First, a wrap up of Munich. That was hands-down the most amazing place I've ever been. I thoroughly enjoyed the city (except the prices) and the region (Bavaria). The food was excellent, the sites were incredible, and the experience was spectacular. On Friday, we visited two castles--King Ludwig II's Linderhof and Neuschwanstein. I took a ton of pictures (as in over 270 on Friday alone).
Our first stop was Schloss Linderhof, a recreation by the Bavarian king, Ludwig II, of the royal French palaces of King Louis XIV of France and his son and successor, King Louis XV. The morning weather was a bit wet, but conditions cleared up throughout the day. We also took a tour of the castle and walked around the grounds.
After Linderhof, we headed to its more famous neighbor, Neuschwanstein, a fairy tale castle that I'd been wanting to see for a number of years. We trekked up the mountain path and also took a castle tour.Our tour guide on the bus told me that the "real fairy tale castle" (as he called it) is two hours north of Berlin called Schloss Schwerin. We're hoping to check it out while we're in Berlin.
After spending an entire day around Bavaria and the castles, we walked around Munich again at night. Even around 9 pm, the streets were still jam packed with people. But the evening atmosphere provided a great place to take pictures.
On Saturday morning, we flew to Berlin to meet up with the rest of our classmates. My first impressions were mostly comparisons between Munich and Berlin, so I was slightly biased. But even after seeing sites such as the Brandenburg Gate (pictured below), my conclusion was that I liked Munich and Bavaria more.
In Berlin though, the highlights started right away. That night, while taking pictures in front of the Reichstag, we saw an extremely tall Chinese man walking with a tall Chinese lady. Behind me, the energetic screams of my classmate, Paul, confirmed the man's identity. "Yao Ming! Yao Ming! Yao Ming! Yao Ming! OMG, it's Yao Ming!"
He was in Europe with wife for their honeymoon. They ended up taking pictures in front of the Reichstag (pictured below) so we took pictures and videos of them. That was definitely one of the more exciting experiences I've had since arriving in Germany.
On Monday, we started class at Humboldt University. While we live in Wedding which is in West Berlin, our classroom is within the city so we've had to learn to navigate the public transportation system. It's been a quick week and homework is at a minimum for now, but I'm enjoying my experience here.
During our free time, we have much freedom to travel around the city and see sites like a memorial to the victims of war and suffering (pictured below).
On Tuesday, we took a brief tour of major spots around the city.This morning, we had an opportunity to visit the Polish Embassy and hear from an official regarding Europe today and Poland's stance on current issues. Tomorrow, we head to the Pergamon Museum which I have been looking forward to very much. As my internet connection is rather slow, my posts may be briefer and less frequent but I will try my best to at least show my pictures. If you'd like to see more of my pictures from my time in Munich and Berlin, feel free to click on the links below:
A Day in Munich-Part One
A Day in Munich-Part Two
A Day in Munich-Part Three
Late Morning at Linderhof
An Afternoon at Neuschwanstein
Goodbye, Munich; Hello, Berlin
I'll have more pictures from Berlin once I upload them, but for now, most of the pictures are from Bavaria. Enjoy!
Until next time,
Sam
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