THEUNSTABLELEMENT
a place for travel, culture and life stories
2016 RECAP + MISSION
As some of you may have noticed, another year has gone past and we now find ourselves in 2017 land. If you hadn’t realised yet, you’re welcome.
Unfortunately, we’re already deep inside the new year’s grounds as I write this post: deadlines and an improvised trip to Switzerland ( blog post to come soon ) kept me MIA for the past couple weeks, so here I am, late as always, writing my 2017 entry almost at the end of January. But let’s get into it shall we?
2016 has been a year of new experiences for me, in a lot of fields. I went on Erasmus (is Scotland considered Erasmus for me? Let’s say it’s not), moved to a new place, met loads of people and made great friendships with other internationals. I also finally went to Paris, which ridiculous as it might sound I had never actually visited. I crowned by dream of visiting the Pantheon on my birthday, went to the Moulin Rouge in person and walked on the point zero sign which I’d always dreamed of. I had interviews with huge companies which, although not all successful, gave me a huge confidence boost and made me realise I can actually achieve more than I thought. I discovered Scotland a bit more, past the big cities likeĀ Edinburgh and Glasgow, and went to find the smaller places no one really sees. I got a scholarship!! Which I thought was way beyond my abilities. I finally went to to the Netherlands – and actually lived there! Which allowed me to see beautiful places I will never forget. I had my first couch surfing experience – better late than never, right? Which proved to be funny and unique and definitely worth doing again.
I set foot in a total of 6 countries – soon to be 7! – within a year, from my home Italy, to the UK (England and Scotland), to the Netherlands, Belgium, Hungary, France and in the last week Switzerland as well. I had days when I was miserable and days when I was full of energy and went past all that. I survived the greatest tragedy of Dutch stairs for a whole semester, shaping my bum each day I had to walk them up and down more than needed. Believe me, these stairs are instruments of torture. šš«
In short, I grew up a lot and went back to things I thought I’d forgotten, which I’m really glad for.
It’s been an amazing year, if stressful at times. As people who know me well should be aware of, with each ending a new set of goals and missions gets forwarded to the world by the Elena department. Which means I write a short list of things I want to achieve in the new year. This time, my list was pretty late too and is at this moment still incomplete. However, I thought I would share with you all what I’ve got so far – hopefully I’ll manage some of these things before the year ends!
The first goal is one I have always wanted to do but has been in my mind a lot recently and that isĀ toĀ go to Iceland. I have a world map in my room of places I’ve been to and places I want to go to, which I differentiate by putting stickers on the location. I remember as soon as I got it years ago, Iceland was one of the first stickers I put on and right now for some reason all I want to do is go there. The scenery is one thing, but I think the calm and the prospect of complete mental restĀ is what’s really attracting me so much to this land, so I hope I can finally manage to pay it a visit by the end of the year.
The second one derives from something that we – or at least Italian, French and German kids – all know and love, and that is toĀ visit Heidi’s village.Ā In case you’re not aware of this, you need to know that in the above-mentioned countries we have this really popular cartoon called Heidi, which narrates the story of a little girl having to move into her grandpa’s home up in the Swiss mountains. It’s a story of love, family and growth. I remembered I used to watch it with my grandpa when I was younger and, if you ask any person in Italy, they will know this cartoon. Therefore, when I visited by Rotterdam flatmate in his home country – Switzerland – and found out there actually is a whole village dedicated to Heidi, I knew I had to go. Unfortunately I was only made aware of this once I got back to Italy, so the goal made its way onto my list and I guess I will have to go back to our Northern neighbours by the end of the year. Shame, right?
The third goal is toĀ get an internship, which is something I have definitely been too lazy with in the last couple years. I’ve been too picky with my applications and too lazy to really put my mind into it, which led to scarce results for me. Therefore, this year I’ve decided to actually put myself into it and do my research in time, for once.
Another mission is toĀ see my Rotterdam friends again. The past semester in the Netherlands has been amazing and it allowed me to meet a lot of people I don’t want to lose contact with. I connected very well with them and would love to see them again at least once during the rest of the year – perhaps back in Rotterdam or perhaps if they come see usĀ in Scotland. Who knows?
Next up is toĀ visit Poland. People may recall my hammering them with my potential trip to Poland, which was supposed to happen at the start of December 2016. I had a little tour in mind where I would visit a few small villages in the country, but alas that did not happen. Random deadlines appeared in my life and my traveling dreams were gone faster than an American in front of a diet plan, WHICH MEANS I will do my best to try and go by the end of the year. Looking up the places really got me going and I would hate not being able to see them soon after all. Plus, a friend of mine is from there so it’d be such a shame to not be able to go.
Traveling solo is my next one. I’ve been on trips with complete strangers, sometimes to the other sides of the earth, but never actually on my own. I meant to do that with Poland but as you read in the previous paragraph, that was not possible in the end. So, I set myself the goal of traveling solo at least once this year. I think it’s a good experience that everyone should do at some point – it’s good to travel in company, but being on your own can give you so much freedom too and you might end up discovering things about the places and about yourself you wouldn’t have known before.
My list also containsĀ reading more. Especially in high school, I used to be a total book worm who could never leave the house without her book, or her kindle, or sometimes even both. I used to even download books on my phone for the unlucky situations where I couldn’t have any of the above. In short, I was a freak for reading and went through dozens of books in humanly impossible timeframes.
