In this post I'm going to include 1 week and 2 weekends' worth of info. Buckle up! Actually, last weekend wasn't particularly busy because we didn't travel. We went to the Leverkusen vs Frankfurt soccer game on Saturday. It was an interesting experience, but the weather was very cold and wet. I was just getting over being sick, and being out there the entire day caused me to feel under the weather for a lot of the week. On Wednesday, we went back to Leverkusen and visited the Baykomm Communication Center. It wasn't what I expected at all, but it was interesting to learn more about such a huge drug company and to play with their high tech gadgets. One of the highlights of my week was making the journey to Alexa's house to visit her on Saturday night. It was kind of scary going alone, but it was definitely worth it because Alexa, Kyle, and I had a great time just hanging out and talking for hours.
Schoolwise, the week was a little tough. We had our first big physiology test on Friday in addition to two very time consuming physiology labs due on the same day. Our Enmodes project work is also picking up. It looks like it might be a stressful stretch between here and our Paris excursion, but I'm sure we'll all make it through.
This weekend, we took my favorite trip so far to a place that I wasn't even sure I wanted to visit. Munich was a gorgeous city and we had an action-packed two days there. We got in to town late Friday night. On Saturday, we woke up at 5:30 am to take a two hour train ride to Fussen to visit Hohenschwangau Castle and Neuschwanstein Castle. Even without the castles, the natural beauty of the area was enough to take your breath away. We walked on a nearby frozen lake, toured both castles, and then took a hike to Queen Mary's Bridge. The trail was technically off limits due to the snowy conditions, but we hopped the fence and went anyway. The view was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen. We even took a hike up to a cliff above the bridge to have an even better vantage point. On the way down the mountain, we turned off the beaten path and ended up running all the way down the mountain through deep layers of snow. The few people who saw us seemed pretty confused- six college kids screaming and laughing as we let our momentum carry us down the mountain. We then returned to Munich and ate dinner in Augustiner-Keller, a beer hall that was founded in 1328! We had a blast eating there. We felt so German!
We spent Sunday morning exploring the city center of Munich. We watched the Glockenspiel play in Marienplatz. It was so unique and whimsical, and I'm very glad we were able to see it because it only plays twice a day. We accidentally entered no less than three beautiful Catholic Churches around there. We even climbed the tower of St. Peter's Church, which gave us a wonderful view of Munich. After that, we walked to the English Garden, which was massive and beautiful. Seeing all the families and couples in such a serene setting made me feel really at home there. Munich is the one city I've visited while abroad where I could actually see myself living one day. We walked along the Isar River for quite a while and eventually made it to the subway station. We then went to Dachau where we visited the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. Visiting Dachau was a very moving and personal experience. It was crazy to think that I was standing in a place that was the site of unimaginable horrors to thousands of people just decades ago. It was a powerful reminder to me to stand up for the rights of others whenever possible. One moment that stands out to me most was while I was visiting the crematorium and gas chambers in the back of the compound. As I took in the horrible sights around me, I heard the gentle sound of birds singing. I felt as if God had put his hand over that part of the camp and filled it up with green trees and singing birds as a reminder to us that with God, nothing is too painful or too difficult to overcome.
We then returned to Munich and went out to eat at our favorite restaurant, Vapiano. We then began the longest train journey of our lives. We left at 8:54 pm, and arrived in Frankfurt at 12:09 am. Unfortunately, our next train didn't leave until 3:21 am. We ended up spending 3 hours in McDonalds buying snacks and playing cards. I was also able to FaceTime people because at that time it was evening in the U.S. It ended up being a lot more fun than I thought it would be, and we succesfully made it back to Bonn at 5:44 am. This was such a memorable and fun trip. I'm so glad I ended up going!
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