After settling back in after Vienna & Prague, Karneval week was dawning upon the Rhineland. Karneval is a massive festival that takes place in Western Germany every year in which the Germans essentially take a few days off of work to dress in costume and party in the streets. Simple in essence, incredible in reality. Major hubs for the festivities in my region of Germany take place in Düsseldorf, Mainz, and especially Köln. We were given Thursday and the following Monday (Rosenmontag- Rose Monday, the final night of Karneval) off of school. On Thursday, we had the opportunity to walk in the parade in Beuel, a major residential district of Bonn. Cheers of "Karamelle" rang throughout as the local kids, dressed in costume, lined the streets for miles as we threw candy their way. Super cool experience. Earlier in the week however, I did a thing. Tuesday morning before class (Valentine's Day), I was sitting at AIB and looking through the Champions League Round of 16 slate (as I do). Dortmund/Chelsea Leg 1 was at the Westfalenstadion that night, and the tickets were only 85 euros, which was actually less than what I paid for the Freiburg game. I ended up pulling the trigger, and for under a hundred dollars, I had a pretty incredible vantage point for a Champions League knockout game.
BVB is just incredible. As the two teams filed out on the field before kickoff with the Champions League Anthem playing in the background, our entire side of the stadium unfurled a tifo that featured a Dortmund fan with a backpack looking at continental Europe, reading (translated from German): "And every time it was worth standing by your side, the journey will always go on.” The game itself was a thriller, as some heroic defending, coupled with a brilliant Karim Adeyemi solo goal proved to be the difference as Dortmund won on the night 1-0. At 19 years of age, Jude Bellingham captained BVB on the night- the kid is special. As this was my second game in the Westfalenstadion in as many weeks, I had learned essentially all of the lyrics to the songs of the Dortmund faithful in German. Since this game featured English opposition, much of the Dortmund banter was actually in English, and we certainly ensured that the Chelsea players and fans heard it for 90 minutes. This was an incredible European night that fulfilled a lifelong dream.
Karneval weekend was our first three-day weekend of the semester, and after our original plans didn't make it out of the group chat (Northern Lights, a major bucket list item that will not be fulfilled this Spring), we ended up pivoting towards a warmer country that I have long wanted to visit- Croatia. I have long admired the nation of Modric for their footballing achievements throughout their fledgling history, and it certainly did not disappoint. I had high expectations for Croatia, but they were absolutely blown out of the water. This country is extraordinarily beautiful. We spent the weekend in Split, a large coastal city in the southern portion of the country. The Adriatic Sea and the mountains were separated by mere miles, and the cities and towns of the region are located in between. Croatians are proud of their country, and we were routinely told that we visited at the best time of the year. Highlights included watching the most stunning sunset that I've ever seen, visiting the Klis Fortress (of Game of Thrones fame), venturing to the breathtaking waterfalls of Krka National Park, and exploring the small towns of Primošten and Trogir. This undoubtedly has to be one of the most beautiful countries on earth.
As for the aforementioned sunset: these were taken our first night in Croatia & are completely unedited.
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