Author: Mark Young

Location: Germany/Ireland

One of our first days in Reutlingen we climbed Georgenberg, a nearby mountain with a beautiful panoramic view of Reutlingen and the surrounding towns. Nearly all of the houses here have red roof.

 

Walking through the city provides many gorgeous views of the natural and man-made landscape. Houses often have neatly paired stone and vines which give off a rustic and aged feeling.

 

The dogs are extremely well trained here — many are walked without leashes. This good boy was waiting outside a cafe for its owner.

 

We visited Tubingen in our first week here. Tubingen is home to the University of Tubingen which causes the city’s population to be one-third student. It is a very pretty and historic city.

 

Just a short walk from the dorm you can find many gorgeous views of the Swabian Jura.

 

Our first trip was to Berlin. This is the Altes Museum at night. Hitler once addressed mass rallies up to a million people on the steps of the museum. It now holds antique paintings, drawings, and other classical pieces of art or history.

 

This is the Holocaust Memorial in Berlin. It contains 2,711 slabs of concrete arranged in a grid. It was designed to replicate the Mt. Olive Cemetery.

 

We also visited Sanssouci, the summer palace of Frederick the Great. It is often considered the German Versailles.

 

After our trip to Berlin, I went to Ireland, with a two day delay in Mallorca, Spain. The rocky coastline of the Celtic Sea was gorgeous and sublime.

 

As if the rest of the coast wasn’t magnificent enough, the Cliffs of Moher commanded respect and admiration. Standing next to such a sheer drop-off was both terrifying and exciting.

 

Back in Reutlingen, a couple friends and I climbed another mountain and watched as the sun set over the city from a ruined castle’s tower.

 

The one month I’ve been in Reutlingen has been wonderful. While language barriers can sometimes cause minor issues, the people are accomodating and friendly; the city is historic and pretty; and the landscape is a nice change from the plains of Indiana.