Monday and Tuesday were our last days in Munich as well as our last days together as a group. On Monday we went to the Allianz stadium and some were more excited to see it than others. I loved the tour of the arena but I’ve seen a lot of stadiums before. At this point its seeing what the differences in the stadiums is, is what entertains me.

The last and final day was spent on boats and in castles. We took a bus ride followed by a boat ride to the palace of Ludwig II. Took another boat ride to a different island where some of us went swimming. I was not one of them and then went back to the hotel where our program was officially closed out. It was an amazing last day and it was bitter sweet because we were all ready to go home but we all also knew we would miss each other because we had become so close. It was a great summer spent in Germany. i wouldn’t trade it for the world. Auf Wiedersehen Germany, thanks and gig’em!

We went to dachau Consentration Camp memorial site on sunday morning. Its hard to put into words the amount of emotions that went through my head that day. Nothing could be so heavy on my heart and on my mind. It was a rough day in the begning

The day ended on a lighter note with a lesson on original German dances and then dinner. I can proudly say there are no pictures of me attempting and failing at the dances.

We left Bonn on Friday and headed towards Munich. All 20 of us rode a 5 hour train with all of our luggage. It wasn’t easy in the slightest but despite all of it we made it to Munich and to our hotel on time and relatively all in one piece. That afternoon we had a bike tour through the city and ended with dinner at a restaurant in the city center. the first day in Munich was a success and we ended the night in a hotel bed that was almost criminally comfortable.

The next day was a tour of the 1972 Olympic stadium and it was an impressive sight to see. Not just the architecture but to see how vast and versatile the grounds were.

at this point we had only been in Munich for a day and a half. We still had so much left to do before our time together came to an end.

It was our last in week in Bonn and it was bitter sweet. Our program was coming to the end and we didn’t have too many things planed which allowed us to get all of our things together. We were headed to Munich as a group for the last few days in the program and for a little bit more bonding time. My time in Bonn is definitely not one that I’m going to forget. From the people in the program to my host family to all of the tour and excursions. This entire month in Bonn was the adventure of a life time and its not done yet!

It was our last long weekend on the program and many of us wanted to go out of town and explore. We decided to go to Amsterdam. We had out hostel booked, train tickets booked and we were off! We arrived and Spent the entire weekend exploring the city.

We took a canal ride around the city and it was honestly an amazing way to see the city from a different view. The weekend was full of adventures and I cant wait to come back in the future.

The next two days the group took a walk through time. One of the days we took a tour through a history museum. This museum was the history of Germany from the end of World War Two to the present. It was an interesting experience because as an american in our schooling we are taught the history of the world but we never go into depth of the countries we learn about. we never hear there side of the story. And I had definitely never heard the after effect the war had on the country of Germany. The day was well spent and i learned more than I ever thought I would.

The next day after an hour and a half bus ride we arrived at a park that used to be an old coal and steel production plant. The plant had been turned into a park with rock climbing, a hostel, a restaurant, a concert hall and so much more. The whole thing was in of itself a work of art because it still looked like the production plant but if you looked carefully you could see the integration that had happened to make the space an inviting one with so many uses.

We ended the day at a museum that was transformed from another industrial plant into a museum of natural history for the area it was located. It was interesting to see how the architects integrated the museum into the already existing building. Its fascinating to see how creative minds can change a place so completely while keeping the past a focus of the building. We also really appreciated the AC after a 106 degree day.

The day we came back we had German class as well as a tour at a tower here in Bonn called the post tower. The tower is 40 stories high and one of the coolest buildings I have ever been in. We got a tour by one of the employees through the most important parts of the tower before heading back to central station and then home. I was so exhausted from traveling that weekend that I need to take a nap and recuperate.

The day after the tour of the post tower we took a bike ride to a museum 8 miles down the ride. The ride itself wasn’t bad my only issue with it was that I haden’t ridden a bike in over a decade. Of course I got it because it was riding a bike that not a skill you lose. Or so I’ve been told. We got to the museum that is used as both a museum as well as a train station and a restaurant. We had lunch and then toured the art museum first as a group then individually. Being able to tour the exhibit alone was in my opinion the best part of the day. I enjoyed being able to take in the art and process it without being surrounded by other students. We rode back to Bonn, which was a terrible idea, and o went home. My lack of sleep over the past few days was starting to get to me.

The final day of our trip to Rome we spent apart for the most part. I decided to go to mass that morning at a church that was down the street from our hostel. The entire mass was in Italian which I expected but it was still a surprise. I had wanted to go to mass at the Vatican but one I didn’t get up in time and two I knew it would be extremity crowded and that I wouldn’t have been able to focus. After mass though I went and had breakfast alone at a little cafe and finally had a cannoli for the first time and in Rome no less. After I ate, I made my way to the Vatican for a tour and to take all the pictures I could.

The Vatican is the one place that I could spend hours upon hours at as well as the only place I want to revisit in the future. Ever single inch of the Church is absolutely breathtaking and I hope that one day I can come back and see it again. I spent hours wandering around the church listening to an audio tour as well as spend so much money on items from the gift shop.

Finally after a weekend of sight seeing, food and a delayed flight out of Rome, it was time to go back to Bonn for another week of adventures!

It was our only full day in Rome and we planned on making every moment count. We left the hostel got breakfast and got passes for the public transportation so we didn’t have to walk all over the city in the scorching heat. We started our tour through the city at the famous Colosseum. The structure doesn’t compare to pictures. You can see it from miles away but you aren’t fully prepared for the structure until you are next to it and you are taking it in.

From there we made our way to the pantheon because it was on a different side of the city. the architecture itself was absolutely stunning and is something I’m so happy i have pictures of. After the Pantheon we went back to the Trevi fountain because we all wanted pictures of the fountain during the day as well.

We went out for diner because not all of us had had past from Italy yet and it was a must. We found another small restaurant and had some of the best pasts I’ve ever had. we thought we would stay out later but the sun that day was brutal and we were all exhausted.

Our first long weekend finally came and instead of spending it in Bonn. Two friends and I went to Rome for the weekend. I have always wanted to go to Rome and I’m glad I went but I’m not going to lie its over rated and the only time I would ever go back is if someone wanted me to go with them. I will admit the architecture, culture and food are amazing to see and experience. Every time i saw something my breath was taken away. It was a short trip but we saw almost everything a tourist wanted to see. We arrived in Rome to our hostel at around 6 and decided to go exploring that night. We didn’t have long in the city and we wanted to experience as much as possible. We actually had less than 2 days because we needed to be back in Bonn for our classes. The night we arrived we found a small little Italian restaurant down the street from our hostel that had gluten free pasta. (one of the people in our group has a gluten sensitivity) We were only in rome for 2 nights so we had to eat pasta and Pizza of course.

After eating we went further into the city and saw the trevi fountain at night which is a sight to see. Don’t worry we all threw coins in the fountain and made wishes. We went back to our hostel afer the fountain because we wanted to get an early start the next day. We were only there 2 days and we were going to make the most out of it.