La La La La La La Bamberg

This morning Leslie dropped me off at train station on her way to school. At that point I wasn't 100% sure where I was going. I had a couple of day trip destinations in mind, but I settled on a small town called Bamberg. Bamberg is supposedly the "Venice of Germany." I arrived around lunch time and set off. At first I wasn't impressed.


It was nice, but nothing fancy. If I would have gotten a map I would have realized that I wasn't in the right part of town. I turned around and went in the opposite way of where I thought i should go I was a believer. Bamberg is fantastic. It could be my favorite town so far.


As I was walking I had to squelch my urge to sing. I felt like I was in Beauty and the Beast. It was really lovely.


There was water everywhere, and people used it just like streets. I walked for the better part of the afternoon and I saw churches with creepy underground crypts.


Castles and a theater that called to my dramatic flair. I wish could have seen a play or been in one there.


When it was time to head back to Augsburg I was feeling great about my day. It was fantastic. The Internet is broken at Leslie's so when my train stopped through Nuremberg I decided the best thing to do was get off. After all, I knew where there was a Starbucks. After talking to my parents and checking on some things from home I headed back to catch the train to Augsburg. Because I was on a day pass ticket I couldn't take a direct train. I had change trains after an hour. Unfortunately, I started talking to a really nice girl from Russia who wanted to practice her English and without thinking got off the train at the wrong stop. I was stuck in the middle of nowhere.



I took the bus from the small station to the larger station in town. When I got there I had 30 seconds before the train I needed to be on left.


I chased that sucker down those very tracks, but didn't make it. I was forced to sit and wait an hour before the next train was scheduled to arrive.


Really exciting times. All I wanted to do was watch the game. When the train got there I was excited to be on my way. It was a tad bit creepy though because the train was missing people.






Yep, I had the train to myself. It was just me and the guy punches the tickets. If he would have been a bit more friendly I would have entertained us with a musical number, but instead he was all business.
When I finally got back to where I needed to be the busses were no longer running. Thank heavens Leslie came looking for me or I would still be walking. I will say that it was definitely a dramatic way to end a decade.

Location:Bamberg, Germany

Pay Phone Trouble

The entire time we have been in Germany Aaron has been our navigator. I don't pay attention to where we are or where we are going. I just follow. The few times that I have taken over the map have not been positive. We end up in the opposite direction of where we need to be. So, needless to say, we were both a little nervous about me heading out on my own. When Aaron headed to the airport I headed for a small village called Grossaitingen to stay with my fabulous cousin Leslie.

On my way there I stopped in Augsburg to kill some time. There were churches...



And lots of great buildings.


I didn't stay for long because I had both my backpack and my purse. While I looked super cool and vagabond ish; it was hot. I was supposed to call Leslie from the Augsburg train station so that she could pick me up from the train at Bobingen. Unfortunately, I couldn't figure out the pay phones to save my life. I realize how sad of a statement that is. Im not proud. However, as luck would have it, I had this map on my iPad and my tennies on.


I got to walking.


There were fields and streams and open country. I loved it.


It was most definitely good for my soul! Tomorrow I am going to school with Leslie to see what an international school is all about!

Location:Augsburg, Germany

The Last Leg

We are on the last leg of our journey finishing up our eleventh city in nineteen days. It's gone by in the blink of an eye. It's hard to believe how many things we have seen and how much ground we have covered.
When we arrived in Munich we stopped at the BMW museum on our way out to Olympic Park. A car is just a car to me so I wasn't thrilled, but this little cutie reminded me of Eurkle's car.


After the BMW museum, we headed to Olympic park. There were people everywhere and after walking around we decided to go up in the media tower.


The media tower was unbelievably high. So high that your back tensed and you could feel it down into your toes.


I stayed a safe distance from the edge the entire time. I thought I might throw up or wet my pants if I got too close. And, well, that would have been embarrassing.

The next morning we were exhausted from all of the going we have been doing so we headed into town to relax and see what there was to see. There were the usual buildings.


Some had moving parts. Which I realize that you totally can't see in pictures. But they are there. I promise.


We window shopped a little where I saw the most amazing dirndls. The dirndls is the traditional dress of Bavaria. I am dying for one. Can't even stand it. I just might get one special made.


We also went to the park. The park in Munich is unbelievably huge. There was a river where people were constantly surfing.


Tons of people were out in boats, walking around, playing games, and eating and drinking.


We stopped by the Hofbrauhaus (the largest beer hall in Germany) to have a drink and eat a pretzel before calling it a night.


This has been such an amazing experience. I feel so blessed that we were picked to come to Germany and experience all that it has to offer. We have met so many fantastic people and I have had the time of my life.

Aaron is going back to the States tomorrow and I am going to head out on my own. I will be basing out of my fantastic cousin Leslie's house for a couple of weeks. I'm excited to see what adventures it will bring.

Location:Munich, Germany

Not just another castle

We went on a whirlwind adventure thru Fussen. We arrived in Fussen around lunchtime and headed off to see the city. Fussen is a small tourist town in the Bavarian Alps. It had amazing charm.



