Ok the term "backpacking" sounds a bit more intense than what it actually was but none the less I just got back from a 10ish day excursion with everything packed in a backpack...so yeah that's what I've been up to. So with my program we had some long weekend travel breaks. well this was our big break so we got a whole week off of classes to go travel! And here is a hopefully not too long description of what all we did.
Germany
We started by flying into Germany, outside the Frankfurt area. We spent the weekend in Wiesbaden and spent some time in Mainz too. It may sound random but we stayed with one of my friend's family. They showed us around a bit and we spent time hanging out with them. Her uncle doesn't speak English but he still tried to talk to use and he was very funny! They were all so sweet! It was a lot of fun! In Mainz we went to the Gutenberg Museum which is there because Johannes Gutenberg was from there. We also went to the castle one day too! It was a lot of fun to stay with them and get to talk to people and learn a bit about Germany by that, getting to know people, seeing smaller towns, and not just the tourist stuff. So we all really enjoyed that. They showed us around the area and we saw a monument, a castle, a monastery and took a ferry across the Rhine. After the weekend we went to Karlsruhe. When we told her family we were going there they couldn't figure out why. The reason we chose that place is because it is by the Black Forest, but unfortunately we didn't get to see it. But hey we still had a good afternoon there. We visited the zoo which was a bit sketch but fun none the less! We also went to the Karlsruhe palace! The next day we headed to Berlin and kinda got their late so we didn't go out just ate dinner at the hostel and went to bed. The next morning we went around Berlin. Berlin is really cool! I love the history and how some of it is so recent with the Berlin wall and all that. First that day we went to the Reichstag and there is a dome that you can visit and get pretty cool views of the city. We also saw a meeting gathering and I'm pretty sure I saw Angela Merkel. Since that would be really cool to say I'm just going to go with it! So I saw Angela Merkel at the Reichstag! We then saw some other sights, some memorials, the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, etc. That day we spent some time at the Jewish Museum which was really cool! It was very interesting. They had a lot of symbolic stuff so that was interesting but it was really cool! We ended up being able to stay a few hours longer in Berlin than we first though so we attended a church service which was pretty cool! I really liked Berlin for the history and I really liked Germany. I wasn't expecting to really like it but I did. We spent a lot of time there in Germany though. From Thursday night to the next Thursday morning.
Thanksgiving!
This Thanksgiving was quite the crazy day! We took an over night train from Berlin to Brussels. I don't do the night train thing so well and may have only gotten 45 minutes of sleep...Yes I have already been to Brussels but it was quite alright to go back. We saw some different things and it was with different people and all. So you know how the last trip was just a day trip so we just spent several hours there...well this time we spent even less time. We spent about 6 hours getting lost, seeing a few things, getting waffles and chocolate, etc. Luckily it was a sunny day and the weather was beautiful! It was nice to see the blue sky! Then we headed to Paris that afternoon. We got there that evening and after getting into our hostel and all settled we set out! We went to the Eiffel Tower that night and the view was fantastic from the top. It was so cold though! It was windy and we were there freezing the whole time! But the view was great! It was cool to see the city at night too! But if I go to the Eiffel Tower again I'd like to go up in the day. But night is pretty cool to see from the top! It is probably a bit colder though. After that we walked around a bit and saw the Arc de Triomphe before going back to the hostel for the night. So basically I spent Thanksgiving in 3 different countries! Which is quite exhausting without only getting 45 minutes of sleep I bet.
Paris!
Last time I went to France we stayed in Lille so I didn't get to see Paris, so I was excited to get out and explore the city I'd been reading about in Les Miserables. The next day we got up and went to the Musée d'Orsay, which was really cool! We took a tour and then went and looked around on our own for a bit. After that we went to the Louvre. So that day we spent a lot of time at the museums. Paris does have great art museums though! So we did that for basically all of that day with seeing a few sights here and there. I have to say I liked the Musée d'Orsay better. Probably because it was less crowded, and not as enormous. The Louvre is just huge!!! There are the busy parts and then there are sections of the museum that are basically deserted! Our last day in Paris we went and saw the Sacré Cœur Basilica and the Notre Dame. We tried to go see Oscar Wilde's grave but due to some circumstances and the enormous nature of the cemetery we didn't make it. That night we travelled from Paris to Marseille.
Marseille
After a week of walking all bundled up in the cold it was nice to get a warm day. For our last day we went to Marseille in the south of France. We spent the day walking around, enjoying the great weather, and the beach even though we didn't have our swimsuits. It was a really cool place!
We headed back to Oxford Sunday night and now wrapping up this semester with papers and finals and all that not-so-fun end of the term stuff...Saturday I'm going to Cardiff but that is looking like it'll be my last major trip...hopefully I can go once more into London but probably not unfortunately. But I've had a great semester here, this was a great trip with a great group of people! It was good to get to know them better. I had so much fun on this trip and wish it didn't have to end. But now on to finishing up this semester and enjoying my last two weeks living here in England.
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