The idea of doing an internship in another country stuck with me and eventually became a reality. After finishing my internship in Istanbul, I was offered a part-time remote job there. It was a great offer since I was earning the minimum wage and learning a lot about programming and working on real products used by thousands of people. Then, the thought of doing an internship abroad came back, and I started looking for companies in Europe that used Ruby . I also decided to apply for the Erasmus scholarship to make the visa process easier. Plus, if the company didn’t pay me, I could use the Erasmus funds to cover my expenses. Eventually, I found a summer internship in Hamburg. That’s how my journey to Germany began. # Starting to Learn German After my internship in Hamburg, I returned to Turkey and kept working remotely with the same company. There was a chance that after finishing my studies, I could get a full-time job and move to Hamburg. That’s when I decided it was time to learn German. I started going to a language school on weekends. It was probably the busiest year of my life. I was finishing my last year of university, taking a lot of classes and exams, writing my bachelor’s thesis (which later got published and presented at a symposium in Vienna), working part-time, and studying German on weekends. By the beginning of summer 2018, I had finished my studies, presented my bachelor’s thesis, received my A1-level German certificate, got a full-time job offer, and moved to Germany at the end of June. I was so overwhelmed with everything going on that, even though I had signed up for the German class at my company, I gave up learning German for a while to relax and adjust to life in Hamburg. For a long time, I didn’t study German, but I still picked up new words almost every day and was able to have simple conversations in places like restaurants. When COVID hit, I stopped hearing German at work and learning German words. I also started working for a non-German company, so I wasn’t exposed to much German for a while. Eventually, [I was laid off](https://mertbulan.com/2025/01/26/once-you-are-laid-off-you-will-never-be-the-same-again/) from that company and, thanks to the severance package I received, I finally had the time to focus on learning German properly. # Taking German Seriously I signed up for a language school in Hamburg called [Deutsch Akademie](https://www.deutschakademie.de/?ref=mertbulan.com). Since I already had an A1-level in German, I started at A2.1 in September 2023\. I had classes three times a week, each lasting three hours in the evening. After two months, I finished A2.1 and immediately signed up for A2.2\. This time, I chose an intensive course, with classes five times a week, three hours each. It was a lot, and I found it challenging, but after a month, I completed the level. Right after that, I started B1.1\. This time, I went back to three classes a week. I should mention that I didn’t miss a single class during this time. But when I started B1.2, I was feeling really tired of the classes, and the teacher wasn’t as good as the previous ones. So, after a couple of weeks, I decided to stop attending the classes. Looking back, I feel good about taking those classes. I learned a lot and started to feel more comfortable speaking German. But at the same time, I wasn’t sure about my German level. Even though I learned many grammar rules, I still didn’t know enough words, and that made it hard for me to understand what I read or have conversations. That’s when I came up with the idea to develop an app to help me memorize new words while using my computer. And that’s how the [Wunderbar app](https://wunderbarapp.com/?ref=mertbulan.com) was born. # Wunderbar! It’s hard for me to sit down and study, especially when I’m at home. So, I thought that if I could see a new German word on the Menu Bar of my Mac every 10 minutes, I’d be exposed to lots of new words, and over time, my vocabulary would grow. I researched the most common words in German and used those, along with their meanings and example sentences, to create the app. Later, I added a feature to listen to the pronunciation of each word. I started using the app every day and learned a few new words. Over time, I realized I had learned a lot of new words and understood more. At first, I designed the app just to help me learn German words. But when I shared it with others, many people asked for more languages. So, I added support for other languages too. Over time, the app was downloaded by hundreds of people worldwide and helped many of them learn new words every day. # Getting Ready for the Exam As my German slowly improved, a lot was happening in Germany. My main goal for reaching B1 level German was to apply for citizenship. The traffic light coalition in Germany had lowered the number of years needed to apply for citizenship from 8 years to 5 years, making me eligible right away. The only thing left for me to do was take the B1-level German exam to get the certificate to prove my language skills. The new law was set to go into effect in the summer of 2024, but the government collapsed at the end of that year. That’s when I started to panic. I wasn’t alone, many of my immigrant friends also rushed to get their certification before the new government came into power, which might reverse the changes introduced by the traffic light coalition. A close friend of mine had already received his B1 German certificate from [telc](https://www.telc.net/en/language-examinations/certificate-exams/german/certificate-german-telc-german-b1/?ref=mertbulan.com). He kept telling me that I could do it too, but I still wasn’t sure about my German level and didn’t feel ready for the exam. At the beginning of 2025, I set myself the goal of getting the B1 certificate. My friend insisted I book the exam appointment because, based on his experience, if you don’t book it, you’ll never start studying for it. So, I booked my exam for April. After securing my spot, I did three things to help me reach my goal, in addition to using my Wunderbar app every day. First, I bought a textbook called [Prüfungstraining Zertifikat Deutsch (telc Deutsch B1)](https://amzn.to/3FhN9XN?ref=mertbulan.com) by Cornelsen. It was a great resource that quickly helped me go over the words and grammar rules I needed to know. I was already familiar with most of the material, but seeing everything in one place gave me more confidence. Since I can’t study at home, I started going to a café every day to study a few chapters from the book and practice my writing skills. Second, I began reading stories in German. The biggest part of the telc exam is understanding German, which is much more important than knowing grammar rules. I bought a book called [Short Stories in German for Beginners](https://amzn.to/4kcXpQg?ref=mertbulan.com), and I read all the stories in it. Later, I bought [the intermediate-level version](https://amzn.to/3HcjpME?ref=mertbulan.com). These books helped me read longer German texts and learn new words. The third thing I did was watch a German TV show with German subtitles. There was a new show on Apple TV+ called [Where is Wanda?](https://apple.co/3Z3bQOm?ref=mertbulan.com), produced in Germany. I decided to watch it to improve my listening skills, which was another important part of the telc exam. One thing I really liked about the textbook was the example tests (Modelltest) at the end. There were four practice exams that were very similar to the real telc exam. Four days before my test, I took one of these example tests every day. They helped me get familiar with the exam format and showed me how much time I was spending on each section. # The telc Exam in Detail The telc exam has two parts: writing and speaking. The writing exam has four sections: Reading, Grammar, Listening, and Writing. It takes about two and a half hours. The speaking exam takes 15 minutes and has three parts: Introduction, talking about a topic, and planning something together. (You can download an example test [here](https://shop.telc.net/media/catalog/product/file/telc%5Fdeutsch%5Fb1%5Fzd%5Fuebungstest%5F1.pdf?ref=mertbulan.com).) ## Written Exam (Schriftliche Prüfung) The first part of the reading section involves reading five short news articles and matching them with the right titles. Each correct answer gives you 5 points. In the second part, you read a longer article and answer five questions about it. Again, each correct answer gives you 5 points. Next, you look at 12 listings (like course offers, job or flat ads) and match 10 situations with those listings. Each correct match gives you 2.5 points. In total, you can earn 75 points from this section. The grammar section has two parts. In the first part, you fill in 10 blanks in an email, choosing from three options for each blank. Each correct answer gives you 1.5 points. In the second part, you fill in more blanks in an email, but this time you choose from 15 options. Again, each correct answer gives you 1.5 points. In total, you can earn 30 points from this section. You have 90 minutes to complete both of these sections. I didn’t have trouble managing my time here because reading stories in German had helped me get better at reading long texts. In the listening section, there are three parts. In each part, you listen to audio and mark statements as true or false. In the first part, you listen to people’s opinions on a topic and mark 5 statements as true or false. Each correct answer gives you 5 points. In the second part, you listen to a long conversation and mark 10 statements as true or false. Each correct answer gives you 2.5 points. In the last part, you listen to 5 announcements and mark 5 statements. Each correct answer also gives you 5 points. In total, you can earn 75 points in this section, and you have around 30 minutes to complete it. Some parts are played twice, but others are only played once, so you have to listen carefully. The final part of the writing exam is the actual writing task. You need to write a reply to an email, making sure to address four topics mentioned in the question. This is important, if you miss any of the required topics, you won’t get full points, even if your writing is good. You also need to use certain sentence structures, which you can find in the textbook. If you do well, you can earn 45 points for this part. This was probably the hardest part for me because of the time limit. When practicing, I found it difficult to finish the email in 30 minutes, so I knew I had to rush during the real exam. If I had more time, I think I could have written a better email. As you can see, the two most important parts of the writing exam are reading comprehension and listening comprehension. If you do well in these sections, you can pass the writing exam easily. In total, you can get 225 points from this part, but you only need 180 points to pass (which means answering 60% of the questions correctly). ## Speaking Exam (Mündliche Prüfung) This part of the exam worried me the most because I didn’t get much chance to practice. The good thing about the telc exam is that if you pass the written part but fail the speaking part, you can retake just the speaking exam. For the speaking exam, you have a partner who’s also taking the exam. I was paired with a middle-aged lady who already spoke German fluently. I thought she was probably just there to get the paperwork done. Before the exam, they place you in a room and give you papers for each part of the exam, along with a blank sheet for taking notes. You have 20 minutes to prepare your thoughts. While speaking, you need to use certain phrases that show your speaking level. You can find these in the textbook, and I found them really helpful, so I tried to memorize them before the exam. In the first part, we introduced ourselves and asked each other a few questions. In the second part, we talked about a topic. Normally, you should be having a conversation with your partner, but my partner often spoke to the examiners and didn’t ask me many questions. In the last part, we were supposed to plan something together. However, my partner did most of the planning herself and didn’t give me a chance to speak much. Luckily, the examiners asked me a couple of questions to assess my speaking skills. Because my partner was almost fluent in German, I felt like my speaking skills might not measure up. I was worried I wouldn’t get as many points compared to her. In total, you can get 75 points from this part. Similar to the other part, you need get 60% of the points to pass it. # Result Once you finish both exams, you have to wait at least 4 weeks to get your results. I took my exam at [Hamburger Volkshochschule](https://www.vhs-hamburg.de/deutsch/pruefungen-zertifikate-1075?ref=mertbulan.com), and they sent my results by mail, no emails, so you’ll need to keep an eye on your mailbox. The exam cost me 148€. To my surprise, I got the highest score, “Sehr gut.” It seems that, just like the written part, the key in the speaking part was understanding the material and expressing your thoughts clearly. Even though I wasn’t as fluent as my partner, I somehow managed to get the highest score in the speaking part. I was also happy to see that I got the maximum score in the reading section. It looks like all the time I spent reading stories and using my Wunderbar app paid off! If you’re in a similar situation, I highly recommend getting [the textbook from Cornelsen](https://amzn.to/3FhN9XN?ref=mertbulan.com) and studying it from start to finish. Also, try reading books in German and watching German TV shows. And of course, you can also use my [Wunderbar app](https://wunderbarapp.com/?ref=mertbulan.com) to improve your vocabulary. :) Before I finish this long post, one last piece of advice: don’t overthink the exam. I also worried that I wasn’t ready for it, but in the end, I got the highest score. The exam is easier than you might think! ### Why I stopped using the Tchibo capsule coffee machine URL: https://mertbulan.com/why-i-stopped-using-the-tchibo-capsule-coffee-machine/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:14:45.000Z I never used to be a coffee person. For the longest time, I only drank it occasionally, usually during a relaxed afternoon with friends, enjoying Kaffee und Kuchen after a walk. But at some point, probably influenced by the people around me, I got curious. What if I started having coffee every morning? Could it become part of my daily rhythm? Turns out, it did. # Starting Simple I knew from the beginning that I didn’t want to dive into something too complicated. That’s how I usually approach new things. I prefer starting simple. My approach is to choose something beginner-friendly, spend time getting familiar with it, and upgrade as needed based on what I like and don’t like. With that mindset, I thought a capsule machine would be a good way to start drinking coffee at home. It seemed easy: just add water, pop in a capsule, and get your espresso. But there was one catch, I still can’t drink coffee on its own. It’s too bitter for me. So I also needed a way to warm up milk. In the end, I chose the Cafissimo Milk machine from Tchibo. When it comes to capsule machines, most people think of Nespresso. But I’ve avoided Nestlé for years because of their business practices. That’s why I picked Tchibo instead, a local brand from Hamburg. But there was one big downside. Since Nespresso is so popular, many other brands make capsules for their machines. With Tchibo, you’re stuck with their own capsules, there are barely any other options. That turned out to be a major drawback. Still, I found a brand-new, second-hand machine on Kleinanzeigen for 65€ (the regular price was 129€), and I started making myself a Latte Macchiato every morning. At first, I liked it. I tried almost every capsule they had, but in the end, the only one I really enjoyed was the Brazil blend. The machine heated up fast, and I had my coffee ready in seconds. Everything seemed fine, until the problems began. ## The Problems The first problem I noticed was the amount of plastic waste I was creating every week because of the capsules. That really bothered me. I knew that if I were using a regular espresso machine, I wouldn’t be producing that much waste. Even though the capsules are technically recyclable, it still didn’t feel right. I also thought about separating the used coffee grounds and putting them in the bio trash, but that would’ve taken extra time and effort. The second problem was the milk frother. It couldn’t heat up cold milk from the fridge properly. I had to run it twice just to get the milk warm enough. On top of that, cleaning it was a hassle. Even though the machine had a built-in cleaning function, it didn’t clean everything. Some parts still had milk residue, and I had to take them apart and wash them thoroughly to keep things hygienic. That was a lot of work for milk that wasn’t even hot enough. The third problem was the limited capsule options I mentioned earlier. Even though I live in Hamburg and the company is based here, I still had trouble finding the capsules. My regular supermarket didn’t sell them, and the other store near me only had the “Barista” capsules, not the Brazil ones I liked. What also annoyed me was that these capsules didn’t give much info about the coffee. If you enjoy coffee, part of the fun is learning about the beans, where they come from, how they’re roasted, and what flavors they have. Tchibo just labels some capsules “Barista,” and that’s it. No details, no story. And to make it worse, the price of these capsules is almost the same as buying whole beans for an espresso machine, about 35–40€ per kilo. So you’re paying a premium for coffee you don’t know much about. The last issue was the final straw. After a year, the water sensor on the machine stopped working. I contacted Tchibo support, and they told me I’d need the original receipt to get it repaired. Since I bought it second-hand, I didn’t have one. I explained this to them, but they still said they couldn’t help me. They wouldn’t even let me pay for a repair. The machine just became electronic waste. It was probably a simple part, something I could’ve replaced myself if they sold it. But they didn’t offer any way to fix it. That really frustrated me. If a company refuses to take responsibility for their own products, it’s hard to believe they care about anything else either. That’s why I can’t recommend Tchibo machines to anyone. # Moving On from Capsules In the end, I was left with a broken machine and a bunch of unused capsules. I decided it was finally time to move on and buy an espresso machine. But first, I needed a way to finish the capsules I still had. Luckily, the second-hand market for Tchibo machines is quite active. I found a Cafissimo Pure on Kleinanzeigen and bought it just to use up the remaining capsules. Since I didn’t like the milk frother on my previous machine anyway, I was fine with this simpler model that didn’t have one. I started heating milk the old-fashioned way, on the stove, which actually worked better for me. While I was wrapping up my time with the capsules, I began researching espresso machines for beginners. I knew it would be a more expensive path, but this time I wanted something that was built to last, easy to use, and repairable if anything went wrong. Of course, having a good espresso machine wasn’t enough, I also needed a proper grinder with similar qualities. After some research and helpful tips from friends, I decided on the Sage Bambino Plus and the Baratza Encore ESP grinder. I’ll share my experience with this new setup in a future blog post, so stay tuned for that. ### These 4 watchOS 11 Bugs Are Driving Me Crazy URL: https://mertbulan.com/4-watchos-11-bugs-driving-me-crazy/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:14:32.000Z I’ve been using my Apple Watch Series 9 for over a year now, and honestly, it’s one of the best choices I’ve made for my health. Before I got it, I wasn’t very active—I’d spend hours just sitting and working at my computer. But after getting the watch, I started moving more because of the activity rings. I even noticed my cardio fitness level go from below average to above average. I might write a separate post about how the Apple Watch helped me get fitter, but in this one, I want to talk about four really annoying problems in watchOS 11\. Hopefully, someone at Apple sees this and fixes them in the next update, which should be announced in June. # Stand One of the rings you need to close on the Apple Watch is the Stand ring. By default, you have to stand up for at least one minute every hour, and do this at least 12 times a day. I actually like this feature because I often forget to move when I’m deeply focused on work. The problem is, it doesn’t always work right. The Apple Watch seems to only count it if your arm is hanging down, parallel to your body. So if I’m standing while cooking or doing the dishes, the watch doesn’t register it—even though I’ve been on my feet for 30 minutes. Then, as soon as I sit down to eat, I get a notification telling me to stand up. That’s frustrating. Even worse, you can trick the watch into thinking you’re standing just by letting your arm hang while sitting on a chair. So the feature is easy to fool, but not reliable when you’re actually standing. I hope the watchOS team can improve this so the Apple Watch can better detect if you’re really standing—not just judging based on your arm position. # NameDrop One of my favorite features lately is NameDrop. It lets you share your contact info just by bringing your Apple Watch or iPhone close to someone else’s. It’s a really quick and easy way to exchange contacts. For some reason, it doesn’t work properly on my iPhone. After I accept the contact, the Contacts app crashes and the new contact doesn’t get saved. Strangely, it works fine on my Apple Watch. The annoying part is when my Apple Watch gets too close to my iPhone—NameDrop suddenly activates. I mean, why would I want to share my contact with myself? It seems like something the developer should’ve caught right away. But it looks like that part was either missed or ignored. So now, I’ll be watching something and suddenly feel a buzz on my wrist because NameDrop kicked in for no reason. This seems like an easy fix—maybe even just a line or two of code. # Auto Unlock When I’m using my MacBook and need to authenticate something, I usually just use Touch ID—it’s quick and right there. But for some reason, every time this happens, my Apple Watch vibrates to let me know I can also use it to authenticate. That doesn’t really make sense. I’m already using the Mac, my hand is right there on the keyboard, and Touch ID is much easier. So why would I use my watch? It’s not just unnecessary—it’s distracting. This happens almost every time I need to log in to something, like when I want to access saved passwords. It would be great if Apple could change this so the Watch only offers to help when Touch ID isn’t available. That way, I don’t get random vibrations every time I need to log in. # HomeKit Last but not least, the Home app on watchOS has been so unreliable for me that I’ve stopped using it altogether. I have a smart home setup, and I normally use my iPhone or Siri to control things like locking the door or turning lights on and off. But sometimes, I want to use my Apple Watch—especially when my phone isn’t nearby. The problem is, when I open the Home app on the watch, it usually just freezes. It shows all my devices as “not responding” and doesn’t update. I wait over 30 seconds, but it still can’t load the current status of my devices, so I can’t control anything. And even when it does show the correct info, trying to do something simple like locking the door just triggers a loading spinner in the corner—and nothing happens. It’s frustrating, because the Apple Watch should be perfect for these quick tasks when your phone isn’t around. But in this case, it just doesn’t deliver. --- It’s no secret that the software quality on Apple devices has been slipping over the past few years. Based on the issues I’ve shared here, it really feels like the engineers at Apple either don’t use the Apple Watch as much as I do—or more likely, they just don’t have the time to fix these small but important bugs. Instead, they’re probably being pushed to focus on things like Apple Intelligence or other flashy features that look good in marketing but may not matter much to most people. I’m really hoping that watchOS 12 will fix these problems, so I can keep enjoying my Apple Watch every day without getting frustrated by things that should just work. ### Becoming 30: Reflections and the Road Ahead URL: https://mertbulan.com/becoming-30-reflections-and-the-road-ahead/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:14:20.000Z I meant to write this blog post on my 30th birthday, but I didn’t have the energy at the time, and there were still a lot of things I hadn’t figured out. Now that I’m turning 31, I want to look back on the last ten years. When I turned 30, I started to realize that some things in life can’t really be explained—you have to live through them to truly get it. So I’m writing this post not to give advice to younger people, but more as a record for myself. Something I can look back on when I turn 40 and see how far I’ve come. # School Even though I was an average student, I never really liked going to school. Most of the time, I found it boring. Looking back, I feel like I wasted a lot of time there. In Turkey, the education system tends to reward students who are good at memorizing things—which I wasn’t. So I stayed average until I started studying Computer Science. That’s where things changed for me. What mattered there was understanding the topic, not memorizing it. The homework involved writing code and solving real-world problems. That shift made a big difference, and I ended up graduating second in my class with high honors. Having a diploma (which I still haven’t picked up from the university) is nice, I guess, but I haven’t really needed it—except when I applied for the Blue Card in Germany. And now that [the rules have changed](https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/visa-residence/types/eu-blue-card?ref=mertbulan.com) and three years of work experience is enough, I’m not sure the degree itself matters all that much anymore. Don’t get me wrong—the things I learned were interesting, and I had some great teachers. But I’ve barely used any of it in my actual work. My summer internships after my second and third year had a much bigger impact on my career than all eight semesters of classes. That said, getting the Erasmus Scholarship was a big plus. It gave me the chance to do an internship in Hamburg, which later helped me move to Germany. # Germany When I first came to Hamburg for an internship, my plan was simple: get some experience in Europe so it would help me find a better job back in Turkey. But I never got to that point—before I even finished my studies, I got a job offer and moved to Hamburg to work full-time at the same place. I’ve always had high expectations, but living in Hamburg completely blew me away. The city and the people I’ve met over the past seven years have been amazing. I honestly fell in love with this place. A funny thing—someone I met recently, who had just moved to Hamburg, said I was the only person he’d met who didn’t complain about the weather. That’s how much I enjoy living here. Hamburg taught me what I really want from a city. What kind of people I want around me, how I want to move through a city, how big it should be, what kind of political values it should have, and what kind of experiences it should offer. Thinking about all that, I realized Hamburg fits me perfectly. I can’t think of a reason to leave. It feels like the kind of place I could live for the rest of my life. Another surprising thing was how naturally I fit into life here. Before moving, I had a certain idea of how I wanted to live—and when I arrived, I saw people here were already living that way. That made integrating super easy. In fact, many of the Germans I’ve worked with told me I’m “more German than most Germans.” That’s how well I clicked with the culture. Lately, I’ve been working on improving my German so I can enjoy life here even more. # Work Including my internships, I’ve had the chance to work at five different companies across a mix of cultures—Turkish, German, and Canadian. They also varied in size, and altogether, I’ve spent about nine years working (some of it part-time). These experiences have taught me a lot and really shaped how I think about work. When I started out, I was very ambitious and enthusiastic. But over time, I realized that my energy didn’t always match the companies I worked for. That mismatch usually led to frustration. It took a while, but I learned that how much money I make isn’t the most important thing. What matters most is who I spend those eight hours a day with. It sounds simple, but it took me years to fully understand that. At the companies I worked for, I met incredibly talented people. I learned a lot from them and I’m really grateful for that. But I also had to deal with toxic coworkers, incompetent managers or visionless CEOs, and those experiences showed me how much work can affect your mental health. And no amount of money is worth that kind of stress. I used to wonder why some people stayed at the same company for five or even ten years. But when I turned 30, I finally got it. They stayed because they wanted stability. They liked the people they worked with. They were okay with where they were in life. For them, work was just work—something that paid the bills. And keeping that mindset helped them protect their mental health. You can hear someone say that, but you don’t really understand it until [you’ve lived through it yourself](https://mertbulan.com/2025/01/26/once-you-are-laid-off-you-will-never-be-the-same-again/). In the end, I came to see work as just one part of life—not the whole thing. Earning more isn’t the goal anymore. What matters is finding a good balance, being around good people, and using your time and money to actually enjoy your life. At the same time, I can’t imagine myself working full-time, 40 hours a week, for the rest of my life. I’m honestly still surprised that this is seen as “normal.” There’s so much to explore and experience in the world, yet we spend most of our time working. Of course, when you look at average working hours, [Germany is one of the countries with the lowest numbers.](https://www.dw.com/en/have-the-germans-become-lazy-at-work/a-69050174?ref=mertbulan.com) So I guess people here already figured that out—which makes me think, once again, that I’m living in the right place. # Being Online This one’s a bit connected to work—I’ve come to realize that I spend about a third of my life in front of a computer. And with social media and everything else online, I’ve also noticed that I’ve become kind of addicted to being in the digital world. It’s started to bother me, especially because most of my hobbies, like blogging, also involve a screen. This is something I really want to change before I turn 40\. I want to step away from the screen as much as I can and start doing more things with my hands. I don’t think I want to spend the rest of my life staring at a monitor. Finding offline hobbies, getting into more physical or creative work, and being more present in the real world are all things I want to focus on in the next decade. # Hobbies When it comes to hobbies, the one thing I’ve done consistently over the years is reading. Even though I’ve been reading a bit less in the past couple of years, I still managed to [read over 300 books](https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/38416033?shelf=read&ref=mertbulan.com) in the last decade. I honestly can’t think of another activity that brings me as much joy and satisfaction. I want to keep reading for the rest of my life. Alongside that, I also started blogging again—though I’ve stopped and restarted a few times. Just this year, I made the decision to write more regularly, and I really want to stick with it. I also [started a podcast](https://mertbulan.com/work/farkli-dusun-podcast) with a friend, and this year we’re celebrating our fourth anniversary. Every two weeks, around 4.000 people listen to it, which still feels a bit surreal. For most of this time, I wasn’t really into sports, and looking back, I think that was one of my biggest mistakes. In the last few months, I finally started to understand the importance of staying active. Sure, I was cycling around Hamburg all the time, but that never felt like real exercise to me. Last year, I got into bouldering and found that I really enjoy it. I also started hiking, which has been a great way to explore places on the edge of the city and nearby towns. More recently, I’ve started strength training and running. I really wish I had started both much earlier. They’re not easy, but the feeling you get after a good workout is hard to explain—you just have to experience it. If there’s only one piece of advice to take away from this post, it’s this: do 20–30 minutes of exercise that gets your heart rate above 100 bpm. You won’t regret it. Besides these hobbies, I’m hoping to add more that involve other people—something social, something shared. I’ve spent a lot of time doing things alone, and I want to balance that out in the next chapter of my life. # Nothing is Binary One of the biggest milestones for me at 30 was becoming a more tolerant, empathetic, and thoughtful person. Before that, I used to hold onto my opinions pretty tightly. I’d often think, “If you don’t see things the way I do, then you must be wrong.” But over time, I realized that every single person comes from a different background. We grow up in different cultures, have different childhoods, face different challenges—and all of that shapes how we see the world. Once I truly understood that, I stopped being judgmental. Instead of ignoring opinions that didn’t match mine, I started listening more. I tried to understand where people were coming from. That shift helped me connect better with people from all kinds of backgrounds. It also made me more open to changing my mind, admitting when I was wrong, and seeing that life isn’t just black and white. There are so many shades in between. There’s no absolute truth for most things in life—only tradeoffs, perspectives, and stories that make sense when you take the time to step into someone else’s shoes. And I think that’s probably the biggest change I’ve gone through since turning 30. --- Turning 30 didn’t suddenly make everything clear, but it definitely marked the start of seeing things differently. I’ve learned a lot in the past decade—about work, people, habits, and most importantly, about myself. I’ve made mistakes, changed my mind, let go of things I once thought were non-negotiable, and discovered new parts of myself along the way. I don’t know what the next decade will bring, but right now, I feel grateful and genuinely happy with where I am. I feel content. I feel free—like I can do whatever I want with my life. Reaching 30 was a big milestone for me, and now, I’m looking forward to 40. ### My Cowboy Classic E-Bike Review After 3.000 KM URL: https://mertbulan.com/my-cowboy-classic-e-bike-review-after-3000-km/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:13:55.000Z I grew up watching cartoons on Fox Kids, like [The Kids from Room 402](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The%5FKids%5Ffrom%5FRoom%5F402?ref=mertbulan.com), [What’s with Andy?