The Aftermath:
I have been home for 2 weeks now, and I miss Germany dearly. I returned to work at my 9 to 5 job on the Monday after returning, and all I could think about was going back. Adjusting to my sleeping schedule was more difficult when I came home than when I was in Germany. I started going to bed at 8 every night because I couldn't stay up any longer. I think I've finally adapted now, but it took much longer than I thought. I came home and finally got to see my friends who returned for the summer from their respective colleges, and they all told me how lucky I was to get to travel. Their schools don't have the study abroad programs like Pitt does, and I found that kind of sad. I am so grateful of this opportunity I had through Pitt, and I am so happy I decided to apply for this back in December.
Saturday, June 4, 2016
May 20, 2016 Day 14:
Today was our last day exploring Augsburg. I had many emotions as I walked through the city for the last time. I looked around and I remembered the first day we were here and everything was so new. I feel like I learned to navigate this city very well, even better than I know how to navigate Pittsburgh (the buses there are just confusing).
We went to breakfast at the Riegele brewery, where I had white sausage, a pretzel, and beer for breakfast. This was probably my favorite meal I have had this entire trip. The food was so good and it was just a nice way to spend the morning.
I was very happy seeing everyone walking around, and finally seeing the shops open and full of shoppers. The mood of Augsburg seems to change once the sun goes down, because that is when it seems to sleep along with the citizens.
During the day, a couple of us went to explore some of the shops we didn't get to see the first week. We sat in the main plaza for a while just observing people walking by, including a little boy who kept chasing a pigeon. There was a man with a musical organ box at the other side of the plaza, and the music he was playing sounded very familiar, but I couldn't tell you the name of it.
We went to recycle all of our bottles we have accumulated over the past 2 weeks, and the bottle machine was interesting. It would take the bottle, spin it, then completely crush it in between two belts. It sounded really cool and I wish that we had something like that at home. The glass bottles we had were just thrown in the recycling bin outside. When they were thrown in, each bottle broke, and it felt satisfactory to break the bottles.
We then walked to a mall that seemed very far away. It was very large, had a cinema in it, and even had exhibits of different reptiles. It also had those moving walkways you usually see in airports instead of escalators. I wish our malls were like this.
When walking back, there was a woman who stopped us and talked to us in English. Apparently, she was a Pitt alum and stopped us after seeing my Pitt shirt. It is really cool to see who you can connect with in the different parts of the world. It just goes to show how large Pitt is and how much pride people take in their alma mater.
After walking back, we decided to check out the beer garden in the woods across the street from us. It was very nice here, and there were many dogs to watch. Sitting in serene beer gardens are probably what I am going to miss most about Germany. It is so relaxing to just sit there and observe everything.
All in all, I loved this experience I got to have. I learned so many new things, including how bad I am at attempting to speak another language. I have had the time of my life, and I can only hope that I can come back and visit one day.
Today was our last day exploring Augsburg. I had many emotions as I walked through the city for the last time. I looked around and I remembered the first day we were here and everything was so new. I feel like I learned to navigate this city very well, even better than I know how to navigate Pittsburgh (the buses there are just confusing).
We went to breakfast at the Riegele brewery, where I had white sausage, a pretzel, and beer for breakfast. This was probably my favorite meal I have had this entire trip. The food was so good and it was just a nice way to spend the morning.
I was very happy seeing everyone walking around, and finally seeing the shops open and full of shoppers. The mood of Augsburg seems to change once the sun goes down, because that is when it seems to sleep along with the citizens.
During the day, a couple of us went to explore some of the shops we didn't get to see the first week. We sat in the main plaza for a while just observing people walking by, including a little boy who kept chasing a pigeon. There was a man with a musical organ box at the other side of the plaza, and the music he was playing sounded very familiar, but I couldn't tell you the name of it.
We went to recycle all of our bottles we have accumulated over the past 2 weeks, and the bottle machine was interesting. It would take the bottle, spin it, then completely crush it in between two belts. It sounded really cool and I wish that we had something like that at home. The glass bottles we had were just thrown in the recycling bin outside. When they were thrown in, each bottle broke, and it felt satisfactory to break the bottles.
We then walked to a mall that seemed very far away. It was very large, had a cinema in it, and even had exhibits of different reptiles. It also had those moving walkways you usually see in airports instead of escalators. I wish our malls were like this.
When walking back, there was a woman who stopped us and talked to us in English. Apparently, she was a Pitt alum and stopped us after seeing my Pitt shirt. It is really cool to see who you can connect with in the different parts of the world. It just goes to show how large Pitt is and how much pride people take in their alma mater.
After walking back, we decided to check out the beer garden in the woods across the street from us. It was very nice here, and there were many dogs to watch. Sitting in serene beer gardens are probably what I am going to miss most about Germany. It is so relaxing to just sit there and observe everything.
All in all, I loved this experience I got to have. I learned so many new things, including how bad I am at attempting to speak another language. I have had the time of my life, and I can only hope that I can come back and visit one day.
