A Nice Change of Pace

Alright, so where to begin this time. I have survived both the intensive Goethe language course and the trip from Munich to Braunschweig and am now sitting in a hotel writing the blog. So I think that is about everything so good night.

Okay, maybe not, but that is the short version. The last week at the Institute was very exciting, interesting, and sad. The exciting part was that I had finished the first major step in my journey and was about to start on the next. The interesting part of the week revolved around our visit to the Deutsch Museum in Munich, which was just filled to the brim with cool stuff. We were there for over three hours and it turns out we only saw a very small portion of the Museum. There is a section on Music, Physics, Nautical Travel, Air Travel, Oil & Refining, Material Sciences, Nanotechnology, and I am sure there are several more I am either forgetting or never saw. I am trying to keep this blog short because there is a lot for me to cover but I needed to at least mention this. If you are ever in Munich and enjoy such experiences, set aside a day (or two) for this place. I just wish that I had time to go back before moving on. I hope that I will find a way.

As I said, there was also a sadder portion to the ending.  The sad part was leaving my new friends behind in order to move on. By the recommendation of the Study Abroad Office at the University of Wyoming, I brought several T-Shirts and some of my homemade jewelry to give to my friends in Germany; I am very glad that I did. Now there will be some UW shirts in Thailand, Switzerland, Ireland, and Canada. I also have my own shirt from Thailand. It was very satisfying to know that my friends will have something to remember me by in the years to come. I cannot endorse this experience enough. Yes, there were some very frustrating parts of this experience, it was completely worth the money. Not only did I get to really help develop my German before Braunschweig, but I got to make friends as well. Looking in the long term, this trip was a great move because it gave me the time I needed to pass over the different highs and lows I have been talking about. I cannot imagine how much worse it could have been if I had hit that three day low while I was taking classes only in German in a new country and city. Manageable but not fun at all. So, month long language course is defiantly receiving superior recommendations from all sources.

Now, all things considered, the trip north was very easy but here are a few tips to help make things better. As always, buy tickets and reservations early. No special anecdote to prove my point, but it takes some stress off of you and that is always good. This does however bring me to my last point I want to cover in this post. Be sure you know about the Holidays in the country you are visiting. Simple right? You also need to make sure you know how important the holiday is in that Country. I knew that they would celebrate Easter here but I had now clue how much they would celebrate it. If I had waited much longer, my tickets easily could have been twice the price. Not to mention the huge easter eggs that were strewn throughout the shopping mall in Braunschweig.

Now the Very last thing I am going to say is this. I cannot wait for spring to arrive. I left Munich in the above condition and arrived in Braunschweig in the condition below. I thought I could escape winter by leaving Wyoming, but boy the universe sure proved me wrong. That's all for today. Gute Nacht.