Moving to Scotland for University somehow changed that for the worst, in a way I still need to understand. I don’t exactly know what happened but my passion somehow diminished – perhaps because of the new life, more things to do, people to know and places to see, but I remember it made me feel incredibly sad and helpless about the situation. However, moving back to Rotterdam made me fall in love with it again, which I am extremely grateful for. I found more inspiration to write and overall the world was just looking a lot better from that perspective, which led to setting myself the goal to not be swayed by Aberdeen once again and to keep on doing what I love. š
This year I am also hoping toĀ pass the year, which is something that’s on my list pretty much every year. University can be a bit tough and one can never underestimate it, right?
Another stupid goal of mine is to be able to go on a longer trip with only carry-on luggage. I’ve been on two / three – day trips where I only brought a small bag with me, but people who know me will know I have a serious overpacking problem in most occasions, which leads to mental breakdowns, empty promises of being more careful next time and frustration when I realise it’s not gonna happen.
Therefore, I decided I not only have to, butĀ needĀ to be able to go on a proper trip, of at least one week or maybe even a month, with only carry-on luggage and to be able to make it last. This is actually one of the goals I am more adamant about and I really need to do it by the end of the year. It is my ultimate mission.
Finally, I would also like toĀ visit my own hometown more. Everybody knows that when you have something, you tend to stop paying attention to it and underestimate its worth. Whenever I speak to someone about where I am from, my words are always full of praise and I can honestly say it’s one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen. And yet, whenever I’m home I hardly ever go to any of the places I talk about to people, merely going for coffee in the same old places and waiting for the day I leave again. Whilst it’s good sometimes to go back to your old favourite places, this year I want to dedicate myself to re-discovering my region and all its beautiful spots. Perhaps I can do that when friends come see me and I have to show them around, perhaps on my own. Either way, it’s something I need to and I am really looking forward to. š
These are my resolutionsĀ so far. It’s a pretty short list as I said, but I think I will keep adding more and more to it as I go on. In my mind I have at least until the end of January to do that without feeling like I’m cheating so it’s all good. RIGHT?
Sooo. What about you? Have you got any goals or missions that you want to share for this year? Have you learned something new? I would love to hear about them, or to get a link to your own blog posts with your lists. It’s always good to confront with others and who knows, maybe we have things in common or things we’d like to try ourselves!
Either way, I wish you all an amazing day and good luck with any of your plans for 2017. It’s gonna be a good year! I can feel it. š»
Elena
CHRISTMAS IN ITALY: A FAMILY BUSINESS
Christmas is a family business. We all know it, we all claim to hate it, we all love it deep inside. The food, the warmth, the fact that your family is trying to get together at least this one time of the year – as fake as some of you might say it is – is something to rejoice for and which personally makes me happy every year. For the lucky ones who have families and people who care about them, this is a moment where you can feel love and where you can actually spread love around, relax and think about all the good things in your life.
For me, Christmas is one of the few timesĀ I get to see my family, as I usually live abroad for the rest of the year. This makes it extra special for me, which is why it’s probably (who am I kidding? It is for sure) my favourite holiday of the whole twelve months. I also get to see my friends, revel in the warmth of my country for a little while and get back to my old life if only for a few days. It’s a magical time and I wouldn’t miss it for anything in the world.
When it comes to Italy, the Christmas family business gets specifically serious. Best food in the world, hello?Ā Imagine any other Christmas dinner amplified by x1000.
When you’re Italian and you’re nearing the Christmas holidays, you know to get on a diet. I’m sure every person in the world is familiar with this feeling: Christmas lunches and dinners are famous for being a dietician’s worst enemy, with food piling on food placed on other mountains of food and no excuse good enough to avoid the carbs overload. However, when your country is world famous for its exceptional cuisineĀ and your grandma is the stereotypical small,Ā old, fat woman who spends her whole life cooking for her nephews, you know we’re talking serious business here.Ā The Italian Christmas isĀ savage.Ā We have the antipasti (starters), two to three “primi” (primary dishes – usually pasta or similar), just as many “secondi” (second dish – usually something like meat or fish), additional sides because lord have mercy if someone is still hungry, desserts, fruit and obviously, last but not least, our good old espresso. We also like to accompany the end of the mealĀ with what we call “digestives”, our fancy name for liqueurs – such as grappaĀ – which are supposed to help your digestion (not to be confused with the UK biscuits).
In short, a single lunch is bound to make you feel full, disgusted at yourself and slightly ill, probably enough to keep you away from the food for the next couple of days. Except youĀ can’t,Ā because dinner is waiting and tomorrow is another festivity that you cannot escape from.
As bad and slightly creepy as this all might sound, I actually love it and it’s something all of us get used to through childhood and actually learn to expect each year. The copious amounts of food are then accompanied by an ever wider array of board games, destined to bring the family together and entertain the kids as they wait for their presents (or for the next round of food). The grandparents also revel in the games because of the monetary side of it.
The most popular game – that literally every single person in Italy knows and plays during Christmas – is calledĀ tombola.Ā Some of the relatives love it, others try to divert the attention to another game every single year, but sooner or later you will have to play it. Failure to comply to the planĀ will ruin the Christmas completely.
