Munich - Last Day

Saturday, August 6 

Today is the day everyone is flying out of Munich. I wanted to take the chance with this last entry to thank Dr. Abbott, Ariane, and also AIB for making this study abroad program the best it could be.

Munich - Day 4

Thursday, August 4

Today we traveled 2 hours by coach bus to the Bavarian Alps. While there we got to tour the Neuchweinstein Castle. This Castle was built by Ludwig II but never completed due to his untimely death at the age of 40. This Castle is also the inspiration for the Walt Disney Castle. I found this Castle to be quite interesting even though the tour was short. In this tour, we got to see several of the rooms including the Kings Chamber, and the Throne Room. The Kings Chamber was really amazing, the woodwork on the top of the bed was astonishing. It's amazing to think about how they were able to produce something like that during the 19th century. The Throne Room was cool also. due to the million piece tile floor. The design was so intricate and advanced it was really amazing. After the Castle, we drove about an hour to one of the Oldest Monastery Breweries in the world. It started brewing in 1455 and is still going strong today.

The only picture I got of the Castle

Munich - Day 3

Wednesday, August 3 

Today we had, in my opinion, the most depressing day of the trip. We went to the Dachau Concentration Camp. This excursion was full of emotion and it was quite depressing. As I am attempting to write this it is hard to convey exactly what I felt while walking around. It was a mixture of hate, disgust, and shock at how these individuals were treated. The Dachau Camp was the fist concentration camp and was what the other camps were designed around. (I am sorry I can't go over the camp in more detail, thinking about it is quite unreal at the moment). After the tour of the camp, we got a free half day in which I proceeded to do homework and souvenir shopping. Overall today was an emotional rollercoaster. 

One of the Memorials at Dachau 

The View from the Dorm type rooms 

A monument to the unknown Camp deaths

The courtyard of Dachau

Munich - Day 2

Tuesday, August 2 

Today we went to both the BMW Museum and the Olympic Park. We started the day off early by going to the BMW Museum. At the museum, we were able to see a lot of cool architecture in both the 4 cylinder building and the main building. While at the museum we were able to see many classic cars that have been built over the past century. As someone who really enjoys classic cars, I found many of these to be amazing. I found it interesting when Dr. Abbott pointed out one of his first BMW’s. At the beginning of the tour, the guide showed us how the BMW company started, as a plane company. After the tour was over we went to the Olympic Park and ate. After eating we started on a tour of the Park and saw a video on how it was made. After the video, we were able to look at some of the original models used to make the stadium. It is a tent roof construction project and it was well beyond its time. Upon leaving the museum part of the tour we got to see the actual architectural construction of the complex. We got to see the plexiglass pieces that were attached to the wire frame and held on by rubber bumpers. It was absolutely amazing to see this kind of architecture still standing after 44 years. One of the last parts of the tour was getting to see the swimming pool that Mark Spitz won his record setting 7 gold medals during these Olympic Games. After the tours, we had a group dinner as well as dance lessons. During these lessons, we learned a traditional German Dance and attempted to teach our teachers how to two-step. It was quite an enjoyable day of excursions.

The BMW Museum

The BMW office Building

The Olympic Park

The Panels at the Park 

Munich - The Last Week

Monday, August 1 

Today we met at the train station at 8 in the morning and caught a Train to Munich. We were on the train for 5 hours and arrived at 1:30 in the afternoon. Upon arrival, we had to navigate our way through the train station and get to the hotel. After getting to the hotel we went to an open air market and found something to eat, we were able to split into groups and find exactly what we wanted. After eating we went back to the train station and rented bikes along with a tour guide. We spent the next 3 hours on a tour of the city. It was quite interesting we got to see many historical buildings, including many built during, or right before the war, and many built by Ludwig II. The most enjoyable part of the ride for me, however, was riding through the English Gardens. It was really cool getting to see people just laying around and playing in a park with no cares in the world. It was also really cool getting to see people surfing right there on the river. At the end of the day we all ate dinner and headed back to the hotel to get ready for the next day.

The first sight we saw on the bike ride 

Hitters office in Munich 
 

Inside a University in Munich 

 
 

The last Bonn Excursion: German History

Thursday, July 28

Today we went to the House of History in Germany. This museum focuses mainly on German History after WWII. Our tour guide, Dr. Wasser, was also a Professor at A&M. In going through this museum we were able to see many sides of German history that I never knew. He showed us what the living conditions were like and how many of the people survived the hardships that came with living here after the war. We discussed the differences between East and West Germany and how it was a living Hell if you were stuck in the West under the USSR rule. We got to see some of the homemade things that people made to try to fit back into their normal lives, even though it was anything but normal after the war. The part of the museum that I enjoyed the most was the portion about the Berlin Wall, it was surreal to see many of the pictures on how lives were changed and how many people wanted to leave but were unable to. It was really shocking to see how everything has changed in the last 70 years. The end of the tour was pretty cool also because it showed how Germany is now, the total debt of the country and the tolerance it has for allowing refugees to enter the country.

A photo depicting an East German Soldier Defecting 

Just a portion of the records of missing Germans after the War

Soldiers taking down anything related to Hitler

A poster showing about the Marshall Plan 

Dedication to all the suffering Stalin caused in the East

A tank like the USSR would use after the war 

A Car made especially for the German Chancellor in Bonn after the War

The Community Garden

Wednesday, July 27
Today we started class later in the day because they decided to take us to a community garden and have a barbecue in Cologne. I found it quite interesting that it was fully self-sustaining and didn't receive any funding from the city. It was not what i was expecting it to look like but it was really cool to see how everyone got together and took care of the space to keep it maintainable. For the barbecue, it took us a while to get the fire going but once it was started we kept it going. The whole night was really fun and nice for it being one of the last excursions we have in this area.

Not My Image, found at https://germanysustainablecommunities.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/neuland-from-above.jpg