Josephine de Brouwer is currently in her third year Bachelor’s in Bioengineering. And she’s doing her second semester at the University of Ljubljana through the university’s exchange programme. So, another ‘exchange story’ about a VUB student going abroad? Yes, but with a big ‘AND’, because Josephine travelled to Ljubljana… by bike! We chatted with her to find out more about her cycling adventure.
First of all, Josephine, what made you decide to go study abroad?
It was my mother who motivated me. She travelled a lot, and went on an exchange abroad herself, so she encouraged me to do this.
And why the University of Ljubljana? Was it your first choice?
There aren’t that many destination options for bioengineers. Canada was actually my first choice, simply because of the mountains, the landscape, but there were too many applicants, so that didn’t happen. Next on my radar was the University of Ljubljana, which had the same pull: small city, close to nature, mountains… And also, it was in Europe, so in the end that seemed nice too; closer by, but still different from life in Belgium.
Why cycle there? How did that come about?
As a family we love cycling. I’ve been on many cycling holidays, with my parents, with friends. I just love it. And in a way, it made it seem more of an adventure too. In all, it’s about 1,450 km. I did two small bits by train, and then I cycled the remaining 750km. I covered the distance in 10 days, so I set off on 5 February and arrived in Ljubljana on 14 February, just in time to start the second semester classes.
How was the trip? Did you do this all on your own? And how did you manage your accommodation?
All went very well; zero issues really. The weather was a bit misty and cold at times, but I also had lots of sunshine along the way. I cycled the first three days of the trip with my friend Margot. When we got to Düsseldorf, she took the train back to Brussels, and I took it to Plattling (near the Donau). From there I was on my own and first cycled to Vienna, where I stayed a day to explore the city, and then took a train to Kranj in Slovenia; from there I cycled to Ljubljana (in the pouring rain!).
I managed my trip via Komoot, and my accommodation en route with the app ‘warmshower’. Cyclists will no doubt know of it. It shows you places where you can stay with families who take you in for the night. It’s really nice, because you’re with likeminded people, eat dinner together, and they give you a lovely breakfast in the morning that sets you up for the day’s cycling.
I didn’t have to worry about my luggage; I had packed items for the 10 days cycling trip, but the bulk of my stuff for Ljubljana went with Arthur, a friend who was driving there from Brussels. He’s also doing an exchange here.
We’re now chatting on day three of your classes at the University of Ljubljana, so it’s early days, but how’s it going so far?
I’ve had two classes since arriving here, but all is going ok for the moment. I had been thinking about my bioengineering degree and wanted to test out doing more engineering-oriented classes here, to see if that would guide me towards a possible Master’s, but I’m not sure leaning more towards engineering and away from biology is the way to go. Apart from that, I’m not alone here; there are seven other VUB students from bioengineering here on an exchange, so that helps to already know people, but I’m really excited to meet new people too.
What are you most looking forward to during your exchange?
I want to explore the country, and mostly I want to go running and cycling in the mountains here. I’m still working on settling in; there’s still quite a bit of admin left to do for the exchange (which I didn’t anticipate and is stressing me out a little bit). Other than saying ‘thank you’ in Slovenian, I don’t know much yet, but I have loads of time to discover more about the people and the country.
I can already say to fellow students who are considering going abroad during their studies, to just do it! It’s such an exciting adventure!
Last question: are you cycling back to Brussels at the end of the semester?
No, that’s not going to happen. I have plans at the start of summer, and there’s actually not enough time for me to cycle back between the end of the academic year here, and the start of my summer plans, so I’ll be taking the train back!
Are you interested in going abroad for studies, an internship, or volunteer work? Discover all your options on the VUB Go Abroad page, or reach out to our colleagues at the VUB International Relations office at exchange.outgoing@vub.be