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What%27s%5Fwith%5FAndy%3F?ref=mertbulan.com), and [Life with Louie](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life%5Fwith%5FLouie?ref=mertbulan.com). In those shows, the kids my age were riding their bikes to school, which I thought was really cool. I had a small bike, but I mostly rode it in the park near my home for fun, not for getting anywhere. Later, after finishing fourth grade, my parents bought me my first real bike, a Bianchi. It was an awesome bike that lasted for many years until it was stolen. It had gears by the handles, making it easy to shift. Even so, I mostly rode it with my friends during the summer around my neighborhood. Back then, I don’t remember anyone riding their bike to school or work. There weren’t any bike lanes, and it felt too dangerous to ride on the streets. But the idea of biking from one place to another stuck with me. Even though I couldn’t ride my bike to school, I thought that maybe when I was older and had a job, I could ride my bike to work. It took a while, but after moving to another country, I eventually made that dream a reality. In July 2018, I moved to Hamburg. I had already done an internship here the year before, so I knew biking around the city was a popular thing. I even rented a bike during that time. So, two weeks after moving, I bought my first bike, a [CUBE Touring One](https://archiv.cube.eu/en/2018/148050?ref=mertbulan.com). It was a great bike for long trips, commuting to work, and more. I loved the freedom of riding my bike and being able to go wherever I wanted. There were places in Hamburg that cars couldn’t go, but bikes could. Then, COVID hit. After that, my friends and I started riding more for fun. That’s when I began thinking about what I liked and didn’t like about my bike, and I decided it was time to buy a new one. This time, I wanted more freedom, so I chose an e-bike. # Why Cowboy? After months of research, I decided to buy the [Cowboy Classic](https://cowboy.com/products/e-bike-cowboy-classic?ref=mertbulan.com) e-bike in the summer of 2022\. There were several reasons why I chose it: - **Design:** During my search, I found that most e-bikes looked unattractive. A lot of them seemed like regular bikes with a motor attached, not made to be an e-bike from the start. That was a big turn-off for me because I knew I was going to spend a lot of money, and I wanted something that looked good. Cowboy stood out with its sleek, minimalist design and matte black color. After getting the bike and riding it around Hamburg, I noticed a lot of people staring at it, and I got several compliments from other cyclists while waiting at traffic lights. - **No Cables:** I don’t like cables on bikes. They get dirty, are hard to clean, and just look messy. I wanted a bike with no visible cables, and Cowboy delivered. The cables are hidden inside the frame, which adds to the clean, minimal look. - **Removable Battery:** Even though I keep my bike inside my apartment, I wanted a removable battery for a few reasons. First, if I ever have a bike room, I might need to charge the battery at home. Second, I know the battery will eventually degrade, and I didn’t want to deal with replacing it at a bike shop. Third, without a removable battery, the bike might still use some energy when it’s not in use, and I didn’t want to risk finding my bike with no charge. I also didn’t want to waste energy when it wasn’t being used, especially since electricity can be expensive in Germany. - **Carbon Belt:** My old CUBE bike didn’t have a carbon belt, and keeping the chain clean was a hassle, especially in rainy Hamburg. The chain would get dirty fast. Plus, I didn’t like the noise the chain made while riding. I wanted a quieter, low-maintenance bike, so the Cowboy with its carbon belt was a perfect fit. While the motor does make some noise, it’s not annoying—it even gives a bit of a sci-fi vibe. - **Digital Native:** The Cowboy bike works with a smartphone app, which lets you update the bike’s firmware, lock the bike, turn the lights on and off, and even charge your phone. This is really useful, especially when using navigation, since it can drain your phone’s battery. I’ll talk more about this later. Because of all these features, I decided to go for the Cowboy Classic. It cost me around 3.000€, and I pay about 100€ a year for insurance. But buying the bike wasn’t my only expense, as I made some adjustments along the way. But first, let’s talk about my overall experience. # The Experience ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/alster-and-cowboy.webp) If you want to buy a Cowboy bike, you can book a test ride to try it out first. I did that, and when I first got on the Cowboy, it felt like there was an animal under me just waiting to take off. Especially in the adaptive mode, where even a small push on the pedal makes the bike move forward. It’s a great feeling, and it also helps you climb hills without getting tired or sweaty. Unlike some other bikes where you need to press a button to activate the motor, this system is much more convenient. ### Comfort ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/3000km-with-cowboy.webp) Since I’m from Hamburg, I’ve ridden more than 3.000 km on the streets here. Hamburg’s bike infrastructure isn’t as advanced as some cities in the Netherlands, but it’s still pretty good. My experience is based on riding in this type of environment. One thing I had to change right away was the seatpost. My old CUBE bike had a suspension seatpost, so riding on cobblestone streets didn’t hurt. But with the Cowboy, I immediately felt the discomfort, so I switched out the seatpost. I’ll talk more about that in the accessories section. Another change I had to make was the saddle. It just wasn’t comfortable for me. This might have something to do with my body, but since I usually ride about 10 km in one trip, I really needed to be comfortable. After changing the saddle and seatpost, riding the Cowboy became much more enjoyable. It’s smooth on the streets, easy to handle at higher speeds, and the brakes are strong enough to stop when you need to. I’ve ridden the bike in heavy rain, strong winds, and even snow, and I didn’t have any issues. However, after riding more than 20 km, I started to feel some pain in my wrists. To improve this, I swapped the handles, which made it better, but I still wish the bike had a suspension fork to absorb bumps in the road. There’s now a version of the Cowboy with handlebars in a more comfortable position and suspension, which might help with that. ### Range As for the range, it really depends on the season and the mode you use. I usually ride in eco mode, and in spring and summer, I get about 65 km per charge. In adaptive mode, it drops to around 45 km. In the winter, the range decreases by about 10-15 km due to the cold. So far, I haven’t had any problems with the range. When I go on longer trips with friends, I turn off the motor assistance to go slower since they don’t have e-bikes. I only turn the motor back on for the ride home. ### Safety ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/cowboy-front-light.webp) One thing that really annoyed me was the bike’s front light. In Germany, there are regulations (StVZO) that require bike lights to be directional, but the light on the Cowboy isn’t. In the dark, especially on poorly lit streets or in parks, it’s not very useful. To fix this, I had to buy a better light, and having to charge it every time I want to ride is a bit of a hassle. This is the biggest issue I’ve had with the bike. While I could solve the comfort issues, the light is something I can’t fix without making significant changes in the bike. --- Overall, aside from the points mentioned, my experience with the Cowboy has been fantastic. I no longer rely on public transportation, and the freedom to travel anywhere at my own pace is amazing. I never have to worry about waiting for buses or trains, and I can avoid getting tired or sweaty thanks to the motor assistance. Riding my bike through Hamburg on sunny days or quiet nights is a real joy. There’s something special about cruising through the city when the streets are empty, and it makes biking the perfect way to get around. # Technical Support ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/broken-brake-lever.webp) ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/broken-front-part.webp) I’ve had a few interactions with the Cowboy support team. The first time, while adjusting the handlebars, I accidentally broke one of the brake levers. When I contacted Cowboy, they offered to replace it for free. We set up an appointment, and someone came to my house to fix it. The second time, I had a small accident and broke the part that hides the cables on the handlebar. I paid for the part, and they shipped it to me. I was able to replace it myself without needing any tools. The third time, I had an issue with my back brake, and it was also time for my bike’s maintenance. When the technician arrived, he took apart the brake and said it needed to be replaced, but he didn’t have the parts with him. We set up another appointment, but after that, he disappeared. He stopped replying to my messages, which was a strange experience. Later, I contacted Cowboy, and they arranged for a different technician. When the new technician came, he replaced the brake and checked over the bike, but he didn’t seem to know I had purchased the maintenance package from Cowboy, and he wasn’t aware of what was included in that package, like cleaning the bike. I also realized that even though I had explained the issue beforehand, the technicians would still ask me about it when they arrived. Additionally, I learnt that the technicians are freelancers, not actual Cowboy employees. After my last experience, I realized there was still an issue with my brake. Instead of reaching out to Cowboy again, I decided to try a bike shop listed on Cowboy’s website. I went there, and they replaced the brake pads, did a brake fluid bleed, and got the brake working properly. The cost was also lower than what Cowboy would have charged. From now on, I’ll probably stick with that bike shop. I should mention that there might still be a small issue with the brake, but I’m not sure what it is. Occasionally, I hear a sound while riding, like the brake disc is rubbing against the pads. It might be a stone or something stuck in there, or maybe the tire is misaligned. Since it’s not happening all the time, I’ll need to visit the bike shop again at some point. I never bought the [Cowboy Care](https://cowboy.com/products/cowboy-care?ref=mertbulan.com) package because I think it’s overpriced. It costs 240€ per year. After riding 3.000 km, I’ve never had a flat tire, and if I did, I have the tools to fix it. The things that have cost me money are mainly the brake pads, which are 20€ for a pair, and brake bleeding, which cost me 30€, including labor. For that reason, I don’t see the need to pay 240€ per year for the Cowboy Care package. # Parts and Accessories ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/two-wheel-gear-pannier-and-cowboy.webp) I’ve already mentioned a few things I bought for my bike, but here’s a complete list: - **Saddle:** After trying several brands, I went with the [Ergon ST Core Evo Men Saddle](https://amzn.to/421dxOe?ref=mertbulan.com). It’s incredibly comfortable. I’ve been using it for three years, and it still looks and works great. It doesn’t absorb water, so it’s easy to clean with a tissue if it gets wet outside. - **Seatpost:** I chose the [Redshift ShockStop Suspension Seatpost](https://amzn.to/4cgIEbU?ref=mertbulan.com). The important thing for me was that it can go low enough and absorbs the bumps. Some seatposts add extra height, which makes it harder to reach the pedals, but the ShockStop fits me perfectly at its lowest setting. It’s a bit expensive, but I think it’s worth the price. - **Ring Bell:** The Cowboy comes with a ring bell, but I didn’t like its design or sound. I replaced it with the [Knog Oi Classic Bike Bell](https://amzn.to/4cjWomn?ref=mertbulan.com). It matches the frame’s design, is almost invisible, and has a nice, long sound. - **Front Light:** As I mentioned earlier, the stock front light on the Cowboy is pretty bad. I wanted a light that followed German regulations, allowed me to see well in the dark, and looked good on the bike. I went with the [KNOG PWR Modular Bike Light](https://amzn.to/3R2XNDW?ref=mertbulan.com), though I noticed it’s no longer sold on their website. - **Reflectors:** The Cowboy comes with orange reflectors, but I didn’t like them, and one of them even fell off when I used them. I replaced them with [FLECTR 360 WING](https://www.flectr.bike/collections/flectr-360/products/flectr-360-wing-rim-reflector-double-pack-2-sets?ref=mertbulan.com) reflectors, which I think look better and are more visible both during the day and at night. - **Helmet:** I wanted a helmet that matched the bike’s color and looked good. I picked the [Thousand Chapter MIPS Helmet](https://explorethousand.com/products/mips-helmet?ref=mertbulan.com). I like the design, the MIPS protection, and the magnetic attachment for the helmet straps. It also has a small hole that lets you lock the helmet to your bike, so you don’t have to carry it around. However, the light that comes with the helmet was useless—it didn’t even work, and I didn’t feel like contacting support about it. - **Handles:** I tried switching handlebars but quickly realized it wasn’t possible because of the custom brake handle design. That’s actually how I broke the brake lever by accident. So, I bought Cowboy’s [Comfort Grips](https://cowboy.com/products/grips-c4-st?ref=mertbulan.com). They didn’t make a huge difference, but they definitely helped reduce the pain in my wrists. - **Flat Tire Fixing Kit:** This is a kit I bought when I had my CUBE bike, and I still use it with the Cowboy. Thankfully, I haven’t had to use it yet. For tire levers, I use [Gorilla Force](https://amzn.to/4i42RDg?ref=mertbulan.com), and for punctures, I use [Rema Tip Top](https://amzn.to/3YmdrhJ?ref=mertbulan.com). - **Air Pump:** I used to have a hand pump, but I wanted something more automatic, so I bought the [Xiaomi Portable Electric Air Compressor](https://amzn.to/44bx2ow?ref=mertbulan.com). I’m happy with it since I can charge it with USB-C. - **Pannier Bag:** I spent a lot of time finding the perfect pannier bag. I didn’t want to carry a bag with my hands, and I especially didn’t want to wear a backpack in summer to avoid sweating. After much research, I chose the [Two Wheel Gear Pannier Backpack Convertible 2.0 LITE (22L)](https://amzn.to/3E9lMi4?ref=mertbulan.com). It’s super functional, easily converts to a backpack, has a laptop compartment, and a rain cover. The only issue is that some of the straps were too long and would sometimes hit the tire, so I had to adjust and roll them up to make t - **Lock:** Since there’s no place to attach a lock or water bottle to the Cowboy, I wanted a lock that was easy to carry without affecting the bike’s minimalist look. I chose the [HIPLOK DX](https://amzn.to/4clK310?ref=mertbulan.com). It’s secure, matches the bike’s color, and has an attachment that lets me clip it to my belt or backpack. It’s not too heavy, but there are some issues. First, it’s a bit short, so it can be hard to lock the bike to thicker objects. Second, when I wear shorts in the summer, it pulls them down because it’s not secure enough on my shorts. Finally, I sometimes forget to take the lock with me, especially when I’m not carrying a backpack. I’m planning to design and 3D print an attachment to clip it to the bike’s pannier. # Cowboy App ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/cowboy-app-live-activity.webp) I appreciate that Cowboy opted for an app instead of relying on a built-in dashboard on the bike. It’s easy to attach my phone to the bike with a Quad Lock mount, though that does mean switching to a specific case. One cool feature is that you can charge your phone while riding, and you can update the bike’s firmware through the app. However, I’m not a huge fan of the app. I mostly use it for locking and unlocking the bike, occasionally adjusting the riding mode, and turning phone charging on and off. Beyond those functions, I don’t use it much, though I do like the Live Activity widget. The main reason I don’t use the app more is that it relies on Google Maps for navigation. I stopped using Google Maps years ago, and even for iOS users, Cowboy is tied to Google Maps rather than offering Apple Maps as an alternative. Another reason is that I’m not too interested in tracking my speed or other stats constantly, so there’s no need to keep the app open. My biggest frustration with the app, though, are the unnecessary notifications, especially while riding. Whoever came up with the idea for these needs to rethink them. First, there’s a notification about “dangerous intersections.” If I’m at an intersection, the last thing I want is to be distracted by my phone. Then, they added calorie burn notifications. Since it’s an e-bike, I’m not using it for fitness, so these notifications just felt pointless. Luckily, they later added an option to turn off these notifications, which I did immediately. Another issue is with the auto lock/unlock feature. I started using it, but a few times while waiting at red lights, the app would lock the bike. When the light turned green, I couldn’t immediately get going because the initial pedal didn’t work properly. After this happened a few times, I disabled the feature. Maybe they’ve fixed it by now, but I still don’t trust it. If I leave the bike unlocked and the auto lock doesn’t engage, I can’t lock it remotely once I’m out of Bluetooth range. I’d have to go back to lock it manually, and leaving it unlocked could drain the battery unnecessarily. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/cowboy-workout-achievement.webp) Finally, this is a nitpick but there’s the issue with the app’s integration with the Apple Activities app. My rides are shown as “Outdoor Cycle,” but they aren’t saved as official cycling workouts. This means I miss out on earning cycling-related achievements. It might be an issue with Apple’s API, but it would be great if Cowboy could fix this. Sometimes, this also leads to odd behavior, like my Apple Watch suggesting I should start an outdoor cycle workout when I’m already riding. It’s not a constant problem, but it’s a distraction. # Final Words ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/altona-balkon-and-cowboy.webp) This turned into quite a long product review, but keep in mind I’ve been using my Cowboy bike for almost 3 years, so there’s a lot to cover! Overall, I’m really happy with my Cowboy bike and would recommend it to anyone looking for a quality e-bike. Even though there are newer models on the market, I still haven’t found an alternative that fits my criteria as well as the Cowboy does. I plan to keep riding it until it eventually wears out or until Cowboy releases a new model that addresses the issues I’ve mentioned here. One thing I do wish Cowboy would consider is offering more upgrade options for existing customers, like a stronger, more regulation-compliant front light or a suspension fork for a more comfortable ride. For instance, after they released the Cruiser, I wondered if I could upgrade my handlebar to the one that the Cruiser has. A technician told me it was possible and would cost around 300€, but when I asked Cowboy directly, they said it wasn’t an option. It left me wondering if it’s technically not possible or if they just prefer that I sell my current bike and buy a new one to boost their profits. This kind of upgrades would allow me to extend the life of my current bike without having to purchase a whole new one. If they offered these types of upgrades, I’d definitely consider them. ### My 2025 Q1 Highlights: Top 3 Faves in Books, Movies, and TV Shows URL: https://mertbulan.com/my-2025-q1-highlights-top-3-faves-in-books-movies-and-tv-shows/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:12:23.000Z I can’t imagine going through a day without reading or watching something. I love doing both because they give me new ideas and emotions. This year, I decided to focus more on reading and watching things that would not only help me enjoy my free time but also make me think about different topics. Every two weeks, I talk about the books I’ve read and the things I’ve watched on [my podcast](https://mertbulan.com/work/farkli-dusun-podcast) (in Turkish). I’ve noticed that many people take my recommendations seriously, buy the books, or watch the things I mention. They even thank me for the suggestions, which makes me really happy. I put in extra effort to find interesting books, and I try to be very careful before recommending anything. So, when people value my recommendations, it shows that my efforts are worth it. This year, I also decided to write more on my blog. Writing about my top three books, TV shows, and movies seems like a great idea. Since I read and watch a lot, I thought it would make sense to do this every quarter. So, here’s the first post in this series. # Books ## Debt Last year, I read [The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity](https://amzn.to/43wdMBT?ref=mertbulan.com) by David Graeber, and it quickly became one of my all-time favorites. It was the second book I read by him, and I realized that I really enjoy his writing style and the topics he covers. This year, I decided to read another of his popular books, [Debt: The First 5,000 Years](https://amzn.to/4iN3uly?ref=mertbulan.com). Just like the first, it didn’t disappoint me. David Graeber was an anthropologist, and in Debt, he explores when and why we started using money, how long we’ve had a credit system, and whether we’ve ever actually used a barter system—meaning, did we ever exchange goods for goods? The book really opened my eyes, especially about debt. Graeber doesn’t just explain how the credit system developed thousands of years ago, but also how it still drives capitalism today. Some people might find this book harder to read because Graeber often presents a hypothesis and then takes you back thousands of years to explain how tribes in places like Mexico, India, or Mesopotamia used credit systems. For example, he explains how the Hittites kept records of people’s debts. It was a fascinating book for me, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to understand how our economy works. ## Keep it Simple: The Early Design Years of Apple I really enjoy reading books about Apple, especially those that focus on the company’s early days. Most of them have stories or anecdotes about Steve Jobs. [Keep it Simple](https://amzn.to/4ldbaiU?ref=mertbulan.com) is one of these books. It was written by Hartmut Esslinger, a designer who worked with Steve Jobs on many of Apple’s most iconic products. It was tough to find this book since it’s no longer printed, so I had to pay a high price to buy it from a second-hand seller. I can honestly say the book was worth the price. Even though it doesn’t have a lot of text, it’s filled with pictures of prototypes and sketches Esslinger created. It’s easy to recognize the design style in these early products, as Esslinger played a big role in shaping Apple’s design language. The book also shows how Steve Jobs faced resistance from Apple’s CEO John Sculley and other managers, even though Steve co-founded the company. There are also some cool stories, like how Steve brought original Beatles records to copy for himself (and Esslinger, who was also a fan) so they could listen to them in the highest quality possible. If you come across this book at a second-hand shop or garage sale, you should definitely grab it! ## Immune If you’re familiar with the popular YouTube channel Kurzgesagt, you might have heard about this book. It’s my favorite science channel, where they take complex academic papers and break them down in an easy-to-understand way, paired with amazing visuals. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the founder of the channel, Philipp Dettmer, wrote a book called [Immune](https://amzn.to/4hUl1Hp?ref=mertbulan.com). I was really interested in learning more about how my body defends itself, so I pre-ordered the book. I also wanted to support the channel since I’ve been a fan for years. During that time, I couldn’t find much time to read, but when I was looking for something different, I decided to pick up this book. The book is probably one of the best biology books I’ve ever read. It explains what happens step by step when your body fights off a bacterial infection, with amazing visuals that make it easy to understand. The book also covers what happens when you get a virus, how cancer develops, why a strong immune system isn’t always a good thing, and why we have fewer healthy bacteria in our gut today. The chapters are short, usually no more than 5 pages, and written in simple language, so it’s never boring. I believe everyone should read this book to better understand their body. I highly recommend it. # TV Shows ## Severance - Season 2 After a 3-year break, [Severance](https://apple.co/3QV30he?ref=mertbulan.com) is back with a new season. If you’re not familiar with it, Severance is a TV show about office workers who have a surgery to separate their work life from their personal life. In the first season, the show introduces the world and explains life from two perspectives: the “innie” (the work version of themselves) and the “outie” (their personal life). It raises a lot of questions about the company they work for, their mysterious job, and those adorable baby goats. The season ends with a cliffhanger. In season 2, you get some answers to your questions, but the world-building continues, and you learn more about the characters and their motivations. The show does this with stunning visuals, thanks to an amazing cinematographer, great locations, strong writing, and top-notch acting from the cast. For me, Severance quickly became one of my favorite shows for a few reasons. The story is interesting and has a sci-fi element. There are legendary actors like Christopher Walken, and it’s a treat to watch them. From an artistic standpoint, the visuals are amazing—the colors, the products (like Dieter Rams designs), and the locations all stand out. The show also makes you think about things you might not have considered before, and it has a satirical take on corporate jobs that I can relate to from my own experience working in big companies. Severance is one of the best TV shows on Apple TV+ right now. It’s already become a cult favorite, and you’ll see plenty of memes online. I highly recommend watching it—I’m sure you’ll enjoy it! ## Dune: Prophecy - Season 1 After watching Denis Villeneuve’s [Dune](https://apple.co/3FOEEn2?ref=mertbulan.com) movie, I quickly became a fan of the Dune universe. I started reading Frank Herbert’s books, and so far, I’ve finished the first two and really enjoyed them. Then, when [Dune: Part Two](https://apple.co/4carNHy?ref=mertbulan.com) was released, [it became one of the best movies I’ve seen in the last decade](https://mertbulan.com/2024/03/10/dune-part-two-review-spoiler-free/). I wanted to dive deeper into the Dune world, and that’s when HBO announced the TV show, [Dune: Prophecy](https://apple.co/4l6FE5W?ref=mertbulan.com). The show focuses on the powerful group of women called the Bene Gesserit, who play a huge role in shaping the Dune universe. The story takes place 10,000 years before Paul Atreides, the protagonist in the Dune movie. So, it’s not based on Frank Herbert’s books, but on those written by his son, Brian Herbert. If you enjoyed the Dune movies mainly for the action and fights, this show might not be for you. Even though I loved the movies, I realized after reading the books that the Dune universe isn’t just about action and battles—it’s more about politics. The show is perfect for those who enjoy seeing the power games, manipulations, and intrigues behind the scenes. There aren’t many fight scenes, but you’ll see a lot of strategic moves and mind games. The sci-fi elements, acting, and locations were all amazing, with the emperor’s palace being my favorite. From that perspective, I really enjoyed the show and am looking forward to the second season. One downside, though, is that HBO isn’t available in Germany, so I had to watch it on a streaming service called WOW. I have to say, it’s probably the worst streaming service I’ve ever used, and it’s really hard to cancel your subscription. I really wish HBO would enter the German market. Another annoying thing was that the show was only available in 1080p, and you had to pay extra to watch in that quality—unlike Apple TV+, where you get 4K without extra charges. ## The Penguin - Season 1 After watching Christopher Nolan’s [The Dark Knight Trilogy](https://apple.co/3XEpOp3?ref=mertbulan.com), I didn’t find much to get excited about in the DC universe, especially when it came to Batman. The first [Joker](https://apple.co/4hNAbOx?ref=mertbulan.com) movie was great, but [Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice](https://apple.co/41Qmzxn?ref=mertbulan.com) was a letdown, and I didn’t even watch it. Later, Warner Bros. decided to reboot the Batman series with [The Batman](https://apple.co/4cemxmv?ref=mertbulan.com), directed by Matt Reeves. This version was darker, focused more on crime-solving, and showed more of Batman’s flaws. I really enjoyed the movie. Then, HBO announced [The Penguin](https://apple.co/3XAtBnn?ref=mertbulan.com) TV series, which is set in the same universe as The Batman movie. In this show, you see how a man who started as a driver for a gangster’s daughter rises to become one of the biggest criminals in Gotham. It’s hard to recognize him due to the incredible makeup, but Colin Farrell does an amazing job. His performance is so good that you start to feel sympathy for a criminal. You can see his ambition, how easily he lies to save himself, and the way he walks (which shows why he’s called “The Penguin”). The story is also really engaging, especially his relationship with his mom and how every time it seems like he’s done for, he somehow escapes. I ended up binge-watching some episodes. Even if you’re not into the DC universe, I highly recommend this show—you don’t need to know anything about the DC world to enjoy it. # Movies These days, it’s hard to find great movies. It feels like Hollywood keeps repeating the same stories, mostly rebooting old ones or just making superhero movies (like The Batman). I needed something different, so after a friend’s recommendation, I subscribed to [MUBI](https://mubi.com/t/web/global/v0ZTaQq9?ref=mertbulan.com). It’s a platform where you can watch movies that you won’t typically find in cinemas because they either wouldn’t attract big audiences or were released decades ago. MUBI focuses on films with incredible stories, often seen at film festivals, and you get movies from all around the world, not just the US. So far, I’ve watched 16 movies in March alone, and I really feel like subscribing to MUBI was the right choice. The movies I’ll mention here are all from MUBI, but I should note that they only have movies available for a limited time. So, by the time you read this post, some of the films might no longer be available, though sometimes they return. This is great because it keeps things fresh and gives you the chance to discover new movies all the time. I should also mention MUBI’s other subscription option called MUBI GO. For a little extra, you get one cinema ticket each week for a movie they choose that’s currently playing. So far, I’ve watched two movies at different cinemas in Hamburg I’ve never been to. I really like this feature because it gives me more reasons to go out and supports the smaller cinemas in my city. If you live in Germany, the US, the UK, or Ireland, I highly recommend MUBI GO over the regular subscription. For just a €5 difference, you get four cinema tickets. ## Perfect Days How interesting could a movie about a public toilet cleaner in Japan be? Well, after watching [Perfect Days](https://mubi.com/en/de/films/perfect-days?ref=mertbulan.com), you’ll realize it can be quite fascinating. The film shows the life of a toilet cleaner and how he spends his days. I really enjoyed this movie because it highlights how you can find beauty in the world without needing to look far. Life can be simple and fulfilling—whether it’s doing your best at work, reading before bed, enjoying nature, listening to music, or eating a nice meal at your favorite restaurant. If you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed by all the noise in life, this movie might remind you that enjoying life doesn’t have to be complicated. ## The Fall I didn’t realize Lee Pace was in [The Fall](https://mubi.com/en/de/films/the-fall?ref=mertbulan.com) until I saw how young he looked. He became one of my favorite actors after his performance in the TV series [Halt and Catch Fire](https://apple.co/3FKmQcy?ref=mertbulan.com). I also enjoyed him in [Foundation](https://apple.co/43sGOCx?ref=mertbulan.com), but I couldn’t continue watching that show since I had read the books it was based on. The Fall is an interesting movie to watch. The locations chosen for the film are amazing, and I’m glad they restored it in 4K, since it was originally released in 2008\. That’s also why Pace looks so young—he was only 27 at the time. In the movie, Pace plays a stuntman trying to convince a young girl to help him get morphine after his accident by telling her a made-up story. The acting from the child was adorable, and the story was quite entertaining. I think Pace is perfect for playing an asshole character. ## Decision to Leave When I think about the movies I’ve watched, there aren’t many from East Asia, so [Decision to Leave](https://mubi.com/en/de/films/decision-to-leave?ref=mertbulan.com) was the perfect film to introduce me to more movies from that region, which I’ve explored more since. The film is about a detective who falls in love with a suspect in a crime. Throughout the movie, you get a glimpse of the streets and nature of Busan, how Koreans prepare and enjoy their food, how stylish they look in their outfits, and how they express their emotions. After watching it, I can understand why people become obsessed with Korean culture. The main reason I liked the movie, though, was the way the director chose to tell the story—it was really interesting. Also, the detective using his smartwatch to take notes was a unique touch. — When I started writing this post, I didn’t expect it to be this long. Of course, I read and watch way more than what I mentioned here, but I only picked my top three. [Let me know](https://mertbulan.com/contact/) what you think of my recommendations, and if there’s a book, movie, or TV show you think I might enjoy. I’ll see you in the next highlight post at the end of June. ### My checklist before submitting a new app to App Store Connect URL: https://mertbulan.com/my-checklist-before-submitting-a-new-app-to-app-store-connect/ Last updated: 2026-06-18T13:05:58.000Z After releasing 9 apps over the past few months, I decided to create a checklist for myself to streamline the submission process and minimize the risk of rejections from Apple reviewers. While this checklist may not be perfect for everyone, it has worked well for me, and I stick to it for all of my apps because it fits my needs. For example, Apple automatically makes your app available for Mac and Vision Pro. They do this to show customers that there’s a large selection of apps for these devices, especially since the number of apps available for them is limited compared to iOS. Unfortunately, this often backfires, as users expect to have a good experience using your iOS app on a Mac, for example. This happened to me several times, and I wasn’t aware that my iOS app was available for Mac, which led to user complaints. Since I don’t test my iOS apps on other platforms, I can’t guarantee a great user experience, so I opt not to make my apps available on devices like Mac and Vision Pro. Another helpful tip: app reviewers often struggle to locate in-app purchases, which has led to multiple rejections for me in the past. To avoid this, I now always include a detailed step-by-step explanation on where to find the paywall. Although some fields are mandatory and you can’t submit your app without them, I still find this checklist helpful to simplify the process. Here’s my checklist: ### Before Archive - Screenshots - Capture screenshots showcasing the app’s key features for the App Store - Capture screenshots of the paywall - Landing Page - Design a landing page featuring the screenshots, including a contact page and privacy policy - Final Code Updates - Add the privacy policy URL to the paywall - Set “App Uses Non-Exempt Encryption” to “NO” in the Info.plist ### After Archiving and Uploading to App Store Connect - iOS App Version 1.0 - Previews and Screenshots - Upload the screenshots and order them - Write a description for all supported languages - Include “Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/” if the app includes subscriptions - Add keywords (Use Search Ads to identify keywords and avoid spaces around commas separating keywords) - Provide the landing page’s contact URL as the Support URL - Add the landing page’s URL as the Marketing URL - Add Copyright information - Build - Select the latest build - In-App Purchases and Subscriptions - Select the in-app purchases and subscriptions used in the app - App Review Information - Add contact information - Add notes: Include information about where to find the in-app purchases within the app - App Store Version Release - Select “Manually release this version” - App Information - Localizable Information - Add Name and Subtitle for all available languages - General Information - Select the main and subcategories for the app - Age Rating - Select “None” for all Apple Content Descriptions - App Store Server Notifications - Provide the Production Server URL to [receive notifications for subscriptions](https://mertbulan.com/programming/how-to-get-subscription-notifications-on-iphone-without-revenuecat) - App Privacy - Privacy Policy - Add the privacy policy URL from the landing page - Data Types - Select “No” for Data Collection - Monetization - In-App Purchases & Subscriptions - Keep them as waiting for review - Upload screenshots of the paywall in the Review Information section - Pricing and Availability - Set the price (e.g., $0.00 if the app is free) and select availability (all countries) - Uncheck “Make this app available” for Apple Silicon Macs and Apple Vision Pro I hope you find this checklist helpful. If you're reading this post, you're high likely developing apps for Apple platforms. Take a look at my [Peek](https://apps.apple.com/de/app/peek-for-app-store-connect/id6740280911?l=en-GB&ref=mertbulan.com) app to monitor your sales, subscriptions, and MRR, track your ASO keywords, and reply to customer reviews. ### The Role of A/B Testing in Enshittification URL: https://mertbulan.com/the-role-of-a-b-testing-in-enshittification/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:12:00.000Z When I first started my career as a junior software developer, my team and I were tasked with optimizing the onboarding flow for a well-known website in Germany. We ran a lot of A/B tests to determine how we could increase the completion rate of the onboarding process and also encourage users to become more active on the platform. At first, I really liked A/B testing. If you’re unfamiliar with A/B testing, the concept is pretty straightforward: you come up with an idea to improve an existing user experience, then divide your users into two groups (or more). One group (Group A) gets the original experience, and the other group (Group B) gets the new version. You run the test until enough users participate, and then analyze the results. For example, if Group B’s onboarding completion rate is 15% higher than Group A’s, you might decide the new version is better and roll out that version to all users. When you think about it, it makes sense. You base decisions on data, and since you’re testing on only half of the users, you’re taking less risk. If things go wrong during the test, you can hold rolling out the new experience to everyone. Product managers and team leads can also measure their performance by showing how much they contributed to improving the product. It’s a win-win for everyone. And even if things go south later, you can always say, “But we did an A/B test and didn’t see any decrease,” so you’re off the hook for any negative outcomes. But as I gained more experience and ran more A/B tests, I began to realize something. Relying too heavily on numbers and tests can cause you to lose sight of the bigger picture—the overall user experience. Instead of solving real user problems, the focus becomes about optimizing metrics and chasing numbers. The quality of the experience takes a backseat, and decisions are driven more by data than by understanding how the product truly serves its users. # Enshittification If you’re not familiar with the term “Enshittification,” here’s a definition from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enshittification?ref=mertbulan.com): > Enshittification, also known as crapification and platform decay, is the term used to describe the pattern in which online products and services decline in quality over time. Initially, vendors create high-quality offerings to attract users, then they degrade those offerings to better serve business customers, and finally degrade their services to users and business customers to maximize profits for shareholders. Let me give you an example. Spotify began as a music streaming service. Over time, they added podcasts and audiobooks to the platform. Users who originally used Spotify just to listen to music began to notice that the app was becoming harder to navigate. They were constantly exposed to podcast or audiobook recommendations, and finding music became more difficult as the UI got cluttered. Of course, Spotify does A/B testing, just like many other tech companies. The issue here is that when these changes were made, Spotify likely measured metrics like user engagement—how much time people spent in the app and how many actions they took. Naturally, if you make it harder for users to find their music, they might spend more time searching for it. So, the teams behind the changes could easily claim that the home screen redesign and the introduction of podcasts and audiobooks didn’t negatively impact engagement. In reality, even if it became more difficult to find the music you wanted, you’d still listen to it. These changes were rolled out to all users, but they didn’t measure things like frustration or the overall user experience. Since some users enjoyed the podcasts and audiobooks, the team could show positive results and claim success. And as a result, some of them likely got promoted and moved on to other projects. I’ve witnessed similar changes with products I’ve worked on. For instance, I worked on a product that helped users track their packages (like shipped, out for delivery, etc.). The app didn’t have live tracking, the feature where you can see your package on a map in real-time. But the growth team decided to tweak the notification copy and include “live tracking” in the message. They ran an A/B test and saw an increase in app openings (big surprise there). They also checked if this led to a drop in the number of users enabling notifications. When they saw no decrease in notifications, they took it as a sign that the change was successful, without considering that people still wanted to know where their package was, even if the live tracking feature didn’t actually exist. They used A/B testing to boost their numbers without considering the long-term consequences. Some team members likely got promoted, users were frustrated by the lack of live tracking, and the overall experience worsened. # How A/B Testing Builds Confidence When I first realized what the team was working on, I reached out to them and shared my concern. I told them that the changes they were making were wrong and would degrade the overall user experience. They disagreed with me, pointing to their data, while I had no numbers to back up my intuition. Yet, deep down, I knew these changes would create a negative experience with long-term consequences that couldn’t be captured through A/B testing. Once people discover how to use A/B testing to justify their decisions, they’ll continue doing so. This is where A/B testing can give confidence to people who lack a solid understanding of user experience or design. When you challenge them on the negative impact of a decision, they can simply point to the results of A/B tests and dismiss any concerns, claiming they don’t see any issues. The same individuals often start to use A/B testing in ways that focus on improving metrics, not addressing real user problems. For example, rather than solving core user pain points, they might suggest something like changing the button color to see if it has an impact on click rates. Even though you know this idea is flawed, the decision-maker can argue that you can’t be sure until it’s tested. So, your entire team ends up working on experiments and adjustments that may not solve actual user issues but are designed to boost certain metrics. In the end, you may see a slight increase in button clicks, and the change gets rolled out. However, users begin to complain that the app’s interface is becoming harder to use, and they can’t find the features they once relied on. In many cases, since the person responsible for the decision has moved on to a different team or a higher position, they don’t revisit or reverse the changes. Alternatively, if there are new A/B tests on the horizon, they may just keep pushing forward with the changes, never addressing the real problems users are facing. --- Thanks to A/B testing, it’s easy for people to showcase their success, making it easier for them to climb the corporate ladder. However, as they rise to decision-making positions, they often continue pushing the same data-driven approach without considering the broader user experience. Over time, this leads to the enshittification of products—where quality takes a backseat to short-term metrics. In contrast, the most successful companies in tech have historically relied on strong design instincts, intuition, and a deep understanding of user needs rather than just data. As we continue to develop new products, it’s crucial that we strike a balance—using data to inform decisions, but never losing sight of the bigger picture: creating intuitive, user-centered experiences. Only by prioritizing true quality over shallow metrics can we prevent our favorite tools and platforms from falling into the trap of enshittification. ### Don't rely on BGAppRefreshTask for your app's business logic URL: https://mertbulan.com/dont-rely-on-bgapprefreshtask-for-your-apps-business-logic/ Last updated: 2026-06-11T13:23:15.000Z When I was building my app, [Peek](https://fruitfulapps.com/peek?ref=mertbulan.com), I needed to fetch sales data from App Store Connect every day at a specific time. After doing some quick research, I thought I could just use `BGAppRefreshTask` because fetching and saving the data into SwiftData only takes about a second, and you can set the `earliestBeginDate` when creating a `BGAppRefreshTaskRequest`. Since I’m using SwiftUI, I attached a `.backgroundTask` to my `WindowGroup` like this: ```Swift WindowGroup { ... } .backgroundTask(.appRefresh("com.mertbulan.Peek.backgroundFetch")) { fetchSalesData() // reschedule a new background task after executing the current one scheduleAppRefresh() } .onChange(of: phase) { _, newPhase in if newPhase == .background { scheduleAppRefresh() } } func scheduleAppRefresh() { let request = BGAppRefreshTaskRequest(identifier: "com.mertbulan.Peek.backgroundFetch") request.earliestBeginDate = earliestBeginDate // the sales data availability date try? BGTaskScheduler.shared.submit(request) } ``` To be honest, I was surprised at how easy it was to implement a background task, since this was my first time using one. After implementing it, I tested my app, and to my surprise, it worked perfectly. The app fetched the sales data exactly when I set the background task. Even if I didn’t open the app for days, it kept fetching the data in the background. Everything worked great until I released the app. Even though I tested the app with TestFlight without issues, the released version behaved differently when it came to background tasks. After releasing my app, I noticed that the background task wasn’t running, which meant the data stayed outdated. I checked the Apple Forums for answers and found [this post](https://developer.apple.com/forums/thread/685525?ref=mertbulan.com) from an Apple Engineer. It says: > Folks assume that app refresh will provide regular background execution time. That’s not the case. The system applies a range of heuristics to decide which apps get app refresh time and when. This is a complex issue, one that I’m not going to try to summarise here, but the take-home message is that, if you expect that the app refresh mechanism will grant you background execution time, say, every 15 minutes, you’ll be disappointed. In fact, there are common scenarios where it won’t grant you any background execution time at all! So, even though Apple’s article on [Choosing Background Strategies for Your App](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/backgroundtasks/choosing-background-strategies-for-your-app?ref=mertbulan.com) says: > Your app may require short bursts of background time to perform content refresh or other work; for example, your app may fetch content from the server periodically, or regularly update its internal state. You might think that creating a background task will work like I did. They also mention: > The system decides the best time to launch your background task, and provides your app up to 30 seconds of background runtime. But they don’t mention that the system could decide not to run your background task at all. Yes, you can set the `earliestBeginDate`, but that doesn’t mean the task will run at that time, or even after some time. The issue here is that Apple doesn’t guarantee whether your background task will run. They don’t directly tell you this in the documentation, only in a forum post. So, you should never rely on `BGAppRefreshTaskRequest` for your business logic. It’s better to think of background app refresh as an addition to your business logic to keep data updated. For my case, the right way to fetch data at a specific time every day would be to use [background notifications](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/usernotifications/pushing-background-updates-to-your-app?ref=mertbulan.com). This means sending a notification from your server to the Apple Push Notification Service (APNs) to trigger the background task. The notification isn’t visible to users. The downside is that you need a backend system to send notifications via APNs or a 3rd party service like Firebase. Since I avoid using third-party services and backends for my apps, using background notifications wasn’t an option for me. This is frustrating because managing notifications with your own backend requires a lot of work. And using a third-party service means they could collect data about your app. I’d expect Apple to provide a better solution for this, like letting you schedule background notifications in App Store Connect and having Apple send them directly to the app. In the end, I removed the background task from my app for now. Since the system doesn’t guarantee when the task will run—or even if it will run at all—I’m now fetching the sales data whenever the user opens the app. It’s not ideal if you only use widgets, but I’ll try to come up with a solution for that hopefully. ### How to get subscription notifications on iPhone without RevenueCat URL: https://mertbulan.com/how-to-get-subscription-notifications-on-iphone-without-revenuecat/ Last updated: 2026-06-11T13:11:07.000Z ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/uncle-tim.webp) When I started developing apps last summer, I noticed that many developers recommend using RevenueCat for building subscription paywalls. I was surprised because Apple offers its own solution, StoreKit, but I figured people might prefer RevenueCat for its extra features. Before I go further, let me mention that I’m an indie developer who only creates apps for Apple platforms. After looking into RevenueCat’s features, I realized it wasn’t the right fit for me because: - I don’t develop for Android, so I don’t need a central place to manage subscriptions. - I prefer using native solutions over third-party services when possible. - I don’t want to increase my app size by adding extra packages. - I don’t want to store my data on someone else’s servers. - My apps don’t have millions of users, so A/B testing for my paywall wouldn’t give reliable results. - I don’t want to give up part of my sales, even if that cut only applies after reaching $2.5K. - I don’t want to depend on a third-party service for a core feature of my business. So, I chose to stick with StoreKit for managing subscriptions and the paywall. I’m not saying RevenueCat is a bad choice, just that after evaluating both, StoreKit made more sense for my needs. Your situation may be different. That said, choosing StoreKit meant I was going to miss out on one of RevenueCat’s useful features: subscription notifications. This feature works with App Store Connect and sends you notifications for new subscriptions, renewals, or cancellations. I saw a lot of people sharing these notifications and thought it would be nice to have them for myself (not to share, just to keep track). So, I started looking for a way to get similar notifications without spending money. And since you’re reading this, you probably guessed that I found a simple solution. # The Setup To receive subscription notifications, you need two services: CloudKit and Cloudflare. I use Cloudflare to create the webhook that handles subscription requests. Then, in the same webhook, I send a request to CloudKit to trigger the notification. I’ll share the code and an example app, so you can just update the credentials and start receiving notifications right away. ## Setting up CloudKit First, you need an app to receive notifications. You don’t have to release this app, but you do need an Apple Developer account because CloudKit won’t work without it. I’ve created an app for this purpose, which [you can clone from GitHub](https://github.com/mertbulan/UncleTimApp?ref=mertbulan.com) to your local machine. Open the project in Xcode and go to the **Signing & Capabilities** section for your app target. Make sure you have **iCloud** capability added, the **CloudKit** option checked, and a container selected. If there’s no container, create one with a name like “iCloud.com.yourname.UncleTim”. Next, create an API key to access that container via CloudKit. Go to the [CloudKit Console](https://icloud.developer.apple.com/?ref=mertbulan.com) and select the **CloudKit Database**. At the top left, choose the bundle ID of your app. Then, in the left sidebar, click **Tokens & Keys**. Click the plus button next to **Server-to-Server Keys** and follow the steps to create a public-private key pair, then click **Save**. Once saved, CloudKit will show you the details of that key, including the **Key ID**. Save this Key ID because we’ll need it later. When you run the first command during key generation, it creates a file called `eckey.pem`. This file contains your private key, which we’ll use in the next step. ### Creating the Table This system works by using CloudKit’s public database. We’ll subscribe to this database for updates from the app, so whenever a new record is added, you’ll get a notification. The worker will create this record whenever Apple calls the worker endpoint on Cloudflare. To set this up, create a new record in the CloudKit container with the following fields: - **title** – STRING - **content** – STRING - **date** – DATE/TIME Once the record is created, go to the **Indexes** page under **Schema** and create an index for the **date** field as **SORTABLE** and **recordName** as **QUERYABLE**. This ensures that the notifications in the app can be ordered by date. # Setting up the Cloudflare Worker Now that the CloudKit setup is complete, it’s time to set up Cloudflare. First, if you don’t have a Cloudflare account, create one. Then, visit [this GitHub repo](https://github.com/mertbulan/uncle-tim?ref=mertbulan.com) and click **Deploy with Workers** to follow the steps for deployment. After it’s deployed, go to the worker’s settings page. In the **Variables and Secrets** section, you’ll need to enter the Key ID and Private Key from the previous step. (Be sure to copy the key between `-----BEGIN PRIVATE KEY-----` and `-----END PRIVATE KEY-----` and make it single line.) Also, ensure that the container ID matches the one from CloudKit. Once you’ve entered the secrets, copy the worker URL from **Domains & Routes**. # Setting up the App and Testing With everything set up, you can now test the flow. First, run the **Uncle Tim** app on your iPhone via Xcode. When the app opens, allow notifications, this will also subscribe to the table for changes. Uncle Tim is now ready to receive events from any of your apps. Next, go to the **App Store Connect** page of one of your apps that has subscriptions enabled. Under **App Information**, scroll down to the **App Store Server Notifications** section. Click **Set Up URL** under **Sandbox Server URL** and add the worker URL from Cloudflare (ending in `.workers.dev`), then save it. Now, create a subscription event for that app by running it on your iPhone through Xcode. Make sure you don’t use a **StoreKit Configuration** , as we need the **Sandbox** environment for testing. Once the app is running, buy a subscription. After completing the transaction, you should receive a notification in the Uncle Tim app. If everything works as expected, you can now add the same worker URL to the **Production Server URL** for the app, and start receiving notifications from the production environment. You can also add the URL to other apps. Don’t forget to remove the worker URL from the **Sandbox Server URL**, or you’ll keep receiving notifications from the sandbox environment. # Debugging If things aren’t working, you can check the worker’s logs in Cloudflare to see if the worker received the notification. The logs will also show the payload of the event. If needed, you can modify the content of the notifications by editing the worker. --- I hope you found this article helpful! Now that you can receive notifications for your subscriptions, you might also want to track more details about your sales on your iPhone. For that, check out my app, [Peek](http://fruitfulapps.com/peek/?ref=mertbulan.com). It helps you monitor your app sales and trends. You can also use it to track your keyword rankings now, with more features coming in the future. ### Steve Jobs Syndrome and How to Identify It URL: https://mertbulan.com/steve-jobs-syndrome-and-how-to-identify-it/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:13:21.000Z In 2009, when I was 15, an Apple Premium Reseller opened in my hometown. Before that, I didn’t really know much about Apple. I had heard of it a few times, but nobody in my circle owned an Apple product. The main reason for that was the high price of their products. At that time, Apple was mostly known for Macs, not iPhones, since Apple wasn’t selling iPhones in Turkey yet. That’s when my fascination with Apple began. When I first visited the store and tried out the [MacBook](https://www.cultofmac.com/reviews/2008-macbook-review-better-than-modern-macbook?ref=mertbulan.com), I was amazed. It was the first time I saw a laptop made of aluminum. There were also features I had never seen before, like the glowing Apple logo when you used it, battery indicator lights visible without opening the laptop by pressing a small button, a blinking light on the front that pulsed like breathing to show the MacBook was in sleep mode, and the green light next to the camera. All of these features were new to me, and I became curious to learn more about Apple and the person behind these innovations. # Idol I started reading everything I could find online about Apple, even though there wasn’t much available in Turkish at the time. Apple wasn’t very popular in Turkey back then, and it was mostly known within industry circles. The brand didn’t really gain widespread attention until the iPhone became a hit. Eventually, I moved on to books, and that’s when I discovered [Inside Steve’s Brain](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2363692.Inside%5FSteve%5Fs%5FBrain?ref=mertbulan.com) by Leander Kahney. My obsession shifted from Apple to Steve Jobs, especially after reading stories like how Apple bought its own CNC machines and [created custom solutions](https://beneinstein.com/no-you-cant-manufacture-that-like-apple-does-93bea02a3bbf?ref=mertbulan.com) to make those tiny holes in the aluminum that displayed the battery level. The level of detail and the millions spent on such small yet beautiful features was something I had never imagined. As any teenager would, my admiration for Steve quickly turned into an obsession, and he became my idol. I bought my first pair of New Balance 990 sneakers, the exact same stonewashed Levi’s 501 jeans, and a black turtleneck sweater. I didn’t wear this outfit all the time, but whenever I did, I felt like Steve. But I didn’t stop there. I began listening to The Beatles and Bob Dylan, and read Steve Jobs’ favorite books, like [Autobiography of a Yogi](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/639864.Autobiography%5Fof%5Fa%5FYogi?ref=mertbulan.com) and [The Innovator’s Dilemma](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2615.The%5FInnovator%5Fs%5FDilemma?ref=mertbulan.com). With my teenage mindset, I thought that by mimicking his style, music, and reading choices, I could become like him—the greatest innovator of our time. # Mentor As I grew older and started university, improving my English, I continued to learn more about Steve Jobs. I read more about him and watched his interviews with Walt Mossberg. With the rise of the iPhone and his death from cancer, there were more resources available. That was when he transitioned from being my idol to becoming a mentor. I no longer wanted to be like him; I simply wanted to learn how to create great products. After all, there could only be one Steve Jobs. So, I focused more on the things he did and said, rather than on who he was. I stopped wearing Levi’s because I wasn’t happy with the quality, and I didn’t really like blue jeans anymore. I switched to black jeans. I’ve continued wearing New Balance 990 sneakers because they are the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn, especially with my flat feet. I also realized that, while I liked some of his music, Bob Dylan wasn’t quite to my taste. However, I kept listening to The Beatles because their energy matched mine perfectly. At the same time, it became harder to understand who Steve Jobs truly was. The media mostly focused on his negative side, especially after he co-founded Apple—things like how he fired people in elevators or abandoned his daughter. They ignored his work with Pixar and NeXT, and how he returned to Apple to save it from bankruptcy. Instead, they focused on his drama-filled moments because that was what attracted views and clicks, while his innovative work seemed like the “boring” part. Luckily, if you really wanted to understand the real Steve Jobs, there were still resources like [folklore.org](http://folklore.org/?ref=mertbulan.com), written by Andy Hertzfeld, someone who worked directly with him on the Macintosh. Unfortunately, most people only knew him through the media’s portrayal of his flaws, which didn’t reflect the transformed person who made Apple the biggest company on the planet. Every time I brought him up in conversation, people would cut me off, dismissing him as an asshole. # Steve Jobs Syndrome Despite everything, my passion for learning how to create great products by studying Steve Jobs never stopped. At the same time, as I closely followed the tech industry and especially the startup world, I began to notice a common pattern: many people seemed to be imitating Steve Jobs. Because I had read and watched so much about him, it became easy for me to identify these individuals and their behaviors. Especially after the hit TV series [Silicon Valley](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2575988/?ref=mertbulan.com) aired on HBO, I realized I wasn’t alone in noticing this trend. The show addressed what I now call Steve Jobs Syndrome perfectly. If you follow the tech industry and the people leading major tech companies, you’ll quickly realize that many of them try to imitate Steve Jobs, hoping to replicate his success. For example, the reason Mark Zuckerberg wore the same simple outfit for so long—until his recent style change—was that he was mimicking Steve Jobs. I often wished he had focused on imitating other aspects of Steve’s approach, rather than just the outfit. But Mark Zuckerberg isn’t alone. In [Hatching Twitter](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18656827-hatching-twitter?ref=mertbulan.com) by Nick Bilton, you’ll read that Jack Dorsey, when he was at Twitter, changed his outfit to match Steve Jobs’, listened to The Beatles, and even used the same phrases Jobs used in interviews. They were like my teenage self, but they were fully grown adults doing this. Of course, the outfit wasn’t the only part of Steve Jobs that people in the tech industry were imitating. They were also copying his presentation style, some even traveled to India to replicate Steve’s experience. They would often claim their startups were going to change the world, acting and speaking like visionaries, even if their companies weren’t yet profitable. The media played along, constantly searching for the next Steve Jobs. Was Jack Dorsey the next Steve Jobs? Or Elon Musk? Or Elizabeth Holmes? Luckily, the media stopped searching after Jack Dorsey failed to make Twitter profitable, [Elizabeth Holmes was sentenced to 11 years for fraud](https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/elizabeth-holmes-sentenced-more-11-years-defrauding-theranos-investors-hundreds?ref=mertbulan.com), and Elon Musk went through his own controversies. But despite all that, CEOs in the tech industry never stopped suffering from Steve Jobs Syndrome. # How to Identify It If you’ve worked at a big tech company or a startup, there’s a good chance your CEO might be exhibiting signs of Steve Jobs Syndrome, similar to the people I mentioned earlier. If you’re still not sure, here’s a quick checklist to help you identify it. If your CEO: - Micromanages you, forcing you to do things exactly as they say, even though they don’t fully understand what they’re talking about - Acts like a visionary who always knows the right thing to do, despite not having a proven track record of successfully predicting the future - Follows every hype cycle in the tech industry, jumping on trends like blockchain, NFTs, AI, etc. - Talks about topics outside their expertise, such as politics, science, and offers suggestions about them - Constantly uses social media, tweeting and giving interviews, in an effort to remain constantly visible - Tries to create a cult-like following, a group of people who support them no matter what, regardless of the products the company produces Then, there’s a high chance your CEO is suffering from Steve Jobs Syndrome. What’s interesting is that none of these behaviors are directly related to Steve Jobs himself. Yet, the media somehow associated these things with him. Take micromanaging, for example. If you truly understand Steve Jobs, you’d know he was obsessed with every detail of a product. He didn’t micromanage people; he paid attention to details. He didn’t tell people exactly what to do—he shared his opinions on how the product should work. Sometimes he was wrong, but he admitted it. Jobs himself said this in [interviews](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f60dheI4ARg&ref=mertbulan.com), and people who worked with him have [shared similar accounts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOUrlsJWG9g&ref=mertbulan.com). But the media often portrayed him as a dictator. Then, tech CEOs see this portrayal and think, “If Steve was like that and created great products, I should do the same.” This mindset can still be seen in the startup ecosystem today, as reflected in essays like [Founder Mode](https://paulgraham.com/foundermode.html?ref=mertbulan.com) by Paul Graham, one of the most prominent figures in the startup world. [Steve Jobs didn’t even want to allow developers to create apps](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/appsblog/2011/oct/24/steve-jobs-apps-iphone?ref=mertbulan.com) for the iPhone initially. He didn’t follow trends—he simply focused on where the industry was heading, like the rise of graphical user interfaces and touchscreens. If you listened to [Steve’s diet](https://www.nbcnews.com/healthmain/strange-eating-habits-steve-jobs-119434?ref=mertbulan.com) recommendations, you’d probably end up malnourished today. Jobs didn’t jump from one interview to the next—most of his interviews were with Walt Mossberg or Kara Swisher. He didn’t use social media, and he even told President Obama’s secretary that [Obama should call him directly if he wanted to meet](https://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Steve-Jobs-bio-sheds-light-on-Obama-relationship-2311316.php?ref=mertbulan.com). Politically, Jobs wasn’t focused on tax credits or Apple contracts. His main concern was advocating for policies that would allow international students in the U.S. to stay and work after graduation by getting a green card, rather than being bogged down by visa issues. Steve Jobs didn’t aim to create a cult around himself, but around Apple and its products. After all, does anyone even know where he’s buried? --- These are just a few insights that come from deeply understanding Steve Jobs. Unfortunately, many people prefer to rely on the easy-to-access, media-fed version of him. I’m not writing this post to glorify Steve Jobs, but to raise awareness about tech CEOs who exhibit what I call Steve Jobs Syndrome. While it’s natural to be inspired by someone so influential, it’s crucial to remember that imitating his persona or approach without understanding the deeper principles behind his success can lead to missteps. Steve Jobs wasn’t a blueprint for success; he was a unique individual with a vision and a relentless drive to create great products. Instead of trying to copy his every move, we should focus on the values that made him successful. By doing so, we can learn from his legacy without falling into the trap of “Steve Jobs Syndrome.” There’s much to be learned from his approach to product creation—but that’s a topic for another blog post. ### We need Universal Basic Land, not Universal Basic Income URL: https://mertbulan.com/we-need-universal-basic-land-not-universal-basic-income/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:10:54.000Z As someone working towards [financial independence](https://mertbulan.com/2024/05/05/how-to-retire-early-in-germany/), I regularly review my expenses and look for ways to reduce them without sacrificing my quality of life, especially the recurring ones. Sometimes I switch to a cheaper internet provider during Black Friday, or find ways to [lower my electricity bill](https://mertbulan.com/2023/11/05/how-did-i-cut-my-electricity-cost-by-30-percent/). But there’s one expense that takes up a large portion of my monthly budget that I can’t control: my rent. I’m sure I’m not the only one in this situation. A common rule is that you shouldn’t spend more than a third of your salary on rent. I believe this applies to most of you reading this. Unfortunately, for some people, rent can take up half of their salary. I live in an apartment owned by a company that has more than 3.000 flats in Hamburg. Their business model is simple: instead of building new homes, they buy old flats in popular neighborhoods, renovate them, and raise the rent. Even though there are some rent control rules in Hamburg, there’s not much protection when it comes to rent hikes between tenants after a renovation, even if I’m paying 50% more than the average rent in my neighborhood. Some might ask why I don’t just move. Well, when you’re trying to rent a place and there’s a long line of people applying, it can take anywhere from three months to even a couple of years to find something that works. Others might suggest moving to a different city, but that’s not an easy choice if you enjoy your life where you are and have friends around you. The only remaining option, then, is to buy a property. # Homeownership in Germany When looking at homeownership rates in OECD countries, Germany stands out for having a much lower rate compared to others. In fact, only 41.8% of Germans own their homes, and in some areas, this rate drops even further to just 20.1%. One reason for this lower homeownership rate could be cultural. Germans generally have a strong aversion to taking on debt. The word for debt in German, “Schuld,” also translates to “guilt,” which suggests that borrowing money might be seen as something undesirable or morally wrong in the culture. This perception may explain why many Germans shy away from taking out mortgages, especially considering the long repayment periods, which can stretch up to 30 years. Another factor influencing lower homeownership rates, particularly in cities like Hamburg, could be the city’s historical role as a major port. In the past, sailors with disposable income often bought property because they spent so much of their time at sea. Additionally, Hamburg has a large number of wealthy residents who view homeownership as a smart investment. This leaves fewer opportunities for the average person to buy a home. Of course, these are just theories, but the fact remains that for many Germans, owning a home is not a viable option for reducing long-term expenses. This brings me to consider alternative solutions where the government could play a role in changing the current situation and making homeownership more accessible for a larger portion of the population. # Modern Solutions to Homeownership While homeownership rates are relatively low in Germany, there are other countries where homeownership rates are high, and some even offer near-“free” opportunities for citizens to own homes. These examples show how governments can design policies that promote homeownership and economic stability. ## Singapore Despite its small size—just 700 square kilometers—Singapore has become an economic powerhouse, largely due to its strategic government policies. With a population of 6 million, giving land directly to citizens isn’t feasible, but the government has successfully implemented policies to encourage homeownership. [The Housing Development Board](https://youtu.be/0o7DCqciH2E?feature=shared&t=1130&ref=mertbulan.com) (HDB) plays a central role in this success. It builds affordable homes and offers subsidies, low-interest mortgages, and financial support to cover any deficits. Additionally, Singapore’s mandatory savings system, called the Central Provident Fund (CPF), helps citizens save for home purchases. Policies like land value capture ensure that land prices remain stable, even though land is limited. Thanks to these policies, 90% of Singaporeans own their homes today, which stands as a powerful testament to the effectiveness of these government strategies in fostering personal wealth, economic growth, and social stability. ## Italy In several small towns across Italy, vacant homes are being sold for [just €1](https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/italy/italy-one-euro-homes-how-buy-house-b2639062.html?ref=mertbulan.com) as part of an initiative designed to revitalize rural areas that have experienced population decline. This program aims to attract new homeowners, stimulate local economies, and preserve Italy’s rich cultural heritage. However, the catch is that these homes typically require substantial renovations, with costs ranging from €20,000 to €50,000\. Buyers must submit renovation plans within one year of purchase and complete the renovations within three years. Additionally, there are legal fees, renovation guarantees, and other specific requirements that buyers must meet. --- While Singapore and Italy offer interesting examples of increasing homeownership, their solutions are not universally applicable. Singapore’s success is partially due to its smaller population and efficient use of limited land, which makes its model less adaptable to larger countries with different demographics. Italy’s program, while innovative, may not suit individuals who are unwilling to invest in substantial renovations or prefer urban living over rural relocation. By examining these cases, we gain insight into the various ways to promote home and land ownership—and the unique challenges each solution faces. # Historical Examples of Land Distribution The idea of giving land to citizens isn’t new. Throughout history, many have tried to implement this concept, but for various reasons, these efforts often failed. In most cases, those who attempted to give away land for free ended up facing significant challenges, with little success in addressing the underlying inequalities. These historical examples offer valuable lessons on the complexities of land redistribution and the political forces that often prevent it from succeeding. ## The Roman Republic While reading [SPQR](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28789711-spqr?ref=mertbulan.com) by Mary Beard, I came across a story about a politician in ancient Rome that intrigued me. In 133 BCE, [Tiberius Gracchus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberius%5FGracchus?ref=mertbulan.com) proposed a reform to give land from the state to Roman citizens, particularly the poor and veterans. His goal was to tackle growing economic inequality and the concentration of land in the hands of wealthy elites. Gracchus believed that land redistribution could restore balance and offer opportunities to those who had been left behind by Rome’s increasing wealth disparity. Unfortunately, his proposal was met with fierce resistance from the ruling class. Tiberius was ultimately killed in a violent altercation, beaten to death with a chair leg in the Senate. His brother, Gaius Gracchus, tried to continue his work but also met a tragic end, despite managing to distribute some land. The failure of the Gracchi brothers’ reforms marked a turning point in Roman history, signaling the beginning of the decline of the Roman Republic, as political power became increasingly consolidated among the elites. ## Lincoln’s Reconstruction Plan In another book, [The Empire of Cotton](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28474996-empire-of-cotton?ref=mertbulan.com) by Sven Beckert, I was surprised to learn that, after the Civil War and the emancipation of enslaved people, there was no comprehensive reform to grant them true economic freedom. After years of working without ownership, what could formerly enslaved people do with their newfound freedom? Capital, specifically land, was needed to achieve economic independence. Without land, they were left with little means to sustain themselves and build wealth. Interestingly, I later learned from the Apple TV+ series [Manhunt](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt16912512?ref=mertbulan.com), which focused on Abraham Lincoln’s assassination, that there was actually a plan to provide land to newly freed African Americans. In 1865, land was being distributed to some freed people as part of an initiative called “[40 acres and a mule](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty%5Facres%5Fand%5Fa%5Fmule?ref=mertbulan.com).” However, after Lincoln was assassinated, President Johnson reversed this policy and took back the land. The backlash from plantation owners, who feared losing their labor force, played a crucial role in this decision. They complained that if freed African Americans were given land, they would no longer work on the plantations. Had Lincoln not been assassinated, it’s possible that the economic landscape for African Americans could have been very different. Unfortunately, after Johnson’s reversal, efforts to distribute land to African Americans have been limited, and those that did occur were largely ineffective. This failure to provide land or economic opportunity to former slaves has had lasting consequences, contributing to the entrenched racial and economic inequalities that persist in the United States. ## The Land Distribution to Farmers in Turkey Another example comes from my home country, Turkey. After World War II, discussions about land redistribution to farmers were actively debated within the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the only political party in power at the time. Many saw land reform as a crucial step to improve the economic conditions of rural farmers and reduce inequality. However, [landowners within the CHP](https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%B6rtl%C3%BC%5FTakrir?ref=mertbulan.com), who controlled large estates, strongly opposed the proposed legislation. They feared that the reform would diminish their wealth and power. In response to the opposition from the landowning class, these influential members were expelled from the CHP and went on to form the Democrat Party (DP), a political force that aimed to block the land reform. The DP gained significant popularity and eventually won elections, forming the government. Despite the passing of the land redistribution law, it was so heavily altered by the new government that it failed to achieve its original goals. Instead of the widespread redistribution of land, the reform was diluted, and many farmers saw little benefit. As a result, the CHP has never regained the same level of support and has never been able to govern the country on its own since then. The failure of land reform in Turkey not only impacted the rural farmers it was supposed to help but also had lasting political ramifications, shifting the balance of power in the country. --- These examples—spanning from ancient Rome to the Reconstruction era in the United States, and even into modern Turkey—highlight the persistent challenges of implementing land redistribution. Despite the good intentions behind these efforts, the concentration of power among landowners, political elites, and other influential groups has often led to their failure. However, these historical attempts offer valuable lessons about the complexities of land distribution and the barriers that must be overcome for such reforms to succeed. Given these lessons, I believe it is now time to approach the idea of giving land to citizens with a more modern perspective. This is where I propose the concept of Universal Basic Land—a solution for countries with large amounts of unused land to tackle inequality, provide economic freedom, and fulfill a basic human need. # Universal Basic Land Universal Basic Land (UBL) is an innovative concept that extends the idea of Universal Basic Income (UBI) to land ownership. For those unfamiliar with UBI, it is the concept of providing a set amount of money to every citizen in a country, regardless of their economic status. While UBI focuses on providing individuals with a guaranteed income to support their basic needs, UBL would provide people with access to land, giving them the freedom to determine how to use it. This could include building a home, starting a farm, or running a business. The idea behind UBL is to offer individuals the flexibility to create their ideal living and working spaces, instead of assuming that everyone wants to own a home. This concept acknowledges the diverse needs and desires people have when it comes to land use. For UBL to work effectively, land distribution must be carefully planned to avoid the creation of isolated, underserved areas. If not managed properly, people could end up owning land in rural locations with few services or opportunities, much like the situation seen in some parts of Italy, where individuals live in remote areas with little access to the amenities and infrastructure of urban centers. To prevent this, UBL land should be spread across regions that are connected and accessible. This way, people can choose land for various purposes, such as housing, commerce, or agriculture, while still benefiting from being part of a well-developed community. For instance, someone might choose a plot for residential use, while another person might opt for land to open a business. This mix of land purposes would foster vibrant communities with necessary services, such as cafes, restaurants, and stores, all while local farming ensures a sustainable food supply. In addition to well-planned land distribution, UBL also requires a strong transportation infrastructure. The success of UBL hinges on ensuring that new towns or communities are well-connected to one another and to larger cities. People should be able to travel easily between towns, whether for work, education, or leisure, without being dependent on owning a car. Accessible public transportation would make living in a UBL community both practical and sustainable, reducing the financial burden of car ownership and encouraging mobility. Another key element of UBL is the ability for people to trade their land if their needs or preferences change. For example, someone who initially chose land for farming may later decide that they want to build a home as their family grows. A flexible marketplace for land transactions would allow people to buy, sell, or swap land. However, it’s important that each person can only own one piece of UBL land to prevent individuals or corporations from hoarding land. This ensures that UBL remains a tool for equitable land distribution and helps maintain a more balanced, fair system. Of course, a potential concern with UBL is the capital required to develop the land. Whether it’s for building a house, establishing a farm, or starting a business, significant investment is often needed. To address this, financial tools such as loans or credit could play a vital role. After acquiring the land, individuals could use it as collateral to secure funding for development. Alternatively, they could choose to lease their land to others, generating income while retaining ownership. While this financial aspect of UBL would require careful consideration, it presents a valuable solution to ensure that landowners can access the resources they need to make the most of their land. In conclusion, Universal Basic Land could offer a transformative approach to land ownership and use, empowering individuals with more freedom and opportunities. With careful planning and the right financial tools, UBL has the potential to create thriving, interconnected communities where people can shape their futures based on their unique needs and aspirations. # Universal Basic Income vs. Universal Basic Land When the topic of income inequality, social unrest, and the rise in productivity is brought up, Universal Basic Income is often suggested as a potential solution. Proponents argue that UBI could alleviate various societal issues by providing people with a financial safety net, allowing them to live more comfortably and focus less on basic survival. However, one of the most common concerns about UBI is the risk of inflation. If everyone suddenly has access to more money, the prices of goods and services, including rent, could rise, potentially nullifying the benefits of receiving a basic income. I share this concern, but what worries me more is that UBI might not truly address income inequality. A large portion of the money people receive would likely end up going to landlords and financial institutions, as individuals use their UBI to pay rent or mortgages. In essence, this would funnel wealth into the hands of the already wealthy, leaving the core issue of economic disparity unresolved. In contrast, Universal Basic Land could offer a more impactful solution. If people were given access to land, the dynamics would shift. Instead of paying rent or a mortgage, individuals could use the land to build a house or start a business, gradually increasing their wealth. Over time, the land could appreciate in value, allowing individuals to build equity. Additionally, by investing in the land and developing it, people could generate income from their efforts. The government would still collect taxes on spending, but rather than going directly to landlords or banks, the money would circulate within local communities, supporting broader economic growth and helping to address wealth inequality more effectively. Another concern often raised with UBI is the potential for people to stop working altogether. While the goal of UBI is to provide financial freedom, there’s a fear that it might discourage people from pursuing work, especially for jobs that are essential but not particularly desirable. Universal Basic Land, on the other hand, would still require people to work, though perhaps on their own terms. While they