Possibility to travel during my 9 months in Strasbourg:

Possibility to travel during my 9 months in Strasbourg:

My nine months in France allowed me to explore several other foreign cities in many countries. With the availability of car share via BlaBlaCar and cheap trains and buses I managed to achieve a total of nine trips throughout five different countries. As Strasbourg is pretty central of the European Countries is was easy enough to get around.

Here’s what I did…

Oktoberfest in Munich with the Erasmus Student Network:

I was lucky to get a ticket for the trip to Munich for Oktoberfest.

The trip was completely organised by ESN Strasbourg as a way for other Erasmus students to get to meet new people and experience the famous festival. Coaches left in the early morning on the Friday and we were in Munich by the Saturday morning. We were to be leaving late on Saturday night so they left us to our own devices. My friends and I wandered around Munich Town Centre. I had been before so I acted as the tour guide.

We then headed for the beer tents at the Oktoberfest venue. We spent hours at the table drinking steinsof beer and scoffing pretzels. We had enough time to wander around the fun fair, taste the German cuisine and try out a few games. It was a great insight into the world of Oktoberfest which gave me the inspiration to travel to Stuttgart the following weekend for a less touristic, yet equally as wild Oktoberfest experience.

Oktoberfest in Stuttgart:

My friend Ruth and I decided to get a last minute Bla Bla Car to see our friends who were at Oktoberfest in Stuttgart. We arrived there early but were waiting for hours in the cold and rain waiting to get into the tents. It was a one-in, one-out system where the bouncers had preferences on who they let in. As Stuttgart Oktoberfest is more small scale that that in Munich it is mostly locals that go so we were the bottom of the line. We managed to get to a beer tent and its interior was breathtaking! It was massive! The waitresses were able to carry multiple stein glasses full of beer in each hand whereas I struggled lifting only one. The tradition dress was worn by everyone and it looked amazing! People were dancing on tables with music blasting throughout the grand hall echoing off the high ceilings! People were already passed out drunk at the tables so we decided to sneak on to the end of a table beside a sound asleep gentleman in lederhosen. The beers were soon flowing and we were making friends with the people sat beside us!

As it started to get late, Ruth and I started to look at Bla Bla Cars to go back to Strasbourg that night. Unfortunately, there were none until the following morning. We were stuck in Germany. Luckily, one of our other friends from Strasbourg was staying in an Airbnb in town and was allowed to bring us back with her. It ended up being the three of us plus a friendly German girl who we had made friends with at the Beer Festival. The party continued on the way back to the Air B’n’B while we walked in the crowds screaming out Backstreet Boys lyrics. The Airbnb was stunning; it was massive! We never actually met the owner, Chip, but he was happy for us to stay as we were stranded. I did keep waking up in the middle of the night panicking that Chip would walk in and find me in his bed. In the end, we got away without any awkward encounters and get our Bla Bla Car back to Strasbourg in one piece. It was a wild and unexpected weekend but totally worth the drama!

Prague, Czech Republic:

The first trip further afield was to Prague with my friend Ruth.

We squeezed into a Bla Bla Car for 5-6 hours driving on theAutobahn through Germany to get to The Czech Republic. It was an amazing weekend and many of their markets were already set up. We went on a walking tour to discover the history and culture of the city as well as collecting tips on where to eat and visit. We went on a Bar Crawl which took us around the amazing Prague nightlife and stayed out until all hours of the night.

The stunning castle high up, overlooking the city gave us stunning views and a want to stay longer. I still have the urge to return to that amazing city.

Berlin, Germany (x2):

I managed to escape to Berlin three time within one year. Two of which were during my time studying in France.

Berlin is one of my favourite cities so I can’t say no if someone suggests a trip there. The first trip was again with Ruth; she became my travel buddy for the year. We got a cheap 13-hour night bus from Strasbourg to Berlin. We met up with a friend whilst we were there and explored the city together for the weekend.

The second time round was for my 21st Birthday. Friends from Glasgow and France came including some friends who were also on their year abroad but in other cities. It was so nice to have everyone in the same city, at the same time, catching up with each other and telling stories of what had been happening over the past six months.

We all managed to fix in a few free Walking Tours and the ‘666 Anti Pub Crawl’. It was such a great weekend but I was struggling after the 13-hour bus journey back. I had no time to go home and sleep properly as I had to go straight to university to sit an exam! (Which I passed in the end) It was all a bit of a stress but in the end it was worth it.

Christmas Markets with ESN:

The Erasmus Student Network also organised a day trip to the Christmas Markets around Alsace. It was such a cute day filled with mulled wine, gingerbread and Christmas songs.

It started to lightly snow adding to the Christmassy atmosphere. It got me in the mood for Christmas and I couldn’t wait to get back home to celebrate with my family. However, I felt so lucky to be able to experience these markets, to walk around and soak up the festive atmosphere as well as meet new people on Erasmus.

Paris in Novemeber:

My sister, Kirsty, had a layover in Paris one weekend in November so I jumped in a Bla Bla Car to spend the night with her in her hotel provided by Emirates.

I met her at Tocadero in front of the Eiffel tower. It was a beautiful reunion! We spent the day together catching up and seeing the sites in the chilly autumn air.

