Three Years of HistSoc Tours

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The History society was a big part of my time at uni, and the short city breaks they hosted in different European cities were unmissable. It was such a great chance to see some beautiful parts of the world that I would have never ordinarily thought of, as well as making unforgettable memories with my amazing course friends. I feel very lucky to have gotten the opportunity to go on a tour for all three years. For me, each tour accurately reflected how I felt about each of my years at university. Whilst I loved every single one, I certainly had my favourites for many different reasons. So, here’s a run-down of my experience of every tour.


First Year- Berlin

City- 8/10
Weather- 4/10
Booziness- 8/10

Berlin was a fantastic place to go for my first ever uni trip. I had never even been to Germany and, as many people do, I fell in love with Berlin from the start. There’s something for everyone, and the lively nightlife kept us busy for our 4-day trip, especially the Matrix nightclub where our bar crawl ended.



The reason I’ve put the weather as 4/10 is because we were not expecting it to be so freezing; everyone brought light jackets and on the first day it started snowing!

With as much history as can be packed into one city, us history nerds were in our element. The Topography of Terror Museum and the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe were among the best of the museums and memorials we saw in Berlin, as they recognise their past whilst also honouring the victims of it. Not to mention the East Side Gallery of the Berlin Wall. I love how Berlin uses art to reconcile with their past, producing something beautiful out of pain.

Although some of the history was difficult to deal with, going with other history students was fantastic as we could talk about it with respect and understanding. I made the most friends on this trip out of the three and it was such an incredible place to make those memories.





Second Year- Budapest

City- 7/10
Weather- 6/10
Booziness- 10/10


Budapest is a really picturesque city that I never considered going to before this trip. It has some incredible architecture such as the Fisherman’s Bastion, and the view of the Danube river is stunning. The score for the city may seem harsh considering how beautiful it is, but I felt I couldn’t give it a higher score as I didn’t see as much of it as I would like to. Due to my injuries, I missed out on the Grand Café, a beautifully decorated fancy café, and the Jewish memorial on the Danube of cast iron shoes to represent the people who were ordered to take their shoes off then shot into the river during the Holocaust.

Fisherman's Bastion


Heroes' Square


But before the infamous injury, my favourite part of the trip was the Szechenyi baths. There’s something so special about the perfect blue waters against the mustard yellow buildings, and soaking in the hot water is the best hangover cure.




However, the weather was absolutely freezing with some snow still on the ground, but at least we were more prepared this time.



Third Year- Krakow

City- 10/10
Weather- 10/10
Booziness- 7/10

I have to say that Krakow was my absolute favourite HistSoc tour. It had everything- history, beauty, nightlife, amazing food, and great company. To top it all off, the weather was fantastic; based on the previous years we were all expecting cold weather but we were happily surprised to find an April heatwave leaving us walking around in t-shirts most of the time. This really made a difference when compared to the freezing cold of Berlin!


Moreover, I was pleasantly surprised by the number of things to see and do in Krakow. There are breath-taking churches and cathedrals, Wawel Castle, and lots of places to walk and explore to get the best view of the city. Our visit to Auschwitz was a harrowing experience I will never forget. Even with all of those things to do, Krakow didn’t feel busy or rushed, and I really liked the pace of the city.

It was a great break from writing my dissertation, and by this point as a third year I had made lots of strong friendships so sharing the trip with them made it even more enjoyable. I also think Krakow provided the best food of all the tours; I’m so happy I got to try those pierogis.
Me and Smok the dragon outside Wawel Castle



Krakow was certainly my favourite, but I absolutely loved every one of the tours, and I'm so lucky to have shared the memories with all my lovely course mates.

Shepp x

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