Girona

The romantic city of Girona, about 100 km from Barcelona, appeals through its many beautiful bridges over the river Onyar. If you plan to visit Barcelona and have some time for a trip to a neighboring city or just want to explore the authentic Catalunya away from the big tourist streams, Girona is the place to go - I'm sure you won't regret it!

This river makes its way through the center of the city and therewith divides Girona into a gorgeous old town with bars and restaurants and on the other side an area which offers a variety of stores and shopping opportunities.

Girona's Saint Feliu cathedral is one of the town's landmarks and beautifully emerges as the highest tower in the landscape, so that it can be seen from almost everywhere.

Another sight one shouldn't miss when coming to the city of Girona is the great City Wall's Walkway. It's quite a climb at some parts to get up the wall, but once you made it, the stunning view on the city and its surrounding landscapes definitely make the effort worthwhile.

 I felt so lucky to spend half a year living in this amazing city! I spent wonderful moments of laughter and joy there and cannot wait to come back. If you want to read more about my experiences in Girona, also read the article: ERASMUS Girona 2014.

Barcelona

Barcelona is truly one of the greatest cities in Europe. It combines the metropolitan feeling of seeing life at its best, of walking on historical ground beside ancient buildings, of tasting unique Spanish dishes, of breathing the air of the latest trends, together with the opportunity of cultural experiences through various museums, theaters and concert halls. And as a special treat you get to relish all that, while having the appeasing sound of the ocean stroking the endless beaches of this wonderful seaport city.

If you are about to visit Barcelona you NEED TO SEE:

The basilica "La Sagrada Familia"

The "Park Güell" with its impressive and just beautiful architecture

At Plaça d'Espanya you will see the beautiful building of the Museum of National Arts of Catalunya, with its great fountain in front.

The Museum of Dalí is of course a MUST for everyone remotely interested in Art and culture

Also the famous food market "La Boqueria" is definitely a trip worth making! It is in the center of the main pedestrian area on "La Rambla" and offers all kinds of fruits, vegetables, meat and cheese. If you get to visit Barcelona, don't miss out on this tour of adventure for your senses!

And like just about anything in this city, also the nightlife of Barcelona is something you won't forget.

My advice: put on a cute dress, get your high heels out, go to the beach and enjoy the sunset before going wild in one of Barcelona's amazingly fun nightclubs - you won't regret it!

But go and see for yourself! :)

ERASMUS Girona 2014

The time I spent during my ERASMUS year in Girona, Spain was amazing! It wasn't my first time abroad, nor my first visit to Spain, however I can say with full certainty that it was the best. I lived together with three fantastic Spanish medicine students in an apartment in the middle of the city. My room was spacious, clean and had a big window facing the impulsive main street of Girona. Living there really made me feel at home and therewith part of the Spanish youth who studied there. As the reason for my stay was an exchange of students between my university in the Netherlands and the university in Girona, I participated in all the regular classes and needed to obtain all the credits for this semester. Even though the classes were structured similar to the ones I had visited in Holland, I feel like I got a lot of new information, new techniques and new professional view on the material. In my class was a very endearing girl who took me by her hand and helpfully showed me around university, explained ordinary administrative procedures and even invited me to come along when she and her friends went for a night out.

The fact, that I didn't speak a word of Catalan didn't really matter, as I was able to express myself quite comfortably in the Spanish language. This was one of the times, where I was glad having done an Au Pair year in Marbella, Spain in 2010/2011 after my high school graduation. Without knowing the language of the country you live in, you never quite get to understand the culture of its people nor the attitude and the view on life they have. This to me, however, seems the most interesting part when traveling. Anyways...I'm drifting off...

I loved being fully integrated into the Spanish way of life. Step by step and day by day I got used to the "ooh, lo haremos luego"-mantality and to their constant kissing when someone new entered a social group. I adopted new habits such as eating lunch at 3 pm and dinner at 9 pm, drowning in-numerous eatables in olive oil when cooking, taking a piece of white bread with every dish that is being served and enforcing my conversations with exaggerated hand gestures to make my point clear. Moreover, being a german girl living in the cold, wet Netherlands I felt like I had to take advantage of every sunny day, every ray of sunlight and enjoy it outside, so I wouldn't miss any of it. Since my new found Spanish friends however had a daily routine, hobbies and chores to do themselves and therefore were not always available to go stroll through the streets of the old town with me, I decided to befriend other ERASMUS students living in Girona. And looking back, this was the best decision I could have made. Together with two amazing girls I went on day trips to the beach, discovered the metropolitan city of Barcelona by night, and had fabulous picnics in parks. I remember so many moments of laughter in bars drinking coffee or Sangria, while blabbering about fashion, our future plans, the countries we came from or simply about different people we knew. I recall so many nights dancing in clubs till sunrise and so many times when I wished my time in Spain would never come to an end. The people I met during my stay were wonderful, rich personalities and are now friends for life!