Marjolein Verweij
Study: MSc Animal Sciences.
Destination: Austria.
Exchange student.
Hi Everyone,
I am Marjolein Verweij, a 21-year old student. For my Master Animal Sciences I will follow some courses at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) in Vienna. Here you can read my stories. You can also follow me (@mmrjln) and other WURldexplorers on Instagram: search for #WURldexplorers!
Introduction
Hello visitor! To get to know each other, I shall first introduce myself. I am Marjolein Verweij, a 21-year old student. This summer I completed my Bachelor Animal Sciences. For my Master Animal Sciences I am going abroad to the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU) in Vienna.
Votivkirche & Spritzer
Wow, Vienna is incredible! I am saying it to myself over and over again. There are so much beautiful buildings, that you actually don’t know where to look! You can spend days walking around just looking to all the great buildings. At night some buildings are surrounded by lights. Yesterday evening we went into the city to have a drink and then I saw this beautiful church!
A tribute to Vienna
In the city centre of Vienna you can find the Spanish riding school, the oldest existing riding school of the world. They practice equestrian for about 450 years now! I am really into horses – I am an animal scientist, you know :) - so I decided to visit the show ‘A tribute to Vienna’. This show presents the highlights of the ballet of the beautiful white stallions (they only train stallions at the Spanish riding school) alternating with musical performances by the Vienna Boys’ Choir. The Vienna Boys’ Choir originates from the late Middle Ages, they were part of the courtyard of the emperor Maximiliaan I. So, a lot of tradition together this evening.
Hypotopia
Last weekend I saw something interesting I wanted to share with you. My sister and brother in law were visiting me and we had a walk in the city centre. Suddenly we saw this thing you can see in the picture! For me it felt a bit like I was in the Netherlands again, because it reminded me of ‘Madurodam’.
State Opera
Last weekend, some friends from Wageningen visited me here in Vienna. It is nice to show ‘my’ city to my friends and family from the Netherlands, to show them what I was talking about every time. And of course it’s nice if they bring some Dutch stroopwafels, especially my roommates appreciate it :).
Pepernoten
This evening I decided to bake my own Dutch ‘pepernoten’. In the Netherlands I just go to the supermarket or the Hema and buy a lot of them, but here the only possibility is to make them by yourself. They are delicious!
Travelling
Austria is surrounded by many different countries, 8 in total! Vienna lies close to the eastern border of the country, so it is really easy to travel to the neighbouring countries. That’s what I actually did. Last weekend I visited a friend who lives in Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia. It is a small city, but whit an interesting history. Since 1993, the year that I was born – which has nothing to do with this - , the Slovakia is an independent country. Still you can see the influence of the communism from former times, for example the buildings or the system that employers have to provide a free warm meal for their employees on a working day.
Christmas time
Of course you already noticed it, since you all have Christmas holidays. It’s Christmas time! I think it is one of the most beautiful times of the year. Here in Vienna it’s simply amazing. Everywhere in the city appear Christmas markets, and with everywhere I mean literally everywhere!
You cannot make it more fun, you can only make it easier
January, also known as ‘the month of exams’.. Some oral and written exams are planned, so the time has come to start studying! I found out that the best place to do this is in a Viennese coffee house :).
Negotiating at the United Nations headquarter
This Thursday and Friday, students of the University of Vienna and the BOKU Vienna (the university where I am doing my exchange) are together to simulate a conference on sustainable development. They will discuss three important topics; Energy provision and use, Climate migration and Sustainable agriculture and land use. And I am one of them! So excited to join this course on negotiating!
BOKUball
Here in Vienna they know how to throw a party! Last Friday there was the ball from my university, the BOKUball. All students, alumni, professors, scientists and friends of the BOKU university were invited to celebrate the history of the university and look forward to the future together.
Exploring Austria
Since two weeks all my exams and assignments are done, so the time has come to enjoy some free time! Last week I spend my time somewhere else in Austria, in a small village called Windischgarsten. We slept in the parents’ house of a friend there, a really cute wooden house in the valley. I had an amazing week there!
Time flies...
Since last tuesday I am back in the Netherlands. My parents came to visit me and drove me back to Holland. It was sad to say goodbye to all my friends in Vienna, they made my time unforgettable! But it’s also good to be back, to see all my beloved family and friends since a long time. I drove my bike yesterday and that was such a good feeling ;)