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By jadoerge

As my time here in Munich draws slowly to a close, it astounds me that a year has already gone by. After missing so much news back in the US, it is odd to think that I will be back there so soon and be right back in the middle of things in DC. But, alas, “so it is” as the Germans say. At the end of such a long, immersive program, many speak of how they learned more about themselves and how their time in another place truly changed their lives. I will try to stay away from clichés, but this year abroad was truly one of the best experiences of my undergraduate life and I will sincerely miss and think fondly of the time that I spent here in southern Germany. ...continue reading "Saying Auf Wiedersehen"

By jadoerge

Now that I’ve finished telling the story of my wonderful and epic adventures around the world with Morgan over the course of our semester break, I’d like to talk briefly about how life in Munich has changed since being back from vacation and how I’ve been getting by in my second semester at the Ludwig Maximillians Universität.

Since the second semester here has started, the Junior Year in Munich program has gained over 40 new students who study with us for one semester and generally leave around the same time as the full-year students like me. It has certainly been nice getting to know and experience life abroad with other like-minded people, but this has also served as a catalyst for me to get out and really try to engage with Germans at the university and who live near me. These friendships, while perhaps not having a huge possibility of being re-kindled later, have not only improved my ability to speak German, but they have provided great insights into how Germans think about particular subjects and how they treat friendships in comparison to Americans. On average, I can say that the Germans are much more serious about their friendships than us Americans. In the States, short-term friends are certainly not uncommon. An example of this could be someone that you sit next to on a bus or subway and have a great conversation with, but never see again and make no attempt to contact. Here in Germany, if both parties show interest in starting a friendship, you had better be prepared to work that person into your schedule and really put forth effort into the relationship before you two can be considered friends and more than just acquaintances. In this sense, I suppose the word “Freund” is used far less loosely than we use “friend” or “pal.” Despite this, I have made some great friends here in Germany and hope very much that they can make it over to the U.S. soon, so that I can give them a taste of where I’m from and why I think like I do. ...continue reading "Getting By With Help From My Freunde"

By jadoerge

Semester Break Vacation Part 10: Paris

Ah, finally, our end destination: the city of love, the city of lights, Paname, PARIS! After quite a long time discussing in broken French with a customer service agent how we would get to Paris from Lyon, we finally made it in around 7pm and, of course, it was snowing. Now this wouldn’t have been a problem, had the soles of my boots not begun to separate a few days before from all of the walking. You know what that means: wet, cold feet. Morgan was also having some issues with her shoes, so as soon as we dropped our stuff off with our host, stop #1 was a shoe store.

With dry shoes and a much better attitude, around 8:30 on our first night, we got to do what we had been dreaming of for weeks…eat Chipotle. Now don’t get me wrong, I am a huge fan of really experiencing the culture in foreign lands, and specifically experiencing the food culture. However, just for one night, we allowed ourselves to be nostalgic for our homeland and compensate for Germany’s lack of Chipotle, having lived without it for nearly 7 months. Bellies full, we strolled over to the Louvre Museum, although it was closed, and simply enjoyed the great views of the palace and glass pyramids being lit while the snow fell gently on the ground. A better first night could not have been had! ...continue reading "And a Baguette for the Road"

By jadoerge

­Semester Break Vacation Part 9: Lyon

Ah, the country side of France. Looking out the window of our small regional train, the rolling hills and small towns of central France whizzed by as  Morgan and I made our way from the Aix-en-Provence to the nearly geographic center of France, Lyon. Filled with a rich history of food and handmade goods, Lyon had a much different nature than the two cities in France we had visited already on this trip. ...continue reading "France and Food: A Love Story"

By jadoerge

Semester Break Vacation Part 8: Aix-en-Provence

Although we were quite unhappy to do so, Morgan and I did eventually leave the wonderful city of Nice to explore other parts of France. After a short train ride along the beautiful southern coast of France, we slowly arrived in a very different kind of city, Aix-en-Provence. Although the apartment in which we stayed was right in between Aix and Marseilles, we spent most of our time exploring Aix on the recommendation of our host. ...continue reading "Purple Haze"

By jadoerge

Semester Break Vacation Part 7: Milan and Nice

Although our time in Venice was much too short, Morgan and I were excited to continue our journey our through Italy and on into France! Since we didn’t feel like being cooped up in a train for yet another day, we decided to break up the trip to Nice with a one-and-a-half day visit to Milan! ...continue reading "Border Crossing"

By jadoerge

Semester Break Vacation Part 6: Venice and Milan

After leaving the radically different Italian island known as Sicily, it was time to visit and old friend, Venice! Having stayed in the city for nearly a week during my time studying abroad in high school, I was excited to see the city without the pressure of trying to visit every big attraction in the two short days that we were there. After a late night water taxi to our apartment a few blocks from the Rialto Bridge and some rest to recharge our batteries, we set out to explore the endless mazes of canals that make up Venice.