The game basically consists inĀ each player selecting as many “cards” as they wish, each containing a specific set of numbers from 1 to 90. Each card is different so that no one can have the same set of numbers. One player will have to use what we call the “tabellone”, which is a big card with each single number on it. This player will have the duty to extract the numbers from a bag and will have a chance to win themselves.
A “price” for each card will be stipulated by the players, which will then be payed to the “banker” of the game. The tabellone contains 6 cards which all need to be payed, making it quite “expensive” but fun for who is doing it. All the money will then be assembled to create 4 to 5 prizes, depending on the habits of the family playing. In my case, my family always plays with 5 prizes: ambo, terno, quaterna, cinquina e tombola. These mean two, three, four or five consecutive numbers have been extracted on the same card and on the same horizontal line, or the maximum win has been achieved: tombola, meaning all numbers on the card have been extracted.
As complicated as it might sound, this game is actually very simple and is bound to bring the whole family together, as well as possibly making someone fall asleep or causing feuds between people who “mysteriously” always win and people who never do (cheating accusations will be flying over the table, so make sure you’re not winning too much if you don’t wanna risk assassination by grandma). It’s also a fun and engaging way to lose your last remaining money after all the Christmas gifting process (am I the only one?). How good does that sound! š
But it’s okay. As Ā we Italians say, “unlucky in the games, lucky in love”, so I’m fine with that. In case you’re single though, apart from the usual “How’s school going dear?” “So no boyfriend this year?”, beware as youĀ will also be accompanied by a stinging “you’re so unlucky at this game, you should be lucky with love at least!”, accompanied by your aunt’s laughter and extreme desolation on your side.Ā Not saying this has happened to me…….
Unfortunately, this year my festivities weren’t as big as usual. The table is usually formed by my family, my grandparents and my aunt and uncles together with their children,Ā but this year they weren’t able to participate which left only us, my grandparents as well as my sister’s boyfriend sharing the fun, for a total of 7 people. It wasn’t the busiest Christmas, but for once we celebrated it in our own house instead of my grandparents’, which was new and kind of refreshing. It also meant I didn’t have to get properly dressed to leave the house, which was a major plus. Definitely a different Christmas, but still a good one that I might have even enjoyed more than usual. I’ve come to realise I enjoy home way more with the prospect of going back to the Netherlands rather than when I have to get back to Aberdeen.. š¤
All in all, Christmas is a beautiful holiday which makes me miss home and makes me feel really glad to be back for a short while. All the sparkling lights, the mums stressed because they have so much to cook and even the rush to get presents for your loved onesĀ are things which put me in a good mood like nothing else can. It’s also nice to receive a nice message from friends wishing you a merry christmas and knowing that someone out there is thinking of you.
Personally, I’m not really about the presents – I like thoughtful things which show me people actually know me, not something random just to have a gift. Because it’s not about the gift, it’s about the gesture, really, so spending money on me with no thought behind it is pointless.Ā I love Christmas because of something more, because of the feeling of home and family attached to it, because of all my childhood memories and because I feel like, as distant as we might be, we are all living the same experience and there is nothing which can bond us more than that.
(that’s me and my daddy in the picture)
So to all of you, I wish an amazing, happy Christmas and I hope you’re spending it with someone you love. I also hope you areĀ devouring all that good stuff that’s on your plate. Now I’m gonna go back to my family because a new round of food is waiting…
Elena
CONSTANTLY MOVING
They say home is where the heart is, that nothing feels as good as being at home. It’s natural, essential, a fundamental need that each one of us has and strives to fulfil. But what happens when your heart doesn’t actually reside in a place, when your mind is constantly wandering to far away lands and your body doesn’t want to stop moving?
Every since I turned 14 – aka old enough to be able to go abroad on my own – I have been trying to travel as much as possible, through the means I had. You might remember something about this from my first post, where I talked about my passion for traveling. In under 10 years of my life, I luckily managed to visit 4 continents mostly on my own, which to me is a big achievement considering my tight budget in most situations (I’m the worst spender). But I guess this is normal for a lot of people who like to see new places, so nothing new here, really. I still felt at home every time I went back to my little coastal city in Italy, happy about the trip but also glad to be back home.
This changed a few years ago, though. As soon as I finished high school, I decided to give a spin to my life and start University in another country. Accompanied byĀ a huge backpack and three even bigger suitcases, I made my way to the UK – more specifically Scotland – and started a new life there, in a new flat, with new people, in another language and even with another currency. This is the story of a lot of people my age, especially Italians fleeing the country for better prospects abroad. At first I was scared, then I was happy, then I was miserable as I missed home more than ever. My friends, my family, all the places I used to hang out in and all the things I used to consider normal were gone, together with my “old life”. The first time I went back, for Christmas, it felt like little to nothing had changed. I spent days and days meeting up with each single one of my friends and I was actually very sad when I boarded the plane which would take me back to the UK once again (but happy to see my flatmates again! Mixed feelings indeed).
