Last Updated on June 8, 2023 by Ekaterina Hauff
During my study abroad in Berlin, Germany, I had the fantastic opportunity to take several excursions with my AIFS group and other students from my university to different countries and cities. When AIFS advertises that their program is all-inclusive, they genuinely mean it. The cost of my study abroad program included a lot of excursions, particularly to places that I would never have visited on my own.
My host school in Berlin, Freie Universität, made it mandatory for students to go on excursions to enhance their study abroad experience, so I choose to do back-to-back visits to the Netherlands and Belgium through AIFS. It was a bonus that the cost of the trips were already included my AIFS program fees.
Trip to Amsterdam, Netherlands
I spent three days on a trip to Amsterdam with AIFS students, as well as students from Freie Universität. I was impressed by the beauty of the city and the museums that I got to visit. While I was in Amsterdam, I decided to visit the Anne Frank museum and Van Gogh museum. I can’t even explain what I have felt while walking through the Anne Frank House where she and her family hid from the Nazis, or seeing famous paintings and learning the life story of Vincent Van Gogh. I never would’ve imagined or planned to visit both of these places, but I am thankful to AIFS for including the excursions in the program’s fees.
Trip to Brussels, Belgium
The other AIFS program-led excursion that I did a three-day trip to Brussels, Belgium. It was a miracle to visit the United Nations’ office in that city and eat delicious food that is so well-known to the rest of the world. I never would have planned to visit Brussels, but after spending three days there, I want to go back and explore the rest of the country.
I made so many friends during this whole week of traveling. I still stay in touch with most of them and will never forget the excursions that we did. I was able to see so many historic places and was surrounded by amazing people. I am happy that I picked to study abroad with AIFS in Berlin.
This post was contributed by Ekaterina Hauff, an AIFS Alumni Ambassador from the Tiffin University who spent a fall semester studying abroad with AIFS in Berlin, Germany.