Life on exchange has been quite busy lately. We made it halfway through the semester, which meant exams, classes ending, and new ones starting, but it also meant spring break and therefore time to travel. Additionally we have had a number of large Dutch holidays which have all been incredible to experience.
At Utrecht University, the semesters are split into 2 periods. Since I am here for their spring semester (semester 2), I am doing periods 3 and 4. In each period, which is around 8 weeks long, you do 2 classes, each worth 7.5 ECTS, which is the equivalent of 15 UoA points (1 UU class = 1 UoA class), and there are exams at the end of the period to complete the classes. I have found exams here to be quite similar to UoA. For my classes in period 3, I had a take-home exam, which I had 3 days to complete, and a closed-book, 2-hour, in-person exam. Although a slightly stressful time both went well and I finished a week earlier than many of my friends which gave me an extra week of break (more about that below). We are now a few weeks into period 4 and the new classes. So far, I am finding both very interesting. I am lucky in that I only have classes on Mondays and Tuesdays as it is allowing me to do other things I want to. It is especially nice with the gorgeous weather we have been having to be able to spend the days outside rather than in a classroom. Overall I have found the workload here to be less than Auckland but I would say there are more required readings that many of the lectures and seminars are based on, which has been an adjustment.
Now to the travel! In between the periods we had a few weeks of break which I used to travel and ended up going on 3 separate trips. The first one was to Krakow, Budapest and Bratislava. I flew RyanAir from Eindhoven (around 50 minutes by train from Utrecht) to Krakow, took Flixbuses to Budapest and then Bratislava before flying back to Eindhoven. I really enjoyed every city on this trip and got to see so much which was amazing! The next trip I went on was a group trip with ESN Utrecht. ESN is the Erasmus Student Network and there is a branch in most European cities. They provide helpful information for international students and organise a bunch of events and trips – if you are doing an exchange in Europe I highly recommend joining them! This trip was to Ameland which is a Dutch island in the North of the country. It was an incredible trip and something I likely wouldn’t have been able to do by myself. I got to see and experience a new part of the country and do a bunch of fun activities, I really enjoyed the weekend – though I was absolutely knackered by the end of it! The last trip during this break that I went on was a 4 day trip to Berlin with a friend. It was booked last minute but was a city I’ve wanted to visit for a long time and we got to see and do quite a lot in the short time we were there. The history of the city is insane and we got some of the most amazing weather for the time we were there.
Back in Utrecht we have had a bunch of public holidays and with that festivals! The most notable being Koningsdag or King’s Day!! King’s Day (Koninginnedag (Queen’s Day) if it’s a queen) is one of, if not the largest, holidays in the Netherlands and celebrates the King’s Birthday. Everyone dresses up in orange and parties all day. I’m not kidding, it’s like a sea of orange (as a big fan of the colour I loved it!) and across the city there are free outdoor “parties” organised by the city. The holiday takes place on the 27th of April, unless it falls on a Sunday (like it did this year), then it is celebrated on the 26th. The night before is also known as Koningsnacht or King’s Night and is again just one big city-wide party. This holiday was one of the experiences I was most looking forward to when I knew I would be coming to Utrecht and I had so much fun. We chose not to go into Amsterdam due to the sheer number of people the city was expecting but I don’t think I missed out on anything. Wearing orange, hanging out with friends, dancing and singing in the street – the vibe of the city was immaculate and I made great memories that day. Another public holiday we were extremely lucky to experience was Bevrijdingsdag or Liberation Day because this day is only a public holiday in the Netherlands every 5 years! I didn’t know anything about this day or how its celebrated by the Dutch but it turned out to be a really fun day. In one of the main parks in the city there was a free festival – you just showed up and made your way through security then you were in. There were live Dutch performers like Sven Versteeg and Flemming. Although I didn’t recognise a single song or understand any of the lyrics I had so much fun! The music was great and just being part of the atmosphere with everyone else around you singing was so cool. This day was one of those random ones that you just happen to stumble across but end up with amazing memories from. I also discovered some new music – eventually I’ll learn the lyrics so I can sing along next time!
In addition to all this we have also celebrated many birthdays here and my parents came to visit for a week which was so lovely to have. I got to show them around the city and travel to some other Dutch cities with them.
Although it’s been an incredibly busy time here in Utrecht on exchange it’s been some of the best, filled with lots of fun and surprises. The hardest thing myself and others are dealing with at the moment is the feeling that we are running out of time. There is still so much we want to see and do but the flight home is now in sight. It’s hard to just ignore that and enjoy the time we do have left but that is my goal for the next couple of months. The time to leave is going to come either way so what’s the point in worrying about it when I can just get out there and experience as much as I can!
Also side note: I am now on my 3rd bike, with my last one being stolen – I guess I’m just getting the full Dutch experience 🫠