However, I soon learnt I couldn’t keep living in the past, nor did I want to. As time went by, the days and weeks and months passed and I got to know people better, as well as improving my language, I started to actually build a new life in Aberdeen. It wasn’t about “being abroad” anymore, it was about my life and where it was based. “Home” was becoming a far away concept. With a job, friends, your own flat and your career growing in front of your eyes, how can you not start to think this might actually be your new reality? My home wasn’t my home anymore, it was becoming a childhood memory which I keep close to my heart but not at the basis of it anymore. But was Aberdeen my home then, you ask? No. Not yet at least. Even though my everything had been moved there, it still didn’t feelĀ enoughĀ to make me call it home. And yet my “home” in Italy didn’t feel like it either anymore. So where was my home? Where was I headed and where did I come from? I remember this feeling confused me more than ever and it still does.
When I met my current boyfriend – a Scottish guy actually from Aberdeen – I thought I’d found an answer. Home is where the heart is and my heart was there, so I guess I finally had my solution to the problem. It wasn’t about the place anymore, it was about the person. Easy right? And yet, you can’t base your idea of home solely on a person, especially when you know you’re going to be traveling for a long time and the list of stable things in your life is constantly wavering. I knew and I know now that in my life I don’t want to stop moving until I feel like stopping, because I’d rather do that than live a life of what if’s where I sacrificed my spirit of adventure for the sake of stability. So in my life, so far I had two homes: Italy and the UK.
That changed once again as I decided to spend a semester abroad in the Netherlands, which brings us to the creation of this blog. When you choose to go abroad for a meagre six months, you don’t tend to get too affectionate about the place. You’re looking for some fun and a new experience, without necessarily transferring your whole life there. That’s what Erasmus is all about, isn’t it? Pretending you’re doing something productive for a semester as you party for months and make lifetime friendships with perfect strangers. In my case though, I feel that having movedĀ country once, from Italy to Scotland, kind of changed this perspective: I’d gone through a change like that already and so my mind was naturally inclined to perceive the new place as my new ‘home’ for the moment. It wasn’t a holiday, it was a new life I was starting, as short as that might have been.
I’m sure when people travel a lot, way more than me, this feeling dissipates and gets actually substituted by one which doesn’t allow you to feel at home at all, whenever you go. I guess it’s natural – you move so much it gets too hard to get attached to a place. Personally though, I didn’t have that level of experience yet, which is why I ended up getting way too emotionally involved with my new place. Did I call itĀ home? No, I didn’t – it didn’t even come remotely close to being home and Scotland still felt more like home than Rotterdam, that’s for sure. And yet, my idea of home got even more fragmented, to a point where I actually didn’t know where my place was. Was it in Italy? The UK? The Netherlands? Should I choose the place I was born in, the place where I am building a life or simply live in the moment and select the one where I am right now? Being the over thinker that I am, these doubts kept nagging at me and still do as I am writing this post.
My University back in Aberdeen expects student to look for internships during their second semester of third year: it’s not mandatory, you can either do that or just go to class like nothing happened and live your uni life happily, with no complications. When I looked for internships myself, my initial search was actually hard as fuck. Linkedin has a section on their website where you can look for jobs, filtered through department and location. Picture me going on the website with the best intents and then getting stuck at that stupid question. Where do I look? UK? Italy? The Netherlands, even? Another country altogether like France, Germany, Spain? When I applied for a position in Singapore I was so scared and excited at the same time (still no reply, but oh well). It was a weird feeling for me – why was I so scared? After all, I’d moved before already, as well as doing trips to Asia with friends and with strangers. So what was so weird about it? Was it the fact that this time I was completely on my own? But I’d done that in Aberdeen already. Was it the distance? Perhaps. There’s a huge difference between going on a trip and actually moving for half a year to the other side of the world, so that’s understandable. But is it maybe the idea of changing once again?
Sometimes I spend hours just thinking and thinking and I still don’t manage to understand how my brain works, so I never actually know where some feelings are coming from. I don’t know why sometimes I get scared and sometimes I get excited over things and most of all I don’t understand why sometimes I feel totally at home and sometimes I wish I could just leave as fast as possible. As of now, I still don’t understand where my home is. Who knows what I will do after finishing University in Scotland? Chances are I will leave Aberdeen, and this knowledge makes the feeling of home waver even more when I think of that. But I guess there is no answer to this question – not yet, not until I chooseĀ to stop for a second and actually decide where and if I want to stay. Either way, right now all I care about is to make new experiences and to travel. As important as having a home is, I guess this concept will have to wait for me, so in the meantime I’ll make the most of what I’ve got.
I’m really sorry about this never ending rant, but this is a feeling which I have kept to myself for a really long time and had to be let out. Maybe I’m the only one who gives so much importance to theirĀ home, but it’s something which confuses me more than ever. Especially when I need to do something stupid like send my boxes from the Netherlands and I don’t even know which country I should send them to. Is there anyone else out there who feels the same? Please tell me there is.
Regardless, have an amazing day everyone and an even happier Christmas. š š¼
Love to all of you
Elena
THOSE LONELY MORNINGS
We all have those days when our first intake of breath feels like gas and your room like a prison cell, where you look outside your window and the day looks grey. When you feel alone in your bed but at the same time space is all you need. We all have those days where, perhaps because of an early start or just morning blues, we wish we could just pull the plug for a few hours and do our own thing.
Pretty much a vibe I get from this song by Cigarettes After Sex, a band who has the gift of placing a cloud of melancholia on any given situation.
