Beep... Beep... 6:45am, my alarm goes off and I wish it wouldn't, but I guess I have no choice - time to get up!

After you already know what university life looks like in Leuven, today it's about what happens besides that. The first month was full of new and exciting experiences. I spent a lot of time getting to know new people and the many impressions were reflected in a weeks-long euphoria phase. Slowly but surely, everyday life sets in, which is by no means boring or dull, I can tell you that. What is dull, however, is that I have to leave the house an hour before the start of the lecture, if I occasionally have the first lecture in the morning, which starts here at 8:30am. The reason for this is that my campus is located outside of Leuven and I take a bus that takes about 30 minutes. Since I live only 5-10 minutes away from the university campus in Würzburg, I'm used to something else. But even the bus ride is manageable... put on some headphones and take a power nap, and you're there before you know it.

Although it's quite nice to be at the university in no time, I would still recommend finding an accommodation close to the city centre or, as everyone says here, "within the ring". Especially for nightlife, but also everything else, it will definitely pay off (and believe me, you will appreciate a short way home from the club more than from the university). "Within the ring" refers to the layout of the city.

Fortunately, I got a room in a student dormitory very close to the city centre, so I enjoy all the advantages of the location and should slowly make my way to the bus stop, which is just a 5-minute walk away. Oh, one more recommendation: If you have found a room near the city centre or at least within the Ring and have to go to the Campus Proximus like me, it is definitely helpful to get a seasonal ticket for the bus. For my 6 months stay, I pay around 30€ for the ticket and can use all busses, which is very helpful as the bus network is well developed.

Once you arrive at the university, thanks to the last post, you are already informed about how everything works here. After or between lectures, I usually eat at the cafeteria with friends. In addition to a choice of 3-4 hot dishes and other snacks, baguettes with various toppings are very popular here, as one can tell from the long queue. Compared to Würzburg, the dishes in the cafeteria are slightly more expensive and cost around 4-5€ depending on what you choose. The baguettes, where you can choose what you want on them, are sometimes available for as little as 3.30€, which is why they are the winner in the price-performance category for me.

After arriving back at the dormitory, I usually meet some of my roommates (12 students are in my unit in total) in the kitchen and we chat about this and that. If I'm not still working on one of my assignments for the university, we usually move on to the best part - leisure activities. For this, I have brought you three options to choose from.

Option A: Volleyball through the university sports program

The program offered by the university sports department is almost more extensive than the one in Würzburg, and I'm sure that all sports enthusiasts will find the perfect offering for themselves here. In addition to the university's volleyball offerings, there's even a special offering organized specifically for international students through the Erasmus Student Network (ESN). Several times a week, you can participate in what's called "free play" and not only challenge yourself athletically, but also get to know new people.

Option B: Eating pizza with friends

Always a good option is to check out new dining spots with a group of friends. In our case, it was a fancy Pizza place where not only the pizza was delicious, but there was also a very cool atmosphere. A little tip on the side, if you make friends with Italians during your Erasmus, simply turn to them... one of the first things they often do is search for the best Pizza place in town. 

Option C: Supporting newcomers at Het Depot

Those who are into music events would surely have enjoyed accompanying me to the Open Mic Sessions at Het Depot. Het Depot is a concert and event venue that, among other things, offers stages for the city's newcomers every first Wednesday and Thursday of the month. Wednesdays are for singer-songwriters, Thursdays for the hip-hop scene. Both events are free, which makes them a hot tip for anyone who wants to experience a concert in a small setting.

Our final spot and a sort of classic around here is Oude Market. Oude Market is a kind of market square surrounded by bars. It is even known for the longest bar counter in Europe. In most cases, we head to one of the bars after Option B or C, for example, and end the evening with a drink before everyone hops on their bikes and rides home.

So, which option would you have chosen? A, B, or C...

Until the next post, I'll definitely keep my eyes open for more experiences to have here. Until then...

...Tschöwen from Löwen