might not have to work as much as they do now, they would still need to invest effort into developing their land, whether it’s constructing a home, cultivating crops, or starting a small business. Even if they build a home, there would still be ongoing expenses—like food, utilities, and personal interests—that would require some form of income. For these reasons, I believe Universal Basic Land is a more sustainable and equitable solution than Universal Basic Income. By providing people with land, we empower them to create wealth and stability on their own terms, while reducing the concentration of wealth in the hands of landlords and banks. It encourages personal responsibility and development, all while addressing some of the systemic issues tied to income inequality. # Where to begin? If you’ve ever taken a look at a map of Germany with statistical data, you might have noticed the ongoing divide between East and West Germany. Even after decades of reunification, there are still significant disparities in economic indicators like homeownership rates, unemployment, and overall prosperity. The eastern part of the country tends to fare worse in these areas, with economic challenges more pronounced. This is why I believe that East Germany could be the perfect place to test the concept of Universal Basic Land. East Germany offers several advantages for this kind of initiative. First, there is a substantial amount of unused land, especially in rural areas where the population density is lower. Much of this land remains underdeveloped, offering an opportunity to revitalize these regions by giving people the tools to create their own futures. By offering free land to people living in East Germany, the government could empower individuals to build homes, start businesses, or develop agricultural projects. These activities would not only help reduce unemployment but could also lead to a thriving local economy. By testing Universal Basic Land in East Germany, we could see firsthand how giving individuals ownership of land leads to greater prosperity. Over time, this initiative could serve as a model for other regions or countries facing similar challenges, showing that land ownership—not just income—can be a key factor in improving economic well-being and reducing inequality. ### We don't need startups, we need Digital-Mittelstand URL: https://mertbulan.com/we-dont-need-startups-we-need-digital-mittelstand/ Last updated: 2026-08-05T07:20:54.000Z Label it a cargo cult or something else, but countless nations strive to replicate the magic of Silicon Valley. The typical approach involves politicians designating a city and branding it as the “Silicon Valley of \[Country Name\].” They establish technology parks, offer financial incentives, and hope for the emergence of trillion-dollar enterprises. Yet, no country has succeeded in creating its own Silicon Valley. Why? Either these leaders fail to grasp the nuances of what made Silicon Valley what it is, or they lack a deep understanding of their own nation’s cultural fabric. From my perspective, after a decade of closely observing the tech industry and studying the success stories from the Valley, I can confidently state that Silicon Valley cannot be cloned elsewhere. The reason is simple: Silicon Valley isn’t merely a hub of companies, tax breaks, and venture capital—it’s a unique ecosystem driven by culture. It’s a magnet for individuals from diverse backgrounds united by one shared ambition: [make a dent in the universe](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwK0U6U-vVs&ref=mertbulan.com). These people, drawn by the dream of joining [the elusive three-comma club](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzMUrB-Um1Y&ref=mertbulan.com), relocate there and pour everything they have into making it happen. While many fail, the presence of so many success stories inspires them to believe they can be next. ## Why German Culture Clashes with Startup Culture In Germany, the cultural landscape is strikingly different. Few people are driven by the ambition to “change the world”—perhaps because they feel they’ve already contributed their share as a nation. Wealth and its public display aren’t as celebrated here, which is why it’s difficult to name a prominent German billionaire off the top of your head without checking the internet. However, if you’ve ever used a product marked “Made in Germany,” you’ll understand what German culture truly values: mastery of a craft and uncompromising quality. You won’t find many Germans willing to sacrifice their health or personal milestones—like the birth of a child—for work, or to forgo their well-earned vacation in [Mallorca](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkbcT4nx5OU&ref=mertbulan.com). They’re not the kind to release half-baked products and patch issues later, nor are they likely to push for higher prices just to fatten shareholders’ returns. The average German—apart from those who’ve left the country and morphed into “tech bros”—isn’t particularly moved by shareholder value, especially when the Basic Law of Germany begins with “Human dignity shall be inviolable.” The entire culture fundamentally opposes many hallmarks of the typical startup ethos. This cultural divergence also explains why it’s difficult to name successful German startups on par with Airbnb, Uber, or Stripe—let alone tech giants like Google, Facebook, or Amazon. And there’s little indication that this will change anytime soon. ## Understanding Germany’s Mittelstand If you’re unfamiliar with [Mittelstand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mittelstand?ref=mertbulan.com), it refers to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany. While there’s no formal definition, these companies typically have fewer than 500 employees and annual revenues under 50 million Euro. What sets Mittelstand apart from SMEs in other countries, however, is their laser-sharp focus on a single niche, in which they excel. A significant portion of their income comes from exporting high-quality goods. This specialization and export-driven model makes Mittelstand businesses exceptionally resilient and stable, even during economic turbulence. By catering to super-specific markets with few competitors worldwide, demand for their products remains steady, no matter the economic climate. If you’ve ever worked with Mittelstand companies, you’ll know that many have a long queue of customers waiting for their products. It’s not uncommon to wait months—or even years—for an order. Yet customers are willing to wait because they know these businesses either produce the best quality or are the only ones making the product at all. This dedication to quality and niche expertise explains why Mittelstand accounts for around 30% of Germany’s exports. The challenge, however, is that Mittelstand companies primarily focus on physical goods. Unlike major tech giants, they can’t enjoy the massive profit margins of producing digital products with zero marginal costs. This reliance on physical goods contributes to the widening GDP gap between Germany and the U.S. Yet German policymakers have done little to close the gap. Instead, they’re either trying to replicate Silicon Valley’s playbook or pivoting their attention to renewable energy. The former won’t work due to Germany’s cultural differences, and while renewable energy is a worthwhile pursuit, it won’t generate the high profits that come with digital innovation. That’s why I believe a new approach is needed—a concept I call the “Digital-Mittelstand.” ## How Digital-Mittelstand Fits Germany’s Culture While startups often begin with a focus on creating a minimum viable product (MVP), they tend to evolve into growth-hungry, [investment-driven](https://archive.ph/QxWHG?ref=mertbulan.com) machines. Consider Spotify: it started as a music streaming service but has since expanded into podcasts and audiobooks. Netflix, synonymous with video streaming, has now ventured into gaming. This expansive growth strategy stands in stark contrast to Mittelstand’s ethos, which centers on focus, mastery, and sustainability. Mittelstand companies prioritize doing one thing exceptionally well, guided by a core ideology of longevity and conservative, long-term financial planning. Most startups are built with the goal of either being acquired by a tech giant or going public. Mittelstand, however, aims to create lasting value for customers and employees—not shareholders. Startups also demand extreme dedication, often expecting employees to work 60–80 hours a week with little regard for work-life balance. In Mittelstand, employee well-being is a priority, encouraging a healthier balance between work and personal life. Even in today’s highly competitive AI industry, the startup world thrives on cutthroat competition. Mittelstand, by contrast, operates in niche markets with limited competition due to their specialized products. Given these cultural and structural differences, I believe the traditional startup model won’t work in Germany. Instead of chasing a Silicon Valley model that no other country has successfully replicated, Germany should focus on developing the Digital-Mittelstand. This concept seamlessly aligns with both the German cultural ethos and the digital economy. Creating a digital product doesn’t require massive capital investment—a small team of a designer and a developer can be enough to launch something meaningful. With fewer employees, companies can prioritize long-term goals, refine their product iteratively, and maintain lean operational costs. Once the product gains traction, the zero-marginal-cost nature of digital products allows them to scale without incurring significant additional expenses. Unlike startups that prioritize rapid growth or shareholder appeasement, Digital-Mittelstand companies can focus on work-life balance. If they generate enough revenue to cover expenses and fund leisure activities, that’s often sufficient for many Germans—a stark contrast to the high-pressure growth culture of Silicon Valley. This model also aligns perfectly with Germany’s geographic and cultural diversity. Consider Germany’s population distribution compared to Turkey, for example. Both countries have similar populations (around 85 million), but even Gaziantep—my hometown and the sixth-largest city in Turkey—has a higher population (2.2 million) than Hamburg, the second most populous city (1.8 million) in Germany. This balanced distribution, which mirrors the Mittelstand’s industry diversification, contributes to Germany’s economic resilience. In contrast, the most populous city in Turkey, Istanbul’s dominance of Turkey’s economy (30% of the GDP) creates a single point of failure, especially with the looming risk of a major earthquake. A similar risk exists in highly centralized economies like London’s (25%). Many Mittelstand employees live in small cities near their companies’ facilities. Digital-Mittelstand, however, can leverage remote work to further reduce costs. Employees could live in small towns, enjoy lower living expenses, and maintain a high quality of life thanks to Germany’s good transportation infrastructure. Remote work also translates into lower personnel costs, typically the largest expense for any startup. By tapping into these advantages, Digital-Mittelstand could achieve both profitability and sustainability without compromising employee well-being. ## What Can Digital-Mittelstand Produce? If you’re already sold on the Digital-Mittelstand concept, let’s explore the potential products they can create. There’s a wide range of possibilities: - Mobile apps and games - Web designs and templates - Graphic designs, fonts, icons, and 3D models - 3D product designs for 3D printers - Open-source software projects - Machine learning models - Custom data analytics and visualization tools - VR/AR experiences - Online marketplaces - Subscription-based newsletters, podcasts, and other type of contents - E-learning platforms, video courses, etc. These are just a few examples, and many can be classified under Software as a Service (SaaS). While these products don’t require massive capital investments, they do rely heavily on expertise. By focusing on niche markets and high-quality offerings, Digital-Mittelstand companies can carve out profitable, sustainable businesses. With minimal competition and zero-marginal-cost scalability, this model offers a long-term, balanced approach to growth and innovation. ## What Should Be Done Next? It wouldn’t be fair to end this discussion without offering concrete suggestions for the government. Rather than pouring large grants into startups with the hope of generating returns for shareholders, the German government should consider introducing tailored incentives to foster the development of Digital-Mittelstand. ### 1\. Salary Grants Germany has a wealth of talent—top-tier programmers, designers, and digital experts—many of whom currently work for startups or traditional corporations. A government program could provide salary grants based on experience, allowing these individuals to dedicate time to developing a digital product without compromising their quality of life or financial stability. For example, an experienced software developer with eight years of experience could receive a grant equivalent to their annual salary. Since about 42% of that money would return to the government or social system via taxes, the risk is partially mitigated. Unlike startups, where a large portion of funds often ends up spent on advertising with tech giants like Google and Facebook. If the product begins generating revenue within a year, the grant could be extended for another couple of years to help reinvest in further development. ### 2\. Simplify Bureaucracy and Regulations Startups often bleed money on legal and accounting fees due to the complex regulatory landscape. The government could reduce this burden by creating a single, user-friendly portal where Digital-Mittelstand companies can register, report revenues, and record expenses. This system should provide clear explanations of what qualifies as an expense to minimize confusion and unnecessary compliance costs. Additionally, Digital-Mittelstand companies should be exempt from certain regulations until they cross a specified revenue threshold, allowing them to focus on product development rather than navigating red tape. ### 3\. Expand VAT Exemptions Currently, small businesses (Kleinunternehmen) in Germany enjoy a VAT exemption up to 22.000€ in revenue. This threshold should be raised to 100.000€ for Digital-Mittelstand businesses. A higher exemption limit would allow these companies to either offer competitive pricing or increase profit margins, enabling them to reinvest in their long-term goals. ## 4\. English Language Support Providing full English-language support for the Digital-Mittelstand system would make it easier for those already working in Germany to start their own businesses. It would also attract international talent to move to Germany for this opportunity. These individuals could first gain local experience by working for traditional companies. Thanks to the Blue Card visa for highly skilled workers, they can obtain permanent residency after about two years, allowing them to launch their own Digital-Mittelstand ventures. This would help traditional companies find talent and digitize their operations while encouraging more entrepreneurial risk-taking in Germany, as those relocating from abroad are often more willing to take risks. --- With the federal election in Germany now complete and a new government set to take office, I hope this post reaches those in positions of power. I hope they’ll consider this approach, focusing on what makes Germany the third-largest economy while maintaining a great work-life balance, rather than attempting to replicate Silicon Valley. Of course, despite what the title suggests, I’m not entirely dismissing the startup concept. There’s still a need for companies that require significant capital and rapid growth. However, I firmly believe that Digital-Mittelstand should be the government’s main focus. Some of these companies might even grow to become the digital equivalents of tomorrow’s Siemens, Bosch, or Zeiss. ### Once You're Laid Off, You'll Never Be the Same Again URL: https://mertbulan.com/once-you-are-laid-off-you-will-never-be-the-same-again/ Last updated: 2026-06-13T09:54:08.000Z It happened on the afternoon of May 4th. A message from a colleague—who has since become a good friend—popped up on my screen, urging me to check my emails. When I opened my inbox, there it was: an email from the COO. The email announced an impending company-wide layoff and mentioned that, within a few minutes, I’d receive another email letting me know whether I was impacted. A short while later, the second email arrived. I was among those affected—along with most of my team. The situation felt surreal. One by one, my colleagues posted in our team chat, confirming they’d been impacted too. Before our accounts were locked, we quickly jumped on a call. We had just 30 minutes to have one final conversation as a team, to say our goodbyes. It was a bittersweet moment, sharing those last words with people I’d worked so closely with. It was difficult to process what was happening. Just ten months earlier, the company had gone through another round of layoffs. And at the beginning of the year, during the company’s kick-off event, the president assured us there wouldn’t be any more layoffs. They even said the company was performing well financially. So, why was this happening? # Signs of a Layoff Looking back, my colleagues and I were not entirely surprised by the layoff. There were several warning signs that hinted something was coming. I want to share these signs so you can be better prepared if you ever face a similar situation. ### 1\. Cancellation of Team Events One of the earliest indicators was the sudden cancellation of team events. When I heard from other teams that their off-site events were canceled without any clear explanation, it immediately raised red flags. These cancellations often signal that the company is going to announce something about the team structure and doesn’t want you to be with your team in the same place. This is because one of your teammates—or you—might be impacted, and you’d need to cancel flights, hotels, etc. To avoid dealing with these logistical issues, the company preemptively cancels the event. ### 2\. Unexpected Notifications About Packages Some employees at the company received notifications about packages scheduled to arrive at their homes. This happens because services like DHL notify you through their app when a package is on the way. If your company requires you to return your work equipment, like a laptop, after being laid off, they often arrange for these shipping boxes to be delivered in advance. If you unexpectedly see a notification about a package from your company’s IT provider, it’s a strong sign that a layoff is imminent—and you may be impacted. ### 3\. Lack of Vision from Leadership The absence of a clear vision from leadership is one of the most common signs of an impending layoff. During off-site or kick-off events, you might notice that leaders seem unsure of the company’s direction. When this lack of clarity is followed by team restructuring, and then another restructuring just a few months later, it becomes evident that the leadership is struggling to find focus. Ultimately, this cycle often ends with a layoff, accompanied by yet another round of restructuring for those who remain. ### 4\. Sudden, Vague Meetings Another sign is the appearance of unexpected, vague meetings on your calendar. These meetings are marked as “important” with no clear agenda, and attendance is mandatory. If this happens, it’s often a precursor to a layoff announcement. Public companies, in particular, may choose to send layoff notices via email to align the timing with when they notify investors. ### 5\. Timing Around Quarterly Results If your company is publicly traded, layoffs are frequently announced in conjunction with quarterly earnings reports. This can be especially stressful because, leading up to every financial results announcement, employees may anxiously wait to see if layoffs will accompany the news. If no layoffs are announced, you know you’re safe—for at least one more quarter. # You’re Just a Row in an Excel Table When I looked back on my time at the company and all the things I had accomplished, I was surprised to be impacted by the layoffs. It wasn’t because I thought I was better than others—it was because I believed I was doing more than what was expected of me. However, during a layoff, it seems that who you are and what you do doesn’t matter. In most cases, the decision is made by people who don’t even know you. This realization made me question the concept of work, which is part of the reason I’m writing this blog post. I was hired as a Backend Developer. When I joined my team, I noticed a project that needed a developer to implement the client-side feature in React Native. Although I had no prior experience with React Native, I had worked with React before, so I volunteered for the task. I shipped the feature without any issues, received positive feedback from my team and lead, and eventually, my title was changed to Developer, making me a full-stack developer. In some instances, I worked on projects independently, always aligning with my team and ensuring my work was reviewed. I would implement the backend first and then move on to the client-side. This was my expected role, and in performance reviews, I was consistently rated as a high performer. Yet, I was always doing more than what was expected of me. Sometimes, I worked on small features I thought would enhance the app. These features might not have been used by many, but they provided significant value to heavy users. Occasionally, I shipped these under the radar. I created dashboards to measure the impact of my team’s work, helping us focus on features that would bring the most value to users. I also built proof-of-concept features based on user requests to show leadership how easily they could be implemented, advocating for their prioritization. Additionally, I participated in hackdays, creating projects to showcase innovative ideas. On several occasions, I was selected for special projects outside my team. These projects often came directly from the CEO, and I was chosen because I constantly wanted to do more for the company and our users. For some of these projects, I worked more than eight hours a day, including weekends. A few of these initiatives were mentioned in financial reports, praised by the CEO during all-hands meetings, or retweeted multiple times by the CEO on Twitter. Over time, I gained the attention of senior management in my business unit, which consisted of about 400 people. I began directly interacting with the VP of Product and the VP of Engineering, both of whom were four or five levels above me. Occasionally, the VP of Product would message me directly to ask if a feature was feasible to implement. Later, the VP of Engineering started scheduling regular one-on-one meetings with me, which was highly uncommon. During these calls, he told me multiple times that if I continued working at this level, I could quickly climb the ladder to become a Staff Developer. He wasn’t the only one saying this to me. Beyond my immediate role, I also sought ways to contribute to the broader company. Whenever a new tool was introduced, I would explore it, write detailed articles about my findings, and share them to help other teams use the tool more effectively. I referred many friends and former colleagues to the company because I believed in its mission. If I recall correctly, I referred over ten people, four of whom received offers, and three were ultimately hired. I also encouraged many others to consider joining the company. I even initiated discussions about translating our website into Turkish to support the many customers we had in Turkey. A few weeks before the layoff announcement, I was helping a team working on this project find a Turkish-speaking content designer because they noticed my willingness to assist. Additionally, I tried to convince friends who were CTOs at major e-commerce companies to migrate their websites to our platform. Whenever I received job offers from e-commerce companies on LinkedIn, I used those opportunities to promote our platform instead. I passed along leads to the sales team and later noticed that one of those companies had indeed moved to our platform. I’m not sharing all of this to brag but to highlight that, in the end, none of it mattered. On the day I announced I had been laid off, I received numerous messages from colleagues, even those I hadn’t worked with directly, telling me that I had inspired and motivated them. While those messages were heartwarming, they didn’t change the reality: to the company, I was just a row in an Excel sheet. # The Broken Trust of Modern Work Layoffs were uncommon when I started working, and being a developer felt like an incredibly safe job. In most professions, the unspoken rule was simple: if you performed well and the company was financially stable, your job was secure. But today, companies are announcing layoffs alongside record-breaking financial results. You work hard, focus on impactful projects, and receive praise from your lead—only to find yourself let go by someone who likely doesn’t even know you exist. It feels as though the trust between companies and employees is now broken. Companies, it seems, are either unaware of this shift or unwilling to address it. And frankly, I’m not sure how they could fix it. What’s particularly strange is that the layoffs predominantly affect individual contributors—the people who have little say in deciding the company’s direction. These are the team members closest to the users, the ones who spend hours planning how to improve the product. But after those plans are made, leadership often swoops in and redirects efforts toward entirely different goals. You trust their judgment, work on their priorities, and deliver on time. Then, when the arbitrary goals they set aren’t met, the company decides to cut staff. Those who made the poor decisions remain, and some are even promoted, while the people carrying out the work are let go. It feels surreal—like [an episode from Silicon Valley](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u48vYSLvKNQ&ref=mertbulan.com)—but this is how big companies operate. I’m not alone in feeling this way. Many friends and ex-colleagues who’ve been laid off in recent years share similar experiences. They’ve lost trust in their employers. They believe their efforts won’t matter in the long run and anticipate being part of the next layoff cycle. As a result, they only do what’s strictly required to avoid a performance improvement plan. No one goes above and beyond anymore; no one takes initiative to improve things. Why? Because it doesn’t matter. They’ve seen firsthand that it changes nothing. For those like me who’ve experienced layoffs, work has become just that—work. You do what’s assigned, and if your company squanders your potential or forces you to waste time on unnecessary projects, you simply stop caring. You collect your paycheck at the end of the month, and that’s it. This is the new modern work: no more striving to be 40% better every year. # The Myth of Job Security in Germany Since I was working for a German entity of a company, I want to address a common myth about job security in Germany. Many people believe that it’s nearly impossible to be fired in Germany. While this is partially true for individuals who have completed their probation period, it doesn’t hold up in the context of layoffs. If a company decides to lay off, for instance, 40 employees, German law doesn’t prevent this. Instead, the law enforces a social scoring system to determine who is affected, prioritizing the protection of the most vulnerable employees, such as those with children. In this sense, when it comes to layoffs, the difference between Germany and the US is minimal. # Suggestions for Those Who Haven’t Been Laid Off (Yet) When I talk to friends who were laid off in recent years, we often reflect on what we could have done differently. Here are some of the lessons we’ve learned: - **Stick to your contract hours.** If your contract says 40 hours, work 40 hours—no more, no less. Protect your personal time and well-being. - **Avoid going above and beyond with initiatives.** Many companies encourage impactful work to earn promotions, but instead of chasing internal advancements, focus on switching companies to achieve your next career step. - **Always keep interviewing.** One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen is stopping interviews after starting a new job, trusting in the company. Instead, continuously explore opportunities so that if a layoff happens, you already have other options lined up. - **Leverage external offers for salary growth.** Companies often resist giving substantial raises to existing employees but pay top dollar for new hires. Regularly interview elsewhere, and if you get an offer with a 20% or higher salary increase, consider taking it. Many people have seen their compensation triple or quadruple this way in just a few years. - **Don’t overthink your résumé.** Worrying about short experiences on your CV isn’t worth it. You can always tailor your résumé—leave out brief roles, or consolidate short-term jobs as freelance experience. Ultimately, your résumé is just a starting point; your skills will be assessed during the interview process. --- You’ve probably noticed that I didn’t mention the name of the company I was laid off from. That’s because I believe it’s irrelevant. Everything I’ve shared reflects the current state of the tech industry. It might differ at very small companies, but once you work at a company with more than 100 employees, you’ll likely encounter many of the same patterns I’ve described. I’ve wanted to write about this topic for a long time, but it’s been difficult to find the energy. The subject itself is a deep disappointment for me, and every time I reflect on layoffs, it makes me profoundly sad. It’s a stark reminder of how companies treat workers as disposable. Before you join, they go to great lengths to make you feel valued and excited to accept their offer. You meet multiple people, and some even offer signing bonuses. But when layoffs come, you’re reduced to a name on a list. During the exit interview, a random person from the company reads a prepared script and can’t answer your questions. The HR team that once worked to make you feel valued doesn’t even conduct an actual conversation with you. That random person becomes the last connection you have to a company you spent years at. The layoff fundamentally changed how I perceive work now. I don’t think that I’ll be the same person again. ### Be careful how you save Relationship in SwiftData URL: https://mertbulan.com/be-careful-how-you-save-relationship-in-swiftdata/ Last updated: 2026-06-11T13:47:37.000Z While developing apps, I always prioritize using the latest APIs from Apple, as they offer greater convenience compared to the older APIs. However, since these newer APIs lack the rigorous testing of their predecessors, they frequently encounter various issues. Unfortunately, SwiftData falls into this category. In my recent app, I’ve been working on a SwiftData model with a Relationship. Normally, I save a model with a one-to-many relationship using the following code: ```swift let account = Account(name: "Mert") account.books.append(Book(name: "The Dawn of Everything")) modelContext.insert(account) ``` During testing, I didn’t encounter any problems, and the models were successfully saved into CoreData. However, when I released the beta version through TestFlight and invited some friends to test the app, one of them reported that the app was crashing. She kindly shared the crash report with me. Upon analyzing the crash report, as is often the case with Apple’s crash reports, it didn’t provide specific details about the issue. Nevertheless, it did point to the relationship: ```swift static _DefaultBackingData.getRelationship(key:managedObject:forType:) ``` After searching on the internet, I discovered that when using SwiftData, I should save the model and its relationship in a different manner: ```swift let account = Account(name: "Mert") modelContext.insert(account) account.books.append(Book(name: "The Dawn of Everything")) ``` In this corrected version, instead of saving the parent object along with its child object, I first insert the parent object and then append the child object. After the change, the crash was gone. What’s intriguing about this issue is that it only occurred on the device of my friend who reported the crash, not on the nine other users who tested the app, including myself. This suggests that this might be one of the most significant challenges associated with Apple’s new APIs. When there are issues, they tend to manifest in rare cases, but these issues can have a significant impact on the user experience. ### Never use SwiftData without VersionedSchema URL: https://mertbulan.com/never-use-swiftdata-without-versionedschema/ Last updated: 2026-06-11T13:07:10.000Z Last month, I launched a new app on the App Store called [Hansel](http://fruitfulapps.com/hansel/?ref=mertbulan.com). It’s an app that helps you keep track of the places you’ve visited by running in the background. To save the location data, I used SwiftData along with iCloud support so that the data is stored in the cloud, not just on the device. After the first version of the app was out, I wanted to add new features. To do this, I made changes to the SwiftData model I had set up earlier. This required using VersionedSchema and SchemaMigrationPlan. Everything worked fine during my testing, so I released the new version. But soon after, users reported that the app was crashing. For an iOS developer, this is one of the worst things that can happen. I hadn’t caught the issue myself, but a friend helped me debug it, and we figured out what went wrong. The error users saw was: “Cannot use staged migration with an unknown model version.” After a few hours of investigation, I realized the issue happened because I hadn’t used VersionedSchema when I first set up SwiftData. This meant the initial model didn’t have a version. Later, when I made changes, I added the model to a versioned schema, created a new version, and implemented a migration plan. Since these changes were all part of a single build, SwiftData couldn’t migrate the model, which caused the app to crash. From what I found, this problem has been around for more than a year, and Apple hasn’t fixed it or mentioned it in their SwiftData documentation. Many examples online also use SwiftData without versioning the model, which makes this issue even more likely to happen. The proper way to handle my situation would have been to: 1. Put the model in a versioned schema. 2. Release a new app version so users switch to the versioned model. 3. Wait for users to update the app. 4. Create a migration plan with a new version. 5. Release another app version. This process takes time, and some users could still face crashes if they skip updates. Another option would be to create a completely new model within a versioned schema and migrate all data from the old model when the app opens. But that approach isn’t ideal, in my opinion. I think Apple should include this information in their documentation or at least show a warning in Xcode. It’s unlikely that any app will use the same model forever, so starting development with a versioned schema should be standard practice when using SwiftData. I hope this post helps you avoid the same issue I faced. ### How to retire early in Germany URL: https://mertbulan.com/how-to-retire-early-in-germany/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:34:40.000Z Last summer, I got a letter from German Pension Insurance about my pension. It had lots of details about what me and my employer paid in, how much pension I could expect, and when I could retire earliest. They even gave some guesses about my future pension based on different inflation rates. It was surprising to see that I could retire in 2061 when I’m 67. I do like my job, but I also like the thought of having the freedom to choose how I spend my time. If you weren’t born rich, you either wait till 67 to retire or make a plan to retire early. ## FIRE Movement The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement aims for financial independence and early retirement. You save money each month and invest it in low-cost, low-risk ETFs until you reach your goal. Then, you can retire early and live off your investments. It’s a straightforward idea. This movement isn’t about being cheap or not enjoying life until retirement. It’s about being smart with your spending, making a solid financial plan so you can retire early and do what you want. You don’t need to make a lot of money; it’s about how much you save and when and how you want to retire, as there are different ways to retire early in the FIRE movement. ## Steps to retire early Steps to retire early in the FIRE movement are quite straightforward. You aim to have 25 times your yearly expenses saved up. Once you reach this amount in your investment account, you can withdraw 4% annually to cover your living expenses without having to work. So, the first step is to know your yearly spending. ### 1\. Calculate your expenses You can use budgeting apps or simply create a spreadsheet like the one below: | Date | Store | Item | Amount | Category | | ---------- | ------------------ | ----------- | ------ | --------- | | 01/01/2018 | Landlord | Rent | 720€ | Rent | | 02/01/2018 | REWE | Groceries | 26€ | Groceries | | 03/01/2018 | Greenplanet Energy | Electricity | 37€ | Utilities | | 04/01/2018 | Apple | AirPods Pro | 200€ | Shopping | | … | … | … | … | … | Each weekend, add your transactions to the sheet. At the end of the month, create a table showing the sum of each category: | Category | Total | | --------- | ------ | | Rent | 720€ | | Groceries | 143€ | | Utilities | 120€ | | … | … | | Total | 1.600€ | Repeat this for 12 months, then create a final page for an overview: | Month | Total | Rent | Utilities | Groceries | Restaurant | … | | -------- | ------ | ---- | --------- | --------- | ---------- | - | | January | 1.600€ | 720€ | 120€ | 143€ | 100€ | … | | February | 1.800€ | 720€ | 120€ | 243€ | 200€ | … | | … | … | … | … | … | … | … | | December | 1.600€ | 720€ | 120€ | 143€ | 100€ | … | Lastly, create a table showing total and average spending for each category: | | Total | Rent | Utilities | Groceries | Restaurant | … | | ------- | ------- | ------ | --------- | --------- | ---------- | - | | Total | 17.000€ | 9.000€ | 1200€ | 2.400€ | 1.000€ | … | | Average | 1.500€ | 750€ | 100€ | 200€ | 84€ | … | This simple sheet gives a clear picture of your monthly spending. With this overview, you can identify areas to cut back and save. For instance, a friend realized he was spending too much on food delivery and limited themselves to 100€ per month. You can do the same. ### 2\. Create your emergency fund Setting up your emergency fund is crucial in the FIRE movement’s long-term planning. While early retirement might not happen overnight, with a good saving rate, you can definitely retire before hitting 67\. Since we’re in it for the long haul, we don’t want to dip into our investments for sudden expenses. That’s why an emergency fund is essential. Typically, the rule of thumb for this fund is around 3 to 6 times your monthly expenses. So, if you spend around 1.500€ monthly, having 9.000€ stashed away is a wise move. In Germany, there’s a bit more safety net compared to other places like the US, thanks to unemployment insurance. If you unexpectedly lose your job, you can rely on unemployment benefits for a year. But if that’s not enough to cover your expenses, you might dip into your emergency fund. When I first set up my emergency fund, I saved up 6 times my monthly expenses. Later on, I upped it to 12 times just for extra security. Once you’ve decided on the amount for your emergency fund, it’s smart to choose a savings account with a high-interest rate, so your fund doesn’t lose value against inflation. I personally recommend Trade Republic for this, as they offer 4% interest on savings. That’s where I keep my emergency fund. You can check it out [here](https://ref.trade.re/p3f0l650?ref=mertbulan.com). ### 3\. Calculate how much you need to retire early Calculating how much you need to retire early is pretty straightforward. Once you know your yearly expenses, you just multiply that by 25\. That gives you your FIRE goal. Once you hit that number, you’re ready to retire. After retiring, you withdraw 4% of your portfolio yearly to maintain your lifestyle without reducing your standard of living. Let’s say your monthly expenses are 1.500€, which means your yearly expenses (1.500€ x 12) are 18.000€. Multiply that by 25, and your FIRE goal would be 450.000€. The number might seem daunting, but by saving monthly and investing in your portfolio, you leverage compound interest. For instance, if you’re earning 40.000€ annually as a recent graduate at 24, your monthly take-home pay might be 2.200€ after taxes. If you save 700€ per month and invest it in a common ETF like the S&P 500, which yields 10% annually, by the time you’re 44, you’d have 481.000€ in your investment account. That means you could retire 23 years earlier than the pension system allows. As you progress in your career, you’ll likely earn more, allowing you to invest more and possibly retire even before