Germany

Brandenburg Gate

Things I did in Germany:

• Spent Christmas with the Schwalb family! Was welcomed very warmly by Anne's family. Got to meet a few of her relatives and her grandparents.
• Went to Rothenburg to see the famous Christmas store that runs all year.
• Went to Anne's uni town, Wurzburg. Visited the Christmas market and met her friends in town!
• Spent two days in Berlin, met up with my flatmates who live there. It took me and Jill 9 hours and 6 change overs to get there by train. 
• Visited the Dachau concentration camp in Munich. 
• Spent New Years Eve in Munich, where I experienced my first snowfall! 

The highlight of my trip was being around such a lovely family. For the majority of the trip, I stayed with my friend's family place in a little town called Ergersheim which was in the country-side in Bavaria. They were so lovely and gave gifts for me and Jill on Christmas. In returned, we cooked a couple of nights for her family - food that they haven't tried eating before, so they were really excited! 

Berlin was absolutely amazing. I think so far Berlin has got to be my favorite city I've visited so far. It's full of history and it's still a developing city. A blend of old and new. It's beautiful and I wish I could have spent more than two days there, but I think me and Jill made the most out of it. We went on a three hour free walking tour and saw the main sights in Germany, including what used to be Hitler's bunker, which is now a parking lot.  

Munich was nice, but I did not get to see much of the city. Anne's friend, Sophie was nice enough to buy us a tour by bus since it was raining and Jill and I were still exhausted from Berlin. The concentration camp was very moving and depressing. It was very cold and slightly snowing that day, which I think really set the mood. It was completely quiet, walking through the camp. Visiting one concentration camp is good enough. 

With Germany I experienced a more effective culture shock. The language barrier was one of the main factors, yes but I was also a bit intimidated by them because I find them so worldly and experienced. The majority of Anne's friends have traveled so many parts of the world and I find them quite wise. The food was really good. I think I like food in Germany better than the food in the UK! I liked everything I tried, including curry wurst. The Doner kebaps were amazing too, despite them being a Turkish dish. 

But now I am back in Swansea and have been for about a week. Done with exams and I feel quite positive about two and alright about one, but I'm glad to say that I finished a whole semester here. Next semester starts on the 30th. I have a lot of free time and am still trying to organize a trip to London. I've got more than London planned for this upcoming semester. I booked the Dublin trip the university is hosting! So for St. Patrick's day I'll be properly celebrating St Patrick's day at the place where it's originated! I can't wait. 

I'll end this post with some images from my winter break. I'm still planning to create a flickr account so everyone can see all of the photos I took!

The residence at Wurzburg

Wurzburg

Our Christmas tree!

The Christmas store in Rothenburg

Holocaust memorial in Berlin  

Berlin museum and the cathedral 

Berlin Cathedral 

Bahn in Berlin 

A more set up historical piece of the Berlin Wall 

Christmas market in Berlin 

Dachau concentration camp 

Snow!

At the Berlin Cathedral (I was in love with this building!)

Until next time!!

- Linda