Boston - NYC and back in 18 hours...

Okay guys, I know it might sound crazy and maybe even a little dumb, but a bustrip to New York City and back in one day is really worth it!

Nina and me took the Megabus for 30 bugs roundtrip (http://megabus.com/) at 6 am from South Station and arrived in NYC at 10.30, a little tired but still excited for the next 8 hours in the city.

When we decided to to this trip, which was actually the night before, we primarily just wanted to visit the MOMA and see a special exhibition (http://www.moma.org/). So that´s what we did as soon as we arrived, but then Nina and me realised that we have lots of time left, so we made a nice little walk through Midtown and walked along the famous ice rink at Rockefeller Center, saw the amazing christmas decoration at Macy´s and had even time to enjoy crépes at the Public Library, where we could find a little christmas market.

We took the bus home at 7 pm, which was a little mess because the pick-up place for the busses was completely crowded and we had to fight for our places, but in the end everything worked out fine :-) So we arrived back in Boston at 11.30 at night, a little exhausted but super happy about our 18 hours trip to the greatest city in the world (after Boston of course)!

What’s hot in Boston #5: Going out on Boylston Street!

Since my semester at UMass Boston is almost over, I really want to take a few minutes to talk to you about my favorite places to go out in Boston. According to me, Boylston Street is definitely the best area to go out, especially if you are more of a bar type of person. When you get off of the train at Hynes Convention Center station (green line), there are plenty of bars just a few minutes walking from there.

My three favorite ones are located right next to each other, which is awesome because you can go from one place to another one and find the perfect atmosphere you’re looking for on that night.

Check out their website! Let me know how you liked those bars!

McGreevy’s (Irish Pub & Sports Bar)
911 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02115
http://www.mcgreevysboston.com/

Poor House (Bar)
909 Boylston St # 21
Boston, MA 02115-3104
http://www.pourhouseboston.com/

Lir (Irish Pub)
903 Boylston Street
Boston, MA 02115-3104
http://www.lironboylston.com/

Boston University

One knows that there are MANY schools in Boston. Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston College, Suffolk, Emerson, Tufts, Northeastern and University of Massachusetts Boston are among the ones, all having a different specialties, different reputations but unified on their Bostonian location. In this post, we will talk to you about Boston University, which is among the best ones in the city.

All along the beautiful Charles River, on the east side, and the well known Commonwealth avenue is the university’s location. Needless to say that the view from the class room must be amazing. The school is all along the green line –B, Boston College and it cuts through Fenway, Brookline, Brighton and Allston.

BU is known for its amazing business school, especially the MBA program which is among the best ones in the whole United-States. Plus any field you can think of is covered in that college, it goes from medical school to arts & science, engineering, communication or law…

If you have time, and you should make some, go visit the beautiful buildings that constitute BU and check out how is it like to be a BU student J

Wrentham Village Premium Outlets

For all shopping lovers or bargain seekers, here is the best deal in the whole Massachusetts: Wrentham Outlets!!!

For people coming from Europe, the concept of outlet is fairly simple: it’s any store that sales their clothes for 50, 60 or even 70% off, but not only clothes, it can be shoes, cosmetics, house stuff… you can usually find these kind of stores out of the city and in the case of Wrentham, it’s a 45 min ride from downtown.

The best way to get there would be by car, but there is a bus that goes to the Village every day. Now what are the stores present there you would ask?!? Well, it goes from Nike to Polo Ralph Lauren, Reebok, Banana Republic, Burberry, Gap, BCBG… literally any store you want is there… and yes the prices are really, really affordable!! J

The best way to have an idea is for you to click on this link Wrentham Village and decide by yourself.

Oh yeah, when you’re around there, stop by the Gillette Stadium that is close by and watch a Patriots game. Go Pats, Go!!

Let's explore Harvard Square!

