Today has been such an exciting day! I finally arrived in Germany after anticipating this moment since the fifth grade. As I prepared for the flight, I even was able to almost completely forget about my fear of flying in order to toughen up and take on the 9.5 hour flight to Deutschland! Mostly, it seemed like a surreal, far off idea, until the wheels finally touched down in Munich. Looking out the window of the plane, I couldn't believe I had finally arrived. Immediately upon entering the airport, the sound of the German language was music to my ears. I would finally have an opportunity to use the language that I had worked so many years to learn. So when my friend Veronica asked me to help her order a "Jägerkrusti" for breakfast, I was thrilled! I waltzed right up to the counter and confidently ordered it for her with almost no mistakes (except for the fact that they didn't have any more Jägerkrusti left and we had to decide on a new pastry at the spur of the moment). Our group was then off to Augsburg! We took a fancy version of an American Coach bus which was entirely too comfortable because it put me to sleep within five minutes. Upon waking up, I was finally in Augsburg and at our hotel! We checked into our rooms, which although quite small, were nice and modern. At this point, I was absolutely exhausted from the lack of sleep on the plane, but I powered through because my excitement for the day was uncontainable! After a little bit of down time, we met Sonya from the University of Augsburg who greeted us with German pretzels and sandwiches for lunch, which were a great first introduction to German cuisine. After going over basic information about our next two weeks, we were off to downtown Augsburg for our city tour! We took the train which was conveniently located right in front of our hotel. When we got off the train, we were greeted by 6 of the German students who we would be paired with for the duration of the trip. This particularly was exciting for me because I was so prepared to ask them tons of questions about their lives and practice my German by carrying on conversations with them. My first impression of the city was that it was extremely beautiful, quaint, and picturesque. It looked just like a postcard! After walking through the city streets, we went to the Fuggerei, a social housing complex originally established for the needy citizens of Augsburg. Our guided tour was very interesting, and although I was close to falling asleep at some points, I really enjoyed it! After our tour, it was finally time for some traditional Bavarian food! For dinner, we went to a beer garden, where the rest of the German students met up with us. I loved all of the food! Growing up with a German and Czech background, pork and sauerkraut were not unusual dishes, so I was very excited when I saw that this is what we were being served. I also ordered Apfelschorle to drink, a German drink consisting of apple juice and carbonated water. I really liked it, although it could have been a little sweeter. Of course, we had to finish off dinner with Apfelstrüdel, which was absolutely delicious! I couldn't have asked for a better dinner to welcome us to Bavaria! After dinner, we had the opportunity to bond even more with the German students. We went to Peaches, a local Augsburg bar. Here, we were able to laugh, talk, and share stories with the Germans. It was particularly exciting to hear about the Germans' travels to the US and beyond. I cannot wait to have the opportunity to travel as much as them someday in the future! It was such an amazing time and a great introduction to all of our new friends! Overall, it was a great first day in the city of Augsburg, and I can't wait for everything else that is to come on this trip!
Bis Spaeter!
Lindsey
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