“Think I like you best when you’re dressed in black from head to toe”
This morning I woke up uncommonly early and the feeling of distressing calm washed over me, converting my morning through monochrome filters. I sat by my laptop with the intention of doing some coursework but then thought better of it. Why waste a good input for a blog post? It wouldn’t be my blogĀ without a bit of sadness here and there after all. So that got me thinking, what can you do in Rotterdam in these lonely mornings to aid the alarming calm taking over you?
Personally, I love walking, it chills me out and gives me space for thought, which is especially needed in this kind of mornings. So I choose the right playlist, get myself into a cosy jumper and I’m ready to set out to walk for a few hours with no direction. If you’re gonna pace back and forth in your room, you might as well do it outside and explore your city in the meantime, right?
If you want to follow my lead, here’s my advice for Rotterdam inhabitants: go for a walk through the Euromast gardens, starting your day with some nature and ending up by the river with an amazing view of Rotterdam south. I love the Euromast gardens – there’s just something about them, the fact that they start in the middle of the city, walkĀ you through a beautiful mazeĀ of trees and nature and take you right next to the water where you can admire the whole city in the solitude of yourĀ mind. Either in the early morning or late evening, this view is absolutely stunning and can help any lonely heart channel their inner thoughts into something good. Alternatively, chilling at the Museum Park is also great, especially when it’s warm enough outside to sit down without freezing to death. I used to go there in my lonely afternoons back in September, making the most of the sun and the nature for writing inspiration.
Another nice walk to tidy up your mind is to walk along the Maas, starting from the Erasmus bridge and going towards Kralingen. This time you walk entirely by the river. If you go down the steps on Boompjeskade, you end up on a quiet path right next to the Nieuwe Maas, which takes you all the way up to Oosterkade – where the street ends. Again, the view of the city from this spot is breathtaking and you can chill without the dodginess of the Euromast gardens, if you care about that.
I don’t think there’s anything better than having the right music streaming in your ears as you look out on your city through glazed eyes. Urban Dictionary describes this occurrence as looking into something without actually seeing anything, which I feel describes my mood perfectly.
Having the entirety of the place you live – your home, if you will – laying in front of you, staring back at you with its dancing lights, can be the most calming thing, as you bore your eyes into the vision and your mind runs wild.
If you live on Noordereiland or in Zuid (relatively close), a walk around the island can also soothe your mind. Get to the end of the strip of land and you will be welcomed by an amazing view of the Erasmus bridge from below, as well as being hugged by a multitude of lights shining from both sides of the city.
I love this spot in Rotterdam. Because it is an island in the middle of the Maas, you can get very, very close to the water. Being born and bred in a sea city, famous for its harbour, and originally from the south, which is famous for its beautiful beaches all over, the sea calms me like nothing else can. It reminds me of my childhood and it makes me feel home. Who knows where these drops of water have been before? To me it’s absolute magic. So any place which brings me closer to the water is a little heaven for me, which is why I absolutely love this little gem in the heart of Rotterdam. Here you can sit down and relax, while at the same time you are literally surrounded by theĀ business of the rest of the city. AĀ beautiful contrast, don’t you think?
Last but not least, if it’s raining outside, or too cold, or you just don’t want to get out – that’s okay too. Heat up some water, pour yourself a steaming cup of tea and chill by the window or listen to the songs I suggested (or any other that you like!). Ā To me, having a hot drink next to me as I sit by the window, possibly with a book in my hand, is the most perfect way to spend a lonely morning – admittedly one that I choose pretty often. So whatever you decide to do, I hope you have an amazing morning and that this little cloud of sadness doesn’t throw you off. It’s okay to feel sad sometimes and it’s okay to want to be alone from time to time. We all need our time off from the world.
That said, I wish you all a beautiful week and a nice walk wherever you are!
See you at the next post,
Elena
FINDING A PLACE IN ROTTERDAM
Anyone who has lived – or tried to live – in Rotterdam, knows the housing scene in this city is a total disaster. As I get towards the end of my stay on the marvellous Nieuwe Binnenweg, I thought it was the right time to share a few tips and experiences concerning flat huntingĀ in the ‘dam.
First of all, you need to know the number of flats and rooms available in Rotterdam is incredibly low, due to the Dutch population as well as national and international students residing in the city all year long.Ā Know how everyone is always complaining about London being inhabitable, with sky-rocket prices in exchange for virtual holes? Well, to them I say, at leastĀ you guys have options. Months from my first day here, and luckily also from my desperate search for a place, I can honestly say I am amazed by the fact that all my friends actually managed to find a place to stay. Myself included.
But I don’t mean to scare you all away. Let’s start from the beginning:
WhereĀ to set off with your heroic quest?
You have two main options: you can either decide to opt for an agency-based lease, which means you are relying on an external body to supply you with a flat (or room), or you can go out there yourself, which means taking up all risks involved with a private search. Personally, I chose the second option. One of my relatives has lived in Amsterdam for over two years now, and upon me messaging her she warned me about Dutch agencies – “money eaters” you shouldn’t waste your time with. Now, not having had a direct experience with any agency in Rotterdam, I cannotĀ form an opinion on the subject, but was still wary of it at the time. Add to that the fact that it was virtually impossible to get an agency to rent out a flat without you physically being there – which is fair enough but still annoying – and the deal was off (I preferred the idea of already having a place when I landed in the Netherlands. Sue me).
