What does one think of when hearing Craiova, Romania? Not much, I suppose. Indeed, the city of Craiova, located in southern Romania, has not many things to offer. There is a mall, an abundance of churches and a beautiful park. However, there is also a pretty amazing EESTEC LC there. This year they organized the Lovin’ Spring Workshop taking place from 10.02 – 16.02 in 2019. I myself took pride to be accepted and thus was part of the workshop.
The day after the last basic year exam my journey finally began. Upon arrival at the tiny Craiova airport, I was welcomed by a local EESTECer and spent the evening with the OC, since I arrived one day too early. Having slept in Sunday I was well rested when the other participants slowly started arriving. In total, we were 11 official participants and 3 unofficial, one of those international. The topic of the Workshop was the Java Spring Framework. The academic part was held at the Electrical Engineering Faculty of Craiova University while we were accommodated in student dorms. These included 3 beds, bathrooms with showers and were comfortably sized. All locations were located around the student dorms, thus we were able to walk to most places or take cabs. Monday through Wednesday we were coding at the faculty, Thursday there was a soft-skill training and Friday the obligatory city rally.
So, what did make this event amazing you might be asking by now: It was the people. The combination just worked. We arrived as strangers and left as friends – the EESTEC family grew. I will not elaborate more on the different personalities but let me just state that “is a moment!”
While the academic part was interesting, we advanced slowly in the topic, mostly due to not all participants having the necessary software flawlessly installed. This did not stop us though to enjoy our breaks on our breaks, as the Greeks say.
What we enjoyed, even more, was the evening activities. The organisers got a perfect balance of chill and party nights going. There was a board game night and a bowling night on one hand as well as a cheap beer rock party and a lovely international night on the other hand. I have to point out that the lovely international night was on Valentine’s Day and was definitely the best one, so much love.
All in all it has been one of the best weeks in my lifetime. It was the best way to relax after the basis-exams. I not only got to know Romania, some Spring, but also gained friends across the entirety of Europe!
So if you reading are wondering whether or not you should apply to that new event in Craiova, don’t waste your time and start writing that application letter already!
Travel advice:
Best go to Milan Bergamo Airport (BGY) by train or FlixBus and then take a plane to Craiova Airport (CRA). The travel time only is about 10h and it’s cheaper than a long-distance bus route, which would take at least twice as much time.
