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Studying abroad is always a great opportunity! Choosing the right destination can also have a huge impact on how your semester abroad will turn out. Every destination will have its perks and disadvantages; some might be cheaper, have a better student life or offer better travel opportunities.
If you are thinking of spending your semester abroad or even your whole study in Bratislava in Slovakia, then here are some things to know before studying abroad in Bratislava.
1. You can travel across Slovakia for free
If you are under the age of 25 and have your Slovak ISIC student card, you can get a free train ticket, which lets you travel around Slovakia by train for free. You still have to get tickets online, but they will not cost you anything with the free train ticket. So that is great as you can discover other Slovak cities such as Trnava or Košice.
2. Going out in Bratislava
It is small enough to always end up at the same place on a night out. There are a few bars and clubs to go out, but most of the exchange students will always end up at the same bars and clubs in Bratislava. That is great because you can just go out by yourself as you will definitely run into someone that you know.
3. Dormitories
The dormitories are not the best. There are several dormitories that you could end up in, such as Incheba or Mlyny. All of them have some sorts of issues, to be honest. I stayed at Incheba and while the rooms were not bad, it is just that you are always monitored.
You need a key card to leave and enter the building, and they keep track on how long you stay out or how many times you went to get the vacuum cleaner?!
4. Travelling around Bratislava
The bus system in the city is pretty good. All the buses run regularly, and it is kind of easy to get around the city. However, sometimes you have to switch buses a couple of times if you want to get somewhere a bit out of the city. But buses are cheap and usually on time.
Looking for the best food in Bratislava? My Favourite Restaurants in Bratislava!
5. Areas to study
There were no study rooms or enough plug-ins or even study places in the university. At least not in the University of Economics in Bratislava. And even if there were tables it was not in a quiet area and often there were no plug ins around. Also, in the library, there were no plug-ins to charge your laptop. I’m not quite sure how people can study on the campus.
6. Universities in Bratislava
There are several Universities in Bratislava, such as the University of Economics in Bratislava or Cormenius University. There are also several smaller ones. This also means that there are lots of Erasmus students in Bratislava, which is great. You will also meet the ones from the other universities.
7. Easy to visit neighbouring countries
Bratislava is a great starting point to travel to neighbouring countries. It is so close to the borders of Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic. You can reach Vienna in an hour by bus, Budapest within two and a half hours by train or Prague within four hours. It is also not too expensive to travel in the area or to go on day trips from Bratislava (e.g. bus to Vienna is €5).
Would love to travel on the weekend? Check out the best weekend trips from Bratislava!
8. Level of English
English isn’t widely spoken. In the city centre and the tourist hotspots and restaurants, you will usually be fine with English. But in supermarkets, no one really speaks English. Especially at the train station when you want to buy a ticket, it can be a bit of a struggle.
9. Prices of groceries
It is cheap to go out for food, but groceries are kind of pricey. Not incredibly pricey, but I have been spending more money on groceries in Bratislava than when I was living in Amsterdam!
Mostly I guess because the cheapest supermarket to where I was living was a Billa which is rather pricey but all the discounters were a little too far away. Going out is rather cheap if you know where to go. In some bars you can get beers for €1 or €1.50.
10. Shopping in Bratislava
There are great shopping centres in Bratislava. There are shopping centres such as Aupark or Eurovea with all the stores that you need. Such as Pull and Bear, Stradivarius or H&M.
11. Sightseeing in Bratislava
Most attractions of Bratislava can be seen within a day. Most attractions such as the castle or bridge are located around the old town, so you will get familiar with the city really quickly.
Looking for activities in Bratislava? 11 Things to do in Bratislava, Slovakia!
12. Traditional Slovak Food
Slovak food is good but very heavy, there is a lot of dairy and meat involved. The traditional dish that you have to try is Halušky which usually are potato dumplings served with sheep cheese and bacon sprinkles.
13. Smoking inside bars
Unlike in for example Serbia it is not allowed to smoke in restaurants, but it still allowed to smoke inside most bars. Therefore, most bars will smell like smoke and so will all your clothes once you go inside and so will you. That is something you just have to get used to when studying in Bratislava.
And here were all the things you should know before studying abroad in Bratislava! Are you thinking of studying abroad in Slovakia? Or have you studied abroad in Bratislava yourself? If you have any more questions, let me know in the comments!
Talk to you later x
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