Inside Student BlogsEU Institutions Field TripEuropean Union, Spring 2011
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- The first part of our trip started at the ECB where we spoke with a press secretary and an economist. They claimed that the Euro is stable… but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see about that.
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- As the capital of the EU, Brussels has a ton of EU institutions. The Committee of the Regions is an institution we learned about in our seminar class that may represent the growing federalism of the EU.
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- One of the cool aspects of these field trips is on top of getting to hear from speakers who have a say in the EU, we also get to go inside the buildings and see where policy is made.
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- What is a trip to Brussels without trying the belgium waffle? I could definitely eat one for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
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- The French (or should they be called Belgium?) fries are made in front of your eyes and taste as good as they look. Something that I found surprising was that you have to pay extra for ketchup or mayo.
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- In the background is the royal palace. Brussels is filled with really nice parks to walk around in.
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- In Paris IES offered an optional trip to Versailles. It was a very relaxing break after a busy week filled with speakers.
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- In the gardens they have some amazing pools and lakes. A few students rented a boat and explored the gardens by water.
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- As a resident of the EU, we got to visit Versailles, the Louvre, and other museums in Paris for free! If you are an EU resident and between 18-26 you can visit a ton of places in Paris for free.
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- The trips on the program are filled with speakers but they also leave adequate time to explore the cities we visit. Saint Chapelle is known for its amazing stained glass windows.
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- I have been to Paris before so I made a point to visit some areas that I wasn’t able to visit last trip. This is the second largest park in Paris. Many students visited the Louvre, Notre Dame, and of course the Eiffel Tower.
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- I happend upon an amazing farmers market around the Bastille.
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- Our trip leader told us to visit the bakery which provides the baguettes for President Sarkozy, the president of France. I understand why he chose this place to provide the baguettes, they were amazing.
We got back from our second IES-run field trip last Sunday. It was a week full of speakers, traveling, tasting, and exploring. IES splits you into two groups- one focused on economics and the other political science. I decided to go on the economics trip where we visited Frankfurt, Brussels, and Paris. The other group went to Luxembourg, Brussels, and Paris. Even though we were in the same cities for most of the trip, we heard from different speakers.
IES does a great job of balancing academics and real world experiences. For every city we visit they hand us a packet with some historical background of the city and various places to visit. They were really helpful in finding museums to visit and the types of local foods to look for.
In addition to the week long field trips, Wednesday afternoons are reserved for shorter trips. This past Wednesday we had a trip to Strasbourg where we visited the European Parliament. There we sat inside the chamber and heard Lady Catherine Ashton address the Parliament about the EU’s policy towards the Middle East. It was an experience that you could not have had if you were studying in the US. Next Wednesday there is an optional trip to Geneva to visit the United Nations offices. The traveling never stops!
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