Europe Trip #2: Germany

Ok so I am finally back, I have been having a really hectic couple of weeks so I haven't been able to post much lately (Mostly due to Family problems and the fact that my sister and I have gotten some new games {Fable III and Warriors Orochi}). But never mind that, I am back now and will hopefully be posting more frequently.

First up is to continue the Summer Europe Trip and yes as the title mentions above, the next country is Germany! (Note: We did a lot in Germany so there might have to be two posts to show all of the information and pictures.)

On the first day in Germany, arriving on bus from Amsterdam, we made a stop in the historic city of Köln. We went to see the famous Kölner Dom (There Cathedral) and then walked around looking for some place to eat. I didn't eat lunch much in Europe (Mostly because it was the only meal not provided by the tour fee and therefore did not want to waste my money when I could just have a big breakfast and a big dinner). Anyway, we all met and waited for our bus and we were off to the next destination. Heidelberg!

Before saying what we did here, I would like to mention that this was one of my favorite places overall . We drove up to the Heidelberg Castle and walked around there for a while, then we drove back down to the city center where we separated and had lunch and walked around the town. After a nice walk looking at all of the lovely buildings, and after having my first taste of gelato (Which I loved), we boarded the bus and made our way. Our hotel was a few miles out of the city and I have to say that this was one of the creepiest hotels I have ever stayed in (only to be beaten by the hotel in Switzerland) with furniture and decorations straight out of the seventies. But there was a beautiful lake in the back with a path going around it and a little playground. Our group walked the path and I took many beautiful photographs, I saw my first wild swan, and I even had a ghostly encounter.

I was at the end of the group as I would frequently stop to take pictures. We had turned around because the rest of the path was blocked off and this area had lots of trees, in some parts you couldn't see the sky. I kept feeling this unnerving feeling that there was someone watching us and it even sounded like there were footsteps in back of us following us, but when I would look, there would be no one there. So I told some of the others and they thought it was weird. the sounds of someone following us eventually faded after I said it, but the strange feeling was there until we left the heavily wooded section of the path, then it felt normal again, but looking back at the area it seemed like someone was watching you and wanted you to go over there. It was creepy, but then we played on the playground and I forgot all about it. 

For dinner we had bratwurst and sauerkraut, let's just say I didn't eat very much that night. We went to sleep then in the morning we had a small selection for breakfast and then we set off again. We then drove to Munich and spent most of the day there. We had a guided tour of the city center, then we got onto the bus and drove past the location of the Summer Olympics of 1972 then drove to the Nymphenburg Palace and walked around the grounds while the tour guide talked about the history. We got back onto the bus after one of the poor kids from the Indiana group got sick and had to go to the bathroom. We had pretty much the rest of the day free in Munich. We climbed a really tall tower of a church and I got a really good leg work out from that, but it was worth it too see the view of the city from up there.Then we walked back down (This trip was the most walking that I think I have ever done in a short period of time in my entire life), visited a couple of book stores and found the post office to see how we could send postcards. We were then taken to the hotel (The only hotel with a pool, which was freezing cold so just ended up hanging out in the steam room until the obnoxious kids from another tour group from Illinois joined us, then we made an excuse to leave.) We had dinner some kind of soup and then went to bed. We woke up early to head off to our next country, Austria!