Why Bratislava as your Erasmus destination?

I have always been curious about exploring other countries and understanding other cultures. I liked the idea of going out of Spain and living an international experience. The second year of my bachelor I applied for an Erasmus exchange during my third year, however, it was not until my fourth year that I decided to finally do so.

I hesitated so much in regards of the destination I would choose. I had to pick among three options which were: Łódź (Poland), Bratislava (Slovakia) and Turin (Italy).

I immediately dismissed Italy since my intention was to learn English, which I was pretty bad at, and in Italy the lectures were in Italian so my main concern now was either to choose Poland or choose Slovakia. Everyone was telling me about how nice was to do an Erasmus exchange in Poland, "a very cheap country full of party", but no one knew anything about Slovakia... except for one colleague from dentistry who told me everything about her experience as an Erasmus student there and encouraged me to finally go for this option.

Now it comes the question hundreds of people have asked me before, whilst and after this year: Why did you choose this country as your first choice for your Erasmus destination?

Well, I chose Bratislava for its geographical situation. I thought that it was the perfect city if I wanted to travel since it is in the very middle of Europe, which would allow me to visit all of the countries surrounding it, whereas Poland was slightly upper north which would have made travelling a bit more difficult. Moreover, Poland was a colder country and I, being used to Murcia, am more keen on warm environments.

Once I arrived in Bratislava I realised I had taken the right decision, it was the perfect place for my Erasmus year. The city is not that big and so it was quite easy to get around, there's a nice student environment and the city hides quite a few magical corners. What I have definitely liked the most is the fact that within a 5 minutes walk you can get yourself to places surrounded by nature and completely forget you're living in a city as big as the capital of Slovakia.

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