Jared's Official Review of Deutschland
Germany. Lets see here. Everyone is tall, churches are old and pretty, Brent's roommates are cool, Christmas markets are festive, hostels are a throwback to college dorming days, it's colder than I thought it would be, form does not follow function when it comes to shoes, trains are fast, and pork is what's for dinner.
I've been having a great time hanging out with Brent and seeing the sights. We spent 4 days in Munster, where I rented the requisite bike and checked out the town, visited the Christmas markets, and drank some Gluwine (hot spiced wine). We celebrated Hendrik's (one of Brents roommates) birthday on Dec. 20 with a party, which was fun. All of Brent's roommates speak english, so I was able to make some new friends.
After that, we hopped a train to Munich and checked in to my first ever hostel experience. We had a 5 good days of sightseeing and eating and drinking. Met some fun Australians, and had some good roommates, some really crappy roommates, and one superstar snoring roommate (other than Brent!).
We did a day trip to the more mountainous Salzberg, Austria and saw a good many historical castles, churches, and buildings. My favorite part was a long walk we took through the woods, following signs that had a little beer mug on them. After a while, we found a cool little beer hall that use to be monastery. It seemed very authentic, and not at all touristy, which I tend to be a bit jaded about these days.
We then took the train to Nurnberg for a 3 day stay. Here we did a bit more relaxing, and better roommates allowed us to catch up on some sleep. We saw the German Historical Museum, which was huge, and had a cool musical instrument exhibit that I enjoyed.
I feel a bit like I skipped Christmas this year. Brent and I spent our Christmas munching on potatoes and schnitzel, drinking beer, and playing pool in a bar with a bunch of Australians. Happy Birthday Jesus!
We are now back in Munster to properly celebrate New Years, and I leave for Italy on the 2nd. I'm really looking forward to it, and will be taking things pretty easy I think so I don't run out of travel juice before the end. I say this in light of the fact that our last 8 days of travel kind of wore me out, and I have 19 more days to go! I know, you feel sorry for me, right?
So I'll say, Happy New Year! And I'll see all you Ohio folk in about 3 weeks. Go Buckeyes!
Blogger is giving me a hard time uploading pictures, so this is all you get!
I've been having a great time hanging out with Brent and seeing the sights. We spent 4 days in Munster, where I rented the requisite bike and checked out the town, visited the Christmas markets, and drank some Gluwine (hot spiced wine). We celebrated Hendrik's (one of Brents roommates) birthday on Dec. 20 with a party, which was fun. All of Brent's roommates speak english, so I was able to make some new friends.
After that, we hopped a train to Munich and checked in to my first ever hostel experience. We had a 5 good days of sightseeing and eating and drinking. Met some fun Australians, and had some good roommates, some really crappy roommates, and one superstar snoring roommate (other than Brent!).
We did a day trip to the more mountainous Salzberg, Austria and saw a good many historical castles, churches, and buildings. My favorite part was a long walk we took through the woods, following signs that had a little beer mug on them. After a while, we found a cool little beer hall that use to be monastery. It seemed very authentic, and not at all touristy, which I tend to be a bit jaded about these days.
We then took the train to Nurnberg for a 3 day stay. Here we did a bit more relaxing, and better roommates allowed us to catch up on some sleep. We saw the German Historical Museum, which was huge, and had a cool musical instrument exhibit that I enjoyed.
I feel a bit like I skipped Christmas this year. Brent and I spent our Christmas munching on potatoes and schnitzel, drinking beer, and playing pool in a bar with a bunch of Australians. Happy Birthday Jesus!
We are now back in Munster to properly celebrate New Years, and I leave for Italy on the 2nd. I'm really looking forward to it, and will be taking things pretty easy I think so I don't run out of travel juice before the end. I say this in light of the fact that our last 8 days of travel kind of wore me out, and I have 19 more days to go! I know, you feel sorry for me, right?
So I'll say, Happy New Year! And I'll see all you Ohio folk in about 3 weeks. Go Buckeyes!
Blogger is giving me a hard time uploading pictures, so this is all you get!
Bike rack at the train station. None are abandoned.
No smoking allowed on the trains, but picking your nose is required.
One of many pretty old churches in Munich.
Enjoying some gluwine at the Munich Christmas Market.
Our colorful hostel room in Nurnberg.
Mmmmmm...