An important part of exchange is, of course, travelling. If you’re in Maastricht, you’re luckily in a very central location – cities like Brussels, Paris, Frankfurt, Cologne, Stuttgart, and of course Amsterdam are all within half a day’s train journey at best. Berlin, Zurich, Munich, and Hamburg are just a few hours more.
Exchange classes in Maastricht are pretty forgiving to travel plans. Since you can only take up to two classes per academic period as an exchange student, if you’re smart about it it leaves you with 5 days of the week free (relatively speaking) to travel. If you’re creative (aka crazy) you can take overnight trains to maximize your travel time.
From the perspective of an Indian who’s out of his country for the first time, I would sincerely recommend the following places that are both wonderful, and close to Maastricht-:
Brussels: the capital of Belgium, and the capital of the EU. Take a train from Maastricht to Liege-Guillemins, and on to Brussels in just a matter of about 3 hours. If you love beer, chocolates, waffles, then Brussels is a must visit. If you have the time, go on to the city of Brugges, another 40 mins by train, to see one of the most beautiful cities in Belgium.
Frankfurt: German architecture, wurst, the iron bridge, the cathedral. Frankfurt is a beautiful sample of Germany’s balance between modernity and natural beauty. Not quite 4 hours from Maastricht.
Cologne: Cologne’s cathedral is famous across Europe, and it’s close enough that you can do a quick day trip and hop on back.
Paris: makes for a nice weekend getaway if you’ve had a rough week, just make sure you book the Thalys in advance.
Amsterdam: no comments needed, I’m sure 😉
Make sure you maximize your exchange experience by travelling as much as your calendar, and of course your budget, allows.
Study abroad 