Now this was dramatic for a number of reasons: as well as not being able to share yet another flat with my former flatmate, who is currently doing Erasmus with me, I also had to look out for flat sharing websites and try to gather enough information on my potential flatmates to understand if they were a safe option. We’ve all been there. Trying to find decent flatmates while at the same time dodging potential creeps which you’ll have spend months living with? How about please no. š¤
Now the question was, where to start? In my case, I have an acquaintance who is currentlyĀ student at the Erasmus University here in Rotterdam – which, you might be thinking, is great! Someone could host me for the first week or so! Except not.Ā Fate would have it that during the semester I am doing Erasmus, she is doing it as well, now living it up in Canada instead. Which was unfortunate on a number of levels. However, despite our distance, she was still able to give me some tips on flat hunting and especially suggest a coupleĀ websites where to look, which proved to be extremely useful for me.
For flat hunting āĀ Pararius.com.Ā When I still was unsure on whether to look for a whole flat to share or a single room within a flat, I used this website and personally found it extremely good. It offers a lot of filters, from price ranges, to number of bedrooms, to areas in the city as well as options for furnished or unfurnished places and more. As far as I know, all properties listed on the website are brought forward by agencies, which means that by using the website you have decided you are taking the first route and using an external body to help you. Although I do not know the specifics, I have been told that agencies here in the Netherlands apply pretty high costs for their services, on top of the rent itself obviously, so if you decide to go this way be wary of that!
For room huntingĀ ā HousingAnywhere.Ā This is a relatively young start-up founded in the Netherlands (apparently by a friend of the guy I am renting the room from – how weird is that!) and currently available in 50 countries, which is insane. Basically, what you do is you sign up to the website, uploading basic information about yourself and optionally a photo as well. This serves for advertisers to check you out once you contact them about their ads and see if you might be their fit. The search bar makes your job extra easy: you put in the location you are interested in, your preferred start and end date of the lease, and hit the search button. The website will come up with a series of advertisements matching your criteria, as well as a map which you can use to see where each property is located. Once you click on the ad, you are also able to see who posted it, their answer frequency (which is useful to understand if someone is going to reply to you or not, saving you the hassle of putting your heart on something you will never get) and also their last time online, which can also help you see if they just haven’t read your message or if they probably already replied to someone else. Being only a few years old, filters are not yet fully developed on the website which means that sometimes it’s hard to set precise parameters for what you’re looking for, such as the furnished / unfurnished options you find on Pararius. Still, I found it great for my flat search and was eventually the platform I used to seal my deal.
A third website I found through google at the time is Rotterdam Apartments.Ā Although I did not use this platform personally, I don’t see why you shouldn’t. It has similar filters to Pararius and has an intuitive layout which makes it easy to use.
It additionally presents a “recently added” section as well as a “short stay” option, in case you are only looking for a temporary place in the city, and it’s got decent graphics to check out the places online.
Overall, you need to understand that if you are looking for a whole flat you will probably have to do it in person once you’re here, which means setting your mind on spending your first times in Rotterdam in a hostel / hotel while you get yourself a home. If you’re happy with just a room though, be my guest. HousingAnywhere, the website I listed, is one of the safest bets as it’s specifically designed to protect your money against frauds. Once you choose a room and you make a deal with the owner, your rent money is transferred to the website, which keeps it for up until 2 days after your official moving in date. This is great because should your room not be the way you expected or the way it was presented to you, you can complain to the website and receive it back as a refund. The price for this is a fee which equals to 1/4 of your first rent, which is payed to the website, and although it might seem like a lot to you, I’d take it anytime over the risk of getting to Rotterdam and finding out my room doesn’t exist!
Now, as a last section of this blog post, let’s get to you guys who still don’t have a home in the ‘dam and are freaking out over it. IT’S OKAY. We’ve all been there. You’ll get it! So breathe in and breathe out and always remember not to panic over it. You’re not the only one and, although hard, it’s not impossible to find a place; you will find it just like we all did! Just have a bit of patience and enjoy the beautiful city in the meantime. š
To help you out, here’s a few hostels in the city, so that you can have an affordable place to stay while you do.
I always rave about this place. Their location is amazing, their CAPPUCCINOs are amazing, the staff friendly and the insides so cool. I stumbled upon this hostel one rainy day as my friends and I were trying to escape the awful weather, and ended up finding a gem in the city. The whole hostel has a really cool vibe to it, not to mention it’s on Witte de Whit – the trendiest street in the city? * – next to the Witte Aap, which despite my comprehension has apparently been crowned the best pub in Europe by LonelyPlanet in 2014. Worth a visit right?
I haven’t been here and I have heard really bad things about this place. BUT, it is the cheapest hostel in Rotterdam, with huge dorms for up to 50 people roughly (is it a hostel or a prison camp?). So, if you don’t mind lack of quality and are looking to spend as little as possible, this is the place for you. It’s located in the north bit of the city, but I’m fairly sure everything is within easy reach either with a bike or public transport.