turning 40\. However, life circumstances can change. Maybe you move to a city with higher living costs, or you start a family, altering your expenses. In such cases, you might need to recalculate. But understanding the main idea—managing spending, saving wisely, and maintaining your lifestyle—can help you retire much earlier than relying solely on the pension system. The key is to start early. That’s why I mentioned a 24-year-old example. Some parents even set up investment accounts for their newborns, depositing 100€ monthly. By the time the child turns 18, there could be 55.000€ in the account, thanks to compound interest. This money could fund education, buy a car, or even travel the world before university. It may sound unbelievable, but it underscores the power of compound interest. (Here’s a [compound interest calculator](https://www.investor.gov/financial-tools-calculators/calculators/compound-interest-calculator?ref=mertbulan.com) if you want to try a similar calculation.) ### 4\. Decide your portfolio Most folks I know who are into the FIRE Movement prefer investing in ETFs. An ETF is like a basket of stocks from various companies and sometimes countries. Common ETFs include All-World ETFs, Emerging Markets ETFs, and the S&P 500 ETF. These ETFs hold stocks from all over, including emerging markets like China, India, Taiwan, Brazil, or from the S&P 500 index in the US. Warren Buffet often suggests investing in the S&P 500, but many of my friends opt for a mix, like 70% All-World and 30% Emerging Markets, to diversify beyond just the US market. ETFs are generally less risky than crypto or individual stocks since they spread your investment across hundreds or thousands of stocks. However, if you choose more diversified ETFs, your returns may be lower. Your portfolio depends on your preferences. You can explore the “booglehead” approach, considering your age and risk tolerance to decide on your portfolio. Currently, my portfolio looks like this: - 60% Vanguard S&P 500 ETF - 20% Vanguard All-World ETF - 20% Apple stock My portfolio might seem a bit risky because both the S&P 500 and All-World ETFs include Apple. If something happens to Apple, my portfolio value could drop significantly. As I get older, I might sell my Apple stocks and invest more in All-World and Emerging Markets to balance my risk. Some folks find ETFs risky and prefer investing in bonds. The S&P 500 holds the largest portion of my portfolio because historically, it has returned around 10.5% annually. With data spanning a century, I feel secure in this investment, considering it has weathered wars and financial crises. That’s why I don’t advocate day-trading; instead, invest for at least 10-15 years and withdraw only a small percentage. Simplicity is key in portfolio design. If I were starting now, I might go for a combination of All-World ETFs and Emerging Markets. You can learn more about this topic on [boogleheads.org](https://www.bogleheads.org/wiki/Bogleheads%C2%AE%5Finvestment%5Fphilosophy?ref=mertbulan.com#Create%5Fa%5Fportfolio). ### 5\. Create an investment plan Once you’ve decided what to invest in, it’s time to create your investment plan. When I moved to Germany, there weren’t many neo-brokers with English support that offered affordable investing options. So, I opted for [DEGIRO](https://www.degiro.ie/member-get-member/start-trading?id=C926FF76&utm%5Fsource=mgm). Initially, investing in their core selection ETFs was free, but now it’s 1€ per transaction. The only drawback is you have to handle taxes yourself, but I’ve outlined the process in [a blog post](https://mertbulan.com/2020/11/05/how-to-invest-in-germany-via-degiro/). It’s as simple as entering your capital gains into one field on your tax form, but calculating taxes for ETFs that accumulate dividends can be a bit complex. If I were starting now, I’d likely choose [Trade Republic](https://ref.trade.re/p3f0l650?ref=mertbulan.com) because they handle taxes for you and provide an annual tax report for easy filing. Once you’ve chosen your broker, decide how you want to invest. For me, when my salary lands in my [N26](https://n26.com/r/mertb5609?ref=mertbulan.com) account, I keep what I need for the month and send the rest to my broker to buy S&P 500 ETFs. It’s that straightforward. This monthly investing method also employs [dollar-cost averaging](https://www.investopedia.com/terms/d/dollarcostaveraging.asp?ref=mertbulan.com), removing the need to time the market. Some friends invest quarterly or annually, but I recommend monthly investing to avoid extra money sitting in your bank account, tempting you to spend unnecessarily. ## What about taxes? Taxes in Germany can be hefty, with income tax reaching up to 42%. However, capital gains tax is comparatively lower, at 25% plus a 5.5% solidarity surcharge, resulting in an effective tax rate of 26.375%. If your ETFs include at least 50% stocks, like All-World or S&P500, then 30% of your capital gains are exempt from taxes (known as “Teilfreistellung”), bringing down your effective tax rate to 18.46%. Considering this, investing becomes more attractive for those living in Germany. Additionally, you don’t pay taxes on your first 1.000€ of capital gains each year. So, if your regular dividends total less than 1.000€, you won’t owe any capital income taxes for that year. Since tax calculations can be complex, I highly recommend using [Trade Republic](https://ref.trade.re/p3f0l650?ref=mertbulan.com) as they handle all tax matters for you. ## Which FIRE type fits me In this blog post, I’ve described the **leanFIRE** approach, where you continue working and investing until you reach a sum that covers your expenses. However, there are other types of FIRE that might suit your circumstances better. **fatFIRE:** Instead of aiming for just enough to cover expenses, you target higher amounts, ensuring a luxurious lifestyle where money worries are a thing of the past. This usually falls in the range of 3-5 million €, making it quite challenging to achieve. **baristaFIRE:** When you hit your financial goal, rather than retiring completely, you take up a job (like being a part-time barista) that covers your expenses and health insurance, allowing you to use your savings for personal pursuits. **avocadoFIRE:** If you have specific lifestyle desires, like indulging in avocado toast daily, this type of FIRE is for you. It’s akin to fatFIRE, but with a lower financial goal. For me, baristaFIRE seems ideal, especially initially. Working around 20 hours per week allows for social interaction, a sense of routine, and covers health insurance costs. I might opt for a role like a bike shop mechanic. Later on, if I feel the need for more freedom, I could transition to leanFIRE. The choice is personal. Some friends are aiming for fatFIRE to completely eliminate money concerns. Other options may leave you with lingering financial anxieties, despite having enough to cover expenses. With fatFIRE, you’re prepared for any unforeseen changes or challenges that life may throw your way. ## What’s next? I hope this blog post has provided you with a basic understanding of the FIRE movement and how to get started. My aim isn’t to offer financial advice, especially regarding taxes, but rather to offer a path that could lead to early retirement. In the US, you can invest your pension savings into the ETFs mentioned in this post, potentially growing your retirement funds substantially. Christian Lindner, Germany’s Finance Minister, recently discussed introducing a similar system in Germany called [Generationenkapital](https://www.deutschlandfunk.de/-rente-altersvorsorge-aktienrente-christian-lindner-fdp-risiken-kritik-100.html?ref=mertbulan.com) to shore up the struggling pension system. I’m hopeful that the government will manage to pass the necessary laws to implement this system, easing financial worries for retirees at 67. One final note, if you want to calculate your leanFIRE goal on your iPhone, I’ve developed a free app called [FIREcalc](https://mertbulan.com/work/firecalc). It allows you to easily determine when you can retire based on your savings. Alternatively, you can use [this website](https://networthify.com/calculator/earlyretirement?income=50000&initialBalance=0&expenses=20000&annualPct=5&withdrawalRate=4&ref=mertbulan.com) for web-based calculations. Please note that some of the links I’ve shared here are affiliated. If you choose to use any of the services mentioned, I may earn a commission. ### How to bring back English as supported languages on App Store URL: https://mertbulan.com/how-to-bring-back-english-as-supported-languages-on-app-store/ Last updated: 2026-06-11T13:06:55.000Z I recently started using [String Catalogs](https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2023/10155?ref=mertbulan.com) in my macOS app, [Wunderbar](https://mertbulan.com/work/wunderbar). After adding the String Catalogs, I noticed that English was no longer listed as a supported language on the App Store. This was strange because English is the default language for my app and it should be listed as a supported language. After some research, I found out that the issue was caused by not marking the keys in the Strings Catalog file for English as reviewed. This wasn’t obvious to me because I didn’t see any warnings or errors in Xcode. After marking the keys as reviewed by right-clicking on the key and selecting “Mark as Reviewed”, English was listed as a supported language on the App Store. I hope this helps you too. ### How to handle dynamic text with String Catalogs URL: https://mertbulan.com/how-to-handle-dynamic-text-with-string-catalogs/ Last updated: 2026-06-11T13:48:07.000Z While developing my new app, [Wunderbar](https://mertbulan.com/work/wunderbar), I wanted to localize the app for German and Turkish. I already knew that I could just create a Strings file for each language and use keys for the texts in the app. But then I remembered that Apple introduced a new way of localizing apps called [String Catalogs](https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2023/10155?ref=mertbulan.com). I decided to give it a try. It is very easy to use String Catalogs, you just need to create a new Strings Catalog file in Xcode, add the languages you want to support on Project > Info > Localizations, and then build your app. Xcode will automatically generate the keys for each language you added. The rest is just adding the translations for each key. While testing my app, I realized that the texts that I used in Menu view were not listed in the Strings Catalog file because they were dynamicly generated from Enum values. First, I’ve tried to add the Enum values to the Strings Catalog file manually, but it didn’t work. Then after some research, I found out that I can use `LocalizedStringResource` function to handle dynamic text, and it worked like a charm. ```swift Menu { ForEach(Language.allCases) { lang in Button("\(LocalizedStringResource(stringLiteral: lang.rawValue.capitalized))") { doSomething() } } } ``` I hope this helps you too. ### How to test the same Rake task multiple times URL: https://mertbulan.com/how-to-test-the-same-rake-task-multiple-times/ Last updated: 2026-06-11T13:23:43.000Z A couple of weeks ago, I was working on a task that required me to create a rake task. The rake task was supposed to be run in two different ways, one without any arguments and the other with an argument. I wrote the rake task and it was time to write the tests. I wrote the test for the rake task without any arguments and it passed. I then wrote the test for the rake task with an argument and it failed. It failed in a way that the task was not being run at all. I was confused. After searching on the internet, I found out that the rake task was not being run because the task was already executed in the first test and it wasn’t possible to execute it again before reenabling the task. ```ruby after do Rake::Task['my_rake_task'].reenable end ``` This is how I was able to test the same rake task multiple times. I hope this helps you too. ### Dune: Part Two Review (Spoiler-Free) URL: https://mertbulan.com/dune-part-two-review-spoiler-free/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:08:44.000Z Although the first book was written in 1965, I discovered the Diner series in 2021 through the movie directed by Denis Villeneuve. I was captivated by the film’s atmosphere. The sounds, characters, locations, and costumes were fantastic. What stood out to me the most were the Sci-Fi elements like the ships, harvesters, stillsuit and omnichopters. This type of Sci-Fi resonated with me, unlike Star Wars. In Star Wars, Sci-Fi elements often overshadow the story, but in Dune, they are seamlessly woven into the characters’ lives, playing a central role without overpowering the narrative. Importantly, there are no computers depicted in the movie. # First Movie and First Book After watching the movie, I decided to delve into the books. The first book, Dune, proved to be much richer than its cinematic adaptation. Particularly in the last 50 pages, time seemed to slip away as I immersed myself in the story. Through the book, I gained a deeper understanding of the Dune universe. It’s not a simple tale of good versus evil; it’s far more intricate. Families and professions, rather than races, define the characters. Mentats, for instance, possess high computational abilities, serving as substitutes for computers. Then there’s the Bene Gesserit, holding religious authority, and the Spacing Guild aiding in interstellar navigation. These aren’t distinct races but specialized professions, with individuals trained or even bred for them. Another revelation was the significance of spice. Unlike mere currency or precious metals, it’s the lifeblood of the Dune universe. Difficult to obtain, it functions as a mind-expanding drug and enables interstellar travel. As my knowledge of the universe expanded, so did my appreciation for the series. I also discovered that the first movie only covered the initial part of the book, with the real action unfolding in its later sections. # Dune: Part Two After finishing the first book, I immediately delved into the second, and it became evident to me that adapting these books into movies is no easy feat. The intricate political maneuverings and extensive dialogue, akin to Game of Thrones, pose a challenge for adaptation. Denis Villeneuve’s decision to streamline the story was crucial for its success, as faithfully following the books might have resulted in a less engaging film. I watched the movie on March 1st, the day after its release in Germany. What stood out to me in the second movie was the exceptional sound design by Hans Zimmer. Experiencing it in a cinema with top-notch sound quality (Dolby Surround 7.1) was truly remarkable. Zimmer’s work deserves an Oscar, without a doubt. Another part of the movie I enjoyed were the intense battle scenes where the Fremen took down the harvesting machines. These scenes showed big machines, strategic fighting, and exciting explosions. I also liked the vast desert landscapes, with the constant threat of the worms adding to the tension. Timothée Chalamet’s performance was outstanding, particularly in his interactions with the Fremen. I vividly recall these scenes, with the entire cinema holding its breath. It’s worth noting that while some may perceive Paul Atreides as a typical hero akin to Luke Skywalker, in the Dune series, the focus lies on Arrakis, the desert planet, and the importance of spice. Austin Butler’s portrayal was also commendable, especially in the black and white scenes, which added another layer of intrigue to the movie. However, one aspect I found lacking was the depth of background information about the characters, families, and events. Having read the books, I could fill in the gaps, but I worry that those unfamiliar with the source material might struggle to fully grasp the story. Additionally, certain crucial elements from the book were omitted from the movie, which could have added depth to the narrative arc. Overall, I consider this movie one of the best I’ve seen in the last decade. I plan to purchase it on Apple TV and rewatch it multiple times, just as I did with the first movie. Even if you’re not a Sci-Fi enthusiast, I highly recommend giving it a watch in a cinema. My Score: **9/10** ### A comprehensive review of Apple Watch by a first-time user URL: https://mertbulan.com/a-comprehensive-review-of-apple-watch-by-first-time-user/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:08:33.000Z I had been considering the purchase of an Apple Watch for years, and this year, after starting to engage in regular sports activities, I finally bought one to keep myself motivated. However, I quickly realized that the Apple Watch is more than just a motivational tool. I purchased the 45mm Aluminum GPS version of the Apple Watch Series 9 in Starlight color with a matching Starlight Sport Loop band shortly after its release. Before delving into my experiences with the Apple Watch, I must mention that when placing this order, I felt no guilt regarding the environment. The Apple Watch and the band I chose were carbon neutral. At first glance, this may seem like just another marketing ploy to make a sale, but when you look into the details, you truly understand what it means and how important it is to consider the carbon neutrality of products you plan to buy in the future. # Carbon Neutral When considering the carbon footprint of a product, it’s essential to take into account various factors such as materials, process emissions, electricity for manufacturing, power needed for charging, and transportation. Acknowledging that it’s impossible to create a product without some carbon emissions, the focus lies on minimizing these emissions and finding ways to compensate for the remaining ones. Offsetting a product’s carbon emissions with carbon credits is the most straightforward approach to achieving carbon neutrality. For instance, the Apple Watch Series 9 paired with the Sport Loop produces 36,7kg of carbon emissions. Platforms like [Wren](https://www.wren.co/?ref=mertbulan.com) reveal that you can offset 1 ton of CO2 for as little as 23€. Therefore, offsetting the carbon footprint of the Apple Watch would require merely 0,84€. Given Apple’s premium pricing, it would be trivial for the company to incorporate a small portion of the product price to cover the carbon offset cost, enabling them to market it as carbon neutral. However, there are two important considerations. Firstly, many carbon offsetting projects lack the effectiveness they claim, partly explaining their low cost. This issue is detailed in John Oliver’s video on the subject. Secondly, carbon removal, albeit a more effective solution, is relatively new and more expensive, costing approximately 1,3€ per kg, as indicated on [the Climeworks website](https://climeworks.com/?ref=mertbulan.com). If Apple were to neutralize the emissions of the Apple Watch through carbon removal, it could cost them roughly 48€ per unit. Selling 50 million watches annually, the total cost of extracting carbon from the atmosphere could amount to 2,4 billion € each year, a staggering sum from a business standpoint. Apple seems to have chosen the more challenging but economically sensible route: reducing the carbon footprint of their products and offsetting the remainder with high-quality projects instead of relying solely on commonly used but potentially unreliable carbon offsets. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/carbon-neutral.png) The process that led to reducing the Apple Watch’s carbon footprint from 36,7kg to 8,1kg is outlined in [a detailed PDF document.](https://www.apple.com/environment/pdf/products/watch/Carbon%5FNeutral%5FApple%5FWatch%5FSeries%5F9%5FPER%5FSept2023.pdf?ref=mertbulan.com) Nevertheless, I’d like to highlight some key methods Apple employed to achieve a 78% reduction in the Apple Watch’s emissions: - Utilizing renewable electricity during manufacturing and for the projected lifetime charging of the device (Apple considers a three-year lifespan in its estimates). - Preferring more eco-friendly transportation methods such as rail or sea freight over air cargo. - Implementing packaging with 100% fiber, including 47% recycled content. - Crafting the device with 100% recycled metals such as aluminum, copper, cobalt, tungsten, gold, and tin. After reducing its product’s carbon emissions substantially, Apple compensates for the remaining impact by purchasing carbon credits from internationally recognized and approved projects. The result is a carbon-neutral Apple Watch. As someone who strives to minimize product consumption, I was pleased to find that the first Apple Watch I consider purchasing has been designated as carbon neutral. # Rings My initial motivation for purchasing an Apple Watch was to stay active, so I’d like to begin by discussing the activity rings on the Apple Watch. These rings employ gamification to encourage activity, and they encompass three aspects: Move, Exercise, and Stand. When setting up your Apple Watch, you establish goals for these categories. My personal targets were 350 kcal for Move, 30 minutes for Exercise, and standing once every hour for 12 hours throughout the day. Initially, you’ll get a real sense of your daily activity levels. In my case, I wasn’t very active, so I altered my routine to include an hour’s walk around a nearby lake. This was sufficient to meet the Move and Exercise goals, but the Stand goal revealed how much time I spent sitting. Conveniently, the watch prompts you to stand if you’ve been sitting for nearly an hour, helping you earn the point for that hour. The watch also sends notifications to motivate you to complete your rings. However, I disabled these after a month since I didn’t find it practical to go for walks during work hours. When you do complete a ring, you receive a satisfying notification with an animation, and there’s another when all rings are closed. This gamification effectively keeps me active, and reviewing the past month’s data showed that I almost always achieved my daily goals. Sometimes, I miss closing the Stand ring because I dismiss the notification to continue working on tasks that are engrossing. Another advantage of the activity rings is that the goals adjust over time based on your performance. My initial Move goal was 350 kcal, which the Apple Watch increased to 375 kcal after noticing my consistent completion, and later to 410 kcal. Consequently, a short walk around the lake no longer sufficed, leading me to either do multiple laps or opt for a stroll in a large park, like the Standpark, to hit my target. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/rings-history.jpeg) I must admit that the activity rings are quite effective at motivating behavior changes—I found myself engaging in activities like walking or running in the park at 8 PM, despite the darkness and cold. Particularly in Hamburg during winter, when sunset is around 4 PM, the desire to exercise outdoors post-sunset requires substantial motivation. The rings remind me when my calorie burn is low, or I haven’t met my Exercise goal, prompting me to gear up and step out. It’s been a fabulous experience, which included seeing my regular daytime park in a new light, quiet and illuminated by the moon, shared only with a few other runners and walkers. ## Awards The activity rings aren’t the only feature motivating you to stay active; the Activity app also includes an achievement system that rewards you for reaching certain goals. For example, if you close your Exercise ring every day for a week, you receive the “Perfect Week (Exercise)” award. Closing all your rings every day for a week earns you the “Perfect Week (All Activity)” award. There’s even a “Perfect Month” award, which you can earn by closing your daily Move goal every day for an entire month. Additional awards are available for doubling or tripling your Move goal and for setting new personal records in Move and Exercise. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/awards.jpeg) For me, the most significant award is the “Perfect Week.” I strive to achieve it, but it’s challenging to close all your rings every week. Missing the Stand goal just once, like when I sat through a four-hour movie at the cinema without a break, means you forfeit your chance for the award. So far, I’ve managed to earn this award only seven times because I often forget to stand up enough throughout the day. ## Competition The Activity app’s social features are another great way Apple Watch keeps you motivated. Here, you can connect with friends who also have an Apple Watch, enabling you to view their goals, their daily progress, the types of exercises they perform, and you’ll even get notifications when they complete a workout. To be honest, I found the notifications a bit unnecessary and annoying, so I turned them off. However, I really appreciate being able to see how active my friends are, and they’ve shared similar sentiments. Some have even felt inspired by my activity levels and started to exercise more throughout the day. It’s a win-win for everyone. Another aspect of this social interaction is the ability to engage in competitions with friends. You can set up a 7-day challenge where you earn points by closing your rings. For each ring you close, you get 100 points, and you get an additional 100 points for doubling your goals. For instance, if your Exercise goal is 30 minutes and you exercise for 60 minutes, you earn a total of 200 points. You can earn 300 points for 90 minutes of exercise. Maximum daily points are 600, and at the end of the week, the person with the highest score wins the competition and receives an award. I’ve participated in this competition with my friends, and it was a blast. One friend had lower goals, so it was easier for him to max out at 600 points, whereas I had to work harder to avoid losing. Sometimes, I’d find myself walking around my neighborhood at 11 PM to gain those last points. In the end, we both hit the maximum for the week, resulting in a tie. Strangely, Apple Watch doesn’t acknowledge draws; it just awarded me for winning against my friend. However, he received the same award, which felt a bit odd. # Workouts The Apple Watch comes with an app called Workouts, which is designed to help track various exercises and provide specific information related to each workout. I’ve used it for several activities: Outdoor Walk, Hiking, Climbing, Outdoor Run, and Open Water Swim. My main mode of transportation is my bicycle, but for tracking my biking, I prefer to use the official app of my bike, [Cowboy](https://cowboy.com/?ref=mertbulan.com). With Cowboy, starting my workout is automatic upon unlocking my bike, but the activity doesn’t seem to be recognized as a cycling workout by the Activity app because I haven’t received the “First Cycling Workout” award. Some workouts offer specialized data. However, I’ve noticed that there’s no distinct difference in the data displayed between Outdoor Walk and Hiking. Both show the same details: Workout Time, Distance, Active Kilocalories, Total Kilocalories, Elevation Gain, Average Pace, and Average Heart Rate. I appreciate the feature that includes a map of your route, which is particularly helpful after a hike when I’m curious about the exact paths we took since I usually just follow the group leader. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/workout.jpeg) For Outdoor Cycle, instead of Average Pace, the app displays Average Speed, but there doesn’t seem to be a map showing the route. I’m not sure if this is due to the workout itself or if the Cowboy app doesn’t share this data with the Activity app. When you use the Outdoor Run workout, you see additional metrics like Average Power and Average Cadence. The Health app further provides detailed information such as Running Speed, Ground Contact Time, Running Stride Length, and Vertical Oscillation. Although I’m not a professional runner or in training for a marathon, seeing this extra data is interesting, even if I’m not sure how it could be beneficial. Using Open Water Swim, strokes are tracked in the Health app. The Climbing workout doesn’t offer any special data apart from Workout Time, Active Kilocalories, Total Kilocalories, and Average Heart Rate. Other apps, like [Redpoint](https://redpoint-app.com/?ref=mertbulan.com), provide specific climbing metrics like the number of ascents, maximum ascent height, and ascending speed. As a boulderer, rather than a rock climber, this sort of data can be valuable, especially since it allows you to assign difficulty grades to each attempt. Overall, I expected Apple to provide more detailed data for specific workouts, but I’m fairly satisfied with what’s currently available. One aspect I find bothersome about the Hiking workout is that when I take breaks, I pause the workout and sometimes forget to resume it, leading to gaps in my tracking. It’s peculiar that the Apple Watch doesn’t detect when I’ve resumed hiking and suggest restarting the workout—especially since it can prompt you to start an Outdoor Walk if it notices you’re walking briskly. It seems detection is possible, but for some reason, it doesn’t work with the Hiking workout. # Health The Apple Watch comes equipped with numerous sensors that help you monitor your health, including an optical heart sensor, an electrical heart sensor, an accelerometer, and a gyroscope. With these sensors, Apple Watch can measure your heart rate and rhythm, your blood oxygen level, and even detect if you’ve fallen. For young and healthy individuals, the significance of these sensors may not be immediately apparent, but for those with heart or lung conditions, early detection of anomalies could be lifesaving. The sensors send notifications when irregularities are detected, but they also provide insights into how your heart and lungs function throughout the day, during sleep, or while exercising. The Health app displays a variety of data, including Heart Rate, Respiratory Rate, Blood Oxygen Level, Heart Rate Variability, Resting Heart Rate, Walking Heart Rate Average, Cardio Recovery, and Cardio Fitness. While these metrics might seem irrelevant for the healthy, they can be critical for those beginning to experience health issues, offering both patients and doctors valuable information for monitoring health. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/cardio-fitness.jpeg) Among these metrics, Cardio Fitness is particularly useful to me. It measures your VO2Max—the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during exercise—a reflection of your fitness level. Since my goal for purchasing an Apple Watch was to stay active, I periodically check my Cardio Fitness level to track improvements over time. The Apple Watch also has the capability to perform an ECG. By placing your finger on the Digital Crown, you can activate this feature. Although it’s incredibly useful, if you don’t have heart issues, you might never need to use it. ### Noise The Apple Watch features a noise notification to alert you when the noise level in your environment could potentially harm your health. I’ve experienced this firsthand at a loud bar, where I began to develop a headache. Initially, I didn’t attribute the headache to the noise level, but a notification from my Apple Watch prompted me to reconsider. Leaving the bar, my headache quickly dissipated. Surprisingly, you can receive noise notifications in situations you might not expect, such as while using a hand dryer. Public restrooms often have those powerful Dyson hand dryers, which are incredibly efficient but also quite loud. As a result, my Apple Watch frequently sends out a noise alert during use. I would think the Apple Watch could discern that the noise is coming from the hand dryer and skip the alert, particularly since it can detect when you’re washing your hands. It seems like a feasible adjustment to reduce false-positive notifications. ### Handwashing As I mentioned earlier, the Apple Watch can detect when you start washing your hands, which I believe is made possible using the microphone. I find this feature particularly useful since, after I began using the Apple Watch, I realized I was washing my hands for only 15 seconds, rather than the recommended 20 seconds. Once the Apple Watch senses that you’re washing your hands, it initiates a 20-second countdown. When the timer reaches zero, it provides haptic feedback, signaling that you can stop washing. This feature generally works well, although there are occasional misfires—such as the timer starting when I’m washing dishes. Also, there are times when I finish washing before the countdown ends, but as I dry my hands with a towel, the countdown continues. While this can be somewhat irritating occasionally, ultimately you can track your handwashing frequency and average duration in the Health app. # Sleep I can confidently say that one of the most seamlessly integrated features of the Apple Watch is its sleep tracking. It begins by you defining the time you go to bed, your desired wake-up time, and the number of hours you aim to sleep. Following that, the Apple Watch initiates a number of actions to help you achieve your sleep goals. Firstly, the Apple Watch sends you a notification reminding you to get ready for bed. During the sleep schedule setup, you also set your Wind Down time. For me, that’s 45 minutes. Since I aim to sleep at midnight, I receive a notification at 23:15 as a reminder that it’s time to wind down. Subsequently, your Apple Watch, as well as your other Apple devices, switch to Sleep Mode. In Sleep Mode, the Apple Watch displays only the time and your alarm on what is known as the Sleep Screen. To use your Apple Watch in this mode, you need to long-press the Digital Crown. The raise-to-wake feature is also disabled, so to see the time, you’ll need to tap the screen or press the Digital Crown – unless you’ve turned off the always-on screen feature. I disabled it because I found it too bright and distracting when trying to sleep. Unfortunately, there is no option to adjust the brightness of the always-on mode for sleep, so I keep it off entirely, even during the day. Another method for checking the time on the Apple Watch is by turning the Digital Crown. Doing this slightly increases the brightness so you can see the time without the backlight being too intrusive. Ideally, I would expect Apple to offer this same low level of brightness as an option for the always-on display in sleep mode. Aside from screen brightness, a couple of things about Sleep Mode bother me. Firstly, you can’t use Siri in Sleep Mode. This is inconvenient because I normally tell Siri “Good Night” to turn off my lights, but since the raise-to-wake feature is disabled, this voice command isn’t possible. The only other option is to long-press the Digital Crown. However, during Sleep Mode, the first long press activates the standard screen, requiring another press to access Siri. This feels like too much effort to use Siri. Fortunately, I can still use the “Siri, Good Night” command with my iPhone, which is on my nightstand, to turn off the lights. The second issue is that the raise-to-wake feature doesn’t work if you’re standing during Sleep Mode. This is bothersome, especially when waking up for a nighttime restroom visit and just wanting to check the time; you still need to tap the screen. Ideally, the Apple Watch would detect whether I’m lying down or standing and adjust the raise-to-wake feature accordingly. A third problem occurs when the alarm sounds. Despite [Apple’s advertisements](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XM7WIFREO4w&ref=mertbulan.com) claiming you can turn off the alarm without needing your other hand, this doesn’t work for me. When my alarm goes off, I see a black screen, so I can’t use the Double Tap feature to turn off the alarm. Instead, I have to use my other hand to wake the screen before pressing the button to silence the alarm. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/sleep.jpeg) The Apple Watch also monitors your sleep, allowing you to see the duration of your sleep and the time spent in different stages like REM, Core, and Deep sleep. I find this data beneficial to determine if I’m getting enough restorative sleep. Another associated feature is Wrist Temperature tracking. The Apple Watch doesn’t measure your exact wrist temperature; instead, it establishes a baseline over five days, and thereafter, you can monitor variations from that baseline. I’ve found the wrist temperature feature very helpful, particularly when I’m feeling somewhat ill but unsure if I’m truly getting sick. By checking the wrist temperature, I can confirm an increase that indicates illness. This has proven accurate for me, with my wrist temperature rising by 1.1°C when I felt sick, reaching its peak as my body fought off the illness, and then decreasing as I recovered. I would appreciate it if Apple could send a notification for any significant increase in wrist temperature, as I don’t check the Health app every morning. A prompt like, “Your wrist temperature has risen by 0.2°C, you might be getting sick” would be practical in preventing the spread of illness, allowing one to stay home or wear a mask to protect others. It’s worth noting that sleep tracking operates exclusively in Sleep Mode. If you happen to nap during the day, the Apple Watch won’t automatically record this. Lastly, when the alarm activates, the Apple Watch uses haptic feedback to wake you, enabling you to get up without disturbing your partner (as your iPhone remains silent). # Double Tap The Apple Watch Series 9 introduces the new Double Tap feature. You perform specific actions by tapping your index finger and thumb together twice. This feature is particularly helpful when your other hand is occupied and unable to interact with your Apple Watch. For instance, if you’re carrying something and receive a call, you can Double Tap to answer without having to free up a hand. While it’s a neat addition, so far I’ve mainly used it to dismiss notifications, such as stand-up reminders or updates from the Home app. The functionality also proves convenient when you’re wearing gloves, as it enables interaction without direct touch. However, I believe certain apps need to integrate support for this feature to make it more versatile. Take, for example, my usual routine where I say “Siri, I’m home” to activate a shortcut that opens the building’s door and unlocks my apartment door. When I engage the shortcut, the Shortcuts app or the building’s door app asks for confirmation and provides two choices: Cancel or Do. When I attempt to use the Double Tap, it mistakenly selects Cancel, which indicates that the feature doesn’t work as expected in this context. Hopefully, as time goes on, the Double Tap feature will expand in functionality and become more beneficial across various applications. # Wallet If you were to ask me about the coolest feature of the Apple Watch, I’d immediately point to the Wallet app. With Wallet, you can utilize the Tap to Pay functionality. Just double-press the button on the Apple Watch, then hold it near the point-of-sale terminal, and voilà – you’ve made a payment. It feels like magic. Before I owned an Apple Watch, I used my iPhone for payments, but it never seemed to impress anyone. However, with the Apple Watch, particularly if you pay at a bar, you might catch many impressed glances and even strike up a conversation with the bartender. I suspect the main reason for this attention is that using the Apple Watch for payments isn’t as common in Germany. Another Wallet feature I’m fond of is having tickets right on my wrist. Instead of pulling out your iPhone, you can simply double-tap the side button of your Apple Watch, select your ticket, and present the QR code at the cinema or museum entrance. I consistently do this when I go to the movies. Once, at a museum, the ticket clerk was so astonished by it that she burst out laughing and jokingly asked if I had come from the moon. She admitted she had never seen a ticket on a watch before. Moments like these are another reason I love using Wallet – it’s a great conversation starter. One aspect of this feature that I find slightly bothersome is when I’m using Apple Pay on my Mac to make a purchase, and I unexpectedly receive haptic feedback on my Apple Watch, even though I can authenticate the payment with Touch ID on my keyboard. I’m not certain why this occurs, but it can be quite disruptive. If my keyboard didn’t have Touch ID, then it would make perfect sense to confirm the payment via the Apple Watch. # Apps One of the most surprising things for me is how limited the app ecosystem is for the Apple Watch. I’ve browsed the App Store multiple times but have yet to find an app that fully leverages the device’s capabilities. While there’s no shortage of apps available, most are simply companions to their iPhone counterparts. As a result, they seldom offer new functionality; instead, they provide a scaled-down version of the iPhone app with restricted features. One app that I’ve found genuinely useful is [Authy](https://authy.com/?ref=mertbulan.com). I’ve been using Authy for two-factor authentication on my iPhone, and when I discovered they had an Apple Watch app, I decided to try it out. I ended up switching to the watch app entirely because it’s more convenient and doesn’t present the distractions that can come with using an iPhone. Aside from Authy, I primarily use the Apple Watch’s native apps like Workouts, Home, Weather, Activity, Timer, and Maps. The Maps app, in particular, is incredibly helpful when getting directions on foot. It allows me to walk without constantly checking my phone and sends haptic feedback to indicate when and where to turn. However, one app I’ve experienced issues with is the Apple Music app. It tends to be remarkably slow when searching for an artist or trying to play a song that isn’t already downloaded to my Apple Watch. I’m not certain if the scarcity of stellar Apple Watch apps is due to a lack of interest from developers or if Apple isn’t providing the necessary APIs to facilitate the creation of such apps. As I’m beginning to develop my own iOS apps, I plan to eventually delve into watchOS app development as well. Perhaps then I’ll find out the answer for myself. # Battery One of the primary reasons people hesitate to buy an Apple Watch is the battery life. It’s true that you generally need to charge your Apple Watch almost every day. Personally, I can confidently say that the battery lasts about one and a half days for me, and I don’t really mind charging it daily since it only takes around 45 minutes to fully charge the watch. If you incorporate this charging routine into your daily life, it becomes less of an inconvenience. For instance, I usually charge my Apple Watch while I’m taking a shower. If you wake up early, use the restroom, shower, and then get ready for work, your Apple Watch can be fully charged during that time. However, if you travel frequently, this might pose a problem since you’ll be out of your normal routine and you’ll also need to carry an additional charger. # Other cool things There are other cool features of the Apple Watch that I appreciate, such as unlocking your Mac with it. This is particularly handy if you’re using an external keyboard without Touch ID. Another feature I enjoy using occasionally is the ability to sleep the screen by simply resting your palm on it. When going to the movies, Theater Mode is also convenient; it keeps your screen dark when you raise your wrist and automatically enables silent mode. I also find the ability to answer calls on the Apple Watch useful when I’m on the move and need to have a quick conversation. It gives you the feeling of being in a sci-fi movie, much like using Siri without having to uncover your Apple Watch from under your jacket. However, there are features I don’t find particularly useful. For instance, the Night Stand mode isn’t of much use to me since I wear my Apple Watch while sleeping. Also, from time to time, when I try to access my passwords on my Mac, I receive a haptic alert on my Apple Watch to authorize the action, despite the fact that I can just use Touch ID on my keyboard. # Living without iPhone? While exploring how people use their Apple Watches online, I came across [a use case](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0FlXQblNGQ&ref=mertbulan.com) that I thought was worth mentioning. It seems that some have opted for the cellular model of the Apple Watch, allowing them to leave their iPhones behind when they step outside. I find this concept particularly appealing because, like many, I prefer not to carry my iPhone when I go for a run. However, there’s a downside in Germany—if you want to use the cellular functionality of your Apple Watch, you’re required to purchase an additional data plan instead of using the existing plan from your phone. Deutsche Telekom’s smartwatch data plans start at 4,95€ per month for 500MB, with speeds capped at 128 Kbit/s for both downloads and uploads. If you’re after faster data, a speed of 1 Mbit/s will set you back 24,95€ per month, and that comes with a 1GB data limit. I find these prices and speed restrictions unreasonable, which is why I decided against buying the cellular version of the Apple Watch. While writing this blog post, I also checked out Vodafone’s offerings and discovered their OneNumber service. This allows you to share your existing data plan across up to 9 devices using eSIM technology for an additional 5€ per month. This offer seems much more attractive and cost-effective. Had I been aware of this service, I might have considered purchasing the cellular version of the Apple Watch. # Watch Faces When it comes to customizing the face of your Apple Watch, there are numerous choices available. You can select from different styles, and further personalize them by altering the dominant color of the face or changing the complications to display the information you wish to see. Unfortunately, while you can add a third-party band to your Apple Watch, there is no option for third-party faces; you are confined to the designs offered by Apple. