Hello all! Welp…it is time. Time for us here in Germany to make our ways back home. I know I speak for all of us in saying that it was an amazing time! But I figured I would give a little list of what I personally missed most (besides friends, family, and just good ol’ valpo). So here is a little top 3 things I missed from the U.S. while I was abroad!

3. Root Beer

Yes you read that correctly, root beer. Throughout my travels in Germany and in Europe in general, I can honestly say I NEVER came across a restaurant or store that sold root beer. Also another great American drink is Cream Soda. Both of these beverages along with Dr. Pepper were Missing in Action. So if you have a sugar addiction for any of these drinks, then you will be going through tough withdrawls. I can honestly say that I am excited to go to Red Robbin and get bottom-less root beer floats! Whos with me??

2. Jimmy’s Cafe

I really should have just said the classic American breakfast, but I knew I would get more peoples attention with Jimmy’s. German breakfast customs tend to differ with the different regions of Germany you travel to, however for example when our group visited Berlin, we received a complementary breakfast platter that included bread, cold cut meats and a vegetable platter with assorted cheeses as well. I miss waking up to the smell of fresh bacon with biscuits and gravy and chocolate chip pancakes. I tried explaining what biscuits and gravy was to a German, and lets just say it didn’t go so well. This number 2 is also coming from a breakfast lover. There may be other things obviously that you may miss more when or if you come abroad, but for a kid that grew up on his mother making amazing breakfast food, my heart is broken. Also quick shout out to my mom because she is the best cook and best mom in the world! Happy late mothers day again!

1. MEXICAN FOOD

Notice how Mexican food is in caps. Yeah I cannot stress that enough. I can also say for everyone in our group that this would be most everyone’s numero uno. Authentic Mexican food is a little tough to come by in the United States however in Germany, it is non-existant. The closest thing to Mexican food our group came in contact with was Chipotle in Frankfurt, Germany which is an hour and 45 minute train ride away from where we live. There are 2 Mexican food restaurants where we live, but I did not go to them, but from what I heard from friends who did go, the restaurants were not all that special. I think it is safe to say that the first thing I want to eat when I get home is some complementary chips and salsa then stuff myself with my burrito after I was already full from eating 2 trays of chips and salsa. I truly feel bad for my roomate and other Valpo students who have been here for longer and are staying longer than us because I could not make it.  Props to you guys, you da real MVP.

Now for a little personal tribute to the trip and on my experiences. I have seen things that I never thought in my life I would ever see. I have traveld to 9 different countries, lived in a foreign country for 4 months, and learned about German history in Germany. I will forever be greatful for the Valpo Reutlingen program because of what they have done for our entire group. This experience is something I will remember for the rest of my life. More importantly, this trip for all of us, has been a waking up moment. This trip helped us become more independent. All we had starting out was each other and we ended it with friends I never thought I would have met. I also, most importantly learned who are important in my life. Although I have had an amazing time here in Germany, it is time to come home. Thanks everyone for reading and I hope I at least sort of convinced you to travel to Germany. It was an amazing experience and I just want to thank everyone for reading again and everyone who I met here in Germany and also a BIG shout out to the faculty and staff over here for making our stay here amazing! Well everyone, see you tomorrow and thanks again for supporting this blog! Till then this is Austin P signing off for the last time!

Hey everyone! Finals are upon us… so brace yourself for long nights, short coffee breaks, and plenty of tears. I left you guys off last time on a total cliffhanger trying to figure out what my number 1 travel destination in Germany is! Well, the time has come. My number 1 destination in Germany is, you guesed it.

1. Berlin 

Berlin- Brandenburg Gate

Now I know there are some people out there that disagree with me who have been to Germany and that is fine, however from my experiences, time spent there, and interactions with the people of Berlin, this was a no brainer. Our group spent 5 days in Berlin, and it was still no where near enough time to do everything there. You could spend a year of your life visitng every museum in Berlin and that probably still would not be enough. From the original settlers of Berlin to World War I, WWII, East and West Berlin, The Wall, anything you could imagine, Berlin has a museum for it. This was also where I had some of the best food on our trip as well. There was a specific restaurant that specializes in Berlin dishes and it was fantastic! Unfortunately I do not recall the name of it, I just know the taste of the delicious food our group devoured. The number of monuments in Berlin are astronomical. From the Brandenburg Gate to Victory Circle to Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, there is something always to be seen in Berlin. This is why I chose Berlin as the number one destination to visit. The amount of things one can do there is endless, and tie that in with great food, and friendly people and you got a number 1 city.

