January
The end of January marks the halfway point of my contract and my stay in Germany.
I started off the year with having over a week off. This time off came up suddenly, so I didn’t go on any big trips. However my yearning for nature sent me off to the alps for a day trip of castles and hiking. I was able to take a short bus ride to Schwangau, home to Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau, the Aplsee, and some beautiful mountainous views. Armed with a packed lunch and my camera, I hiked straight up to Neuschwanstein as soon as the bus stopped. Having been inside the castle before gave me a freedom to roam the slopes, the resulting photos came straight from a fairytale. I eventually meandered my way back to the village and headed towards the lake, where I proceeded to hike around the alpine lake. I finished off my day of hiking by going up to Hohenschwangau. By the time the bus back to Munich came, I was exhausted and happy.
The middle of January consisted of logistics stuff. Phone calls with my bank. Revising my resume. Submitting summer job applications. And with the official decision to put off grad school for another year, I started inquiring about fall jobs. I’m primarily looking at returning to du Nord to work as an off season host. Along with all this technical stuff, I also started writing again. I’ve had this creative nonfiction piece in mind for a while and finally began work on it.
All the logistical work paid off, as I was finally able to buy a plane ticket to Athens! I spent the last weekend of January there, wandering around ruins and, as usual, spending most of my time in museums. This trip comes with an odd story too. When visiting new places, I like to go on free walking tours the first day to get an idea of the area. However in Athens, there is currently unrest between free walking tour companies and the licensed tour companies. My tour was warned of this before we began and they even told us that the tour might get cut short. We were nearing the end of our tour when we started getting followed and eventually approached by police. Our tour guide was taken away, leaving our group milling about aimlessly for a moment, taking in what just happened. Definitely an experience for the books. Otherwise, I had an amazing time visiting the Acropolis and the Ancient Agora. I really felt like I was walking through time at some points.
My only side note this month is that I’ll be back in the States in March. It will be a whirlwind trip for my brother’s wedding in Colorado, but I’m really looking forward to seeing some of my family in person!
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