Situated in the middle of Cambridge, and easily accessible with the red line is the neighborhood of Harvard Square. Harvard Square is a world renowned neighborhood for shopping, dining, or visiting historical places. At its heart, you can see the prestigious Harvard University. Founded in 1636, HU is well known around the world for the many brilliant people who went there to study. In fact most of the US presidents stopped by there during their collegial years, among whom the actual president Barak Obama.

On a less serious note, Harvard Square is the place to be for any holiday, because the neighborhood is very active in organizing events for July 4th, Labor Day, Oktoberfest, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas…

What would be a typical day spent at Harvard Square like? Fairly simple, once you get out of the T station, you should stop by one of the numerous café in the neighborhood (my advice would be this one Burdick's Chocolates), before going to the Harvard Co-op store and grab your souvenir tee-shirt of Harvard University. After that, take a guided tour of the campus and admire where part of the American history was built, at least the brainsJ. Then take a bite by either stopping at a restaurant or going to the Harvard Square Market, where you will find various dishes from around the world. Last but not least take a look at the various bookstores, pick a book and go sit by the Charles River reading and watching the kayakers. 

What’s hot in Boston #4: The Freedom Trail

Hey Guys,
I've got an important recommendation for you:
When you come to Boston do the Freedom Trail!
The Freedom trail is a red pedestrian trail which links historic sites and landmarks of Downtown Boston and is one of the most popular tourist activities in Boston. You will see the Old State House, the Paul Revere House, Faneuil Hall, old graveyards and much more. Usually people start at the Boston Common (green/red line: "Park Street or green line: "Boylston") so you will also have the chance to take a look at this beautiful park! You can also take a tour with guides who are dressed up as puritans.
By the way don't be intimidated that you see so many things on your way, the Freedom Trail is just a 2,5 mile walk, so it is definitely managable to follow the entire path within a couple of hours.

So there is nothing more to say except: Don't forget your comfortable shoes at home!

NBA Basketball-finally!

After month and month of difficult negotiations there were some good news for all sport fans last week: The NBA basketball season will finally start in the end of december!

We already told you about Boston´s amazing sport teams, and the Boston Celtics are definitly one of them. Founded in 1946, the Boston Celtics are still the most succesful team in the whole NBA, they won 17 championships!

Tickets are a little expensive but not too bad (as Football for example...) and they start around 50 $ in the cheapest category.

You can find tickets in the web, for example on this page:

http://www.ticketsnow.com/boston-celtics-tickets/

And to see some nice Basketball moves from last season, watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vl2XwC7h4M&feature=fvst

Traveling in the US: Cape Cod!

Every exchange student is eager to see what the United States has to offer. Fortunately I was lucky and got the opportunity to see Cape Cod. Cape Cod is the easternmost part of Massachussets and is known for its beaches and countryside. There are numerous things to do: you can do beach walking, biking, boating, fishing, go-karts, golfing, kayaking, miniature golf, and unique shopping. Of course you can visit Cape Cod and just enjoy the view.
The best way to visit Cape Cod is to drive by car. We used the Car rental service Alamo and had no problem at all, so you guys should definitely check it out. On your way you will have the chance to see typical small all-American cities, which is a nice change and a new thing to see in America after spending so much time in Boston.
Also guys don't forget to visit the Cape Cod National Seashore with its beautiful beaches, dunes and cliffs. You won't believe your eyes!
Btw: I did this trip in the beginning of November and even though it is nice to see Cape Cod during the summer, it was great to experience the "Indian Summer" first hand! This is just a reminder that it is never too late to visit Cape Cod since there are always new things to explore!

Neighborhood Review - Part Two: Cambridge!

Looking for a good and safe neighborhood to stay? I would definitely recommend you the marvelous Cambridge! First of all, Cambridge is not as far as you might think. It’s just on the other side of Charles River and a few stations to Downtown Boston!

Did you know Cambridge is the home of the famous MIT and Harvard University? It makes this area very pleasant to stay because you are surrounded by a bunch of students, just like you! So, there are plenty of nice restaurants, coffee shops, bars, and pubs in Cambridge, especially around Kendall Square, Central Square, or Harvard Square. You can find all those stations on the red line!