Although the plan was to start the day at St. Mark’s Square and figure out a plan from there, the walk to the massive plaza turned out to be a bit of an adventure itself. From the outdoor flea markets to the multitude of shops selling carnival masks from 1 Euro to thousands, getting lost in Venice is one thing that I would recommend doing to anyone at some point in Venice, simply to discover things that might not be covered in Frommer’s guides or Trip Advisor. On this particular sidetrack, I discovered the beauty of one of Italy’s most prestigious tobacco pipe makers, Savinelli. From the simple briar pipe to elegant carvings of various objects, it was great to see that this particular tradition of woodworking was still alive and well in Italy. ...continue reading "A Sinking Feeling"

By jadoerge

This week, I’m going to take a quick break from my many observations and experiences of my semester break travels to post about something here at home in Munich that was just a blast to be  part of: the Champions League final!

Despite losing 2 of these finals in the last 3 years, Bayern München was back with a vengeance. After beating FC Barcelona in the semi-finals, FC Bayern München was off to the finals of the Champions League in London! As it so happened, Borussia Dortmund also won their semi-final match and this year’s final was all set to be a Bundes Liga dominated, all German game! Unfortunately, since the game was being held in Wembley Stadium in London, only a few Germans were able to go see the game live. So that left myself, along with a ton of other people here in Munich, looking for somewhere to watch this game with fellow FCB supporters. With only a week left before the game, two venues were announced for massive, live public viewings: the Theresienwiese fair grounds (where Oktoberfest is traditionally held) and inside of the Allianz Arena itself which serves as the home turf to Bayern München. Of course my first instinct was to go watch it at the arena itself, and this was only intensified when I learned that they would be giving out free tickets to watch at the arena while the other viewing would cost 7 Euros per person! So I got to the arena on the specified day as soon as possible after class to pick up the 4 tickets that anyone was able to get if they waited in line. Even though I was only 15 minutes late, there were already at least four or five thousand people lined up outside the arena to claim their seats to watch this historic final. After a bitter cold two hours in line, I finally had my tickets in hand and couldn’t wait for the day to arrive. ...continue reading "Super Bayern, Super Bayern, HEY HEY"

By jadoerge

Semester Break Vacation: Part 5

After an uneventful night aboard the very large ferry between Naples and Sicily and many games of “Mafia” a.k.a. “Palermo Nights,” we finally arrived into the incredibly picturesque port of Palermo. As we pulled into the dock with sunrise just above the mountains, it became clear that life aboard this little island would likely differ greatly from life on the mainland, particularly in Naples. After disembarking and noticing that the morning traffic was beginning to rumble along the coastal highway, we took off in search of our bed and breakfast for the next few days. On the way there, we ascertained a rather grim impression of the island at first glance. For example, we saw plenty of trash on the streets, many barely-functioning cars, an ancient city wall filled with graffiti and a lack of upkeep, and a general lack of attention to the buildings and infrastructure in the city of Palermo. Upon checking into our B&B, we headed out for our first taste of Sicily at a small local bakery where we gorged on rum-soaked pastries, small, glazed lobster-tail-shaped flakey deserts, and a variety of filled, fresh baked dough pockets. Despite the lack of upkeep in regards to infrastructure, I can say with confidence that the Sicilians spare no expense with their food. Having satiated our empty stomachs, we headed out to explore the downtown area. After not two city blocks, we were approached by a very eccentric man with a horse and buggy offering to take us on a tour of the city. Our program director, being quite the explorer in search of new experiences, signed us up on the spot and soon enough, we were trotting down the cobblestone streets of Palermo with 10 people in two carriages designed for 4. Despite the slight feeling of being cramped, we all enjoyed the fresh air and the opportunity to acquaint ourselves with the city in a very short amount of time. After approximately 1.5-2 hours touring the city, we said arrivederci to our tour guide and went out in search, of course, for more food. After wandering for a while, we settled on a rather run-down establishment in a residential alley near downtown next to a couple of very famous hat stores and a very interesting hand-made porcelain shop. Once again, Sicily did not disappoint with a wonderful house-wine, freshly baked bread, and a plate of grilled swordfish that would have dwarfed even a larger T-bone steak. After lunch, I peeked into the small but well known hat store which had hand-made Sicilian style hats (similar to paper-boy hats in the States) made from 100% Sicilian wool. Finding it hard to pass up such an authentic souvenir, I walked away with a great navy-blue cashmere/wool hat and looked positively Sicilian for the rest of the trip…minus the great tan and dark hair, of course. After a few more uneventful hours, and another great dinner, we called it quits for the night, having been up since 4 or 5am. ...continue reading "Palermo Nights"

By jadoerge

After returning to Munich to re-pack and reload on supplies for a day, Morgan and I were on the road again with a small group from our program led by the program director on a romp through Italy! On the agenda: Naples, Sicily and Venice. We decided beforehand that we wanted to pay particular attention to the old ruins in these areas and spend most of our time revolving around ancient history and culture in Italy in addition to the usual sightseeing! ...continue reading "Feeling Neapolitan (but not the ice cream)"