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/watch-face.png) Out of all the available designs, I chose the Modular Duo because I wanted a face that offers substantial functionality. At the top, I can see the temperature, the date, and the time. Tapping on the date brings up the Calendar app. In the middle, there is a display of my Activity Rings progress. At the bottom, I have the precipitation forecast for the upcoming hours, a shortcut to the Workout app for quick access to starting exercises, and the Home app to swiftly manage my smart home setup. I’m keen on customizing my Apple Watch face as much as possible. There were other faces I really liked and wanted to use, but they lacked certain functionalities, such as not showing the date, and it wasn’t possible to add that data to those faces. This led me to decide against using them. Additionally, I believe Apple should eventually permit developers to create their own Apple Watch Faces. That would open up a realm of new and inventive designs. # Bands One aspect of the Apple Watch that I appreciate is the compatibility of the bands across different models. No matter which version of the watch you have, the bands remain interchangeable. This is quite different from Apple’s approach to iPhone cases, where a new iPhone model often means your old cases won’t fit. Therefore, the ability to use the Apple Watch band you bought five years ago with the latest Apple Watch model is truly impressive. There’s [a wide selection of bands](https://www.apple.com/shop/watch/bands?ref=mertbulan.com) available for the Apple Watch. I mostly use the Sport Loop that I purchased with my watch. It’s extremely comfortable, especially compared to the Sport Band. Additionally, I bought an Ocean Band for swimming, as the Sport Loop tends to stay wet after being submerged. One downside to the bands is the price—they can be quite costly. I would love to buy the Braided Solo Loop because it looks fantastic, but shelling out 99€ for a band doesn’t seem justifiable, particularly when I already own three bands. The only way I can rationalize such a purchase is if I plan to wear the Apple Watch for years, and if Apple doesn’t alter the strap design on future models, allowing me to continue using the same band. Of course, there are numerous third-party bands that come at a lower price than Apple’s offerings. However, the uncertainty around the materials used and whether they have been tested against elements like sweat makes me hesitant. Wearing something untested for almost the entire day isn’t something I’m comfortable with. # Is it worth the price? I’ve been using my Apple Watch for over three months now, and I can confidently say that I’m pleased with my purchase. The Apple Watch has significantly changed my lifestyle by motivating me to be more active. As someone who spends most of his day sitting at a desk, I’ve started to dedicate at least 30 minutes each day to exercise, burn a minimum of 400 kcal, and stand up 12 times. I’m committed to closing my rings every day and aim to continue doing so throughout 2024. Regarding price-to-performance ratio, I feel the Apple Watch Series 9 is priced higher than what it offers, and for many people, the Apple Watch SE may be sufficient. Comparing the two, I notice these differences: - 44mm vs 45mm case - Brightness of up to 1000 nits vs 2000 nits - Always-On Retina display feature - S8 chip vs S9 chip - Blood Oxygen app - ECG app - Temperature sensing capability - Double-tap gesture recognition The key difference for me is the blood oxygen sensor, and I believe that the temperature sensing feature may also utilize this sensor. I could potentially forego the other features to save 170€ on the Apple Watch SE, but the blood oxygen sensor provides insights into areas such as Cardio Fitness level, which interests me. Therefore, I am satisfied with my choice of the Apple Watch Series 9. One last point I’d like to discuss in this review is the concept of insurance. Becoming more active can reduce the likelihood of future health issues, which, in turn, means lower costs for your health insurance company. For this reason, I believe insurance companies should offer discounts on Apple Watches or other smartwatches. Some insurance companies in the US already provide free Apple Watches to their clients. My insurer in Germany, Techniker Krankenkasse (TK), [incentivizes an active lifestyle](https://www.tk.de/techniker/gesundheit-und-medizin/praevention-und-frueherkennung/tk-bonusprogramm-2024580?ref=mertbulan.com). Through their app, TK-Fit, you allow TK to track your steps and cycling distance. For 12 weeks, you aim for 60.000 steps or cycling 40 km a week, or a combination of both. After completing the challenge, you earn 1.000 points and receive vouchers from Garmin or Urban Sports Club. Points can be turned into 10€ cash or 20€ TK health dividend, which can be put towards fitness trackers like an Apple Watch. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/tk-fit.jpeg) You can take the 12-week challenge up to 2 times a year, accumulating up to 40€ in dividends. There are other ways to earn points, such as participating in sports events, taking health courses, or having check-ups. In total, you can earn up to 400€ in health dividends, potentially covering the cost of a new Apple Watch. I hope more insurance companies will adopt similar programs to encourage physical activity. However, I wish they would provide greater rewards for maintaining an active lifestyle compared to TK’s offering (60,000 steps a week for 12 weeks for just 20€ seems a bit low, in my opinion). ### Watt's the Secret? Cutting My Electricity Costs by 30% URL: https://mertbulan.com/how-did-i-cut-my-electricity-cost-by-30-percent/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:33:22.000Z Since my move to Germany, I’ve been using green energy from Greenpeace Energy, which later became [Green Planet Energy](https://green-planet-energy.de/?ref=mertbulan.com). I knew I was paying more than the average due to this choice, but I didn’t anticipate the annual price increases. Germany boasts one of the world’s highest electricity prices, which escalated further after the Russian-Ukraine war. Even as a green energy user, I was affected because of the complex electricity market structure, and my bills continued to climb. When I reviewed my past electricity consumption and payments to Greenpeace Energy, I created this table: | Year | Consumption per Month | Price per kWh | Base Price | Monthly Bill | | ------------------- | --------------------- | ------------- | ---------- | ------------ | | 2019 | 102 kWh | 28,50 ct/kWh | 8,90€ | 37,92€ | | 2020 | 100 kWh | 29,42 ct/kWh | 8,79€ | 38,22€ | | 2021 | 121 kWh | 29,80 ct/kWh | 8,90€ | 45,03€ | | 2022 | 115 kWh | 28,68 ct/kWh | 8,90€ | 43,48€ | | 2023 (until August) | 100 kWh | 40,90 ct/kWh | 13,90€ | 53,51€ | As you can see, my electricity bills increased over the years in line with my consumption. The main reason for the rise in consumption was my shift to working from home and cooking at home. My work setup, which includes a MacBook Pro and two monitors, consumes about 70 Wh. I work for approximately 8 hours a day, resulting in roughly 0,56 kWh per day, or 11 kWh per month. After the war, [the German government ensured](https://www.bundesregierung.de/breg-en/news/relief-package-2027038?ref=mertbulan.com) that electricity prices for private consumers wouldn’t increase dramatically in 2022 by reducing some taxes. Consequently, I paid less per kWh, and I also began reducing my electricity consumption. I even stopped baking Neapolitan pizza at home by avoiding preheating the oven for 45 minutes at 245°C beforehand. 🥲 However, when the high inflation rate hit the entire country, my electricity provider sent me a new contract that shocked me. I was facing a monthly bill of 56€, compared to 37€ in 2019\. This represented a 51% increase in my electricity costs, prompting me to explore alternatives. In Germany, there’s a significant movement known as Balkonkraftwerk. It involves people buying solar panels and placing them on their balconies, with the German government offering subsidies for this initiative. I considered this option but didn’t have a balcony. That’s when a friend introduced me to a company called Tibber. Tibber is an electricity provider that offers dynamic pricing. To access this, you need to purchase a device that connects to your electricity meter and the internet, allowing real-time tracking of your electricity usage. (You can also change your electricity meter to the smary one, but that might take months) Their app also provides real-time usage information. Given that they use green energy, I decided to give it a try. I ordered the device and switched my electricity provider to Tibber. After a month, in September, I was pleasantly surprised to see my electricity bill decrease significantly to 38€, which amounted to a 30% reduction. The breakdown for September is as follows: | Month | Consumption per Month | Price per kWh | Base Price | Monthly Bill | | --------- | --------------------- | ------------- | ---------- | ------------ | | September | 82 kWh | 30,97 ct/kWh | 12,02€ | 37,54€ | Of course, multiple factors contributed to my reduced electricity bills, which I’ll detail below. ## Utilizing the real-time electricity usage data Installing Tibber Plus on my electricity meter enabled me to monitor my electricity usage in real time. This was a significant improvement over waiting for a bill from my electricity provider to find out how much I’d used. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/2-1.png) With real-time data at my fingertips, I began identifying devices that were consuming electricity unnecessarily. By walking around my apartment, I unplugged devices I wasn’t actively using, such as my air purifier, gaming PC, and certain kitchen appliances. Each time I unplugged a device, I observed a decrease in the real-time chart on the app. To gain more insights, I used another device that allowed me to measure the real-time usage of specific appliances. This helped me understand how much electricity each device consumed. In total, I managed to reduce my idle electricity usage to around 25 W. It’s important to note that this figure doesn’t include the electricity used by my fridge, which turns on for about 10 minutes every hour and consumes approximately 100 W. The 25 W figure includes the electricity usage of my router, my Apple TV in idle mode (as I use it as my smart home hub), and all other devices (like smart plugs, etc.) that are plugged in but not actively in use. You might wonder if saving 10W by unplugging a device is worth the effort. However, it’s essential to consider that the device consumes electricity 24/7\. By reducing your idle electricity usage by 10W, you can save 7.2 kWh per month. If you’re paying 30 ct/kWh, this translates to a monthly savings of 2,16€. ## Changing my daily routines Every day at 1:30 PM, Tibber shares the hourly electricity prices for the following day. Armed with real-time electricity usage data, I knew which devices were consuming how much electricity. For instance, I realized that using my electric water heater during a time of lower electricity prices was more cost-effective. Similarly, I adjusted my cooking schedule to align with times of lower electricity prices. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/3-1.png) I shifted my shower time to midday, avoiding the evening when electricity prices were higher. Given my work-from-home situation, I started cooking lunch at home, which coincided with lower electricity prices. I also planned my laundry and e-bike charging for specific days; charging the battery of my e-bike on Sunday, doing my laundry on Saturday, because noise concerns during the quiet hours on Sunday in Germany. While it might seem like a bit of extra work to monitor electricity prices and adjust your activities accordingly, after a while, it became second nature. I no longer needed to check the electricity price because I knew when it was more economical to do my laundry, charge my e-bike, or take a shower. ## Conclusion In conclusion, as someone who enjoys optimizing processes, I found this journey quite satisfying. I gained valuable insights into my electricity usage and learned how to reduce it. Instead of leaving money on the table, it’s always better to save some money. If I had stuck with my previous electricity provider, I would have been paying more, even though the electricity cost them less. With Tibber, I benefit from dynamic electricity pricing. It’s worth noting that while electricity prices may rise again, Tibber caps the electricity price, providing a level of security. I don’t anticipate significant increases in electricity prices in the next few years and expect that the transition to green energy will ultimately lead to lower prices. If you’re living in Germany and are interested in trying Tibber, you can use my referral code, “27eodnye,” or follow [this link](https://invite.tibber.com/27eodnye?ref=mertbulan.com) to receive a 50€ discount on your Tibber Plus device. This way, you can pay 50€ instead of 100€. While it may seem like a substantial investment, you’ll recoup these savings in just a few months. While there may be other electricity providers that offer dynamic pricing, I can’t provide any insights on them since I haven’t explored those options. My main goal is to share my personal experience with Tibber and how it played a pivotal role in reducing my electricity bill by 30%. ### How to apply for permanent resident permit in Germany URL: https://mertbulan.com/how-to-apply-for-permanent-resident-permit-in-germany/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:06:07.000Z I received my permanent resident permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) last month, and since I have many friends and colleagues who are going to apply for the permanent resident permit (or the settlement permit) in Germany, I thought it would be helpful to write down the application process. I should mention that I had a Blue Card before, so the application process that I will explain here is mostly relevant to the people who have a Blue Card. ## Requirements If you have a Blue Card, you can apply for the permanent resident permit in Germany after 21 months with B1 level German or after 33 months with A1 level German. I applied after 33 months. There are a few important things here: first, during those 33 months period, you should have paid for your health insurance and pension. Otherwise, you can’t apply. You also have to finish your probation period at the company that you work. Let’s say you worked at the same company for 33 months, and then you decided to switch your company. At that point, you can’t apply for the settlement permit until you finish your probation period, and that’s probably around 6 months. Once you finish your probation period, you can apply for it. ## Appointment Nowadays, the immigration office in the big cities are super busy. If you want to get your settlement permit as soon as possible, I suggest you to try to make an appointment 6 months prior completing your 33 months in the country. When I made an appointment in January, they gave me a date in June. As far as I know, there is no online appointment service in both Hamburg and Berlin. You need to send an email or call to make an appointment but fortunately, for highly skilled professionals in both cities, there is a different immigration office. That makes the process faster comparing to the normal immigration offices. To make an appointment in Hamburg, you have to email `professionals@welcome.hamburg.de`. In Berlin, you need to contact with [LEA, Zum Business Immigration Service (BIS)](https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/326556/standort/327805/en/?ref=mertbulan.com). I don’t know the exact process after you make an appointment in Berlin, but in Hamburg, they send you a confirmation email that includes all the necessary information. They also ask you to upload all of your papers into their system one month before your appointment, so they can check your papers and inform you if there is something missing or wrong. ## Papers This is the most important part. It is time to collect your papers for your application. In my case, I was able to collect all the papers online. You can get the full list of the required paper from [here](https://www.hamburg.com/welcome/forms/12064828/checklist-application-settlement-permit-employees/?ref=mertbulan.com) for Hamburg and from [here](https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/326556/en/?ref=mertbulan.com) for Berlin. ### Health insurance I’m insured with Techniker Krankenkasse. I guess they are the most popular insurance company between the expats in Germany. You can simply visit [their website](https://www.tk.de/?ref=mertbulan.com) and login with your account details. Afterwards, you visit `Bescheinigungen` (Certificates) page and then click `Allgemeine Versicherungsbescheinigung herunterladen` (Download general insurance certificate) to download your insurance certificate as PDF. The certificate will include the start date of your insurance. Make sure that 33 months (or 21 months) passed from that date. (My certificate was in English.) > If you ask your doctor to write you a prescription via email, sometimes they might reply that they can’t do that without seeing your insurance card. At that point, you can simply attach your certificate to your mail to prove that you are still insured. ### Pension insurance This one is a little tricky. Normally, you visit [Deutsche Rentenversicherung](https://www.eservice-drv.de/SelfServiceWeb/?ref=mertbulan.com)’s website and request your pension payments history. Afterwards, they send you a letter. But, this is not the only way to get your pension history. There is an official app called [AusweisApp2](https://www.ausweisapp.bund.de/download?ref=mertbulan.com). With this app, you can access to many services from the state by using your ID card (in your case, with your Blue Card). After downloading the app, you can simply visit [this website](https://www.eservice-drv.de/OnlineDiensteWeb/init.do?npa=true&src=ausweisapp&ref=mertbulan.com) on your smartphone. If you are using this service, you will need to register (Erstmaliges Registrieren). After your registration is done, you can log in (Anmelden für registrierte Nutzer) on the same page. When you click the login button, the page will open AusweisApp2 app. The app will ask you to bring your Blue Card to the back top of your mobile device. Inside your card, there is an NFC chip and by putting your card in the back top of your mobile device, you read the data inside the chip. After scanning your card, the app will ask you a PIN number. This is the PIN number that you received when you applied for your Blue Card. After the authentication process, you can download your pension payment history. For my case, it was just a single page PDF file. There weren’t many things on the page. On top of the page, there were a few lines of text and a small section that shows how much I paid between some specific dates. ### Employment Letter This is a paper that you will need to get from your employer. On the paper that I received from my employer, there was my hiring date, job title, my employment type (full-time), how many hours per week I work and my yearly salary. The paper was in English. ### Proof of income If you are applying after 33 months, that means you already received two income tax certificates (Lohnsteuerbescheinigung) from your employer. That’s the paper that shows how much you earned in a specific year and how much taxes you paid. To cover the first 24 months, you will need those two papers. For the remaining nine months, you will need your payslips that you received from your employer. So in the end, you will probably have eleven papers to prove your income in the last 33 months. ### German language skills This one is a controversial topic. According to the law, you have to have sufficient German language skills to apply for the settlement permit. I already had a certificate to prove my A1 level German, but it wasn’t from a recognized institute like telc or Goethe. It was from a language school in Turkey. I didn’t have an issue during my application process, but when I was there, I had to speak in German. When they say that you need to have sufficient German skills, it means you have to have sufficient German to have a conversation with the person at the immigration office. If you’re able to have a brief conversation with the person there, you may not even need the certificate. I know a few people who got their permanent resident permit without a certificate, but they’re able to have a short conversation. At the end, it depends on the person that you are going to talk at the immigration office. If you want to be safe, I recommend you to get a certificate to prove your German level, since it is super hard to take an appointment. I believe that you will need a certificate from a recognized institute if you are applying after 21 months. ### Application form In Hamburg, when you are applying for the settlement permit, you need to fill in a form. You can download the form on [the website of Welcome Center](https://www.hamburg.com/welcome/forms/12064828/checklist-application-settlement-permit-employees/?ref=mertbulan.com). In Berlin, [seems like](https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/326556/en/?ref=mertbulan.com) you don’t need to fill in a form. ### Rent contract This is the contract between you and your landlord. Information like the size of your flat and how much you pay each month are needed. ### Proof of main address This wasn’t required in Hamburg, but [seems like](https://service.berlin.de/dienstleistung/326556/en/?ref=mertbulan.com) in Berlin, you need to bring your certificate of registration at the main residence (Meldebestätigung). This is the paper that you received when you registered your address. ## Other details As you can guess, you will need your passport, your Blue Card along with the Zusatzblatt (your working permit, the green paper) and 1 biometric photo. You will also need to pay 113€ for your application. (If you are a Turkish citizen, you pay 37€). It is better to bring the money in cash to be safe. In the most of the government offices, they don’t accept credit cards. I should also mention that after the application, I got all my papers back. Please check the website of your state before your application, the things that I mentioned here might be changed. Good luck with your application! ### One Bag Traveling with Aer Travel Pack 2 Small URL: https://mertbulan.com/one-bag-traveling-with-aer-travel-pack-2-small/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:34:52.000Z A few weeks ago, I traveled from Hamburg to Barcelona, and during my trip, I used only one bag. I’d like to share the details of my experience in this blog post. ### The Problem I will be honest with you. I don’t like traveling a lot. The reason is that most of the time, traveling wastes too much time and energy. Let me tell you how a simple traveling experience looks from my side. First, I need to know how many nights I will stay. Based on that, I can predict (with high confidence) which items I should choose for my trip. Based on that, I can also pick the bag that I want to carry with me. (Some people take the bag and try to fill that bag.) Afterward, I prepare my bag based on the weather of the city that I live in and also the city that I am going to visit. You can see that I already spent so much time and energy before my trip. Then, the part that I don’t like begins. I leave home 1-2 hours before my flight. I arrive at the airport and go to the check-in desk, wait in the queue and leave my baggage. Then, I go to the security check, wait in the queue, take out my computer from my backpack. Then, I wait for the onboarding time. After that, I wait in the queue for the onboarding. When I enter the plane, I wait for people to put their backpacks in the luggage place. I put on my backpack when I reach my seat and wait for the takeoff. After the plane is landed, I wait for people to take their backpacks from the luggage part. Then, I get my backpack and leave the plane. After that, I wait for my baggage from the moving band. When I get my baggage, I leave the airport. As you can see, it is a horrible experience and nobody is trying to fix it. You can spend 5-6 hours for just 2 hours trip. Because of that, people are trying to find a solution to make this experience more enjoyable and efficient. One Bag Traveling is the result of that exploration. ### The Solution When I decided to travel to Barcelone for work-related reasons, I wanted to try the One Bag Traveling experience. With that, I had put the first constraint: there was going to be only one bag for everything that I need. That helped me to spend less time deciding what I should take with me because the answer to that question was obvious. Since I was going to stay for 4 nights, I was going to need 4 underwear, 4 socks, 4 sweatshirts. Since the purpose of the trip was work-related, I was going to need to carry my MacBook Pro as well. Then, I was going to need a set of pajamas and extra socks for my sleep. Besides the things that I wear, I will need my toothbrush, toothpaste, and roll-on. All of these things were a must-have. Then, some things were not must-haves but I was going to need them. The first thing was an extra pair of pants because something might go wrong with the pants that I wear during the trip. The second thing was that I always wear a sweatshirt with a t-shirt under it. (With this way, if I sweat, the t-shirt absorbs the sweat and the sweatshirt stays clean so I wouldn’t need to wash the sweatshirt multiple times and I can increase the lifetime of the sweatshirt) Then, since I am going to carry my MacBook Pro and my iPhone, I will need a charger. Since Apple switched to USB-C, I wouldn’t need to carry two chargers. Besides the other necessary things, just for this trip, I bought a few extra items. The first thing was Apple Magsafe Battery Pack. I have an iPhone 13 mini and I thought that the battery might be a problem. Since I didn’t want to have a phone with no battery while traveling in a country I don’t know, I didn’t want to take a risk. The second thing was an AirTag. Since I was going to put everything into one bag, I wanted to make sure that if that bag gets lost, I want to find it as soon as possible. Besides those items, I needed to carry a few COVID Antigen tests (and FFP2 masks) if I feel any symptoms. Also, I heard that pickpocketing is very common in Barcelona, so I bought two small locks to lock the two sections of my bag. After deciding the things that I wanted to carry, it was time to find the right backpack for this trip. One of my friends suggested me [Pack Hacker](https://packhacker.com/travel-gear/category/bags-and-luggage/travel-backpacks/?ref=mertbulan.com) website. On the website, I could check the backpack reviews and compare them. After spending hours of reading articles and watching review videos, I decided to buy Aer’s Travel Pack 2 Small. ### Aer Travel Pack 2 Small There were a lot of reasons why I wanted to buy Aer’s Travel Pack 2 Small: - The size of the backpack is perfect for the carry-on limits of the airlines (This is probably the most important thing that you should check!) - There is a separate section for a notebook - The notebook section has a false bottom (if I drop the bag, nothing will happen to my MacBook Pro) - You can open the biggest section completely (makes it very easy to put your items) - There is a separate section for your passport on the top - You can lock the zippers easily - There is a place to hold a bottle on the side These reasons help me to decide to buy the backpack but there was one problem. Aer ships the backpack from the US. So, that means I was going to pay customs fees and value-added tax besides the backpack’s price. In the beginning, I was okay with spending 200€ for a high-quality backpack because probably I am going to use that backpack for years. Now, I was going to spend more than that and I didn’t know how much exactly. I sent an email to Aer and they told me that they also don’t know the exact custom fees but they were super kind to tell me that I should wait for Black Friday because they were going to make a 20% discount on the price so I could save money from there to pay the customs fee. After receiving that email, I was sure that I made the right choice. I waited for Black Friday and ordered the backpack. In total paid 185$ (165€) for the backpack including 25$ shipping cost. When the backpack arrived in Germany, I paid 63€ for custom fees including UPS’s 12€ brokerage charge. So in total, the backpack cost me 228€. Not bad. When I received my backpack, I had two initial reactions: the quality of the backpack was super good, the backpack was smaller than I expected. In the beginning, I was scared a little bit that I was not going to be able to fit all the items that I wanted to carry into the backpack. Then, I thought that with the help of packing cubes, I can fit them easily. After ordering the backpack, I also ordered a few packing cubes: [Peak Design](https://www.peakdesign.com/?ref=mertbulan.com)’s Medium and Small Packing Cube and [Osprey](https://www.osprey.com/?ref=mertbulan.com)’s Ultralight Packing Cube Set. I also ordered [Mammut](https://www.mammut.com/?ref=mertbulan.com)’s Travel Washbag to put my toiletry items. ![The items in my backpack](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/items-in-my-backpack.jpeg) In the end, the items that I wanted to carry with me looked like this: - Peak Design’s Medium Packing Cube: 4 Sweatshirts - Peak Design’s Small Packing Cube: 5 socks, 4 underwear, 1 set of pajama - Osprey’s Big Packing Cube: 4 T-shirts - Mammut’s Washbag: 1 toothbrush, 1 toothpaste, 1 roll-on, a bunch of cotton swabs - MacBook Pro 16” with its charger - AirTag - Apple MagSafe Batterpack - iPhone Charging Cable - Kindle Paperwhite - Passport - Two packs of COVID Test Kit - AirPods Pro (not on the picture) - 5 FFP2 Masks (not on the picture) When I put everything into the backpack, it is weighted 9.4kg which is below the carry-on limit of 10kg. (2kg of the weight comes from the MacBook Pro. I guess I will never buy a MacBook Pro that is bigger than 14” in the future.) I put the packing cubes and the washbag into the biggest section of the backpack, the MacBook Pro into the seperate section for notebooks, the passport into the small poket on the top, FFP2 Masks into the front pocket to access them easily and the rest of the things into the front section of the backpack. I locked the notebook and the front section since they contain the valuable items. I would like to mention that Peak Design’s packing cube has exceeded my expectations. The quality of the fabric they used and the functionality of the cube (you can increase the height of the cube with a zipper, there is another section for dirty clothes) was good. While buying it, I had some questions because it was really expensive compared to Osprey’s packing cube set but after using it, I can easily say that the price is worth it. On the other hand, Osprey’s cube was also good but the fabric wasn’t good enough and I wasn’t able to open the cube completely as I can do it with the Peak Design’s cube. When it comes to the backpack, I loved it! You can see that the designers of the backpack thought about almost every detail. For example, after you adjust the cords of the backpack to feel comfortable while carrying it, normally you see the cords hanging there but Aer’s designers put a small thing that keeps those stripes close to the shoulder strap so no cords hanging around the backpack while you are carrying it. ### Final Thoughts In the beginning, the backpack was really heavy but after a few minutes of walking, I get used to it. The backpack didn’t just improve my packing experience but also reduced the time that I would normally spend at the airport: I checked in on my phone. When I arrived at the airport, I went to the security check directly. After landing, I exited the airport directly. Especially, if you think about the COVID situation, spending less time in indoor places is important. I believe that the backpack is ideal for one-week trips in winter. I believe that I can use the backpack for 2 weeks trips in summer since the summer clothes are not taking too much space as the winter clothes. After my experience, I can recommend both Aer Travel Pack 2 Small and Peak Design’s packing cubes. I already started to think about buying Aer’s City Pack to carry my MacBook Pro around the city because I am thinking about working from one of the co-working spaces in Hamburg in the coming months. ### Learning the history of Germany with Rammstein URL: https://mertbulan.com/learning-the-history-of-germany-with-rammstein/ Last updated: 2026-06-13T09:58:13.000Z One of the best ways to learn a new language is by listening to songs in that language. So I started with Du Hast by Rammstein. Besides the simple and understandable lyrics of the song, the song triggered me to jump into the rabbit hole of Rammstein. In this blog post, I am not going to talk about the German word for vagina (Die Scheide) and the verb for to separate (scheiden) that you see in the lyrics of the song and the beauty of the German language. Or [the wonderful concert show that the group performed in Paris](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5HAEzEk8QM&ref=mertbulan.com). I am going to talk about the group’s one of the newest songs: Deutschland. I am going to divide the post into two sections: Video Clip and Lyrics. Before keep reading the post, I suggest you watch [the video clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NeQM1c-XCDc&ref=mertbulan.com) first. Then once you watch the clip and read the post, watch the clip again. **Disclaimer:** The information that I am going to share here is a collection of the things that I read and watched about the song and the history of Germany. I will also share my own opinion about the song so please don’t read it like you are reading an academic paper. I linked many things like the Wikipedia page of the historical events so feel free to click and read them to get more information. # Video Clip ## Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (?) ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/1.png) The clip starts with showing Roman legions in [Germania Magna](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germania?ref=mertbulan.com#/media/File:Imperium%5FRomanum%5FGermania.png) in 16 A.D. If you know a little bit about German history, you might think that the event they are showing is about the [Battle of the Teutoburg Forest](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle%5Fof%5Fthe%5FTeutoburg%5FForest?ref=mertbulan.com). > The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest or The Varus Battle took place in the Teutoburg Forest in 9 CE, when an alliance of Germanic peoples ambushed and destroyed three Roman legions and their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius Varus. > Despite several successful campaigns and raids by the Romans in the years after the battle, they never again attempted to conquer the Germanic territories east of the Rhine, except for Germania Superior. It is not. It is somehow connected but the date doesn’t fit. The date, 16 A.D., is the time when a Roman general, [Germanicus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AD%5F16?ref=mertbulan.com#Roman%5FEmpire), had the revenge of that war and defeated [Arminius](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arminius?ref=mertbulan.com) who was commanding the Germanic Tribes against the Roman Empire during the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. So it is the [Battle of Idistaviso](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle%5Fof%5FIdistaviso?ref=mertbulan.com): > The Battle of Idistaviso, sometimes known as a first Battle of Minden or Battle of the Weser River, was fought in 16 AD between Roman legions commanded by Roman emperor Tiberius’ heir and adopted son Germanicus, and an alliance of Germanic peoples commanded by Arminius. The battle marked the end of a three-year series of campaigns by Germanicus in Germania. I believe that the group also thought about this detail and placed the date specifically there because the whole song is about a conflict that our protagonist is living. There is a victory but also a defeat. There is a new invention but it is used for killing people. There is richness but it is artifical. You will see this conflict more in the lyrics. #### More information If you want to learn more about Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, you can watch the mini tv series called [Barbarian](https://www.netflix.com/title/81024039?ref=mertbulan.com) on Netflix or you can visit [The Varus Battle Exbition](https://www.kalkriese-varusschlacht.de/en/museum/the-exhibition/?ref=mertbulan.com) in [Kalkrise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalkriese?ref=mertbulan.com) where the battle has occurred. You can also visit [The Hermannsdenkmal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermannsdenkmal?ref=mertbulan.com), the monument that was constructed between 1838 and 1875 to commemorate the Cherusci war chief Arminius. You find more information about the monument on [its official website.](https://www.hermannsdenkmal.de/?ref=mertbulan.com) ## Black Woman ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/2.png) In this scene, you see a black woman ([Ruby Commey](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ruby%5FCommey?ref=mertbulan.com), she is German) who is cutting a Roman legion’s (who is the lead vocalist of Rammstein, [Till Lindemann](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Till%5FLindemann?ref=mertbulan.com)) head. You will see her many times during the clip and you might think that she is representing someone but she is the personification of Germany, [Germania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germania%5F%28personification%29?ref=mertbulan.com). There is also a dog next to her that you will also see quite often during the video. ## Statues All the statues that you see at the beginning of the video are from the exhibition, [Unveiled. Berlin and its Monuments](https://www.zitadelle-berlin.de/en/museums/unveiled/?ref=mertbulan.com) at the Spandau Citadel. > The permanent exhibition “Unveiled. Berlin and its Monuments” opened in April 2016 in the former Provisions Depot. The cultural-historical exhibition shows political monuments that were once part of Berlin’s urban landscape but have been removed. If you are wondering like me, why some of [the statuses have broken noses](https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-egyptian-statues-broken-noses?ref=mertbulan.com): > “The damaged part of the body is no longer able to do its job,” Bleiberg explained. Without a nose, the statue-spirit ceases to breathe, so that the vandal is effectively “killing” it. ### The Monument to the Fallen Railwaymen ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/3.png) [The picture of the statue](https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/statue-called-the-monument-to-the-fallen-railwaymen-first-news-photo/526014082?ref=mertbulan.com) ### Unknown ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/4.png) ### Unknown ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/5.png) ### Unknown ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/6.png) ### Rochus zu Lynar (front), Unknown (behind) ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/7.png) > Rocco Guerrini (German - Rochus, Graf zu Lynar) was an Italian military engineer, most notable for his work on the Spandau Citadel, which was completed in 1594. [The picture of the statues](https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/statue-of-count-rochus-zu-lynar-by-martin-wolff-unveiled-in-news-photo/524874082?ref=mertbulan.com) #### Uknown ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/8.png) [The picture of the statues](https://www.alamy.de/stockfoto-statuen-auf-der-zitadelle-berlin-35233881.html?ref=mertbulan.com) ### Albert the Bear ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/9.png) > Albert the Bear (German: Albrecht der Bär; c. 1100 – 18 November 1170) was one of the most important Central German princes of his time and is considered the founder of the Mark Brandenburg and the Principality of Anhalt. [Picture of the statue](https://www.gettyimages.ca/detail/news-photo/statue-of-margrave-albrecht-the-bear-stands-on-display-at-news-photo/526014436?uiloc=thumbnail%5Fmore%5Ffrom%5Fthis%5Fevent%5Fadp&ref=mertbulan.com) ## Submarine ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/10.png) In the second scene, we see astronauts, a coffin, and a submarine. I will come back to the coffin and the astronauts later because we need to watch the clip more to understand the connections. So for now, let’s continue with the submarine (U-Boot). When I looked at [the most successful German submarines](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List%5Fof%5Fmost%5Fsuccessful%5FGerman%5FU-boats?ref=mertbulan.com) on Wikipedia, I found that the submarine that we see is similar to [Type VII](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type%5FVII%5Fsubmarine?ref=mertbulan.com) submarine. > The U-Boot-Klasse VII, officially called Type VII, was a series of submarines of the German Navy during World War II. Developed from the World War I constructions UF and UG and the experience with Type I and Type II, it was the most frequently produced submarine class in history; it also sunk more space in terms of ship tonnage than any other type. More than 700 units were put into service. Another 160 were planned, but their construction was canceled in favor of the technically superior Type XXI. > The Type VII was a single-hull ocean-going boat, the characteristic feature of which was the external fuel bunker, the so-called saddle tanks in the side bulges of the hull. In contrast to the Type IX deep-sea boats and the Type II coastal submarines, they were called “Atlantic boats”. They reached the greatest diving depth of all the boats built during the Second World War, which in practice went well beyond the shipyard’s guarantee. The boats had a high attack power and good performance characteristics with relatively small dimensions, while sacrificing quality of living. ## Chariot ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/11.png) In the next scene, we see Germania again. This time she is holding the Roman legion’s head that she cut in the beginning. This scene is referring to the [Quadriga on top of the Brandenburg Gate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg%5FGate?ref=mertbulan.com#/media/File:Quadriga%5Fauf%5FBrandenburger%5FTor%5Fin%5FBerlin.jpg) in Berlin. On the quadriga, you see Victoria, the Roman goddess of victory. The four men that are walking together with Germania are the horses that are carrying the chariot. Additionally, on the scene, you see concrete slabs and burning people on them. If you visit [Brandenburg Gate](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg%5FGate?ref=mertbulan.com) before, you probably know the place that is just a few hundred meters away: [Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memorial%5Fto%5Fthe%5FMurdered%5FJews%5Fof%5FEurope?ref=mertbulan.com). I think that’s the reason why Germania is not on a chariot but in a wheelchair. She is being injured when [the Nazis burned the Jews.](https://www.quora.com/Did-the-Nazis-really-burn-Jews?ref=mertbulan.com) ## Red Lasers The red laser that you saw and will see many times during the clip is there to connect the historical events, like the red thread ([Roter Faden](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roter%5FFaden?ref=mertbulan.com)) you see in many German cities to connect the historical places. So the tourists can just follow the red thread and see all the important points of the city. ## Golden Twenties ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/12.png) In the next scene, we see a fistfight between two persons from the working class and you see Germania again. This time she looks rich. The scene refers to the time that is called the [Golden Twenties](https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldene%5FZwanziger&ref=mertbulan.com) of [Weimar Republic](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weimar%5FRepublic?ref=mertbulan.com). > The Golden Twenties, also known as the Happy Twenties (German: Glückliche Zwanziger Jahre), is the decade of the 1920s in Germany. The era began with the end of World War I and ended with the Wall Street Crash of 1929\. The term illustrates the economic upswing in the 1920s in many industrialized countries and also stands for a heyday of German art, culture and science. > The high loans that Germany received from abroad, especially from the USA, were also involved in the upturn in the economy. You see the upper class that is watching the fistfight for amusement and the working class that is fighting for money. If you look at it carefully you can see them in different clothes in the crowd. It was also the time that boxing sport was rising in Germany. If you check the world champion German boxer [Max Schmeling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max%5FSchmeling?ref=mertbulan.com)’s career, you can see that he started boxing around the same time. ## Holy Roman Empire ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/13.png) In the next scene, we see Germania again but this time in golden armor and with a crown. The scene refers to [Holy Roman Empire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy%5FRoman%5FEmpire?ref=mertbulan.com) and Germania as [Holy Roman Emperor](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto%5FI,%5FHoly%5FRoman%5FEmperor?ref=mertbulan.com). > On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the earlier ancient Western Roman Empire in 476\. The title continued in the Carolingian family until 888 and from 896 to 899, after which it was contested by the rulers of Italy in a series of civil wars until the death of the last Italian claimant, Berengar I, in 924\. The title was revived again in 962 when Otto I, King of Germany, was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne and beginning a continuous existence of the empire for over eight centuries. Some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/14.png) Then we see Till killed by four swords. The number of swords might refer to two things. The first one is the number of kingdoms that formed the Holy Roman Empire: > The Holy Roman Empire became eventually composed of four kingdoms. The kingdoms were: - Kingdom of Germany (part of the empire since 962), - Kingdom of Italy (from 962 until 1648), - Kingdom of Bohemia (since 1002 as the Duchy of Bohemia and raised to a kingdom in 1198), - Kingdom of Burgundy (from 1032 to 1378). Or the emporer’s personal attendants: > According to Widukind of Corvey, Otto had the four other dukes of the kingdom (from the duchies of Franconia, Swabia, Bavaria and Lorraine) act as his personal attendants at the coronation banquet: Arnulf I of Bavaria as marshal (or stablemaster), Herman I, Duke of Swabia as cupbearer, Eberhard of Franconia as steward (or seneschal) and Gilbert of Lorraine as Chamberlain. By performing this traditional service, the dukes signaled cooperation with the new king, and clearly showed their submission to his reign. ## Airship ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/15.png) In the next scene, we see a burning airship. It is the German [Zeppelin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeppelin?ref=mertbulan.com) that is called Hindenburg and the scene refers to the [Hindenburg disaster](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindenburg%5Fdisaster?ref=mertbulan.com) that happened in New Jersey, the USA in 1937 and resulting in 36 deaths. ## German Democratic Republic ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/16.png) This is the time after World War II and Germany is divided into two parts: [West Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West%5FGermany?ref=mertbulan.com) that was formed by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France and on the other side [East Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East%5FGermany?ref=mertbulan.com) that was formed by the Soviet Union. [Socialist Unity Party of Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Socialist%5FUnity%5FParty%5Fof%5FGermany?ref=mertbulan.com) (SED) was the party that governs East Germany. We see our characters as the Politburo of the Central Committee: > The most important day-to-day work of the Central Committee was undertaken by the Politburo, a small circle of senior party officers, comprising between 15 and 25 members, along with approximately 10 (non-voting) candidate members. The politburo members included approximately ten Central Committee Secretaries. The General Secretary of the Central Committee also held the Chairmanship of the Politburo (along with all his other functions). The country’s government, formally headed by the Council of Ministers, was required only to implement the decisions of the politburo. This meant that the Council of Ministers was under the permanent control of the Party Committees, a structure that ensured the “leading role” of the SED. This status was spelled out expressly after the constitutional changes introduced in 1968, which defined East Germany as a “socialist state” led by “the working class and its Marxist-Leninist party.” The Chairman of the Council of Ministers and the president of the National legislature (“Volkskammer”) were also members of the politburo. and we see Till as [Erich Honecker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erich%5FHonecker?ref=mertbulan.com): > As party leader he worked closely with Moscow (which had a large army stationed in East Germany). He controlled the government of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) from 1971 until he was forced out in the weeks preceding the fall of the Berlin Wall in October 1989. and one of the group member as [Sigmund Jähn](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund%5FJahn?ref=mertbulan.com) in his cosmonot suite: > Sigmund Jähn was a German cosmonaut and pilot who in 1978 became the first German to fly into space as part of the Soviet Union’s Interkosmos programme. > During and after the flight, the socialist authorities of the GDR acclaimed him as “the first German in space”, emphasizing an East German victory over West Germany. We see Germania in the back this time in black clothes with a golden necklace and red Soviet logo on her hat. Black, yellow and red, the colors in the German flag. You can also see the bust of [Karl Marx](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl%5FMarx?ref=mertbulan.com) on the right. The meaning of putting this bust here is important because most people might expect it to be in Walhalla. Let me explain. We need to start with [Vallhalla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valhalla?ref=mertbulan.com): > In Norse mythology, Valhalla (from Old Norse Valhöll “hall of the slain”) is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those who die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja’s field Fólkvangr. In Valhalla, the dead warriors join the masses of those who have died in combat (known as the Einherjar) and various legendary Germanic heroes and kings, as they prepare to aid Odin during the events of Ragnarök. Now, we know what Vallhalla is but what about [Walhalla](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walhalla%5F%28memorial%29?ref=mertbulan.com)? It is a memorial in Donaustauf, east of Regensburg in Bavaria. > The Walhalla is a hall of fame that honours laudable and distinguished people in German history – “politicians, sovereigns, scientists and artists of the German tongue”; thus the celebrities honoured are drawn from Greater Germany, a wider area than today’s Germany, and even as far away as Britain in the case of several Anglo-Saxons who are honoured. If you look at the [list of the people in Walhalla memorial](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walhalla%5F%28memorial%29?ref=mertbulan.com#List%5Fof%5Fpeople), you can see Arminius that I mentioned in the beginning, Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor, and many other important people in German history except one person: Karl Marx. He is an important figure for history for sure but seems like he doesn’t deserve to be in Walhalla but as you can see in the video clip, he has a place at the Central Committee’s office. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/17.png) Later on in the video, we see our committee again. This time they are having a party, drinking champagne and Till as Erich Honecker, having sexual intercourse with a bearskin (probably it was on the floor). Since they were supported by the Soviet Union, I believe that the bear is representing the [Russian Bear](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian%5FBear?ref=mertbulan.com) so the Soviet Union. We can easily understand from this later scene that while the people were suffering in East Germany, they were having fun and enjoying their position too much that they didn’t even care about the Soviet Union at the end. ## Monks ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/18.png) In the next scene, we see our group as monks. At the same time, we see a lot of rats around them. The scene refers to the [Black Death](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black%5FDeath?ref=mertbulan.com), the deadliest pandemic recorded in human history and resulted in the deaths of up to 75–200 million people. The parasites that live on rats were carrying the bacteria that caused the disease. > The Black Death (also known as the Pestilence, the Great Mortality, or the Plague) was the deadliest pandemic recorded in human history. The Black Death resulted in the deaths of up to 75–200 million people in Eurasia and North Africa, peaking in Europe from 1347 to 1351\. Plague, the disease, was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. The Y. pestis infection most commonly results in bubonic plague, but can also cause septicaemic or pneumonic plagues. > The Black Death was the beginning of the second plague pandemic. The plague created religious, social, and economic upheavals, with profound effects on the course of European history. > The Black Death’s territorial origins are disputed. The pandemic originated either in Central Asia or East Asia, but its first definitive appearance was in Crimea in 1347\. From there, it was most likely carried by fleas living on the black rats that travelled on Genoese merchant ships, spreading throughout the Mediterranean Basin and reaching Africa, Western Asia, and the rest of Europe via Constantinople, Sicily, and the Italian Peninsula. Then we see a few French soldiers just a few seconds and the monks again. The monks are eating Germania. This scene refers to the [Thirty Years’ War.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty%5FYears%27%5FWar?ref=mertbulan.com) > The Thirty Years’ War was a conflict primarily fought in Central Europe from 1618 to 1648; estimates of total military and civilian deaths range from 4.5 to 8 million, mostly from disease or starvation. In some areas of Germany, it has been suggested up to 60% of the population died. After the war, seems like because of starvation, cannibalism was common. The scene also might refer to the greediness of the monks during that time. Under the table, we see some people in masks and chains. Later, we will see the monks while burning one of those people. We can also understand this scene as the monks also had BDSM fantasies but they were showing this kind of things as a sin and punishing the people. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/19.png) Later, we see another scene. The monks and the Nazis are shaking hands. That scene helped me to understand the French soldiers that we saw before. Seems like, after the Black Death outbreak, people falsely blamed Jewish communities and [they attacked Jewish people.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution%5Fof%5FJews%5Fduring%5Fthe%5FBlack%5FDeath?ref=mertbulan.com#History%5Fof%5Fpersecutions) > The Black Death persecutions and massacres were a series of violent attacks on Jewish communities falsely blamed for outbreaks of the Black Death in Europe from 1348 to 1351. > The first massacres directly related to the plague took place in April 1348 in Toulon, Provence, France. I believe that the reason why the monks and the Nazis were shaking hands is they both agreed on killing Jews. ## Witch ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/20.png) In the next scene, we see the monks burning someone, probably Germania. This scene refers to the [Würzburg witch trial.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wurzburg%5Fwitch%5Ftrial?ref=mertbulan.com) > The Würzburg witch trial, which took place in Germany in 1626–1631, is one of the biggest mass-trials and mass-executions seen in Europe during the Thirty Years War; 157 men, women and children in the city of Würzburg are confirmed to have been burned at the stake, mostly after first being beheaded; 219 are estimated to have been executed in the city proper, and an estimated 900 were killed in the entire Prince-Bishopric. ## Prison ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/21.png) Then, we find ourselves in a prison and go back to the Weimar Republic time again. We see the cops are beating Till and also the other prisoners with a red baton. The uniform of the police is the same as [Sicherheitspolizei](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicherheitspolizei%5F%28Weimar%5FRepublic%29?ref=mertbulan.com) (Security Police) in the Weimar Republic. > The Sicherheitspolizei, or security police, was a paramilitary German police group set up in most states of the Weimar Republic at the end of 1919 and largely financed by the central government. In its anti-riot role it can be seen as roughly analogous to the Bereitschaftspolizei in today’s Federal Republic. So probably the people that are being beaten from the [March Action.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March%5FAction?ref=mertbulan.com) > The March Action (German “März Aktion” or “Märzkämpfe in Mitteldeutschland” (“The March battles in Central Germany”) was a 1921 failed Communist uprising, led by the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), the Communist Workers’ Party of Germany (KAPD), and other far-left organisations. It took place in the industrial regions located in Halle, Leuna, Merseburg, and Mansfeld. The revolt ended in defeat for the Communists, and a weakening of contemporary Communist influence in Germany. Then we see falling banknotes. This is a reference to [the hyperinflation between 1921 and 1923.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperinflation%5Fin%5Fthe%5FWeimar%5FRepublic?ref=mertbulan.com) That was a time that people had to carry their money with a wheelbarrow to buy bread. We see Germania in [Hussar regiment “Wilhelm II. German Emperor and King of Prussia” No. 7 uniforms.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eskadronstrompeter%5Fim%5Fk.u.k.%5F7.%5FHusarenregiment.png?ref=mertbulan.com#/media/Datei:Eskadronstrompeter%5Fim%5Fk.u.k.%5F7.%5FHusarenregiment.png) So probably this is a reference to [Wilhelm II](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm%5FII,%5FGerman%5FEmperor?ref=mertbulan.com), the last German Emperor (Kaiser) and King of Prussia because all the dates in this scene are very close to each other. > His reign lasted from 15 June 1888 to 9 November 1918\. Despite strengthening Germany’s position as a great power by building a blue-water navy and promoting scientific innovation, his tactless public statements and reckless foreign policy greatly antagonized the international community and ultimately plunged his country into World War I. When the German war effort collapsed after a series of crushing defeats on the Western Front in 1918, he was forced to abdicate, thereby bringing an end to the Hohenzollern dynasty’s three hundred year rule. ## Car ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/22.png) In the next scene, we see our group in a car, [Mercedes-Benz 770.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz%5F770?ref=mertbulan.com) > The Mercedes-Benz 770, also known as the Großer Mercedes (German for “Grand Mercedes”), was a large luxury car built by Mercedes-Benz from 1930 to 1943\. It is probably best known from its use by high-ranking Reich officials before and during World War II, including Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring, Heinrich Himmler and Reinhard Heydrich, as captured in archival footage. ## Concentration Camp ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/23.png) In the next scene, our group members waiting for being hanged. There is one important detail on their badges that you can see above their name on their clothes. From left to right, we see a pink triangle, a yellow star, a red triangle on a yellow triangle, and a black triangle. [Each color shows the reason](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi%5Fconcentration%5Fcamp%5Fbadge?ref=mertbulan.com#/media/File:Wikpedia%5Fsystem%5Fof%5Fidentification%5FGerman%5Fcamps.png) why the prisoner is in the concentration camp. Pink is for homosexuals, yellow is for jews, red is for politcials, black is for asocials. Later, at the same place, we see rockets that are going to the sky. Those rockets are [V-2 rockets](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V-2%5Frocket?ref=mertbulan.com). It is the world’s first long-range guided ballistic missile and the first artificial object to travel into space. The connection between the rockets and the concentration camp is that they were manufactured by the prisoners in [Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mittelbau-Dora%5Fconcentration%5Fcamp?ref=mertbulan.com) > According to a 2011 BBC documentary, the attacks from V-2s resulted in the deaths of an estimated 9,000 civilians and military personnel, and a further 12,000 forced laborers and concentration camp prisoners died as a result of their forced participation in the production of the weapons. The person who developed the rocket technology, [Wernher von Braun](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher%5Fvon%5FBraun?ref=mertbulan.com), was moved secretly to the USA afterward and worked at NASA as the chief architect of the Saturn V rocket. The rocket that carried the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. On the scene, we see Germania in a Nazi suit and on her hat, you can see a skull which is [SS-Totenkopfverbände](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS-Totenkopfverbande?ref=mertbulan.com) insignia. > SS-Totenkopfverbände (SS-TV; literally “Death’s Head Units”) was the SS organization responsible for administering the Nazi concentration camps and extermination camps for Nazi Germany, among similar duties. While the Totenkopf (skull) was the universal cap badge of the SS, the SS-TV also wore the Death’s Head insignia on the right collar tab to distinguish itself from other Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS) formations. Besides the insignia, we see an eye patch on her right eye but then we see it on her left eye. It is probably sending a message like extreme actions from the right-wing are not visible for the right-wing people and the same for the left-wing people. They close their eyes to not see the actions related to their politics. ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/24.png) Later, we see Nazis again. This time they are [burning books.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi%5Fbook%5Fburnings?ref=mertbulan.com) > The Nazi book burnings were a campaign conducted by the German Student Union (the Deutsche Studentenschaft or DSt) to ceremonially burn books in Nazi Germany and Austria in the 1930s. The books targeted for burning were those viewed as being subversive or as representing ideologies opposed to Nazism. These included books written by Jewish, communist, socialist, anarchist, liberal, pacifist, religious, and sexologist authors among others. The first books burned were those of Karl Marx and Karl Kautsky. ## Arms ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/25.png) In the next scene, we see Germania armed with ammunition, five German Shepherds, and five polices. If you look closely, you can read white GERMANY on the ammunition on her. She also looks rich so we can understand that Germany becomes rich, again, but this time by selling arms to the other countries. Also, Germania’s outfit (black leather jacket, golden accessories, and red gloves) points to the German flag again. ## Red Army Faction ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/26.png) In the next scene, we see our group as a terrorist group, [Red Army Faction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red%5FArmy%5FFaction?ref=mertbulan.com) and the Till as [Ulrike Meinhof](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulrike%5FMeinhof?ref=mertbulan.com). As you can see, they are kidnapping Germania. > The Red Army Faction (RAF) was a West German far-left militant organization founded in 1970\. The government of the Federal Republic of Germany, as well as most Western media and literature considered the Red Army Faction to be a terrorist organization. The Red Army Faction engaged in a series of bombings, assassinations, kidnappings, bank robberies and shoot-outs with police over the course of three decades. In total, the RAF murdered 35 people. ## Karl Marx and Tank ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/27.png) In the next scene, we see the [Karl Marx monument](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl%5FMarx%5FMonument?ref=mertbulan.com) in Chemnitz: > The Karl Marx Monument is a 7.10m (23.29ft)-tall stylized head of Karl Marx in Chemnitz, Germany. The heavy-duty sculpture, together with the base platform, stand over 13 meters (42 feet) tall and weighs approximately 40 tonnes. On a wall just behind the monument, the phrase “Workers of the world, unite!” (from the Communist Manifesto) is inscripted in four languages: German, English, French and Russian. and a tank, [Leopard I](https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopard%5F1&ref=mertbulan.com): > The Leopard 1 is a German main battle tank. It was the first tank developed in Germany after the Second World War. In total, it was used in 13 countries on five different continents. Due to constant increases in combat value, it can still be found in the armies of many countries in the 21st century. I guess the group is trying to give a message like, yes, workers of the world were united (many countries involved in the manufacturing of the tank) but they built a tank, a war machine. ## 1st of May 1987 ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/28.png) In the next scene, we see a demonstration and a riot. It is a reference to [1st May 1989](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May%5FDay%5Fin%5FKreuzberg?ref=mertbulan.com#1st%5Fof%5FMay%5F1988). > In 1987, the left-wing political scene in Berlin was dominated by the census boycott, a campaign against the census and a call for its boycott. The center of this resistance (and the left scene in general) was situated at Mehringhof (in Kreuzberg 61), where, among other things, the campaign office was located. On May 1, 1987, at 4:45am, this office and other rooms of Mehringhof were broken up and searched by the police on the grounds of Periculum in mora. > The traditional street festival was peaceful at first, but the mood among the leftists was damaged by the search of the census boycott campaign office. In addition, the police had also initiated anti-rioting operations against the Affected Block at the May 1st demonstration of the German Trade Union Confederation. This led to the block leaving the German Trade Union Confederation demonstration under protest and joining the street festival. > At around 4pm, autonomists near the street festival overturned an empty police car and later that evening two construction trailers were thrown into the street. Meanwhile, most visitors enjoyed the street party unaware of any disturbances. Despite this, the police responded to the disruptions and finally broke up the whole festival using batons and tear gas. ## Puppies and Astronauts ![](https://cdn.synaps.media/mertbulan/content/images/2026/06/29.png) Now it is time to connect all the dots and try to understand what Rammstein is saying in this video clip. From the beginning of the video to the end, we saw many dogs and in the end, Germania gave birth to puppies. Also, we saw that astronauts bringing a coffin (that we know from the end, Germania was inside of it) into their spacecraft but they threw it away after they got the puppies from her. We also see the red laser connection into the spacecraft. If I understand it correctly, the astronauts are learning the history of Germany via the red lasers. They study the statues and object like a submarine. Then, they bring Germania into their spacecraft. Since she was there all the time, when all the historical events occuring, she has the knowledge for the history of Germany. Then, she gave birth. The interesting thing about that scene is the cows around her. There are some [paintings that show the birth of Jesus](https://www.guideposts.org/friends-and-family/pets/were-there-animals-at-the-birth-of-jesus?ref=mertbulan.com) and you can also see cows there. Since the midwife of Germania is a cardinal in a red uniform and we also see a Christian cross in the last scene, the group is trying to say that the birth of puppies is a holy event. During the video, the dogs that we saw were [German Shepherds](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German%5FShepherd?ref=mertbulan.com): > German Shepherds are moderately active dogs and are described in breed standards as self assured. The breed is marked by a willingness to learn and an eagerness to have a purpose. They are curious, which makes them excellent guard dogs and suitable for search missions. They can become overprotective of their family and territory, especially if not socialized correctly. They are not inclined to become immediate friends with strangers. German Shepherds are highly intelligent and obedient, as well as protective of their owners. > German Shepherds around the world are often the preferred breed for many types of work, including disability assistance, search-and-rescue, police and military roles and acting. So I think Rammstein is trying to say that when you look at the history of Germany, you see that people who lived were like German Shepherds: intelligent, obedient, overprotective and unfriendly. (The group is also acting like a dog in the end) Then, Germania gave birth. This time, we see that the puppies are not German Shepherds but another German dog, [Leonberger](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonberger?ref=mertbulan.com): > First and foremost a family dog, the Leonberger’s temperament is one of its most important and distinguishing characteristics. Well socialized and trained, the Leonberger is self-assured, insensitive to noise, submissive to family members, friendly toward children, well composed with passersby, and self-disciplined when obliging its family or property with protection. Robust, loyal, intelligent, playful, and kindly, they can thus be taken anywhere without difficulty and adjust easily to a variety of circumstances, including the introduction of other dogs. > Reportedly, only five Leonbergers survived World War I and were bred until World War II when, again, almost all Leonbergers were lost. During the two world wars, Leonbergers were used to pull the ammunition carts, a service to the breed’s country that resulted in the Leonbergers’ near-destruction. Karl Stadelmann and Otto Josenhans are credited as the breed’s saviors, bringing them back from almost extinction. Leonbergers today can have their ancestry traced to the eight dogs that survived World War II. Now, this tells us, after studying the history of Germany, the people who are living in Germany are not the same, they are different. They are friendly, kind, intelligent, playful, and a family member. # Lyrics ## Strophe 1 > Du (Du hast, du hast, du hast, du hast) > Hast viel geweint (Geweint, geweint, geweint, geweint) **You (You have, you have, you have, you have)** **Have cried a lot (Cried, cried, cried, cried)** That’s the reason why I wanted to explain the lyrics later. As you read previously, a lot of bad events happened in Germany: the holocaust, being divided, Nazis, wars, economical crises, terror attacks, you name it. And “You” here is Germany and the protagonist is saying that as a result of these events, Germany (or the people who live in Germany) cried a lot. > Im Geist getrennt (Getrennt, getrennt, getrennt, getrennt) > Im Herz vereint (Vereint, vereint, vereint, vereint) **Separeted in mind (Separeted, separeted, separeted, separeted)** **United in heart (United, united, united, united)** Since the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest as I mentioned before, there were many Germanic tribes. Later, there were many kingdoms, then the country united and then it was divided into West and East Germany but in the end, everybody was/is united in heart, no matter what happened in the past, as you can see here today. > Wir (Wir sind, wir sind, wir sind, wir sind) > Sind schon sehr lang zusammen (Ihr seid, ihr seid, ihr seid, ihr seid) **We (We are, we are, we are, we are)** **Are already together for so long (You are, you are, you are, you are)** If we think of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest as the first unification of people in Germany, we can say that from 9 CE to 2020, the people have been living together for 2011 years. This line is probably mentioning this fact. > Dein Atem kalt (So kalt, so kalt, so kalt, so kalt) > Das Herz in Flammen (So heiß, so heiß, so heiß, so heiß) **Your breath is cold (So cold, so cold, so cold, so cold)** **The heart is on fire (So hot, so hot, so hot, so hot)** > Du (Du kannst, du kannst, du kannst, du kannst) > Ich (Ich weiß, ich weiß, ich weiß, ich weiß) > Wir (Wir sind, wir sind, wir sind, wir sind) > Ihr (Ihr bleibt, ihr bleibt, ihr bleibt, ihr bleibt) **You (You can, you can, you can, you can)** **I (I know, I know, I know, I know)** **We (We are, we are, we are, we are)** **You *(plural)* (You stay, you stay, you stay, you stay)** ## Refrain > Deutschland! Mein Herz in Flammen > Will dich lieben und verdammen **Germany! My heart is on fire** **Want to love and damn you** Do you remember the conflict that I mentioned in the beginning? You can see that in the lyrics clearly. Our protagonist wants to love Germany because this is his country that he was born but at the same time, he wants to damn Germany because of all the bad things that happened on this land. He is having this conflict and he can’t only love but he wants hate as well. > Deutschland! Dein Atem kalt > So jung und doch so alt > Deutschland! **Germany! Your breath is cold** **So young and yet so old** **Germany!** Germany is a new country. If you think of the [unification of Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification%5Fof%5FGermany?ref=mertbulan.com) as a birth date, the country is only 149 years old. If you think of the [west-east division](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History%5Fof%5FGermany%5F%281945-1990%29?ref=mertbulan.com) after World War II, it is only 75 years old. Lastly, if you think of the [reunification of Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German%5Freunification?ref=mertbulan.com), it is only 30 years old. So Germany is so young but at the same time, if you look at the history and the unification of Germanic tribes against the Roman Empire, it is 2011 years old. ## Strophe 2 > Ich (Du hast, du hast, du hast, du hast) > Ich will dich nie verlassen (Ich weiß, ich weiß, ich weiß, ich weiß) > Man kann dich lieben (Du liebst, du liebst, du liebst, du liebst) > Und will dich hassen (Du hast, du hast, du hast, du hast) **I (You have, you have, you have, you have)** **I never want to leave you (I know, I know, I know, I know)** **One can love you (You love, you love, you love, you love)** **And want to hate you (You hate, you hate, you hate, you hate)** Again, we see the conflict that our protagonist is living. He wants to stay, he thinks that one can love, but this is optional (you can but it is up to you) but he wants to hate Germany and this is not optional, he wants that because of all the bad events. > Überheblich, überlegen > Übernehmen, übergeben > Überraschen, überfallen > Deutschland, Deutschland über allen **Presumptuous, superior** **Take over, hand over/puke** **Surprise, invade** **Germany, Germany above everyone** For the explanation of these lines, I will copy the explanation from [Genius.com](https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-rammstein-deutschland-english-translation-lyrics?ref=mertbulan.com) directly: > The first line refers to the presumptous (überheblich) theory of the Nazis that the German “master race” would be superior (überlegen) over others. > The second line, which has the first play on words here, refers to when the Nazis took over (übernehmen) control of Germany on January 30, 1933\. Because most of the Nazi party’s power came through elections, the Germans handed over (übergeben) the country. While watching the Nazis celebrate their victory by marching through the Brandenburg Gate, Max Liebermann was reported to have commented, “I could not possibly eat as much as I would like to throw up/puke (übergeben)”. > The third line is a clear reference to the invasion (überfall) of Poland, which was a surprise (überraschen) Blitzkrieg-style attack, which began September 1, 1939. > The last line is a reference to a famous line from the Nazi national anthem. The Deutschlandlied has been the German national anthem since 1922, but the first 2 (of 3) stanzas have been removed from the anthem since the fall of the Nazis. The original line from the Deutschlandlied is “Germany, Germany over ALL” (Deutschland, Deutschland über ALLES). Rammstein subtly tweaks the lyric to “Germany, Germany over everyone” (Deutschland, Deutschland über allen). > The first three lines provide powerful context for the 4th. They underline Germany’s history of its own perceived superiority and the actions that it led to. The play on words (in German) of continuously using the prefix “über”, best translated with “above” or “better” in this case, really drives this point home. The 4th line really drives home the point, and is sung with clear sarcasm: It’s not “Germany over all”, since people from many different countries claim theirs is the best… it’s “Germany over everyone”. ## Refrain > Deutschland! Mein Herz in Flammen > Will dich lieben und verdammen > Deutschland! Dein Atem kalt > So jung und doch so alt > Deutschland! Deine Liebe > Ist Fluch und Segen > Deutschland! Meine Liebe > Kann ich dir nicht geben > Deutschland! **Germany! My heart is on fire** **Want to love and damn you** **Germany! Your breath is cold** **So young and yet so old** **Germany! Your love** **Is a curse and blessing** **Germany! My love** **I can’t give you** **Germany!