When it was time for her to return back to Dubai, I met up with my friend, Erin, who was spending her year abroad teaching in Paris. We walked and walked passing by the Sacre Coeur, The Moulin Rouge, Notre Dame and of course The Highlander Pub where our friend worked. It was a short but sweet trip. And I had already planned to go ack to Paris to see Erin before my time was up in France.

Paris – last trip before going home:

Paris will always be one of my favourite cities in the world, and this trip contributed to that feeling. Ruth and I wanted to spend a week over two cities but we decided to save ourselves the hassle and go straight to Paris for five days to stay with our friend Erin. With the ease of access to Bla Bla Cars to and from Strasbourg to Paris we managed to organise it last minute.

It was the best time! We met up with friends who worked in the Highlander Scottish Pub near the Notre Dame then we all had a night out together which ended up with us all eating Lasagne at 5am and getting the first metro of the day back to Erin’s flat.

We wandered around the beautiful city reciting the lyrics of The Hunch Back of Notre Dame and Our Last Summer, laughing and acting like complete idiots. We also spent the most magical day at Disneyland Paris, where we acted as children for the day. All the nostalgia brought us all to tears at the Cinderella Castle Light Show and I will never forget it. I was so happy to spend that day with two of my best friends! (Ignoring how cringe we all were. )

Our final evening was spent drinking wine and eating bread and cheese in the grassy part under the Eiffel Tower then going back to our friend’s flat to continue the drinks and the catch up. It was such a wonderful trip and a nice way to end our last few weeks in France and even now I still can’t wait to go back.

Frankfurt, Germany and Zurich, Switzerland:

Ruth and I were always keen to get a wee trip away so this time we decided to go to Switzerland. We managed to combine the trip with a weekend in Frankfurt too. We hopped on a train that was full of rowdy Germans singing and drinking during the whole up until the point when one of the threw up everywhere and the whole carriage evacuated and escaped to a less smelly compartment.

In Frankfurt, we stayed in a very large hostel that was practically empty. We busied ourselves with sightseeing and of course walking tours and a ‘quiet one’ in the old part of the town. Frankfurt is a beautiful city and the old town reminded me a lot of Strasbourg.

After two days in Germany, we then hopped on a bus to Zurich. We were both taken aback by the beauty, efficiency and cleanliness of Switzerland’s capital city. Everybody was dressed so well and there were no graffiti or chewing gum to be seen.

We spent only a couple of days in Switzerland as it was expensive. It was difficult getting used to the currency. We also had our second Couch Surfing Experience where we slept on the couches of a 8-person student accommodation flat! We met some interesting people but it was kind of awkward being woken up or disturbed by everyone cooking their meals throughout the day.

We managed to find a free walking tour that was were interesting. Zurich hosts one of the biggest clock faces in the world and has streets full of history. The second day we spent wandering around by ourselves taking in the beautiful scenery. Soon it was time to hop on a bus back to Strasbourg. Now that was an experience. Little did we know, we were meant to change bus in Stuttgart. I kept noticing that we were passing the cut offs from Strasbourg and on inspection of our tickets we had realised that we had missed our change. The next stop was in Heidelberg.

Now you might think that we were panicking, but in reality we both just burst out laughing at how stupid we were. Once we got to the bus station in Heidelberg we found a MacDonald’s, connected to the Wi-Fi and started frantically searching for ways to get home and ever Air Bnbs. We ended up finding two trains that got us back to Strasbourg that night, it was a long journey but thankfully it didn’t cost too much extra. I guess we’ll never know what we missed in Heidelberg. We’re just going to have to make another trip!

Porto, Portugal with the girls:

In order to brighten up our January Blues, me and four other girls on Erasmus decided to have a weekend away to Porto in sunny Portugal.

It was perfect timing. The skies were blue and the air was hot, a much needed change after the depressing post-Christmas cold. We had an Air BnB in town big enough for the 5 of us. We decided to get the hop-on-hop-off bus in order to get to know the history of the city but also as a means of transport.

We also looked up a local bar crawl which showed us the going out areas and it was a great way to learn about the local culture and meet other people travelling. Our last afternoon was spent at the beach. It wasn’t warm enough to sunbath so we lay about chatting and laughing whist enjoying the sunset. It was a nice way to bring in the new year and the start of a new semester alongside my new subjects.

Europa Park:

On one of my last weeks in Strasbourg, the girls and I decided to celebrate our last few days at Europa park in Germany, a couple of hours away by bus. It was an amazing, fun-filled day and a great send off with the girls that I had me on my year abroad. It wasn't as magical as Disneyland paris but it was still super fun and a great way to hang out with everyone before we all started going our separate ways.

Homeward Bound:

At the end of May, it was finally time for me to pack up all of my things and head back home to Scotland. I had had the best year abroad and made so many memories in France and in the other countries that I got to visit. I made some amazing friends and it was the first step for the many years abroad that I’ve had since.

Erasmus really helped me with my degree and made me realise that I love to travel and it allowed me to do so.

I would encourage anyone who has the opportunity to go abroad with Erasmus to do so and it will change your life! Whether you end up enjoying it or not, you’ll come away with some great life lessons.

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