VIA University College

ERASMUS was an incredible experience for me and for my friends at all levels. You make a lot of new friends from all over the world, you have contacts all over Europe for the future, you get extremely independent, you learn a lot about life and you grow as a person, you experience many new things you would never experience in a normal environment, you face the unknown, you loose your fears, you improve your English, you get ready to work in an international environment, you fall in love, you party like never before and you carry memories you will never forget. In Horsens or everywhere else, everyone should definitely experience ERASMUS.

The place where I lived in - Kamtjatka - is a brand new student house (we were the first students living there) constituted by 3 aggregated buildings. It is located just next to the city center and 10 minutes from the university by bus/bike. The facilities are very good since everything is new and you can have both privacy or fun/bonding with your flat and corridor mates. Boys and girls live together in the same corridor. The flats have a common kitchen and WC, and are shared with one or two persons (the latter is the most common). In the beginning some things were not ready yet, e.g., common rooms, and there was some dust on the corridors, but with time everything got ready and now it is not a problem anymore. The 3 buildings have wireless internet access; it is enough for browsing sites or chatting, but not good if you want to download big files - you should try the university network for that. At some spots the signal is not so good. The alternative to Kamtjatka is the K Block or private flats. K block has a great atmosphere, with lots of students, but the facilities are not as good. You have to share a kitchen and shower with 11 people, although you have a toilet per 2 persons. Private flats have the disadvantage of being a bit isolated from all the other students. Overall, Kamtjatka is probably the best places to stay if you will be studying in Horsens.

The host university used to give out additional grants (about 250 euros) to the students of eastern europe, but they have stopped to do that from September 2010. There are a lot of different shops in the city, and it's good to go shopping to all of them one by one, to buy the cheapest products

Almost all the parties are made among the ERASMUS students (almost everyday on the vacations period and every weekend during the school period). They usually take place in private flats, student halls, in the P3 (a pavilion next to the university, built specially for that) or at the school bar (mostly Danish students here). Horsens is a very quiet town, except during the Medieval festival in the end of August, which was quite amazing: the streets were crowded and there was an incredible medieval atmosphere all over. Besides being quiet, Horsens is also a small city and there is not a tradition of going to cafés after having dinner to chat with your friends. Nevertheless, there are some places that you should not miss: Crazy Daisy (the only disco in Horsens), Koks - a pub with live music. A good alternative is going to Aarhus (30 min. by train) where you have a big variety of places where you can go during the night. There are also, once in a while, parties made in the university, which should not be missed. Overall, you will have unforgettable parties here and probably the best ones of your life!