Adventuring Through Europe

As much as I love Berlin, some of my favorite parts of my time abroad have been my many adventures outside of the city. From day trips on the regional trains to long weekend and break week trips, I have made my way to four countries outside of Germany, as well as five cities within Germany. Some highlights have included a break week trip to the Venice Biennale, a weekend in Amsterdam, and the IES Abroad trip to Munich. The trips have been a great way to explore more of Europe, to see people I love from home and school, and to deepen relationships with friends from the IES Abroad program.

On the IES Abroad trip to Munich, for example, my friend Iris and I had a real bonding moment when we spend hours longer at a museum than anyone else in our group — we had both known about our shared interest in art history and museums, but until the Munich trip, we hadn’t had a chance to experience it together. Since then, we have gone to many museums together and have even brought some of our other friends along, too. Another trip that brought me closer to my friends here in the IES Abroad program was a fall break trip to Italy with my friends Willa and Paige. I had been a bit nervous about the intense travel days straining our relationships, but we ended up growing closer as we made our way through Italy.

That’s certainly not to say that traveling has always been easy and perfect. Especially in places where I cannot speak the language, it has been a little extra challenging when issues come up. For example, I had booked a cheap flight to Amsterdam early in the semester, which ended up being cancelled at the last minute. I already had everything arranged for my weekend in Amsterdam, though, and had to quickly figure out an overnight bus to make sure that I could keep my plans while staying within my budget. One positive of that unfortunate experience, though, was that I discovered how wonderful FlixBus can be! Since then, I have taken FlixBuses all around Europe, with no major issues and no ticket costing over 20 Euro (most, actually have been under 15).

Another consideration has been balancing my classwork with travel plans. Luckily, it has not been too hard. For most of my classes, the majority of the semester is not incredibly intense. Until midterms and finals, each class has a reasonable amount of reading, as well as a short written response or presentation each week. When I plan ahead and complete assignments ahead of time, I am usually able to get by only needing a few hours of my weekend to get work done. That certainly is not the case right before midterms or finals, but so long as I don’t plan intense travel for those times then I am alright.

I am writing this post from the train to Dresden, where I’ll be taking a walking tour with a group from IES Abroad, going to an art museum (with — you guessed it — Iris), and checking out some of the famous Christmas Markets. Taking advantage of the IES Abroad day trips has been a great way to see more of Germany while staying on a budget and reducing quite how much planning I need to do independently.

Between the IES Abroad trips and my own, independent travel, I have had such a wonderful time exploring Europe during my time abroad. After this trip to Dresden, though, I’m looking forward to spending some more time in Berlin and enjoying the city for these last couple of weeks before I head home.