Some places outside of Germany I would recomend visiting are:

Stockholm, Sweden

ABBA The Museum

Stockholm was home to my favorite museum, The ABBA Museum. Also some great fish and chips as well. I would recomend going in the summer months of June and July however because it can still be quite cold in the spring months.

Florence, Italy

Beautiful Florence

Florence was amazing and I know I speak for myself and everyone else in our group when I say I want to visit again. Florence is a great place for a weekend excursion to get a way for a while and take in the beautiful sights. The only thing you have to watch out for is that some restaurants may charge you a sitting fee. Yes they charge you money just to sit down so make sure you have enough cash before going and purchasing your apple juice and PB and J.

Rome, Italy

Colosseum

Rome was a lot of fun and I wish we could have stayed longer! Plenty of things to do and see! From walking through the Roman Forum or taking a quick hop up to Vadican City, there is plenty to do! Be prepared to bring your walking shoes however. Our group walked 29 miles in just the 2 days we were there. Needless to say, I lost 22 lbs by just drinking Slim Fast and visitng Rome in 2 days. But in all reality, it was an amazing place with history all around you!

I could go on and on, however if you come to Europe, don’t just take my advice, take your own! Find what you want to see most and do it! Make it your trip!

In only 4 days I will be coming back home to Valpo with the rest of the R-95 group and starting our summer breaks! This semester went by fast, but that just means we had fun doing it!

Tune in Monday where I give a sending off post since it will be my last. Until then people, good luck on finals and believe in yourself! Till later everybody, this is Austin P signing off!

Hello everyone! I know, I know, I have been really lazy and haven’t posted anything in a while. Myself along with the rest of the group have been super busy with traveling and preping for our spring break in 3 weeks time. Our first stop a while back was the musical center of Leipzig in Saxony. Liepzig was incredible and rich with culture and history every where you looked. While in Leipzig our group visited the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig which not only has historical significance to Johann Sebastian Bach but also to the Monday Demonstrations in the late 1980’s demonstrating against communist rule.

Outside of the Nikolaikirche

This is the outside of the Nikolaikirche (they wouldn’t let me take photos inside) but the inside of it is very beautiful with large white vaulted cielings and greek columns lining the nave that look like they have coconut tree leaves sprouting to the top of the cieling. We also got to see the Thomaskirche which is the final resting place of Johann Sebastian Bach. Also we were privaledged to listen to a concert on Bach’s works at the Thomaskirche. The concert was absolutely beautiful simply put. The music in general in Leipzig was fabulous. Everywhere you looked their were street performers either playing violins, guitars, accordions, or all three! (Not really because people don’t have enough hands but that would be pretty cool though).

The Resting Place of J. S. Bach

Thomaskirche

While in Leipzig, the group also visited the Johann Sebastian Bach Museum located directly across the street from the Thomaskirche. The museum was very fun and informative because of how interactive it was. Also the museum housed a belt buckle and thimble that are supposedly from the original coffins of Bach and his wife Maria Barbara at their original burial places. Also while in Leipzig I visited the Battle of Nations Monument on the northern side of Leipzig. The Battle of Nations Monument is a monument commemorating the combined defeat of the Napoleon  in 1813 by the nations of Prussia, Austria, Russia, and Sweden.

Battle of Nations Monument

Battle of Nations Monument

Personally the size of the monument took me completely by surprise. From pictures I saw before going I thought that it was going to a lot smaller but it is truly massive. Where the monument stands is supposedly were Napoleon stood himself during the battle (so the story goes). Overall, Leipzig was a college city with fantastic music everywhere you listened.