I love living in Cambridge so trust me, you won’t regret your choice :)

Don't miss Student Rush

Boston offers awesome theatres, museums, music halls (for example the famous Boston Opera House) and many other great cutural experiences an exchange student should not miss!

Unfortunatelly, tickets for all the nice concerts and shows cost a lot of money and might blow the budget of an average exchange student.

But there is a way to enjoy Boston´s cultural offer without ending up completely broke, the Student Rush!

Student Rush tickets are available at cultural facilities like the Boston Opera House, the Boston Ballet or the Huntington Theatre Company and many more. In most cases all you have to do is go directly to the ticket counter about two hours before the beginning of the show, show your student ID and ask for Student Rush.

Usually you won´t find an extra announcement for these special tickets but in our experience after using the "code word" Student Rush, tickets were always available and much cheaper then the regular ones :-)

Some weeks ago, we went to the Boston Opera House to see the ballet show "Romeo and Juliet" and got SR tickets for only 20 bugs and we even had pretty nice seats!

So, no more excuses for spending your next saturday night in a shabby bar drinking cheap beer because of your small budget!

Also check out these links for SR tickets in Boston:

http://boston.povo.com/Tag:Student_rush_tickets

More information for SR at the Boston Ballet:

http://www.bostonballet.org/rush-tickets-ticket-donations.html

You can even get them for the Blue Men Group:

http://www.blueman.com/popups/5

What’s hot in Boston #3: Boston Common & Boston Public Garden

Today, I would like to share a very interesting afternoon I spent in Boston Public Garden and Boston Common. Those two places, right next to each other, are easily accessible with the “T”. Park Street station (red or green line) and Boylston station (green line) are right in front of Boston Common, and Arlington station (green line) is right next to the Boston Public Garden.

You wanna spend a relaxing afternoon, enjoying the sun, laying on a blanket? Then I definitely recommend you those two beautiful places, the perfect spots to enjoy a cup of coffee with friends or to do some homework!

I hope you will like those places as much as I do!

What's hot in Boston #2: The Blue Man Group

When you are in Boston you should definitely check out the Blue Man Group. I saw them recently and their show is amazing! It’s not just fascinating how they play with sounds and colors; the show is actually really funny and the end is just a really great party.

The home of the Blue Man Group Boston is at the Charles Playhouse in 74 Warrenton Street. It’s in the theater district and you’ll find it easily once you get off the green T-Line station “Boylston Street”. Luckily the Charles Playhouse is offering student rush tickets, which are always $38. This is a great deal, because depending where you get seated you are able to save more than 50% of the original price. In order to get the student rush tickets you just have to show them your student ID (you can get two tickets for one ID). The only downside of this offer is that you get the tickets only when you arrive an hour earlier, because you can buy them just at the box office and not online. You also have to pay in cash. In order to be sure that you get tickets, just call the playhouse before you leave and ask how many tickets are left. You can also pick the rather unpopular dates & times like in the afternoon instead of in the evening.

In case you don’t know what the Blue Man group is really about, just check out the following video:

You have still no idea what the show is about? Well, then I guess you just have to go and find out!

They belong to Boston like the Hancock Tower or the Charles River and if you haven´t seen the Boston Red Sox you haven´t seen Boston!

The Boston Red Sox are one of the most traditional baseball teams in the United States and their home ballpark, Fenway Park, is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use.

Baseball strongly belongs to the American culture and once you find your way to Fenway Park (directly on the Green Line, exit Kenmore) you will not only explore a huge sport event but also a big social get-together!

It is hard to say how many people at the game really understand all the rules and regulations of baseball, but quickly you will find out that it doesn´t matter at all.

Going to a baseball game means meeting your friends, eating hotdogs and enjoying the amazing atmosphere at Fenway.

