Germany Blog #1

Germany Blog #1

            My interest in Germany started at about my sophomore year of high school. I come from a small town where everyone knows each other and their families. When I entered high school I had the option to choose between Spanish or German to take as a language requirement. Once I figured out after my freshman year that Spanish wasn’t for me, I quickly made my way over to German. The class was amazing.  My first day of class and my teacher, Herr Schwarberg, quickly was able to recognize me from previously teaching my sister 10 years prior at the same high school. I was off to a great start and was honestly my favorite class to attend. Not only did my teacher make learning German and awesome experience, he made me live as a German. Every couple of weeks we would watch a German movie, or bring German food in. Countless stories shared and he did his best to explain much of the culture over there involving all areas of German life. We were all so interested and I continued my German learning until I graduated. It was not until the beginning of my senior year that Herr Schwarberg approached me personally and asked if  I would be interested in signing up for a trip to Germany!  Once I talked it over with my parents and got as much information as possible, I was set to leave the country once I graduated. It was the best graduation gift ever and I could not have been more excited.  Growing up I had my fair share of vacations because my mother loved to travel. Mainly we visited warm places and our main direction was south, which I didn’t mind. But actually to be going to Germany and many other countries was exciting.

            Soon after graduation I left for my trip. I traveled to many different countries. Some classmates of mine (mainly a small group of us, around 10) including Herr Schwarberg and another teacher took the trip through the company EF Tours, or Educational First tours. Our trip started in London, then we continued on to Paris, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria and then finally Germany. We ended with Germany because as a group we decided to pay a little bit extra so we could get an extra 5 days in Germany to plan our own days. Seeing as we had a tour guide, it was awesome to bond with her and she continued on this trip with us around Germany even though she didn’t have too.  When we were in Germany we explored as much as we could. Visiting the city of Munich we were able to see the Marienplatz, Nymphenburg Palace, The Olympic swimming pool, BMW Museum and my personal favorite was the Neuschwanstein Castle. It was an amazing experience that I will remember forever and this is where my love of Germany began.

            This past year I decided that it would be a great experience to yet again travel to another country, and I wanted to do it within the school because I have heard such great stories from other students. I decided to go with Germany because of the fact that when I first went, all I got to experience of Germany was the southern part. Hearing from a professor and others that the North and South of Germany are very different, I want to see if I will be able to be a good judge of that statement when we attend in December. I also will get to experience a different season in Germany as well, seeing as I went in the beautiful summer months.  Im also enthused to see where Germany will take us as a group. Seeing as Prof Wolf wants us to really gather the behind the scenes culture of Germany, it intrigues me because of how out of the norm we are going. Getting the real culture and doing our best to not be a typical tourist is exciting to me.  Obviously I have only lived the life of an American, and to be honest our society is just embarrassing, and our generation is something I would love to at least escape from for 18 days.  Since I have been to Germany before, it will be riveting to me to say that I have been to the same country twice because I just couldn’t get enough!

            When I was there, I could say that I had such a unique experience that it is just something I have to share. While in Germany I was the only one old enough to drink at the pubs. Herr Schwarberg and myself adventured around the streets of Munich and found ourselves far from where our hotel was. We decided to stop in this pub ( cant remember the name) but were able to share  a beer and some stories, seeing as our trip was coming to an end. While we were there, there was a group of about 4 men that seemed to be meeting with each other after such a long time. The funny part is that they were all of different countries. One man was from Ireland, London, Italy and of course a German man.  Somehow, Herr Schwarberg and myself found ourselves at the table enjoying a beer and exchanging conversations about pretty much everything! Where they came from, what they were there for, who we were, what the heck were we doing in this pub and so much more. Long story short they were all long distance friends that worked for the same company based in northern Germany, and this was where they decided to meet. I don’t know how this happened, but the mix of people was awesome and the stories I received from them all was something to remember. Such kind men to be able to take in us obvious Americans and just chat.

            I hope to gain a lot of knowledge and culture from our trip because growing up now I see how our past now reflects us and I hope to see that as well in Germany. I’m happy to see that so many people are going on this trip and with 18 days I am sure we will all get to know each other and experience this country together.

After climbing up a very narrow flight of stairs, which open up to a lookout and cost money, I took this picture of the Rathus-Glokenspeil. This was a site to see because the background and the "show" that the clock puts on daily. It was definitely my favorite site in Munich.

Then this is the Neuschwanstein Castle, which was a very well-worth-the-effort day! After hiking a long distance up the side of a hill we came across this beauty. I have never been to something like this before and the experience was one to remember. After taking a trail around we came across a bridge and were able to see the castle and a waterfall ( Not in Picture)


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