** You again see the conflict in curse and blessing but in the end, the protagonist doesn’t give his love to Germany. ## Bridge > Deutschland! > Du > Ich > Wir > Ihr > Du (Übermächtig, überflüssig) > Ich (Übermenschen, überdrüssig) > Wir (Wer hoch steigt, der wird tief fallen) > Ihr (Deutschland, Deutschland über allen) **Germany!** **You** **I** **We** **You (superior, unnecessaray)** **I (Übermenschen, weary)** **We (The higher you climb, the further you fall)** **You (Germany, Germany above everyone)** ## Refrain > Deutschland! Dein Herz in Flammen > Will dich lieben und verdammen > Deutschland! Mein Atem kalt > So jung und doch so alt > Deutschland! Deine Liebe > Ist Fluch und Segen > Deutschland! Meine Liebe > Kann ich dir nicht geben > Deutschland! **Germany! Your heart is on fire** **Want to love and damn you** **Germany! Your breath is cold** **So young and yet so old** **Germany! Your love** **Is a curse and blessing** **Germany! My love** **I can’t give you** **Germany!** The lines here are the same as the previous refrain but there are only two differences. Instead of “My heart is on fire”, we see “Your heart is on fire”, instead of “Your breath is cold”, we see “My breath is cold.” # Conclusion I’ve spent a few days writing this blog post and I have to say, I enjoyed it a lot because I was fascinated with the work that Rammstein did. Probably, I missed many details. If I find them later, I will update the post. I learned a lot of things about the country that I am living in now. To be honest, before listening to them, I always thought that they are kind of a metal group that screams some words. After reading about the group and their songs, I am thinking now that they are real artists and I believe that people will remember their name for a very long time, especially, after this song. When I mentioned the people around me, I started to listen to Rammstein, the reaction was interesting. Most people think that the group is far-right but as you can see from this song, they are not. They are not proud of their country, they don’t even love it. They are doing controversial works but this is what the real artist do. Maybe far-right people listen to them and people don’t want to be associated with those people but that doesn’t make the group far-right. Can you think of a far-right group that selects Germania as a black woman? The last scene of the video clip is telling a lot of things. Many things happened on this land, the people who live on this land learned their lessons and now, there is a new country. A country (so young) with people that are as friendly as Leonberger, a country that helps other countries and also accepts millions of refugees. A country that gives a chance to everybody and treats everybody as equal. I don’t know any other nation that faces their history as Germans do and I respect them a lot for doing that. I used [this Reddit thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/Rammstein/comments/b6j433/deutschland%5Fmegathread%5Fvideo%5Fdiscussion%5Fand/?ref=mertbulan.com) to explain the video clip and [this Genius page](https://genius.com/Genius-english-translations-rammstein-deutschland-english-translation-lyrics?ref=mertbulan.com) to explain the lyrics. ### How to invest and pay your taxes in Germany via DEGIRO URL: https://mertbulan.com/how-to-invest-in-germany-via-degiro/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:32:58.000Z Since the banks give you almost no interest in Germany, the only way to earn money from your saving is investing in stocks or ETFs. If you don’t speak German very well, it might be hard for you to invest the money that you save. Unfortunately, almost all of the banks in Germany don’t have English support for their investment products. So it might be hard for you to trust those products with your savings. I had the same situation when I was looking for an investment product in Germany, then I found a company that is called [DEGIRO](https://www.degiro.ie/member-get-member/receive-20-euros-and-start-trading.html?id=C926FF76&referral%5Fname=Mert%20Bulan&utm%5Fsource=mgm). (it a company based in The Netherlands but it is being bought by a German company recently) DEGIRO supports English and also they have really low fees. When I first registered to DEGIRO, I thought everything will be easy as investing from your bank account but there are a few things that you need to keep in mind. First, DEGIRO doesn’t support English on their degiro.de website. When I talked with their customer support, they told me that I can use their Ireland website (degiro.ie) since it is in English and Ireland also use Euro. Second, unfortunately, DEGIRO doesn’t handle your taxes. So you need to handle your capital gain taxes yourself. Now, the problem here is how you are going to do that. First, you need to know that if you are investing in ETFs, you should invest in the ones that give you dividends (disturbing). Why? Because Germany introduced a very complex way of paying taxes based on the increase in your investment value (pre-payment) if you are holding accumulating ETFs. Because of that, I suggest you buy disturbing ETFs so calculating your taxes would be easy. Also, you have an 801€ yearly tax-free allowance so if you invest in disturbing ETFs, you can also use this allowance and don’t pay taxes if you don’t earn more than the threshold for your dividends. DEGIRO will share the Annual Tax Report Addition next year in February and there you can see how much you earned as dividend in total. If you exceed the tax-free allowance threshold, you have to pay taxes. The tax rate for capital gains is 26.375%. If you are using tools like [SteuerGo](https://www.steuergo.de/?ref=mertbulan.com) (I used for the last 3 years and I am happy with it) to fill in your tax return, you can see how much you are going to pay taxes. The important part that you need to know here is where to put the capital gain information into your tax return form. On the tax return form, there is a section which is called `Anlage KAP` and there you will see `15. Ausländische Kapitalerträge (ohne Betrag laut Zeile 58)`. (Seems like it is changed to `19. Ausländische Kapitalerträge (ohne Betrag laut Zeile 47)` in 2020) That’s the section that you need to enter all the money that you get as dividend during your tax year. No matter if you exceed the limit or not, you have to declare your dividend income in this section. If you exceed the threshold, you will see how much you need to pay as capital tax. When you submit your tax return, your Finanzamt will calculate the tax that you need to pay again. (There could be a small difference between them) If you have to pay taxes, you need to send the amount into the tax office’s bank account. If you are submitting a tax return the first time, you will receive a letter about how much you need to pay or receive from your Finanzamt after a few weeks or months. You will be able to find the bank account of your tax office in the letter but there is another important thing here. While sending the money, you need to enter your Steuernummer (tax number: XX/XXX/XXXXX), Abgabeart (type, in this case: `Kapitalertragsteuer`), and Zeitraum (period, for example, 2019) in the description of your payment. So in the end your description should look like: `XX/XXX/XXXXX Kapitalertragsteuer 2019`. In this way, your Finanzamt can easily identify your payment and process it. That’s all you need to know regarding paying taxes. **Disclaimer:** I am not a tax advisor. The information that I shared here could be wrong. Please talk with a tax advisor to get the right information. I just shared the way that worked for me while handling my capital gains from the dividends. ### Why some buildings in Hamburg have a greenish roof? URL: https://mertbulan.com/why-some-buildings-in-hamburg-have-a-greenish-roof/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:03:06.000Z There are a lot of things I like about Hamburg and the buildings are one of them. Besides the brick buildings in Hamburg, I also like some buildings because of their architecture. Hamburg Rathaus is one of them. When you look at Rathaus first time, it is almost impossible to be captivated. The building itself is not the subject of this blog post so I am not going to go into beautiful details of the building but something that building has is. If you wander around in Hamburg, you might see that some of the buildings in the city have a roof like Rathaus. A roof that looks in greenish ([turquoise](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turquoise%5F%28color%29?ref=mertbulan.com)) color. When I realized this common pattern, I thought that maybe it is something related to the culture or religion and they are painting to this color because of that. That’s how I explained myself that why those turquoise roofs have the same tone. So, I wanted to learn the details. After a few minutes of DuckDuckGo/Wikipedia search, I found that those turquoise roofs are not like normal roofs. They are being made out of copper. Now, you are probably thinking like wait a second, copper doesn’t look like that. Yes, copper doesn’t look like that but after many years, they look like that. The turquoise color that we see there is something called [patina](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patina?ref=mertbulan.com). It forms on copper after many years depending upon environmental conditions and chemical reaction with water and carbon dioxide. When I look at the Wikipedia page about [Copper in architecture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copper%5Fin%5Farchitecture?ref=mertbulan.com), I saw that there are many advantages of using copper. Besides all the advantages, we also see a beautiful turquoise color after many years. Also seems like the gem that shares the same name with this color has meaning for many different cultures. > The pastel shades of turquoise have endeared it to many great cultures of antiquity: it has adorned the rulers of Ancient Egypt, the Aztecs (and possibly other Pre-Columbian Mesoamericans), Persia, Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley, and to some extent in ancient China since at least the Shang Dynasty. If you are interested, you can check [history of use of Turquoise gem](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turquoise?ref=mertbulan.com#History%5Fof%5Fuse) on Wikipedia. The only thing that I am currently wondering is that how Hamburg Rathaus looked like right after the construction. If you look at [the picture of The Statue of Liberty in its original color](https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/8w8xya/the%5Fstatue%5Fof%5Fliberty%5Fcolorized%5Ffrom%5Fan%5Fold%5Fblack/?ref=mertbulan.com), you will understand what I mean. ### Should we #EnjoyCapitalism? URL: https://mertbulan.com/should-we-enjoy-capitalism/ Last updated: 2026-06-07T17:02:14.000Z If you are a person like me who moved from a third world country (Turkey) to a first world country (Germany), probably your priorities and problems are different now. You don’t think about freedom of speech and press, democracy, having the fear of being sick and losing your job, drinkable tap water, purchasing power, high inflation rate, traffic jam, living inside of ugly buildings, etc. Now, you probably think about your hobbies, your next vacation, the next thing you will buy, how you can improve your skills and become better at your job and how to contribute to the community surrounding yourself or humanity. That’s what happened to me. I’ve been thinking about the things that I use and buy. For example, red meat. Red meat was a kind of luxury product for me when I was living in Turkey. Even today, when people compare the purchasing power between Germany and Turkey, the first thing they will do is comparing the price of one kilogram of minced meat. In Germany, red meat is cheap comparing to Turkey and once you have something cheap as much, you are wondering how it can be that cheap. ## Animals While Joaquin Phoenix giving his Oscar speech, he mentioned how we are stealing cows’ babies to take their milk. I discovered that he is vegan, and he was also one of the narrators of a documentary called [Dominion](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQRAfJyEsko&ref=mertbulan.com). It is a documentary about animal agriculture. It is hard to watch. After seeing it, you will probably hate yourself and humanity. The documentary clearly shows why red meat (not only red meat, all the other animal products) is cheap in many western countries. Today, we can eat cheap meat and drink milk thanks to industrialized husbandry. On the other hand, while producing those products, we treat animals like they are not living creatures but objects that don’t feel anything. We don’t hesitate to torture them, steal their babies and kill them in a very wild way so we can eat their flesh. Before performing all of these, we put them into a small cage, the place that they will live until the end of their life. Some people can argue that this is how nature works, some predators eat weak animals. I don’t agree because those predators do this because that’s the only way for them to survive and they don’t industrialize their process as we do. On the other hand, we humans, the smartest animal on the planet, [have many alternatives](https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/2bcpny/eli5%5Fdo%5Fhumans%5Fneed%5Fto%5Fconsume%5Fmeat%5Fand%5Fwhat%5Fare/cj40fvr/?ref=mertbulan.com). Instead of using those alternatives we keep torturing those animals. Why? Because we just want to eat meat and don’t want to pay so much money. We don’t want to change our habits or lifestyle. We only want to enjoy the taste of a juicy steak. ## Banana Not only animal agriculture has a dark side. After seeing a video called, [The Banana Republics](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgydTdThoeA&ref=mertbulan.com), I saw how the dictators in Latin American countries dominate the banana industry. I guess there is no need to explain that there is no democracy in those countries and how those dictators ruling them. As a person who likes to eat bananas, especially on Monday and Wednesday, when we get fresh fruits at the company, after seeing the video, I’ve checked the brand of the bananas we get. It wasn’t Chiquita or Dole, the ones which are mentioned in the video, it was Selvática. It comes from Ecuador and I don’t know if there is any connection between this brand and the bad brands. The only thing that I know is the banana industry has a dark side as animal agriculture. I am not just talking about funding those dictators, while I was searching about the banana industry in Ecuador, but I also found [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana%5Fproduction%5Fin%5FEcuador?ref=mertbulan.com): “In December 2014 and as far as Ecuador is concerned, bananas are mentioned in the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor.”. We can see the same pattern as we’ve seen in the animal agriculture industry. Thanks to the bad practices of producing the product, we can buy the product by just paying little. Whenever I see an Ecuador sticker on the banana that I am going to eat, I am always asking myself: do I need to eat this? Can I live without eating this? Why do we need to get those bananas from Ecuador? Can’t we just eat locally grown other fruits? Why am I have to fund those dictators for the sake of eating a sweet banana? ## Palm oil When you start thinking about capitalism and its effect on the environment and our society, you can effortlessly find many examples. While watching the documentary [Before the Flood](http://www.beforetheflood.com/?ref=mertbulan.com), there was a part that Leonarda DiCaprio’s visit to Indonesia. It seems that people and companies in Indonesia burn the forests there so they can plant palm trees and produce palm oil. While burning those forests, they are not only creating CO2 but they also making those places uninhabitable for animals like orangutans. Palm oil is one of the cheapest vegetable oil that you can find nearly in every junk food. The most famous one is Nutella. More than 50% of Nutella is palm oil. While making my research about palm oil, I found this website called [Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard](https://palmoilscorecard.panda.org/?ref=mertbulan.com). The website shows the big brands if they are committed to a responsible palm oil future, free from deforestation and destruction. You can see the company (Ferrero) behind Nutella that has a 21.5 score out of 22\. It seems like they are doing a good job. However, if you check [the other big brands](https://palmoilscorecard.panda.org/check-the-scores/manufacturers?ref=mertbulan.com), you can see that they are doing a good job as Ferrero. For example, PepsiCo, instead of using sustainable palm oil, they prefer buying credits to offset their unsustainable palm oil usage. ([the credit system](https://www.rspo.org/certification/supply-chains?ref=mertbulan.com)) Their score is 14.9 out of 22\. So as you can see, those big companies burn the forests in Indonesia and kill the orangutans just for us so we can enjoy our favorite junk food. ## Oil Not only animals, not only the environment but sometimes capitalism also affects many people’s life. 30% of greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation. Every day while we are driving our cars to work, we are harming our planet. Even though this is already enough to stop using cars, to use our cars we are putting gas which is produced from oil that we bought from mostly Russia and Saudi Arabia. For example, if you look at Germany (where I live) to see where oil comes from, you will see Russia with 31.4% as our main crude oil import source. When you look at the whole of Europe Union, [you will see](https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/infographs/energy/bloc-2c.html?ref=mertbulan.com) that 6.6% of crude oil that we use today comes from Saudi Arabia. If you live in the United States, 13% of your oil [comes from Saudi Arabia](https://oec.world/en/visualize/tree%5Fmap/hs92/import/usa/show/2709/2017/?ref=mertbulan.com). If you live in Japan, it is 40%. When you look at Russia and Saudi Arabia, you will see one common thing, their extremely low democracy index. When you look at [the index](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy%5FIndex?ref=mertbulan.com), you will see that Russia is in 134th place and Saudi Arabia is in 159th place, out of 167 countries. You probably read, how the Saudi Prince killed a journalist in their embassy in Istanbul. He was watching through a live stream during his guys dismembering the journalist alive. I guess there is no need to mention how hard to be a woman in Saudi Arabia. It is the same for Russia. You can’t criticize the person who is in charge. You probably know that he hates LGBTQ people. So we are funding those authoritarian governments by buying their cheap oil so we can enjoy our comfortable ride to work. We do this even we have many alternatives. ## Coffee Some people like to grab a cup of coffee before going to work. Sometimes they prepare their coffee with their fancy tools. Similar to all the things that I’ve mentioned before, if something is cheap, in this case, 2,5€ per cup of coffee, there is a sad story behind it. Coffee has a story that includes child labor and environmental impact. When you buy a cup of coffee from Starbucks, first of all, you are creating waste by using the one usage cup. Then, the coffee that you drink comes from an African country. Since the countries which sell coffee beans are extremely poor and we also don’t want to pay a lot for a cup of coffee, people in those countries have to work a lot. Sometimes they have to force their children to work on the fields [like in Guatemala](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/mar/01/children-work-for-pittance-to-pick-coffee-beans-used-by-starbucks-and-nespresso?ref=mertbulan.com) so they can earn enough money to survive. They do this just for us so we can enjoy a hot cup of coffee before starting to work. ## Your Purchasing Decision There are a lot of topics like I’ve mentioned above that appear with capitalism. From our perspective, we can just say this is how capitalism works and we can’t change it. We should just enjoy the coffee that we drink to wake up, enjoy our comfortable drive to work in our car, enjoy the meat that we eat during lunch, enjoy the snacks and the banana that we eat after lunch. Most importantly, we should enjoy all of those things by only paying very little. I don’t believe that there is a system that you can’t change. That’s the reason why I am writing this blog post. I am not trying to criticize people who drink coffee or eat meat. I am writing this because instead of just enjoying the current state of capitalism, I believe that we can change it in a good way. In the end, it is all about our purchasing decisions. Before buying things which harm animals or the environment or the people or the children and so on, we can always try to find alternative products. We can make research before buying something. We can become [a conscious consumer](https://medium.com/naturehub/what-is-a-conscious-consumer-and-why-does-it-matter-4b7a14ca08fc?ref=mertbulan.com). Once we make our buying decisions thoughtfully, all the companies which have bad practices will need to change. Otherwise, they will be gone. I always say this: your purchasing decision is more important than your voting decision in an election. You vote every 4 or 5 years but you buy something every day. You can’t directly change something with your vote but with your purchasing decision, you can. Once you stop buying snacks that use unsustainable palm oil, that company has to change. They can’t keep selling you the same product as always. It is the same for everything that you purchase. You can change something in this brutal capitalist world by starting with the things that you buy. ### Moving to Germany: Things that you need to know URL: https://mertbulan.com/moving-to-germany-things-that-you-need-to-know/ Last updated: 2026-06-13T09:58:56.000Z I moved to Hamburg, Germany in 2018\. During that time, I had to do a lot of research or ask a lot of questions to my colleagues. Nowadays, I am getting a lot of questions from my friends who want to move to Germany. I already answered their questions but at the same time, I thought it would be really useful to share those answers here so a lot of people can get some benefits from them. First of all, I have to mention that these are my experiences and they might be different for your case. When you have a specific question for your case, please ask it to the correct person who can answer it properly. I am living in Hamburg and I moved here for work so if you are a student things might be different for you. I don’t know anything about being a student in Germany. Let’s get started! ## First two weeks The most important thing to do in your first two weeks is registering your address as soon as possible. If you don’t register your address at one of the customer services (Kundenzentrum), you will get a fine. To do that, first, you need to find a Kundenzentrum close to your work or home. In Germany, if you want to do something, you always need to get an appointment. Once you find a Kundenzentrum, you need to make an appointment for registration. (Anmeldung) Once you have your appointment, you need to get a paper from your landlord which confirms your rental contract. (Wohnungsgeberbestätigung) If you are living in a shared flat (WG), you can ask your flatmate to fill in the paper for you. You will also pay 12€ for the registration. (It might be different for your city) Registering your address is important, because once you register your address: - you will get a confirmation letter of your address (Anmeldebestätigung) - you will get your tax id and class (they will send you a letter to your address) - you will get your social security number I assume that you are coming to Germany for work, so your employer will request that information from you. Once you get an Anmeldebestätigung, you will be able to open a bank account and register for health insurance. Every person who lives in Germany has to have health insurance. The most suggested health insurance company for people who don’t speak German is Techniker Krankenkasse. I also have health insurance from that company since they have English support. For a bank account, I use [N26](https://n26.com/r/mertb5609?ref=mertbulan.com) since they also have English support, a really useful app and also opening a bank account is easy there. There is only one problem with N26, they give you a MasterCard and some places in Germany, you can’t use MasterCard, instead, you need to use EC Card. Especially paying in small stores and government offices, this might be a problem. So, it is nice to carry cash all the time. The second thing that you need to keep in mind that would be better if you can keep all the invoices which are related to your moving. If you have a relocation package from your company, probably they are going to ask for those invoices so you can just give them and get your money back. If you don’t have a relocation package, you can deduct those expenses from your taxes. (For example, cost of changing your driver license, cost of transportation of your stuff, cost of your visa, etc.) Another important topic is that if you don’t move from another European country, it would be better to have a sim card as soon as possible because you are going to live in a different city and you will need to use Apple Maps or Google Maps. The cheapest and easiest option is the ALDI Talk. You can buy a prepaid sim card from one of the ALDI supermarkets. While buying your sim card, you can also put money on it. Afterward, you confirm your identity with a mobile app and then you can buy internet packages. I still use the sim card that I bought when I moved to Germany. I pay 3,99€ for 1GB internet per month. ## Health After registering for your health insurance, you will get a letter that includes your health insurance card. (Gesundheitskarte) With that card, you can go to every doctor without paying anything but don’t forget it, you shouldn’t go to a hospital unless your house doctor (Hausarzt) gives you Überweisungsschein. Hospitals in Germany are there only for really important situations. If you have a cold, you can just search for a Hausarzt and get an appointment and go there. If you go there early in the morning, you might have a chance to see the doctor without an appointment. Keep in mind that getting an appointment from a specialized doctor might be hard. Sometimes you can get an appointment for after 1 month or 3 months. You can search for a doctor based on your need on [this website](https://www.kvhh.net/de/physicianfinder.html?ref=mertbulan.com) or [this website](https://www.doctolib.de/?ref=mertbulan.com). When you visit your doctor, if he/she thinks that you are not able to work, he/she might give you a paper (Arbeitsunfähigkeitsbescheinigung) to take rest at home. You can give this letter to your employer. Don’t forget, if you are sick don’t go to work because you can spread your sickness to your colleagues. (if you go to work when you are sick, I can guarantee you that your colleagues will stare at you with ‘What are you doing here?’ look) You have 6 weeks of paid sick leaves (same for everybody) so don’t hesitate to use them when you are sick. ## Finding a flat For some cities, this might be one of the hardest things that you will encounter in Germany. Especially for the big cities, it is really hard to find a flat. You might see [scenes like this](https://www.thelocal.de/20191125/nearly-1800-people-turn-up-for-flat-viewing-in-berlin?ref=mertbulan.com). For me, it took 3 months to find a flat and I can say that if you are not a super lucky person, this is the average time that you will spend on finding a flat but don’t worry. I will share everything I know regarding find a flat. First of all, there are things that you need to know about flats in Germany, then, there are also papers that you need to prepare before visiting a flat. Let’s start with the first one. When you are searching for a flat, you will see two types of prices: kaltmiete and warmmiete or cold rent and warm rent. Cold rent is the money that you pay for the flat itself. Warm rent is the money which includes cold rent, heating cost (Heizkosten) and all the other things related to maintenance of your flat. (Nebenkosten or Betriebskosten) They might be changed based on your contract. For example, my warm rent also includes water and garbage collection. For some flats, you might need to pay those costs yourself so don’t forget to ask your landlord what you need to pay before renting the flat because on the paper it might look cheap but if you also have to pay the additional costs yourself, it might be expensive for you. For example, for my current flat, I pay 720€ warm rent which includes 600€ cold rent, 40€ heating cost and 80€ operational cost (which includes water and garbage collection cost). The one thing that you need to keep in mind is that at the end of the year, one technician will visit your flat and check the counters on your radiators and your water counter. (nowadays they use wireless counters in new flats) The numbers in your contract are kind of an average number for your flat (based on previous tenants probably) so if you consume more energy for heating, your landlord will tell you to pay the difference. If you consume less, your landlord will pay the difference. This is also the same for water and electricity. (For electricity, you might need to enter the number on your electricity provider’s website) If you are not renting a furnished flat, probably you are going to register for your electricity. The thing that you need to keep in mind is that if you don’t register for an electricity provider in two weeks, you will get a contract automatically and this contract will be a basic contract and probably it will be expensive. Registering for an electricity provider is easy. Only things that you need to know your electricity counter number (Zählernummer) and number on the counter (Zählerstand). When you get those numbers, you can just go to one of the electricity providers’ website and register. I use [Greenpeaceenergy](https://www.greenpeace-energy.de/privatkunden.html?ref=mertbulan.com) as my electricity provider because they are using 100% renewable energy. When you are searching for a flat, you will see some flats without a kitchen or floor. So please read everything carefully before renting a flat. You might end up with a flat without a kitchen or floor. Before getting your keys, your landlord will ask you to pay the first rent and also the deposit. The deposit equals to three times of your cold rent. In my case, I paid a 1.800€ deposit. While sending the deposit, you will probably see that the bank account that you send for the deposit is different than the bank account that you will send the rent. The reason is that the landlords in Germany can not touch the deposit money until you decide to leave. Your landlord also can ask you to open a joint bank account for the deposit. When you decide to leave your flat, your landlord will visit your flat and check if everything is okay. If everything is okay, your landlord will pay back the deposit but some landlords might pay only 80% of the deposit first, after end of the year, your landlord will check other things like maybe you consumed so much energy for heating but you paid less so he will deduct from the rest of the deposit, etc. afterward if there is no problem, you will get the rest of your deposit. Let’s talk about the papers that you will need when you are applying for a flat: - Schufa (this is a paper which shows your credit score) - Last 3 month’s payslips - A letter from your previous landlord which says that you paid your rents in time - Your ID Since our assumption for this blog post is that you are moving to Germany first time, probably you are not going to have a Schufa or maybe you can get it but it will be probably positive. Until finding a flat, maybe you are not going to receive a salary or receive only one, it would be really helpful if you can get a letter from your HR which says how much you are going to earn. The main reason for this is that the landlords want to make sure that you can pay the rent. The rule of thumb is that the rent shouldn’t be more than your one-third of your salary. Since you are not a German if you are reading this blog post, you don’t have a German ID but you might have a Blue Card. So you can provide the picture of your Blue Card or if you don’t have Blue Card you can use your passport. There are many websites that list flat ads but I think the most common one is [ImmobilienScout24](http://immobilienscout24.de/?ref=mertbulan.com). You can go to this website, set your filters and create an alert. I highly suggest you buy Premium account because if you have a Premium, your message to the landlords will be shown on top, you will see the ads before the basic users, you will be able to get your Schufa free and also prepare all the documents that I shared above easily with the tool on the website. If you have a relocation package, probably you can get the money back that you paid for a premium from your company. Otherwise, you can deduct it from your taxes. If you are planning to live in a shared flat, you can use [WG-Gesucht](http://wg-gesucht.de/?ref=mertbulan.com). Once you find a flat which fits your requirements, you should send a message as soon as possible for asking for an appointment. If you are going to live in a big city, the competition will be really high so you have to be fast. In the message, would be really helpful if you can introduce yourself shortly. If you have luck, you will get an appointment. Don’t surprise if you see more than 20 people when you go for visiting the flat. (you can’t rent a flat without visiting, that’s the law) If you like the flat, you give your papers then the landlord selects one tenant from the people who gave their papers. Do not send any money to your potential landlord without getting your signed contract. Once you have your signed contract, do not forget to buy a household insurance. I am using [GetSafe](https://www.hellogetsafe.com/en-de/referral?n=Mert&r=9EDA-HBFY&s=1&ref=mertbulan.com) since they have English support. You can also buy a liability insurance from them, if you live in Germany you should definitely have these two insurances. I pay around 10€ per month for both. ## Garbage separation In Germany, you have to separate your trash. The most common trash cans that you will see for paper, plastic and metal, residual waste. You will see these trash cans near your home and probably they will have a lock on them since you are paying for the collection only you and your neighbors can throw the trash into those cans. There are also bigger trash cans in your neighborhood that everybody can use for white, green and brown glass. There are also other types of trash cans which are not very common as the ones that I mentioned: electronic, textile and bio. If you have things which are big for these trash cans, you need to call someone and they will pick them up and you might need to pay a fee for that. There is one important thing about bio trash can, while collection your trash, you should use paper bags because you can’t throw a plastic bag into bio trash can. You can find those bags under Bio-Müllbeutel or Biotüten names. Also in some cities, you can get 30 free paper bags with a coupon code. For Hamburg, you can get your coupon code [from Stadtreinigung.](https://www.stadtreinigung.hamburg/privatkunden/wertstoffe/biotueten/index.html?ref=mertbulan.com) ## Silent hours and days (Ruhezeit) In Germany, you can not make noise between 22:00 and 07:00 and all day on Sundays and public holidays. Under the tenancy law, if you make noise during the silent hours, your neighbors can complain to your landlord and your landlord can terminate your rental contract. ## Supermarkets There are many supermarket brands in Germany. The ones that I know: Rewe, Edeka, Penny, Aldi, and Lidl. The first two ones are real supermarkets that you can find almost everything that you need. The last three ones are discount markets, you can find most of the things that you need but you will have fewer options and they are going to be super cheap. I mostly go to Rewe because I find the shopping experience more pleasant and I like to try different brands every time. When you go to a supermarket, would be better if you bring your shopping bag otherwise you have to pay for it. There are also some supermarkets which focus on mostly personal care and household items: BUDNI, ROSSMANN and dm. You can find those items cheaper than the other supermarkets and they have many alternatives for every product. If you buy drinks in plastic, glass or aluminum bottles, sometimes on the price tag you will see something called PFAND. This is the deposit that you pay for the bottle, recycling is really important in Germany. If you bring back the bottles, you can get your money back. Most of the supermarkets in Germany are closed on Sundays and during the public holidays except the ones in the train stations. When you are done with your shopping and go to the checkout, if you want to pay with your card, you can just say “Karte, bitte.” Please check Google Translate for the pronunciation. Don’t forget it, politeness is really important for Germans. Bitte and Danke will be your best friends. After the payment, the person at the checkout will ask you if you want to get the receipt or not. There are different words for saying receipt: Beleg, Quittung, Kassenzettel, Zettel, Bon, Kassenbon. If you hear one of these words, you can answer by saying “Nein, danke.” if you don’t want to get the receipt. You can say “Ja, bitte.” if you want to get the receipt. Then, probably the person at the checkout will say have a good day/weekend/evening (Schönen Tag/Schönen Abend/Schönes Wochenende), you can answer by saying “Gleichfalls” which means you too. If you enter a store and if someone ask you “Brauchen Sie Hilfe?”, it means “Do you need help?” (in a polite way) and if you want to say you are just looking, you can say: “Nein danke. Ich schaue mich nur um.”. Again, check Google Translate for the pronunciation. ## Public Transportation Every city has a different public transportation system. In Hamburg, it is completely trust based. You can walk into the subway station and take the train without passing any machine and also same for the long buses. You can use the middle and back doors of the long buses but for the small buses, you need to take the front door and show your ticket to the driver. Other than that there is no machine to validate your ticket. As far as I remember, in Berlin, after buying your ticket from a ticket machine, you need to validate it in a punch machine in the station. Sometimes, you will see people who ask for your ticket. If you don’t have a ticket, you will get a fine. They are doing this controls randomly so please do not even think to abuse the system, buy your ticket before entering the station. You can buy a single ticket based on your travel distance, also you can buy a daily, weekly or monthly ticket. There are ticket machines at the enterance of the train stations or next to the some bus stops. You can buy your ticket there or you can use the mobile app of the transportation service in your city. (In Hamburg, you can use [HVV app](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/hvv-navigation-for-hamburg/id501995569?ref=mertbulan.com)) ## Broadcasting Fee (Rundfunkbeitrag) After your address registration, in a few weeks, you are going to receive a letter about the broadcasting fee. Every household in Germany has to pay this fee. It costs 17,50€ per month and you pay it every 3 months. In Germany, public service broadcasters are financed by this fee. In this way, media can stay independent from commercial and political interests. You can simply fill in the form that you got it in the letter with your bank account information and send it back. They will collect the fee every 3 months. All the programs produced by public service broadcasters are in German. There is one exception, Deutsche Welle. It is Germany’s international broadcaster, and it has YouTube channels and websites in many different languages. ## Books If you want to know about the history of Germany and the culture of Germans, I can suggest two books that I liked to read. The first book is “German Men Sit Down To Pee & Other Insights Into German Culture”, it is really fun to read. You can see how Germans behave in some situations. Some people might find it interesting but to be honest, most of the things make sense to me. The second book is about the history of Germany. It is called “Germany: Memories of a Nation”. This is a nice book to understand the history of Germany. You don’t only read about the wars but you also read about the people who changed the things in their field like Martin Luther and the ideas which changed industries like Bauhaus. *Last updated: 21 August 2021*