Fall Break 2013

By Katherine Moore

My fall break experiences summed up in a word would be incredible.  From the Bavarian Alps the first week to Rome, “The Eternal City”, the second week, I had so many amazing experiences.  They are two vastly different places and of the two areas I liked my time in the Alps the best.  The first week I traveled with my dad to Bavaria and we visited Augsburg, Munich and Garmisch.  The second week I traveled to Rome on my own to meet up with fellow ESC students.  We saw the main attractions like the Colosseum, the Forum, the Vatican City, and even the pope.

            Being in the Alps was amazing, the mountains are breathtaking and the air was so fresh and crisp.  I’m more of an outdoorsy person so being in the mountains reminded me of past camping trips and hikes that I go on at home.  My favorite day was the day I toured the famous castles, Hohenschwangau, Neuschwanstein, and Linderhof.  The tours were fascinating and the castles were beautiful and more than met my expectations.  Hohenschwangau was the family home and Neuschwanstein and Linderhof were both built by Ludwig II.  The third castle  he built is by Lake Chiemsee.  Of his three castles only his smaller palace, Linderhof, is completed.  Ludwig II was a very interesting character and he met a mysterious end.  He was obsessed with the French monarchs and he was a very anti-social person.  The grounds around all the castles were great for hiking and the landscape is like nothing else I’ve ever seen.  The other part of the trip that I loved was my trip up to the Zugspitze, the tallest peak in Germany.  It was a cloudy day so we couldn’t see much but it was still exciting to say that I was at the top of Germany.  I would definitely go back to that area, so far it has been my favorite place I’ve seen the entire trip.   

            Getting to Rome was an adventure for me and a test of my abilities to be totally independent.  The way it worked out I flew in to Rome a day earlier than the people I was meeting up with.  I was planning on staying the night in a hotel close to the airport so it would be easy to meet everyone the next morning.  This was the first time I had ever traveled to another country on my own so I was very nervous in the days and hours leading up to my departure.  In the end everything went according to plan and I successfully found all my friends.  This experience gave me more confidence in my ability to be an independent adult.  Becoming more independent was one of my goals of studying abroad and traveling to Rome on my own proves how far I’ve come in this area.  I am really proud of myself for planning and managing to make the trip all by myself. 

Once in Rome we went on guided tours of different areas of the city and learned a lot about the history of Rome.  My favorite part of Rome though was seeing the pope.  It was an amazing experience.  I’m Roman Catholic so being able to see the pope, the head of the church, and watch him give a service was out of this world.  I wish my Grandmother could have been there to witness it as well.  She is a very religious person and I know an experience like that would make her so incredibly happy.  One day I hope that I can take her to Rome so she can see the pope in person the way I did.

            During my break I got to see so many new places and learn about new things as well as practice my German and learn to be more independent.  It made me excited about the future adventures I’m going to have in Germany and I feel like I’m many steps closer to achieving my goals.    

Reference                    
Castle Tourism Center. (2013). The Castles Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. Welcome to Hohenschwangau. http://www.hohenschwangau.de