Now I am coming towards the end of my year in The Netherlands, I have realised that there is often an assumption that during your time abroad you will be constantly busy and that you have to say yes to lots of ‘big’ things if you want to make the most of it. I have definitely found myself thinking, “If I’m not always on the go, I have wasted my year abroad’, which can put a lot of unnecessary pressure on yourself. As much as big sightseeing trips and adventures can be an exciting part of your year abroad (and I’ve had an amazing time on the trips I have taken) they often aren’t what you spend most of your time doing.
In fact, one of my favourite things this year has not big the big adventures and experiences, but just living in Utrecht and experiencing day-to-day life in another country. Because of this, I wanted to talk about my favourite ‘little’ things in the city I spend most of my time in, and what I get up to in an average week.
Café culture
My favourite thing about Utrecht is definitely all of the cafés. The outdoor café culture and terraces here are amazing throughout the year but especially when its sunny (which admittedly isn’t often – Dutch weather is pretty much the same as in the UK). The outdoor eating culture makes the city feel a lot more vibrant and welcoming and was one of the first things I noticed when I arrived back in August – with people sitting in chairs on the streets with their coffee, in café terraces or on benches outside cafés and along the canal. In the last few months, a few of my friends and I have been working through a list of cafés we want to try before we leave, which has been really fun, and easy to do with a few free hours.
Canals
Utrecht, like most cities in the Netherlands, is full of canals. The Oudegracht (“Old Canal”), my favourite canal, runs through the centre and has lots of shops along it as well as quieter spots with benches or decking. If it’s a nice day and I need a break from studying, I really like going for a walk around one of the canals, or just going to sit by the Oudegracht. They take mental health walks to a whole new level! Even after a year here, I still can’t get over how beautiful they are, and I’m really going to miss them when I return to Sheffield.
Bikes
It’s impossible to talk about the Netherlands and not mention bikes at least once. Even though I’ve found that I still prefer walking to biking (mostly due to my terrible balance), I love watching people on their bikes and experiencing the biking culture. Rush-hour here is pretty much car-free and instead consists of traffic jams of bikes and overflowing bike parking. People here also have a lot more practice at biking with one or no hands, so it’s fun to see the different things they manage to carry (I’ve seen people carrying pets, flowers, or even carrying another bike).
Market day
Saturday is the main market day in Utrecht – with the food market, the fabric market and the flower market (my favourite)! Since being here, I’ve had a lot of weekends where I’ve had no plans, and where the only thing I’ve done on a Saturday is go to the flower market with some friends. The flowers are really affordable (around €5 for a bunch), and they also sell other plants and plant pots. There is also a coffee cart (which is transported attached to a bicycle) so it’s a really nice thing to do that doesn’t take up much time!
The University
Ultimately, if you are doing an exchange year, the place where you spend most of your time will probably be the university you’re studying in. Most of my classes are in the city centre, which is full of beautiful buildings, and the library was also built in a former palace which makes for a cool study environment! Aside from all the beautiful buildings, my favourite thing about the university is probably that all the lecture halls have coffee machines which sell very cheap coffee. This is maybe a strange ‘favourite thing’, but it is absolutely necessary here because lectures are usually at least 2 hours (although I have also had classes with 4-hour lectures!).
While some of these little things seem very small, the main point I wanted to make is that there are so many ‘little things’ to experience while on a year abroad that you might not even think about prior to arriving. Spending time abroad is not just about backpacking trips and weekends away, but also about enjoying everyday life in a slightly different way than you would in Sheffield. There are so many ways to enjoy your year abroad, and you won’t be ‘wasting’ it by taking it more slowly!
Global Opportunities 