For orientation we went on a practical city tour and got to know the city. We walked around and found the student library, stores to shop at like H&M and Zara, cheap places for lunch, and bars to go to such as The Shamrock or the Lab. We then ate lunch at Van Buuren where we ate sandwiches and Dutch pastries. We went on a boat tour on the river Maas and stopped at the Grotten Nord/ North Caves of Maastricht. These caves were used during WWII for people from Belgium to escape safely from the war. It was a great way to learn about the history of Maastricht and we even got to try and walk around in the pitch black to imagine what it would be like years ago!
On our free day we decided to explore the city on our own. We walked across the Maas bridge and got coffee at CoffeeLovers which was a really cute café with coffee and pastries. We then rented bikes at Aon de Stasie for €15.95 a month with a €50 downpayment that you receive back when you return your bike. The bikes came with a light and a lock, I highly recommend going here to rent a bike! But be careful when biking and make sure you research the traffic rules so you don't get yelled at in Dutch!