Our group also visited the massive (joking) city of Wittenberg for a day trip to see Martin Luther’s home as well as the castle church where Luther (supposedly) posted his 95 theses on the castle church door. The doors are unfortunately not original because the original doors burned down in a fire. These doors happen to be bronze and inscribed on them are the 95 theses. This also means that these doors have 95 doctorates in theology (sorry, bad joke).

Luther’s Casa (House in Spanish)

Castle Church Door

After Leipzig and Wittenberg our group had another fun day excursion to Eisenach where we visited the Wartburg castle. At the Wartburg castle, Martin Luther was ‘kidnapped’ and taken there by Frederick the Wise’s men for Luthers own protection after the Diet of Worms. The Warburg castle also happens to be the spot of the Wartburg Festival in 1817.

Inside the Castle

Wartburg Cast

Eisenach also was home to the first Bach museum, that was for a while believed to be Bach’s own home. However this was disproven recently, but never the less it is still a great museum. One exhibit was Benjamin Franklin’s own glass harmonica.

The last stop on our Luther and Bach trip was Erfurt. Erfurt was amazing, not only because of St. Mary’s Cathedral, but also because they had amazing Thuringian sausages at a local stand for only 1 Euro! That is a deal that even Vince from Sham Wow could sell me on.

Inside the St Mary’s Cathedral

We also saw the St Severus Cathedral that happens to lie directly adjacent to St. Mary’s.

St Severus Cathedral

Left-St Mary’s. Right-St Severus.

After our group trip. Myself along with Raechel, Morgan, and Jared went to Munich. Let me tell you folks. Think of all of the possible German stereotypes possible, then close your eyes. Congratulations you are in Munich! Munich was by far my favorite place I have been. The people, the scenery, the history, the lederhosen. It is ALL there! Our hostel we stayed at offered a free 3 hour walking tour of the city that included the glockenspiel, which in iteslf was amazing. The glockenspiel is Munich’s biggest attraction, and not only was it cool to see that, but to look behind me and see a group of no less than 500 people all staring up at it. We also saw the famous and original Hofbrauhaus which had a very cool atmosphere to it. On a more depressing side of history, the top of the Hofbrauhaus is a larg banquet hall, and in this banquet hall is where Adof Hitler gave one of his first speeches to a large group of people.

Glockenspiel

Marienplatz

R-95 Takes the Englischer Garten

We also were able to visit the beautiful Englischer Garten.

This past weekend, our group was able to visit the amazingly picturesque city of Heidelberg where we received a tour of the only college of Jewish studies in all of Germany. After we also received a small tour of Heidelberg itself. Honestly, everything looked like it could be on a post card.

Just Beautiful

Shelby with the Heidelberg castle in the background

The day after Heidelberg Shelby, Morgan, and myself traveled to Frankfurt for the day to get the one. The only. Chipotle. Yes that is right there is a Chipotle in Frankfurt and it was worth every minute of that train ride. We also walked around and saw the old Rathaus and were outside of the election room where the electors met to decide who would become the next Holy Roman Emperor. Unfortunately it was raining during our exploration of Frankfurt so I couldn’t take my camera out. But Frankfurt so far was the first city to remind me of the U.S. Frankfurt is also home to the European Central Bank and is home to the Euro Tower. Frankfurt was a nice city that looked the least like the Germany people tend to imagine, but nevertheless it was a lot of fun (and Chipotle was so worth it).

A couple of us will be traveling to Vienna this weekend so check in next Tuesday at the latest for another blog post about what was once the seat of the Habsburg Empire! Thanks for being patient and keep on keepin on! For everyone on spring break at Valpo, be safe and have fun! Until next time ladies and germs, this is ya boy Austin P signin off from the land of sausage and bread, peace!