Thursday, June 2, 2016
May 19, 2016 Day 13:
Today was our last day as a group. We traveled to Ulm for a culture visit. Coming off the train, we saw a church tower in the distance. Initially, it reminded me of the Cathedral of Learning due to its stature and its ability to be viewed from basically anywhere in the city. We met our tour guide at the base of the church, and she took us inside the Munster, which we found out was the name of the church tower. This was definitely my favorite church we visited on the trip. It was so spacious with dark wood pews and a beautiful organ in the top. We entered and we heard the organ playing; the acoustics in the stone walls were amazing. I got to spend time listening to the music and observing the different types of stained glass. What interested me was the fact that there were different "eras" of stained glass, such as the oldest stained glass, which was the darkest. This glass had more brown and dark yellow hues. The next era of stained glass was from 1700-1800, I forget the exact years. This glass had lighter, happier colors, like greens, and blues. Then the last made me sad, it was the stained glass that replaced the old windows that were damaged in the war. These were bland, white tinted windows. I was upset that these beautiful pieces of art were lost forever, just to be replaced by boring pieces of glass.
We left the church and got to see some of Ulm's architecture. Like some of Bavaria, Ulm had half-timber houses, however there were many buildings with odd colors (like oranges and greens). I found it very interesting that people live in odd colored houses. My favorite part of the tour was seeing Ulm's Rathaus. It had this beautiful zodiac clock on the side. It was a beautiful sight, and I thought it was a really cool concept. Clocks are another thing that fascinate me; I just don't understand how that clock could function, since it had the time but also the zodiac figure for that time of year. The zodiac hand must have a very slow moving cog working for it.
We got to see a couple of leaning buildings which seemed to be a feat of both engineering and physics. We left our tour guide and went to this restaurant that had sweet and savory crepes. I got an apple pie crepe with the best vanilla ice cream I have ever tasted. After eating, we had about an hour until we had to climb the Munster tower. A few of us went to explore some shops, including a mall down the street, where I bought sweatpants.
We made our way back to the tower, and started our ascent. The trip up the stairs made me realize how out of shape I am. By the time I got to the top of the 768 stairs, my breath was taken away once again. The sight was so beautiful, neither words nor pictures can do it justice. There was just so much to take in. The steps and pain were so worth it.
Once going back down the stairs, we got to take a moment to relax. My legs were shaking so bad, so I just walked it off. That climb was arguably one of the hardest things I've had to do, and I've taken calculus two. We headed back to the train station just to find out our train was delayed. We got to explore the train station a bit before going back to Augsburg.
For dinner, we went back to the Augsburg Rathaus and ate in the Ratskeller. I was sad to leave the German students, but I was also excited to go back home. As much as I'll miss Germany, I just want to sleep in my own bed.
Today was our last day as a group. We traveled to Ulm for a culture visit. Coming off the train, we saw a church tower in the distance. Initially, it reminded me of the Cathedral of Learning due to its stature and its ability to be viewed from basically anywhere in the city. We met our tour guide at the base of the church, and she took us inside the Munster, which we found out was the name of the church tower. This was definitely my favorite church we visited on the trip. It was so spacious with dark wood pews and a beautiful organ in the top. We entered and we heard the organ playing; the acoustics in the stone walls were amazing. I got to spend time listening to the music and observing the different types of stained glass. What interested me was the fact that there were different "eras" of stained glass, such as the oldest stained glass, which was the darkest. This glass had more brown and dark yellow hues. The next era of stained glass was from 1700-1800, I forget the exact years. This glass had lighter, happier colors, like greens, and blues. Then the last made me sad, it was the stained glass that replaced the old windows that were damaged in the war. These were bland, white tinted windows. I was upset that these beautiful pieces of art were lost forever, just to be replaced by boring pieces of glass.
We left the church and got to see some of Ulm's architecture. Like some of Bavaria, Ulm had half-timber houses, however there were many buildings with odd colors (like oranges and greens). I found it very interesting that people live in odd colored houses. My favorite part of the tour was seeing Ulm's Rathaus. It had this beautiful zodiac clock on the side. It was a beautiful sight, and I thought it was a really cool concept. Clocks are another thing that fascinate me; I just don't understand how that clock could function, since it had the time but also the zodiac figure for that time of year. The zodiac hand must have a very slow moving cog working for it.
We got to see a couple of leaning buildings which seemed to be a feat of both engineering and physics. We left our tour guide and went to this restaurant that had sweet and savory crepes. I got an apple pie crepe with the best vanilla ice cream I have ever tasted. After eating, we had about an hour until we had to climb the Munster tower. A few of us went to explore some shops, including a mall down the street, where I bought sweatpants.
We made our way back to the tower, and started our ascent. The trip up the stairs made me realize how out of shape I am. By the time I got to the top of the 768 stairs, my breath was taken away once again. The sight was so beautiful, neither words nor pictures can do it justice. There was just so much to take in. The steps and pain were so worth it.
Once going back down the stairs, we got to take a moment to relax. My legs were shaking so bad, so I just walked it off. That climb was arguably one of the hardest things I've had to do, and I've taken calculus two. We headed back to the train station just to find out our train was delayed. We got to explore the train station a bit before going back to Augsburg.
For dinner, we went back to the Augsburg Rathaus and ate in the Ratskeller. I was sad to leave the German students, but I was also excited to go back home. As much as I'll miss Germany, I just want to sleep in my own bed.
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