Munich & Brussels

Munich:

It wasn’t until we got to Munich that Joanie reminded me how we had decided to go there in the first place. Oktoberfest and the German Embassy! We both had so much fun that night that we figured Munich would simply be a blast. And it was! There was so much to see and we did lots of day trips in the area.

We took the train about an hour and 15minutes south of Munich to the little town of Garmich. It had been in my top three choices of where I wanted to do my student teaching, so it was fun to see what life could've been like! Such a cute town!

looking for prince charming at Neuschwanstein

It really did look like Cinderella's castle.

We also went to the palace.

Hofbrauhaus was so much fun! The band was so goofy and we were able to get to know some new friends. So much history in one beer hall!

Rothenburg was another beautiful day trip with friends!

On Christmas Eve I went to two different masses. One was a tiny english mass that was in, what seemed like, a little apartment building. That night I also went to a German mass with all Haydn music at Frauenkirche. The massive church was packed and between the music and the Archbishop giving the mass, I could understand why. I think I had goosebumps for the whole 2 hours!

I think one of my favorite things was the fact that I got to eat something other than Turkish food! Lots of pork! yum! Most of the food I liked, but some was a little interesting.

Munich was beautiful, but after 8 days I was ready to move on. Maybe someday I'll get the opportunity to live in the area. You never know!

Brussels:

I was so excited to seem my mom and aunts that I could hardly contain myself during the whole flight! I swear for the first two days straight I had the hiccups because I was just giggling ALL the time. We stayed at the beautiful Hotel Metropole which was a nice change from the one star hotels I had been staying in, and it even had a bathtub! Brussels was so beautiful and really looked more like the Europe I had always pictured but had never really found.

We did a wonderful daytrip out to Brugge. What a beautiful place!

We also did a day trip to Aachen, Germany to see a friend and his family. Max showed us around the town and we then went to his parents house for a dinner fit for a princess!

Oh wait, there's more! We decided that it would just be wrong if we were so close to Paris and didn't manage to fit in a day trip! So off we went, yet again! After hearing so much about Musee d'Orsay and several failed attempts to actually get inside over the years, I finally made it into impressionism and post-impressionism heaven. We had a beautiful lunch and then enjoyed the works of Monet, Manet, Van Gogh, Renoir, and Degas. Then down the Champs Elysees and eventually landing at the Eiffel Tower. It was fun to be back as I start to notice the little things that make Paris so wonderful!

  After some more chocolate, beer, and finally seeing the pee statue (rated one of the top over rated attractions in Europe) our trip had come to an end. It was hard saying goodbye to family, but I was ready to head home and jump back into a routine. It made me smile when I heard Turkish at the airport and even laugh out loud while on the drive to Bilkent. Once again I'm eager to start traveling more. Spring break is right around the corner!