Germany and Austria!
Last weekend Kim, Shannon, and I had the wonderful opportunity of going to Germany and Austria with the Educational Field Trips program, and it was so much fun! I was very excited, since Italy has been the only country in Europe I have been in and I thought it would be cool to go to Germany because my family is German, and to Austria just because Austria is sweet. I will now describe this adventure, and enjoy the pictures that follow!
We left at midnight on Thursday, the 29th, which was kind of unpleasant due to the 8 hour bus ride. I thought I would be able to sleep on the bus, but alas, that did not happen. However, when we got to Innsbruck and got out of the bus at a rest stop, I felt so much better because I saw the mountains!! It was so amazing to see those mountains, and it was actually snowing! That was the first snow I have seen since last winter, so it was pretty awesome. At the rest stop I had some apple strudel, which was delicious, and it made me think of Sound of Music when she sings about that being one of her favorite things!
In the city of Innsbruck, we met our tour guide, who joined us on our bus and gave us a tour as we drove around to see the major sites. We stopped at a few places, including some Baroque-style churches that were just like the ones I had just learned about in art history. Very beautiful! After the bus tour our guide led us around the "old city" of Innsbruck, pointing out other famous things in the region. It was very very very cold, but I couldn't really expect much else! After our tour, we had free time to explore the Innsbruck Christmas Markets, where Kim and I had authentic Austrian food that was so good! I felt so brave for trying the new foods! In addition to the potato type stuff I had for lunch, I also had a soft pretzel and a delicious cinnamon crepe. Crepes are one of my new favorite foods now! Anyway, the Christmas Markets were all really cool and I liked seeing all of the handmade ornaments and things like that. Lots of things had edelweiss on them, and I sang the song a lot, haha.
That evening, we continued onto Munich and arrived at our hotel, which was pretty nice. We had free time again for dinner, and a few of Shannon's friends went with Kim and I to a restaurant called Zum Augustiner. I unfortunately did not eat too much, since what I ordered what not what I expected! They had good soft pretzels, though! It was a relief to rest that night after the long day.
The next morning we had a great breakfast at the hotel and then we had another tour guide join us on our bus to show us the sites of Munich. We even stopped at this palace, where there was more snow and swans and it was very pretty indeed. Our walking tour in Munich was once again very cold, but I bought some gloves later on which helped! After our tour we had lots of free time again, which was good because there was a lot to see! I ate lunch in the markets, and then Kim and I explored again, which was really fun. We enjoyed more foods such as chocolate covered apples and strawberries and more crepes! The market stalls were once again filled with wonderful trinkets and such, which were cool to look at but would be hard to transport if I bought any.
After getting lost for a while and getting directions, Kim and I made it back to the hotel and chilled there for a while until our whole group went to dinner at the Hofbrauhaus. I was very excited to go, since Grandma had suggested it to me! It was such a cool place, and we ate upstairs where it was this big hall with long tables and a stage in front. During our meal there were musicians playing German music and also dancers- it was really fun to watch. There were even these guys who all had whips and would crack them in time with the music- very amusing! Our dinner was great as well, and consisted of veal sausages (interesting but good), some potato salad that I didn't really care for, half a Bavarian-style chicken (sooooo good!) and the best apple strudel I have ever eaten! Kim and I also tried some of the famous beer, but didn't get a whole glass- they give you so much! Overall it was a very nice evening and a good rest followed it.
The next morning included the good hotel breakfast again, and then we travelled to the Dauchau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. Our tour guide did a great job in explaining the camp's history, and it was all very interesting. At the same time it was sad of course, but seeing the memorial statues that had been built was uplifting end to the tour.
The bus ride home was very long, but this time I actually was able to sleep for part of it. We stopped for lunch and dinner, but didn't get back to Florence too late. It was very good to relax after the long weekend, and I am so glad that I went on the trip. My favorite thing was probably seeing the mountains in Austria, and eating the wonderful food in Germany! It was all so fun, and I am glad that some of my friends got to go, as well.
Currently it is the weekend before finals, so I have some studying to do, but thankfully our exams aren't going to be as intense as I thought they would be. I pretty much have done everything I have wanted to do in Florence, so now only my exams stand between me and going home! Only 7 full days left and I couldn't be more excited!
