4 Days in Munich

I cannot believe it. My last week here in Siena. Most of us are leaving a week from today. It’s very sad to think about the group who I have been living with for the past 3 and a half months will soon disperse back to our various states and universities. I said goodbye yesterday to my Florence travel friends, but am looking forward to seeing them in the states. After the program I am traveling with my friend Jill, from CET, to Milan and then meeting up with my sister and cousin in Paris. We are there for three days and then together London and Venice. I must come back to Italy to fly home from Florence (I recommend buying a roundtrip for here but making sure they won’t charge you up the wazzoo to change the day you depart back to the US and the city from which you depart from. It gives you more flexibility with travel plans after the program). Right now I am so sad to leave my homestay and program here in Siena, but the travel bug is kicking in and I’m ready to move on. I can’t wait to start the last leg of my European tour. Please if anyone has any questions about Siena, Italy, Europe, and life, feel free to email me! I am very good at writing lengthy responses with lots of details! haha- mkess@brandeis.edu

            This last weekend in Siena before finals we all decided to stay here. So last weekend was my last for traveling before the program ends. We had Thursday off from class due to the Festa della Liberazione of Italy from the fascist regime at the end of WWII, therefore we had 4 full days in Munich, Germany. What a trip to end our semester together. All of my different friends from study abroad were able to meet up in the same city for a weekend of festivities. The last 2 weekends of April are Frühlingsfest, Springfest, in Munich which is the springtime version of Oktoberfest, but without all of the tourists and crowds. I would recommend all beer lovers attend this amazing festival. It was a giant carnival with a beer tent and German Bavarians running around in Lederhosen, Bundhosen, and Kniebundhosen. The food was also a nice break from Italian cibo that I have been enjoying every day for 3 and a half months. We ate tons of pretzels, potatoes, bratwurst, meat dumplings, and drank lots of beer.

            Our days were filled with many attractions, sites, parks, and museums. In Munich you must go to the English Gardens. That was probably my favorite part of the city. It’s a beautiful park filled with Germans laying out in the sun drinking beer and playing music. The river runs right through the park so you can see people surfing in the currents or just jumping in to cool off. This was the perfect time to go see Germany because the weather was amazing. All of the plants were in bloom in the window boxes and the air smelled of fragrant flowers. Other must-sees are the Olympic Park from the Summer 1992 Olympics, BMW museum, Deutsches Museums of Technology, Toy Museum, and lastly the Dachau Concentration Camp.

            Three of us from the CET program are Jewish, so going to see a Concentration Camp from WWII was very important to us during our time here in Europe. Dachau, a work camp of the Nazis, is about 20 minutes outside of Munich. It was a very special experience to go with my two Jewish friends here who taught me a lot about the culture and history of being Jewish. And then the three of us learned even more about the Holocaust at the camp.

            I cannot believe my time here in Europe is coming to an end. This experience has been the best time of my life. I couldn’t have made this experience happen without the support of my family and friends at home. 

Megan Kessler, Brandeis University

CET Siena Student Correspondent