Munich was amazing! The thing I love the most about Europe is the architecture. Even the most simple, modern building has a beautiful, old-fashioned outline. However, the architecture may be different, but the so much is the same. They even have H and M and even McDonalds, and we ran into a PSU alum who identified us by our PSU garb on the streets of Munich. There is so much to do and see between all of the stores and restaurants and activities. We visited the Olympic Stadium, and you can zip-line across the field. On a more sober note, we saw the hotel and memorial for the Israeli athletes who were taken prisoner there during the 1972 Olympics.
On our way home from Munich, we stopped at Neuschwanstein, the castle that inspired the famous Disney castle. There are actually two castles there; one built in the mountains on either side of this small, mountain valley town. It was quite a hike up to the castle, but the views were amazing. You could go past the castle and take a picture on the bridge over the canyon next to the castle, or hike down to the river at the bottom of the canyon. The pictures don’t even look real; that’s how beautiful the backgrounds are.
The day after we returned, Sunday, there was a hike planned in the Black Forest. However, due to weather concerns, the plan was changed to a visit to Ludwigsburg. The castle in this town wasn’t nearly as grand as Neuschwanstein, but the gardens were beautiful. We went with other international students too from all over the world. I met people from France, Bulgaria, Mexico, Lithuania, Poland, and Iran. They all spoke to each other in English (the universal language they said), and they were so nice. It’s really cool getting to know people from all over. We have a lot in common: same movies, clothes, and books and they all shake your hand so that you don’t even notice some differences (like the French kiss one another as a greeting) or the way everyone stands a little closer when they talk. It was a lot of fun. Anyway, ciao for now (not German but people use it in the south of Germany close to Italy)!
Location: Pforzheim, Munich, and Neuschwanstein
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The architecture in Istanbul was a great mix of European and Ottoman. I think you would love Istanbul — both the European and Asia Minor sides. I was identified by my PSU garb on the way back to PA, and the man and his mom helped me through the subway system. Gotta love grads. Enjoy Europe!!!!