A Summer in Deutschland

The summer of my 17th birthday I travelled with my best friend Olivia to Stuttgart, Germany, for three weeks. We stayed with a German native, Beate, which enabled us to see a very authentic side of Germany. We travelled to many different cities by train. One of my favorite cities was Heidelberg where we saw the historic Heidelberg University, as well as a mid-century castle over-looking a river and peaceful town.

One night, my friends and I took the bus and train to downtown Stuttgart to watch a professional soccer match against Aresenal, a great team from England. A highlight of my trip was when we visited a zip-line park located in the mountains about an hour drive from where we were living. Not only do Europeans drive fast, but the roads in Germany are also curvy and unregulated, making the drive an experience in itself. I also went to see The Blue Man Group in Stuttgart the night before my birthday. I was picked out of the crowd to go on stage and be a part of the skit. It still remains as one of my favorite memories.

The last week of our trip we travelled to Berlin on a quick plane ride, and took pictures with pieces of the fallen Berlin Wall. My friends and I stayed in a hostel that was actually much nicer than I had ever imagined hostels to be. In Berlin, we visited Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust Memorial and Pariser Platz. Due to the fact that Berlin is so encapsulated with important history and a beautiful cityscape, it landed the top spot on my list of favorite cities.