“I think it’s my adventure, my trip, my journey, and I guess my attitude is, let the chips fall where they may”

~R.I.P. Leonard Nimoy

Hallo everyone! This was our groups first week in Germany, which of course meant the start of classes this past Monday, January 12. The class itinerary is as follows in no particular order: European Art and Architecture, International Economics, History of Modern Germany, a Luther and Bach course, German 204 (for the advanced speaker), or German 101 (for the beginner), or German 102 (for the awkward student who took a semester of German before coming and did not want to repeat German 101, but yet German 204 is too advanced for them so they sit through class with their mouth wide open because they do not understand a word the teacher is saying). The reality of German 204 is not too bad to be honest, I have sat through the class for a week now and I can honestly say that my listening has improved at least 2 fold as well as my speaking. Although I may look constipated during the class, I am getting better and it helps to push yourself! (no pun intended) Thursday was a special day for our study group however. There is a Reutlingen specific holiday celebrated by Reutlingers in early January called Mutscheltag. Mutscheltag is an old schwabisch traditional holiday that involves playing dice games for bread prizes. However our group did miss the actual holiday, but Herr Viet, our Economics professor (and an authentic Schwabe) put on a special event for anyone interested in the holiday. The dice games are quite simple and loads of fun to play. All you need is a group of at most 7 and 3 dice and you are good to play! One game for example involved just having to role a one-two-three straight with all three dice once. In total we played 7 games, and the individual from each group with the lowest score got to go to the winners table. Thursday there was enough for five groups so five individuals made it to the winners table. After one short game at the championship table to determine final placement, individuals received their prizes and contemplated how they were going to eat all of that bread. I myself did represent my group at the winners table and got 3rd place overall! I counted it as a personal victory and was glad I could make my table proud. Below is a picture of my prize, and just to give you a picture of how large it actually is, the center ring by itself is as big as my head.

SO MUCH MUTSCHEL

However, the Mutschel itself was delicious and I enjoyed every bit of it! I did share it with people on my floor because no one man should have all that bread (yes that was a Kanye West joke). Also on Friday was the Valpo Study Cener groups tour around Reutlingen. We were able to see various statues of important individuals of Reutlingen’s history, the Marienkirche which is the largest church in Reutlingen, and also the Guinness Book of World Records smallest street. Yes that is right, the worlds smallest street is in Reutlingen. Pictured from left to right are some pictures inside the Marienkirche and on the far right is the worlds smallest street.

Inside the Marienkirche

Inside the Marienkirche

Yes…this is real

The Marienkirche was absolutely beautiful and there will be plenty more pictures to come when I bring my DSLR camera inside. One fun fact about the Marienkirche is that there are more than 600,000 small triangles that make up the entire ceiling of the church that have to be cleaned individually by hand. In blogs to come I can include the story of why the Marienkirche was built if that sounds interesting to you readers! Coming back to the smallest street however, the reason it is the worlds smallest street is because it is not privately owned. The city of Reutlingen owns the street and therefore is a registered street. The street itself is about 1 foot wide and a good 20 or more feet long. Myself with the group did make it through to the other side, but needless to say, it was a tight squeeze. For you starwars fans out there, you could say I felt a little like Jek Porkins in my X-Wing in “Starwars Episode IV A New Hope”. Sunday, myself and a few other of my classmates decided to climb to the top of the Achelm, the tallest mountain in Reutlingen. The climb itself was very exhausting but beyond worth it. The trip took us about 2 and a half hours walking from our dorm to the top so it was definitely a full day event. My roomate Ross told me his pedometer counted 15,000 steps on the trip so it was a great workout with breathtaking scenery! Unfortunately the weather was rather gloomy so the pictures did not turn out so well, but I do plan to go back in the spring to get everything blooming! Overall, this was an eventfull week and I felt like I have been here a year already with all of the activities our group has done but thats what keeps it fun! Tonight our group got together and had a quesadilla night while watching the news in german. Nights like these may seem insignificant when compared to climbing a mountain or going through Guinness Book of World Records, but nights like these form great memories and great friendships. This Saturday our group may be visiting the Hohenzollern castle just up the road so be ready for some awesome castle shots! I can also include photos from the Achelm if y’all want as well! Just comment and leave your opinion! This is Austin Pittman signing off from Reutlingen and wishing you all a good night and week, until next time. Tschuss!