And breathtaking views. After we checked in to our hostel (which technically was a extra room in someone's home...not awkward at all.) we walked by the river enjoying the fresh crisp air until the Germany game. Germany won which was super exciting for Everyone involved. It got less exciting as the excessively loud celebrating went into the wee hours of the morning.


The next morning we hiked (are you noticing a trend) up to Castle Neuschwanstein. King Ludwig built a series of extravagant castles in this area. Not all of them were completed before his death. This was the view from the top. You can see one of his castles on the right.


That wasn't the castle we were there to see though. We went to see the castle that was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's castle. It was gorgeous. The inside was super ornate. We were able to go through the kings chambers, great hall, and the servant quarters. Well worth the 12 euro entrance fee.


Around lunchtime we hiked back out and down to catch our train to Munich for the last leg of our journey together.


Munich here we come!

Location:Fussen, Germany

At the top of the world

We are officially in the Black Forest. We left the hostel at 5 in the morning and headed to Freiburg. When we finally got there we took a gondola ride 3600 meters to the top. We thought it was fun.


The people we shared the gondola with did not. You should have seen the guy on the left squeeze himself in there. He had to use t-Rex arms to take pictures because he had no arm mobility.


I laughed every time I looked at their grimacing faces. The top was super. We could see down to Freiburg. The cool temperature and brisk breeze made it extreemely enjoyable.


There was a gnome cut out at the top. Everybody knows that the gnomes live on top of the hills. We obviously saw tons.


After taking pictures of the playground at the top we grabbed a little lunch and decided to head to the observation deck. Observation decks are generally uphill. Surprisingly, I was lagging behind. Luckily Aaron found some friends from Tennessee that were loving life and wanted to go skipping uphill with him.


I did not skip or run. Slow and steady wins the race. Maybe it doesn't win, but it doesn't kill you either. The view from the top was spectacular. You can't do it justice.


After staying up in the observation deck for a while we came down to head in to town to sightsee. Like every German town there was a pretty church.


And beautiful buildings. Shortly after we got to the square the thunder and rain started.



We tried to wait it out but it turned into quite a storm. We took cover in a restaurant and waited it out while we watched the game. Tomorrow we will leave on another morning train headed to Fussen. I'm excited to head toward a smaller town.

Location:Freiburg, Germany

Two days in one...

We got into Nuremberg and immediately headed out to sight see. Nuremberg had a different feel to it. It felt older and more Medieval. We went up to the Nuremberg castle and learned about medieval fighting techniques.


You can imagine how fascinating that was. What was exciting though was that I had a celebrity spotting! I love celebrities. We were up on the city lookout with a few other people and I spied from my little eyes....Mötley Crüe. They were right beside us. Tommy lee was the tip off. Surprising that I knew him. Must be all that trash television I watch. That's them in the corner.


On our way backdown from the castle we stopped at a market to get a snack.


Don't be deceived...I didn't get any of that. I got ice cream. It was so good. Now I understand why everyone in Germany walks around with an ice cream in their hand. Seriously, it's unbelievable. The ice cream market is thriving around here.



Nuremberg is known for many things in history. It was the place where many Nazi rallies were held and the Nuremberg trials . But I won't remember it for that. What I will remember is the zoo. The Nuremberg zoo was the best zoo I have ever been to.


We got up close and personal with monkeys. How cute is that baby on the momma's back? They had enclosures that felt completely natural and the monkeys could come and go as they pleased. The best part of the zoo; however, was the manatee exhibit.


I was beyond excited. I love manatees. Love, love, love them! I could have stayed and watched them all day! I really felt a connection to them. It was like I was five years old.


After we left the zoo, we headed back to the hostel and rested before dinner. We had to rack out early because our train for Freiburg left at 5 am.

Location:Nuremberg, Germany

A Fairytale City

Heidleburg looks like its a movie set. It is literally the cutest town I've ever seen. It's street upon street of houses and shops that have unbelievable character. The place we are staying is right up the road from the yellow building. We are literally at the base of the castle.



We are so close that this is the view out of the window.


We put our stuff down and headed out to explore and get some lunch at one of the squares.


We walked around and found some playgrounds before deciding to go see the castle. There is supposedly a tram to get up the hill, but being the young people we are we just hiked it. No big deal, right?


It was slightly uphill so naturally Aaron ran up it leaving me to wallow in my turtle like speed. I feel like the most common phrase out of my mouth this trip is "oh my gosh, my calves are on fire!" sweet things can't catch a break. Then I had a brilliant idea. I caught up to the sweet lady from Oxford, Mississippi on the right and walked with her. That was great. I was helping her get up the hill and helping myself not have a heart attack. Two birds, one stone.


I finally made it with a surprising smile on my face.


The view from the top was fantastic and totally worth it. I wouldn't mind being royal. You could people watch from your tall tower all day long.


After our hike and a shower, we headed out to watch Germany play Denmark in the Euro Cup. Everyone sets their tvs in their windows and watches from outside. We joined this group and met our new friend, Chris.


Chris is a student at the university who is half German and half English and possibly the wisest 24 year old I've ever met. He had lots of answers for us about Germany and soccer. We had lots of advise on how amazing Texas is.


We hung out with him after the German win for the rest of the evening.


It's crazy how everything is falling into place. Our days couldn't work out better if we planned them!

Location:Heidelberg,Germany