I haven’t written in what seems like forever. I did not have much to write about in general in January and February, because not much was going on. Finally, I have something noteworthy to write about. I recently got back from my Germany and Ireland tours with Jake and my mom. What a crazy, whirlwind pair of weeks! I feel like mom and I had been talking about that trip forever, and now in the blink of an eye it is over. It was so much fun though!
I met Jake, Norah, and mom at the airport the morning they flew in. It was a lovely 4:00 a.m. wake up call for me, since I had to hop on the first train available. We then hopped on another train down to Munich to spend a few days there. We saw Neuschwanstein castle, the Dachau concentration camp, the English Gardens (and people surfing in the river in the dead of winter!), and we had a quick stop in Nuremberg for bratwurst (yum). After a few days in Munich, we took a train back up to lovely Heidelberg for a day. It was nice to actually know my way around and not have to be looking at google maps on my phone the whole time. We saw the castle and did some shopping around HD. Jake did not love my favorite soup place as much as I do, but he did love the rich hot chocolate from a chocolate themed café. Finally, we went over to the Koblenz area to visit my mom’s aunt and cousin, and to get up to Cologne. My favorite part of that trip was the Lindt chocolate museum tour. Sooooo much free chocolate! We also grabbed some Koelsch bier, which is the only German beer I can tolerate (I know, I know, that’s basically blasphemous of me to say). Then, we dropped Jake and Norah off at the airport before mom and I flew to Ireland.
Ireland is absolutely amazing, you guys. If you haven’t been, I definitely recommend it. Literally everywhere is absolutely gorgeous, and I do mean *literally*. There are beautiful rolling hills in such vibrant shades of green, and turquoise beaches with crashing waves. Every part of the country seems to be thriving and peaceful and magical. Beyond just looks, the Irish people are so incredibly welcoming. Everyone was so friendly and happy to chat about our travels. When mom and I were stranded in Galway due to a national holiday we did not know about, our Air BnB host graciously let us book another night with her very last minute (shout out to Mary who saved us). Mom and I started our trip in Doolin, which is a cute coastal town near the Cliffs of Moher. The Cliffs are as breathtaking as they seem in pictures. Even though it was pouring rain on us for parts of the day, mom and I were all smiles at the awe-inspiring cliffs. After Doolin, we headed to Galway, which was probably my favorite place in Ireland. It is a cute little college town with so many unique shops and amazing food choices. Then we took a bus to Westport and finally over to Dublin for the last part of our trip. Dublin was nice and has some very interesting history, but I still really don’t like cities, and Dublin is a city through and through. That being said, I am still glad we went and I would go back.
I loved both legs of the trip so much, but I definitely have favorite parts of each. In Germany, it was so goofy and fun to travel with Jake. His enthusiasm for everything had us all laughing and rolling our eyes the whole trip. The number of times he asked “What does this mean?”, “How do you say this in German?”, “What are those people talking about?”, and other questions was off the charts, but it was also so fun. My other favorite part of the Germany trip was my own confidence in German. It is really easy for me to focus on my mistakes and what I do or say wrong, but traveling with three people who were depending on me to translate was a huge ego- and confidence-boost for me. It helped show me how much my skills have actually improved and reminded me to take some pride in myself every once in awhile. I really hate saying “I’m pretty good at German” because it feels so vain to me. But I really am pretty good and it was nice to have my accomplishments highlighted and to be proud of them.
As for Ireland, I honestly think my favorite part of the trip was the travel by bus. Do not get me wrong, bus travel in Ireland is good, but its not amazing. Busses do not run very often and they often do not run on-schedule. I know that makes it sound like a bad thing, but it ended up being a hilarious journey for mom and I. We got off at the wrong stops, missed busses, and found out busses we needed weren’t running (hence getting stranded in Galway an extra day). There were DEFINITELY tears from both of us at some point out of frustration, but in the end, we did not let those mishaps ruin our trip and we still got where we needed to in the end. And sitting on the bus watching the scenery really was incredible.
However, if you are planning an Ireland trip, just rent a car and save yourself the trouble. That’s what mom and I decided we would do if we ever came back, LOL.
After spending most of Saturday recovering from travel exhaustion, I am happily back in my routine at Heidelberg. But I also forgot how boring it is when there is nothing really going on during the day. I have been hanging out with the new students for the summer semester at AJY, and they are all super nice which I am excited about, but they are still in class and busy themselves. So for now, I am just kind of waiting until class registration on April 12th and classes start soon after on the 16th. I am very excited about this semester and cannot wait to see how this whole journey ends up. It is crazy to think that I only have 4 more months here, but I also know that so much can and will happen in that short time.
I wish everyone well back home and hope exciting things are happening for you as well.
Until next time!
Travels in Germany 