Blogs from Province of Utrecht, Netherlands, Europe - page 4

Unlike a lot of travelers I had zero plans for what to do after a couple days venturing around Amsterdam. But in the back of my mind I had decided on a place without even realising it. Utrecht! I am not exactly sure what attracted to me to the idea of going to Utrecht. I have a theory that it was because I think the name of the town (or is it a city??) is really cool and fort someone who doesn't speak Dutch, it isn't to hard to say properly. I decided to try Couchsurfing because I feel it is the best way to actually immerse yourself in the culture of the city and the country you are in. Fortunately I found a host very quickly, a young guy, Marc, who like me is associated ... read more

Het stadje in de oase is nog overtuigend Chinees: eettentjes, hotels, rammelende bussen en heel veel schoonmakers. Ik kom aan om 6 uur in de ochtend en het wordt net licht. Terwijl ik naar mn hostel zoek, wordt de omgeving langzaam wakker: het lijkt zo gewoon. Maar daarbuiten begint abrupt een andere werkelijkheid: grote zandduinen, uitgestrekte vlaktes van zand, stenen en niets. De volgende dag rijden we naar een natuurpark in de woestijn: 2 uur door de uitgestrekte nietsheid. Het park bestaat uit bijzonder gevormde zandsteen rosten die allemaal dezelfde kant op staan, en nog meer niets. Maar het bijzonderste is nog wel de stilte. Zodra je uit het toeristenbusje stapt, overvalt het je. 10 passen van iedereen vandaan is de stilte luider dan haar bezoekers. Ik loop nog verder, waar niemand is behalve ik en ... read more

Whoa! Introduction Week has come to an end, and I needed to sleep allll weekend in order to recover. Best. Week. Ever. So in Europe they have an organization called the Erasmus Student Network, and the whole goal of this organization is to make international students feel more at home. I feel like we could do something similar at U of L, but we don't have enough exchange students. And honestly, it's pretty similar to all the awesome things that Recruitment and Student Life arranges for new students, like Jump the Line and NSO and then Fresh Fest, organized by the ULSU. It's all those things. Together. Now you know how awesome this is, right? So you can buy an ESN card for 2 Euros and it's good for your whole stay. You get discounted food ... read more

So last Friday, I decided that I would try to find the Ikea. The bedding they're selling here was 52 Euros, and I figured I could find cheaper at Ikea, and then having my own sheets would make me feel a little more at home. I used Google maps to figure out how to take the bus down to Ikea, and it couldn't have been easier - get on bus 71 at the University, take it all the way to Stadscentrum, and Ikea is a little walk from there, but should be visible. I should mention that last Friday was a snowpocalypse in Utrecht. I would estimate that maybe 5cm of snow fell over the course of the entire day. In Canada, this is a normal amount of snow, and in February, we'd probably be thrilled ... read more

It has to be said - I am not a hostel person. Anyone who knows me knows that I do not sleep anywhere except my own bed, and a very select few other places, including my parents' house, my boyfriend's parents' house and that's really about it. It's actually one of the big reasons that I don't like drinking. I hate not being able to get home and being forced to sleep somewhere weird. And by weird, I just mean anywhere that is not the three places listed above. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for travelling. And if I was backpacking around Europe, then hostels would be amazing. I would know that I should expect this, and as such I would be mentally prepared. However, in Utrecht, I am paying very good money for my ... read more