But in case you want to be well prepared for your first vistit at Fenway Park, here you can find some links about the rules of baseball and the history of Fenway Park:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fx9bgs6aoW0&feature=related

http://baseball.about.com/od/thebasics/a/basebasicrules.htm

http://www.ballparks.com/baseball/american/fenway.htm

Dine in the Famous North End!

The North End is one of the most historic and iconic neighborhoods in the Boston area. It is the oldest residential community in the whole city, as people have lived here since settlement in the 1630s. It is very small, only one third of a square mile, yet it harbors more than 100 family-owned Italian restaurants!

Restaurants, cafes, pubs, and bakeries line the lopsided brick sidewalks and twisting one-way streets. The aromatic mix is indescribable and something that needs to be experienced. You could spend each weekend going to one restaurant or cafe and it would still take you more than two years to taste everything!

Here is a list of some of our favorites in the North End. You can find a more thorough list at http://www.northendboston.com/2011/03/restaurants/


Lo Conte’s
114-116 Salem Street
Boston, MA 02113
Tel 617-720-0339


Pagliuca’s Ristorante
14 Parmenter Street
Boston, MA 02113
Tel 617-367-1504
Fax 617-523-3863


Joe Tecce’s Ristorante & Cafe
61 North Washington Street
Boston, MA 02114
Tel 617742-6210
Fax 617-742-6665 


D’Amore’s
76 Salem Street
Boston, MA 02113
Tel 617-523-8820


Il Villaggio Ristorante
230 Hanover Street
Boston, MA 02113
Tel 617-367-2824


In addition to the seemingly unending line of dining choices, the North End is steeped in rich history and culture. Here is a nice look at the neighborhood by National Geographic

Halloween with the witches in Salem

If you're in Boston during the Fall semester, you must experience Halloween in Salem!

As you might have heard of, Salem is known for all its witches stories, which makes the city the perfect place to celebrate Halloween. Among all the attractions, you can find haunted houses, the Witch House, and museums. When the attractions are closed, then you can end the night in a bar where everyone wears a costume!

Salem is about 30 minutes driving from Boston. If you don't have a car, there are plenty of ways to get there such as the commuter rail or by bus.

To get more information about the event, I suggest you to visit the website hauntedhappenings.org.

Enjoy :)

Public Transportation in Boston

Are you wondering if Boston is one of those cities you can't live in without having a car? Well I can assure you, even though Bostonians might complain a lot about their public transportation system, it's one of the best in the States and you are able to get everywhere you want.

THE FAMOUS "T"

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, also known as "T", is the subway system in Boston. As long as you live near a T-Station you won't have transportation problems.
If you live right next to the campus and don't use the subway on a regular basis, you should consider getting a charlie card, the discount card of the Boston subway. Instead of paying $2,00 for one ride, you just have to pay $1,70. Believe me, in the end it will add up!
If you are a commuter and need to use the "T" daily, you should consider buying a monthly ($60,00) or a weekly ($15,00) pass, which allows unlimited travel with the subway and local buses. You should contact your university and ask them in advance if they offer monthly passes for students! I can just talk about UMass Boston, but my university was offering monthly passes for students only for a given time, so make sure you won't miss this opportunity.

It's also worth mentioning that the "T" is NOT working all night. The last train leaves around 12.30 AM, so never forget the money for a cab!

Neighborhood Review - Part One: Dorchester!

Once coming to Boston, the big question is: Where shall i live?

Boston offers many nice neighborhoods and I chose Dorchester as the perfect place to live for me, so here some facts about Bostons biggest neighborhood!

Dorchester is known as the part of Boston with the most diversity of different cultures and influences and that is what makes living in Dorchi so interesting for me. You can find endless vietnamese shops and restaurants as well as different grocery shops, irish bars, polish cafe´s and typical american burger places. You can also find a real community (I saw people wearing a OFD-Originally from Dorchester shirt!)

If you`r planning to visit UMass Boston I would definitly recommend to look for a place close to the stations of the red T-Line (the subway system in Boston) like Savin Hill, Ashmont or JFK/UMass, which is the one closest to your school. I found a great place next to JFK/UMass and I love the fact that my way to school just takes me ten minutes :-)!

