Germany

I visited Germany from December 17th-27th. I've been lucky to visit Europe several times with my family, but it's been about fourteen years since I travelled outside of Italy, so it was exciting to see a different part of Europe. Although I love traveling with my family, it was also a new experience to have so much autonomy over what I did and to be traveling with other people my own age.

View from the top of the town hall in Rothenburg

I spent most of the time staying with Riley in Erlangen at her student apartment. Erlangen is only a fifteen minute train ride from Nuremberg and located in the beautiful southern Bavaria region of Germany. Erlangen itself is a fun student town, home to the large Frederich-Alexander University where Riley studies. Audrienne, a friend from Kalamazoo College currently studying abroad in France, joined us on December 20th for some more traveling and the three of us spent Christmas together. While Riley finished classes, I traveled to Rothenburg and Wurzburg, and then when Riley finished classes and Audrienne arrived, we all spent a few days exploring Erlangen and Nuremberg. Then we met up with Ben and Allison, two friends from K studying abroad in Spain, to visit Munich and the famous Neuschwanstein Castle.

Cathedral in Rothenburg

Looking down a street in Rothenburg from the wall surrounding the city

A few observations:

Gluhwein!

-Christmas markets are ubiquitous in Germany, and not just for tourists. Rothenburg's market was more touristy, but that whole town felt like the atmospheric elements of a Disney theme park, so that was unsurprising. Riley assured me that in Erlangen and Nuremberg, locals regularly visit the markets after work and on the weekends. I ate more sausages and drank more gluhwein from the market stalls than was probably healthy. Btw gluhwein is better than British mulled wine.

With Riley and Audrienne in Nuremberg! 

-I missed my family on Christmas, but it was reassuring to have some good friends to celebrate it with. Riley gave me a really cool and handy Iphone case that doubles as a bottle opener(!!) and Audrienne gave me a lamb wool sweater and macaroons from France. Both presents were very thoughtful and I use them regularly. Audrienne was also ready to lend her considerable cooking skills to helping us prepare a delicious Christmas meal and make some fun Christmas drinks.

Enjoying some Christmas cheer

-Germans speak better English than I do.

Inside a cathedral in Wurzburg completely destroyed during WWII. 

-The most interesting thing I learned from the cathedrals and museums I visited was the extent of the destruction inflicted by allied bombings on German cities during WWII. The city of Nuremberg was completely leveled by British bombing, and not even its most culturally significant sites were spared. The city we see today was completely reconstructed in the 50s and 60s. Dresden, Berlin, Bamburg, and other German cities were similarly devastated. Of course, London and cities across Japan suffered heavy damage from bombing as well. We took a tour of the bunkers in Nuremberg that were used to protect Nuremberg's most valuable artwork and artifacts. Our guide was a very pleasant and knowledgable German woman who lived through the air raids of WWII. Germany has made a conscious effort to reconstruct its cities in a manner congruous with their historical roots. This is certainly understandable; if Germany simply covered its rubble with completely new buildings, it would mean accepting that the allied bombings had permanently destroyed a part of their history. It was saddening to see how war had inspired so much hatred that led to destruction and death.

-Neuschwanstein Castle was beautiful but a bit crowded. The eccentric Ludwig II began construction on the castle in 1869, but it remained unfinished following his mysterious death in 1892. The castle was based on Ludwig's fanciful and wrong conception of what a renaissance castle should look like, and it is widely considered to be the inspiration for the Disney castle. The tour through the inside was a bit rushed through the finished parts, but those parts were interesting and beautiful. The best part of the experience was walking up to the castle and taking photos around the area. It was fun to get into the mountainous part of Bavaria and explore a bit.

A view of Neuschwanstein Castle

I loved spending a significant amount of time in a single region of Germany with some good friends. Although ten days isn't nearly enough time to really "know" a place, I do feel like I gained some understanding of Bavaria. Riley was a gracious hostess, ready to help with her language skills and familiarity with the region and introducing us to a few of her German friends. Typing this post has made me excited for my next trip to mainland Europe!

The beer in Germany was very good