The past 2 weeks since my last post have been incredible; filled with traveling, sightseeing, and practically no sleep. The first weekend following my previous post, we went to Berlin and Munich, Germany. Berlin was beautifully cultured, with remains of the Berlin Wall situated right outside our hostel.
Other amazing structures, like the Reichstag Building, Brandenburg Gate, Holocaust Memorial, and the many museums on Museum Island, were only short walks away.
I think, out of all of the things we did while we were there, dinner on our last night before going to Munich was my favorite part. On a whim, while visiting the Fernsehturm Berlin, a television tower located near Alexanderplatz with a viewing room at the top, we decided to go to the restaurant the next floor up. Even though it was rather expensive, it was completely worth it! The floor moves around in a circle through the viewing area, giving you a full 360 degree view of Berlin.
We then left, at 4 in the morning (something we have vowed to NEVER do again) and went on to Munich. On that first, sleep deprived day, we went to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site and Marienplatz. The memorial was really intense, but being able to see exactly where everything took place for some of the survivors of the Holocaust was something I never thought I’d get the chance to see.
Marienplatz was 100% the most beautiful city I have ever seen. It was adorable, with a clock tower that had a cute display on the hour.
The next day, we met up with other friends and went to, take a guess… Oktoberfest. I wish I knew why, but I bought a dirndl… aka the traditional dress in Bavaria. Maybe it’s because I heard that 90-95% of Oktoberfest-goers dress up or maybe it’s because I hate myself and want to spend all of my money in the beginning of my time here, but either way, I did. Although, it did make the experience more real.
Overall, Germany was incredible.
The following weekend (as in we just got back yesterday), we went to Edinburgh, Scotland. Edinburgh was cute, but very hilly. When we got there, we hiked up Arthur’s Seat and got an amazing view of the entire city.
The next day, we went to Edinburgh Castle and met up with other friends that night for dinner.
On our last full day, we took a 12 and a half hour bus tour through the Highlands. While it was really long, it was also really informative and a great way to learn the history of Scotland.
We stopped at Loch Ness for a boat trip and a bunch of small towns to eat. Although I didn’t get any pictures of it, my favorite town was Pitlochry. The houses were all beautiful and the downtown area that we ate at was filled with little shops, restaurants, bakeries, and coffee shops.
It was hard to leave on the last day after going to the National Museum of Scotland in the morning, but we had to get back to the real world of classes and homework. This weekend, we’re going to take a break from the stress and sleep deprivation of traveling for a bit and spend some time on campus.