Living in Dorchester is relatively cheap compared to other neighborhoods and depending from what your looking for you can find places for about 600 $ rent per month and utilities are often included.

You must confess that there aren´t always only good news about Dorchester and when reading the newspaper you find some stories about people beeing robbed or even of shootings. But in my opinion it depends on how you personally behave and where in Dorchester you live. If you avoid running around alone at night and look for a place close to main streets and the T-line, I am convinced you won´t see Dorchi´s ugly face.

I began to love my neighborhood very fast and I hope once you are coming to Boston and start looking for a place to live, you keep Dorchester in mind!

Useful links for studying in the US and Boston

Hey guys, today we want to share a collection of links that some of you might think are useful.

First things first: Universities & Visa

• You want to study in the US, but you don't know anything about it or have any idea where you want to go? Try this site: Study in the USA.
• If you are a German student you might wanna check the following German site out: College Contact.
• Here is a list of Colleges and Universities in the greater Boston area:  Colleges & Universities.
• If you need information about the visa process visit the  U.S. Department of State.

Arrival at Boston & What has the city to offer?

• We just want to recommend Hostels where we actually stayed, so we can give you just two     adresses: H.I Hostel and YMCA Boston.
• Of course you need a place to stay. Try Craigslist Boston or Roomster to find the right room.
• In a big city like Boston public transportation is important. Try to find a place that's near                        a T-Station: Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority.
• You might want to familiarize yourself with what Boston has to offer, so that you can do as much sightseeing as possible: City of Boston, Boston Guide and Boston.

Traveling! 

• Use your opportunity to explore the country! We can recommend the following buses: Fung Wah Bus, Megabus and Greyhound.

Of course this list is not complete! We will update it regularly and if you want to share any links to useful websites feel free to do so!

What's hot in Boston!

Have you ever seen a burlesque dance show? If you are interested, you should definitely go to one of the Boston Babydolls Burlesque troupe's show. They were named "Boston's Best Dance Troupe (Sexy)" by The Boston Phoenix 2010 and "Best Burlesque in Boston" 2011. Some of us saw their new Halloween show called The Wrathskellar and we all really appreciated it! You can get more information about their upcoming shows on their website! But here's a preview of their current show playing until the end of October:
http://bostonbabydolls.net/newintro.cfm

Our own "Welcome to Boston" Video

Thank you Melissa and Marianna for starring in our little "Welcome to Boston" Video.

View in 720p HD for best results :)

Enjoy and feel free to share your thoughts and opinions about studying in the US and Boston!

Explore Boston!

You are interested in studying in the US but you are not sure where you want to go? Or you've already decided to go to Boston and are curious what the city has to offer? Well, either way I want to show you guys this cool video about Boston that I found when I was looking for information about Boston. Enjoy!

Welcome to Boston!

Why are we doing this?
Why are we leaving our friends, family and hometown behind us with knowing we won´t see them for months?
Why are we coming to this country and the city Boston where we have never been before and that is completely strange to us?
We probably all asked ourselfs the same questions before we left our home and came here without knowing anyone and even without having a room to live...
But now our first weeks in this beautiful and thrilling city Boston have passed and we started to feel home a little more every day.
We are three exchange students from Canada and Germany and one true Bostonian who study at Umass Boston, and we think it is time for the first survival guide for all exchange students in Boston and those who plan to come here!

Within the next months we will share our experiences and all the exciting things we discover with you to help you plan your stay here in Boston and have the time of your lifes as we have!

After arriving at Boston you will have to take your first steps in this new city and we will let you know where you can find good places to life and which areas might be good future neighborhoods. We will also share our experiences with you how to survive your first week at school.
Umass Boston is an amazing university with many great things to do except just studying and there are some great activities you shouldn´t miss!

And of course you want to get to know the city Boston and see all the exciting places and events this city has to offer! So we will let you participate in our trips to Boston, if for shopping or sightseeing and of course partying!