Who wouldn’t want to spend a night in the famous Cubic Houses? This piece of architecture is one of the most popular tourist attractions of the city, with their quirky structure which makes everyone wonder whether people inside actually live slightly tilted lives. The hostel feels like a little village which spans over the whole bridge made up of the Cubic Houses, soĀ not only you have a place to spend your nights, but you’re also doing it in an actual miracle of architecture. Additionally, the hostel also has a great location, as it’s basically in the middle of everything. The Markthal, Oude Haven and the Blaak are literallyĀ sitting in front of you and Witte de Whit is only a 5 min walk away. What more can you ask for?
So, these are my three suggestions for hostels in the city. You got location, you got price and you got cool vibes with each option, so hopefullyĀ they can help you a bit! š
I think I have said pretty much everything there is to say, maybe even rambled a bit too much, but I hope this post can help all of you out there who are panicking over finding a place or who still have to get here and are planning in advance. I wish I’d found an article like this when I was getting ready to move to the Netherlands (I sure looked for it!), so I thought I would post one to help out. Rotterdam is a beautiful city and, despite houses being crowded, everyone eventually finds a place, so there is no need to worry. šŖš» Either way, just enjoy the fact that you are in one of the most amazing countries in the world and make the most of your time here! You won’t regret it. š
If you have any questions or need any advice on moving here, don’t hesitate to comment or message me! I will be very glad to help. š»
Have a nice day everyone,
Elena
* Everyone says that apparently. I don’t see it. Nieuwe Binnenweg FTW.
THE THREE REASONS WHY GENT IS BETTER THAN ANTWERP
As some of you may know, I went to Belgium for a couple days last week. My class got cancelled on Thursday and, although most people’s normal reaction would be to roll to the other side and keep sleeping, I opted to leave the country because YOLO.
Good old Flixbus was my friend and with only ā¬7 I was able to get from the Netherlands to Belgium in under 2 hours, landing in Antwerp in the early afternoon.
Antwerp in itself is a pretty cool city. The central station looks amazingly nice and looks on Diamond street, a central street full of shops, bars and restaurants to welcome tourists in the Belgian province. Walking down the street, you are surrounded by cars, stands selling the world-famous Belgian waffles and typical bike riders (alas, not as many as in the Netherlands, we noted).
We decided to take a side street on the right and ended up in another main road full of chains and shopping centres such as H&M and Pull&Bear, with street musicians, more food stands and people strolling about with bags in their hands and happy faces. The weather was sunny but dreadfully cold, as we ventured through the city and made our way to the Old Town to find the city’s landmarks.
One thing that we noticed about Antwerp was that there seemed to not be that many people. Fair point, it was a Thursday afternoon. Still, the old town especially felt like a village lost in space where barely anyone appeared. We walked up to and inside the main cathedral, as well as admiring the buildings lit up with Christmas lights (as you can see from the above picture).Ā The cathedral was pretty cool as it also showcased a series of artworks, especially from painter Rubens who was originally from Antwerp.
We spent our night in Antwerp drinking beer and trying out the famous Belgian chips (did we choose the right place? We found them kind of average, no offence), in a populated pub looking over one of the central squares. We also found out Belgian people eat dinner quite early – compared to us Italians, at least – which meant we skipped a meal as all the restaurants were already closed by 10 pm (*sad face*). We walked for hours trying to get back to the “new” city centre, which we had walked past earlier on in the day, to no avail. Is Antwerp a maze? I swear we ended up in the same square around 5 times, until we gave up and just went to the same pub for another beer to drown our traveling sorrows.
We ended our first day couch surfing at a Polish woman’s house, which proved to be a very interesting experience.. as well as having to baby sit her little son Leon who farted his way to our hearts. Waking up thinking the grandad is in the house and turning around to find a young lad (whom we presumed was the father?) was quite the fright, but overall it was a pretty fun stay.
Quick note: If you guys don’t know what couch surfing is, it’s a free website where basically you can connect with people and other travellers and offer a sofa / get offered a sofa to stay for the night at absolutely no cost. It’s an amazing initiative which works extremely well for people trying to travel on a budget, as the people on the website offer a couch in their home for free (and it is usually pretty safe, so don’t worry!). Here‘s the website in case you’re interested.
The next day we set off to the second city on our list: Gent. After an exhausting search for the Central Station and a desperate search for a discount train ticket for students (no way we are paying ā¬20 for a return ticket), we stepped on what we thought would be a 30 min train ride. Fast forward to an excruciating hour later, we finally got to our destination. Instantly we could feel a completely different vibe compared to Antwerp,Ā more relaxed and intimate.
As we walked along the roadĀ which leads from the station to the city centre, people started appearing on our path and soon we ended up in a shop-filled street buzzing with life.
Gent struck me as better than Antwerp for three main reasons:
- The higher number of people: I don’t know if we just got unlucky with Antwerp, but I swear the city looked dead compared to this one. The buzz of people talking, laughing and walking around gave Gent a cosy feeling which I loved and felt Antwerp was missing;
- There was an historical vibe which I didn’t feel was as strong in Antwerp: three Churches one after the other, the castle and all the old buildings adorning the streets make the city breathe history, which I love;
- It actually felt like a cute, cosy small city which welcomes visitors and doesn’t really promise more than it delivers. I heard way more stories about Antwerp than Gent, but the latter surprised me more than anything and made me feel really glad to have put it in my list.
