From July 3rd to the 12th, three years of saving money from summer jobs finally paid off in the most spectacular way I could ever imagine. Ever since I was young I’ve dreamt of adventuring beyond the comfortable suburbs of New York, finding new and unique places with a charm that pulls in people from every corner of the globe, and thriving in a foreign land among foreign people with a foreign culture. My excursions through Germany and Austria with my teachers and classmates really allowed me to embrace this culture and find a love for adventure within myself that I had never felt so strongly before, and it was totally unforgettable.

My classmates and I spent these 9 days mingling with foreign travelers in the delightful cities of Munich, Salzburg, and Vienna, accompanied by fellow German students, our tour guide Rob, and our phenomenal teacher and friend Frau Kahn.

Within seconds of exiting the Munich airport, I knew that I was in for something totally unique from my life in New York. Munich really allows you to enjoy yourself and it invites you to see and learn about the distinct culture that it holds. From the ornate Glöckenspiel in the Marienplatz Square to the well known halls of the Höfbrauhaus, Bavaria’s distinct history displays itself in various details while exemplifying what is totally unique about German culture as a whole, even today.

A bike tour led by Hinks, the awesome college-age australian guide from Mike’s Bikes, showed us all the beauty of the inner city, and a later trip to Neuschwanstein Schlöß — the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle—allowed us to really take in the scenic, fairy-tale-esque German countryside.

After fully experiencing Munich, we travelled to Austria to see what Salzburg had in store for us. Salzburg provided me with a quieter, but nonetheless just as charming vibe, than that of Munich. In Salzburg we had the opportunity to visit Mozart’s birthplace, providing many new details to our knowledge of the man that made Salzburg truly famous.

We also found abounding medieval history in Salzburg, with Hohensalzburg Schöß looking out over the city from the nearby mountaintop and with the nearby salt mines of Bad Hallein, which turned Salzburg into a major player in the gold-salt trade with Africa.

However, many of us can agree that meeting Frau Kahn’s family was a major highlight of the trip.  They not only did they make us a wonderful Austrian lunch, but they even paid for us to ride the nearby Alpine Slide, a major attraction in the area. And our final excursions in Salzburg led us to see the extreme sports vehicles of the Red Bull Hangar before splitting up to either wander the city or go to a nearby lake at Henndorf am Wallersee.

Vienna held even more adventures in its streets. After getting off of the train from Salzburg, we went straight to exploring the various parks and museums Vienna had to offer. We then took a look into the Stephansdom Cathedral in the center of Vienna before finding dinner and going to the town square to watch the Euro Cup finals on large outdoor screens with the natives. Our last day was spent touring the Habsburg Manor, one of the largest palaces in Europe, devoted to one of the longest lasting European dynasties. We then ended off our European excursion with a nice dinner on the last night where we all reflected on our trip.

Overall, my experience in Germany and Austria this summer allowed me to not only increase my proficiency in German tenfold, but it also allowed me to learn about traveling skills and about myself in the long run. Naturally, words cannot do this trip justice, and I can never thank Frau Kahn and everyone involved in this trip enough for making my dream a reality. As we say in German: Vielen Dank!