University of Amsterdam
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Borrels, Canal Swims and social spaces – Exploring Amsterdam through my google maps of saved gems
By Hannah Castenskiold, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Netherlands I have found it so useful creating google maps folders like this for different cities that I’ve lived in. Especially when friends come and visit, or even when I am visiting new cities, I save places so that I can remember them for the future. Having friends and family come visit is definitely one of the perks about choosing Amsterdam for your year abroad, and has given me extra excuses to do the ‘touristy’ things or take them to these special places around the city. So, I thought it would be useful for any future visitors or future year abroad-ers, to collate all…
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A tourists guide to Amsterdam
By Rose Vollum, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands Becoming a hostess with the mostess is a rite of passage when doing a year abroad, especially when you’re just an hour flight away from home. Throughout my year in Amsterdam, I’ve had many friends and family come to visit! It’s always fun to become a tour guide, as it allows you to see the city in a different light and explore places you wouldn’t normally. However, initially, due to the wealth of activities available in Amsterdam, I found it a bit daunting trying to decide what to do and where to show people. Here is a list of all my favourite touristy…
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A hidden perk of doing a year abroad
By Rose Vollum, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands One of the hidden perks of international study is getting to visit fellow year-abroaders. It means you have free accommodation and a knowledgeable tour guide for a weekend away! After eight months apart, Emily and I decided it was about time we visited each other in our respective cities. Emily is currently studying French in Lyon, while I’m doing geography in Amsterdam.
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A guide to Amsterdam in the Summer
By Rose Vollum, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands Given that good weather is such a rarity in Amsterdam, it can be tough to know what to do when the sun finally arrives. After our recent heatwave, I thought it might be useful to compile a guide to the best spots to visit when it’s hot!
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Embracing Life in Amsterdam: Tips for Settling In
By Rose Vollum, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands Moving abroad can be daunting! While I now feel completely integrated into the Amsterdam lifestyle, it took some time before I felt adjusted into my new flat and routine. Here are some tips for settling in during your first few weeks: 1. Embrace the new way of life I think getting a bike is essential for feeling at home in Amsterdam. It gives you so much freedom and is the fastest way to get about! I got my bike, Ranger, for 80 euros from Waterlooplein market. And while we have had some tough moments, including 4 punctures and a broken brake, she has…
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Why you should make Albania your next place to visit
By Hannah Castenskiold, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Netherlands Being on a year abroad is one of the easiest ways to catch the travel bug. For a group of us in Amsterdam, as much as we love this city, UvA’s easter holiday was the perfect opportunity to explore somewhere new. After a while of negotiating the cookies of skyscanner and rome2rio, we found that taking the bus to Brussels then flying to Tirana, Albania was the cheapest option, and to our luck, one of the best, undiscovered places Europe has to offer.
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Amsterdam: Top tips for the ultimate ‘coffee and a sweet treat’ guide
By Augusta Arron, Universiteit van Amsterdam, The Netherlands If my time studying at Amsterdam this year has taught me anything it has been how much I love to explore cities… and pastries. Cafe’s offer the perfect means to do so, especially for students, providing hotspots for culture, community, food and some amazingly high-grade study sustenance (coffee).
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Rekindling the City Spark: A Guide to Returning to Dam After the Christmas Break
By Hannah Castenskiold, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Netherlands After spending nearly six months travelling away from home, I finally returned back home for the Christmas holidays, gleefully met by family, friends and more importantly, my dog. It was a precious three weeks to relax, rest and catch up with everyone, following one of my most memorable and adventurous years so far. Yet it made returning to Amsterdam feel almost daunting and I found myself unsure whether I had booked my plane back too early.
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Navigating a new city
By Hannah Castenskiold, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands As a Geography student, it only came naturally to me to map out the journey of moving and settling into the city of Amsterdam. I decided to use story maps as a way of visually recording the chronological order of funny experiences whilst moving in, in hope to share with others the ups and downs of a big move!
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Why you shouldn’t romanticise your perfect dutch home in Amsterdam
By Augusta Arron, Universiteit van Amsterdam, The Netherlands As many know navigating the housing market as a student in Amsterdam right now is a little stressful to say the least. While everyone I know from Manchester has faced no problem with it at all, getting a place through UvA’s limited accommodation lottery system, I made a very silly mistake in the process which in sum left me basically homeless. In this blog I’ll run you through how this happened and offer some tips you don’t follow in my mindless footsteps.
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Sampling the four pillars of Bruge
By Rose Vollum, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands After a tough week of in-person exams, two friends and I decided we deserved a holiday. So, the following Monday, we met up at Kiriteron (our local café) to get planning. After a couple of hot chocolates and much deliberating we settled on Bruge, a small city in Belgium, known for its medieval architecture and delicious food.
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How does UVA differ from UOM?
by Molly Hayward, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands Having done a year studying Social and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Amsterdam, and two years studying Geography at University of Manchester these are just five overall differences I noticed in university teaching style.