The city offers discounts in several attractions for people under 26 years old – same as Paris, really – so we got to get up the church tour for under ā¬3 and up the castle for about ā¬6, which was totally worth the money. Here’s a few pictures I took from the top of the building:
Overall, it was a very nice trip. Although Antwerp kind of disappointed me a bit, I’m sure we just got unlucky with the days and it’s actually as good as Gent! I will have to go there again. š I really liked the street art in the city and met a few decent people which I happily linked with over social media, which I’m happy about. I still believe the Netherlands rocks more than Belgium though…….. soorryy! Bruges and Bruxelles are in my plans for the next weeks, so who knows I might change my mind.
I am going to stop this entry here because otherwise it’s never going to end. I hope you enjoyed reading a bit about the two cities and the photos as well. My phone died several times during the trip so I don’t have as much footage as I would like, but a video is definitely coming soon. Keep your eyes out for that!
Have a good night everyone,
– Elena
CHILLIN WITH THE SQUAD
So I am late to the party and am now writing a blog post about Halloween, because I’m lazy like that.
Apologies.
Last month we went to an event called the Twilight Zone, which was basically aĀ halloween themed sort of party the Friday before the actual Halloween day. The night was hosted by Hoboken in Rotterdam, which is aĀ quirky spot in the cityĀ located onĀ Hoornbrekersstraat.
It was our first time at the place and I was actually very impressed: the place looked super cool, it had been adorned with Halloween decorations all over and was pretty packed – which is understandable considering it was a Friday night, really. People were looking both casual and completely dressed up for Halloween and, for the first time since I moved here, I actually managed to bump into two people I know (I am becoming a local, everyone). One of them was a girl I had met at the Venture Cafe the week before (what is this Venture Cafe? Facebook it. I will write a post soon, promise) and the other was actually what has been previously defined on this blog as “my bartender“. Crazy right? What is life you guys.
But back to the party. The building in itself is pretty big, with several floors and tons of rooms which that night had been decorated with different themes. It was shaped like a sort of scary tunnel, so we had to walk up the stairs and diveĀ into what seemed like an endless maze of hallways leading to dark spacesĀ full of surprises. If you know me, you know I love surprises and, even more than that, I like horror and scary stuff, which made the night an absolute blast. 100% would do it again. The whole place was so artsy as well, there was nothing not to love.
The above picture was taken as we came across a sofa and a tv and, being curious lazy shits, we just dumped ourselves on the seatsĀ and watched the clip it was streaming for over half an hour. The photographer came over to us and snapped a pictureĀ as we watched and I honestly think it’s one of the coolest photos ever (am I right!?). Just chillin’ with the squad y’knoow?
Overall the night in itself was really fun and the place definitely had a cool vibe to it. Note to self to go back!Ā SO, since I’ve been too busy with deadlines and exams to really post any good content on the blog, I pulled together this short clip to show you a bit of the party. Hope you enjoy it!
Oh and also. Look out for my Budapest entry when I’m done editing the videos! A vlog is coming soon. Beware.
Have a good night,
Elena
A TRIP TO THE KUNSTHAL
So remember that time I was so excited to get a Rotterdampaas (card which gets me free entry in a bunch of places, free ice cream and cinema tickets) because I would use itĀ so much? And then ended up using it once in three months?
Yeah. Me too.
After finishing all my exams and assignments last week at last, IĀ finally set a challenge to myself and decided to actually make the most of this stupid card before I have to leave Rotterdam (which is soon). Being an art lover,Ā I decided my first stop would be the Kunsthal, a contemporary art gallery on theĀ Westzeedijk which I see every time I cycle to uni (which isn’t often, really). The building sits on the edges of the Museum Park and looks quite small from the outside, but don’t be deceived – I got lost š¤.
Here’s some of its highlights:
The first exhibition I came across was centred on Africa, its styles and culture and its possibilities for the future. It’s all about what Africa stands for, its ups and downs, the way people live in this beautiful continent and its role in today’s society. Through images, clips, sounds and pieces of art, this exhibition uncoversĀ the story of an often underrated land which has so much to offer.
These two photos ( ā and ā ) are part of a collab between photographer Fabrice Monteiro and fashion designer Doulsy (Ja Gal), in a project called The Prophecy.Ā Here you can see dresses made up of rubbish and natural elements belong to the African land, captured through Monteiro’s lenses.
Another exhibition was Peter Lindbergh’s one, showcasing dozens of photos of both celebrities and regular people. This exhibition was inaugurated last month with a big event at the Kunsthal, where models and speakers were invited to attend. Although I couldn’t participate, I really wanted to and judging from the videos it must have been a really good night! Along with the photo section was a camera obscura with hundreds of other photos taken by Lindbergh, which was pretty cool.
Unfortunately I was late to the museum so didn’t get to see more of it, but I’m definitely coming back. Here’s a few more pictures I took while strolling about.
All in all I think the Kunsthal is definitely worth a visit! The exhibitions are always changing and the spaces are huge – which means loads of stuff to see and a good, cultural way to pass your average afternoon.
I highly recommend getting a Rotterdampaas (and use it!), I mean with a couple visits alone I paid the price of the card and get so much more out of it. So go, get your card, and EXPLORE. You might be leaving sooner than you think!
Elena
Hi! My nickname is Nana. You can call me Nina. The real one is neither of those two.
THEUNSTABLELEMENT 