As a group, or even an individual (usually lost), we discovered most of Münster during the four weeks we were living there. However this old city wasn’t the only place we visited through the course of our four week program.
A week into the program, we traveled with Kapito teachers and some other international students to the German city of Köln. This place was widely known for the breathtakingly immense cathedral known as der Kölner Dom.
I had seen many cathedrals during my time in Germany, as well as when I have traveled to other places in Europe. This one definitely topped my list of favorites. As we walked around the city, many artists worked to capture the beauty of this enormous historical feature, and a painting that really caught my eye was this rendition.
Köln was quite a developed city, but the historic culture was still prevalent. As we walked around, we found the older city areas with restaurants and shops reflecting much of the older culture.
Alissia, Danielle, and I, also discovered a store that sold cologne. Interestingly enough, this store sold the original cologne, from which the city was named after. After receiving samples and consultations, the lady we spoke to mentioned that a long time ago, Napoleon Bonaparte used one full bottle of cologne a day as his signature scent, and to cover his stench – they didn’t bathe very often in his time.
The Rollins crew also took a weekend trip with Frau Decker to a city called Reutlingen. We then passed through Stuttgart and traveled to Freiburg. During our trip to Reutlingen, we visited with the new Fullbright student who would be teaching at Rollins this next year. She showed us around to an amazing art museum, and then with her sister to some amazing places, which naturally ended with some ice cream. Later that day, we attended a graduation ceremony at ESB, one of the most credible business schools in Germany. The group was seated as the guests of honor, as Rollins had just signed a new deal with ESB for a dual degree program. The ceremony was pretty long, but we were treated with a good hearty dinner afterwards with one of the teachers overseeing the program.
Early the next morning we packed up and rushed to get on the train to arrive in Stuttgart, so that we could take the bus to Freiburg. Unfortunately for the group, I was admittedly late to the train station. Amongst the confusion and miscommunication, we missed the train. However, Stuttgart was only a few minutes away, and so we took a cab to the next city. Stuttgart was quite a sight. When we arrived, we had about half an hour before the bus arrived. Frau Decker walked us to the bridge to where she explained some of the buildings and monuments. This was a little of what we saw.
A two hour slightly uncomfortable bus ride later, we all arrived in Freiburg where we met up with my previous German teacher and Fullbright student Luisa! We took a tour with a lady who described many of the historical aspects of the older part. We also took a gondola ride up one of the mountains. The clouds were very low, giving the ride an eery and wet feeling, but it was beautiful all in the same.
That weekend was nonstop and we covered a lot of ground, but it was amazing to see other parts of Germany, as well as where some of our German friends lived and grew up.
Of all the places I visited, I enjoyed Freiburg the most. It was a lovely combination of city and mountain that I wish I was able to see more of. I definitely plan on going back some day, hopefully soon.