University Groningen, the Netherlands

Soon, the moment of which I have been afraid of since the beginning of the semester abroad will come: leaving! In less than two weeks it's time to say "goodbye" for an indefinite time. But one thing is for sure: I will come back as soon as possible!

In the last days I could find a few minutes to review the six months with their ups and downs. At the first moment, I didn't know exactly where to start, because you always experience so many good things, even if you think it can't get any better. Starting with the incomparable music festivals, of which I was able to experience three. Even if you may not believe it, the whole city is full of music. Whether young or old, sunshine or snow, Heavy Metal or Indie Rock - there is something for everyone and everyone is out and about. The offer is tremendous and the music of different live bands can be heard from even the smallest bar. The same goes for the Eurosonic Noorderslag 2016, where record labels, bookers and newcomer bands swarm to Groningen in search of young talents. This city never sleeps! :)

Even though I would say that I haven't been idle lately and have really seen a lot of the Netherlands, there is still a lot to discover. Admittedly, four cities in one day were a tight plan, but the trip to the south of Holland was definitely worth it. Even the extreme snowfall couldn't stop us and so we started on Saturday morning from the Central Station Groningen to Deventer - Arnhem - Nijmegen and ´s Hertogenbosch. All four towns had a special flair with their cute little streets and impressive markets with mountains of fresh fruit, vegetables, all sorts of cheese and roasted nuts.

At first we were a little disappointed that we arrived in ´s Hertogenbosch when it was already dark, but all the more we were overwhelmed by the St. John's Cathedral, which is considered one of the highlights of Gothic architecture in the Netherlands. Not even Cologne Cathedral could impress me as much as this cathedral. Especially in the darkness, this church had an unbelievable atmosphere that was simply amazing. Never before have I seen such a construction with so much love for detail.

For me it is still unimaginable that this is already my second to the last diary entry and my stay is already almost over.

But for now, the motto is: Live every day as if it were your last! And that's exactly what I have in mind for my last two weeks! :)