Erlangen in January (Nuremberg)

Hi guys,

I'm moving to Erlangen mid January and staying there for abuut 3 months. Im from Sri Lanka, a tropical country which has no seasons. It is kind of exciting to visit a winter weather, but don't know how harsh the winters at Erlengen are. As I will be on a training, I can only use my weekend and holidays (if there will be any) for travelling. In the evenings on weekdays I plan to socialize and visit places in Erlangen. Defenitely I look forward to meet you guys at Internations events and connect with you. Can you please advice on

1. Places to see at Erlangen and surrounding cities
2. Cheapest ways to travel (public transport) to places like Berlin, Austria, Czech, Luxumberg and even Belgium and Netherlands (I want to visit as many places as possible, but also can't afford a supper expensive travel mode)
3. Is it costly to buy winter clothes after only arriving there?
4. A good and affordable gym to use only for 3 months
5. How safe is the city? Usually I'll be be walking late in the night after any events to my apartment.
6. Best resources to learn basic German as I want to meet and greet locals. I'm an absolute beginner to German
7. Cheap Restaurants to grab dinner
8. Cultural must-dos as I want to be polite to people

And anything impoartant for a total stranger to Erlangen.

As this is my first tour to Europe, I'm super excited. So I want to make it count. :)

Looking forward to hear and connect with you.

Regards,
Asela