Day 4: So This is Love

This post will probably the one that most resembles the name of this blog, because... I visited Schloss Neuschwanstein!!!!!!!

I know that probably means nothing to you. Let me clue you in:
This is the castle that inspired Cinderella's castle in Disney World/Land!!!

Day 4 was our free day, and honestly, I didn't know what to do with myself, UNTIL...I started chatting with some friends and we deciding to spontaneously check out this famous castle.

Five of us woke up at the crack of dawn to take the 8am train, and our dedication was soon gratified with the sight of gorgeous, snow-capped mountains.

About two hours later, we arrived and boarded a bus that took us uphill to the tiny town that surrounds the castles. All of us grabbed the very back row of the bus, and got a British dude to snap a photo of us for the memory. The little town is essentially composed of restaurants and cafes for people to dine at after touring the castle. We soon saw two castles from the bus window! One was the one we expected, beautiful in all it's Cinderella-esque glory:

The other reminded us of Spanish culture:

We bought our tickets, deciding to tour only the Cinderella castle, and then learned that we could take either a bus or a horse and carriage up to the castle. Can you say FAIRYTALE?! To save on Euros and precious time we opted for the bus. But seriously. A HORSE AND CARRIAGE!! Okay I'm done.

The bus driver made sure that he packed us all in as tightly possible which brought me right back to UF (anyone who rides the 38 from Gainesville Place to campus for an 830 class...you feel me). THEN he proceeded to take the tiny, winding road at high speed! My friends and I clung to each other, holding on for our dear lives and observing aloud to one another that if we were to slip by taking a turn too fast, the small guardrail would be no small feat for the bus to topple over...and down the mountain we would go...
"He does this drive so many times every day", someone tried to reassure. We tried to distract ourselves, and soon arrived at the top of the mountain, where the castle was!

We had about twenty or thirty minutes until our tour began, so we walked up a hill to "the bridge" that we had heard about. This rickety thing brought me right back to The Emperor's New Groove:

Uh-oh.

Don't tell me. We're about to go over a huge waterfall.

Yep.

Sharp rocks at the bottom?

Most likely.

Bring it on.

BOO-YA-HA-HA-HA!!

Genuinely felt like that was going to happen, and quoted it aloud to my friends but hey, I'm still here! Alive and well. Except I'm sick. But I'm alive!

ANYWAYS, after weaving through loads of tourists (that's the other thing, there were people packed tighter than we were on the bus on this bridge), we started taking photos.
Because it was a breathtaking view...

On the other side too:

The weather was rather overcast, the air was damp and cold. My friend Katie wished the sun was out for better picture light, but I remarked that I loved a bit of melancholy in life. I know it was a castle, and usually fairytale things are bright and sunny in my mind, but for some reason it seemed fitting. The castle was gray and regal, and the weather matched its color and dignity.

After an extensive photo shoot, it was time for our tour! It was a bit of a hike to the actual castle, and we put a bit of pep in our step to make sure that we weren't late! ...We ended up being early, which meant...more photos!

This was truly the most amazing thing I had ever seen.

And then we went inside.

I wish, SOMEHOW, I had the words to describe the magnificence that was the castle interior. Photographs were prohibited, so I will leave the images to your imagination...

We moved through a hallway, past servants quarters, and entered the throne room. The tour guide described various features of the room, most significantly, the gigantic murals on the walls. She told us that the twelve disciples were depicted in two lines of six, and above them, a row of kings. And the top, she said, was the King of Kings.

I looked up at Jesus, ruling over all of those noble and amazing people, truly holy and the most amazing of them all.

Goosebumps covered my entire body.

If this is the throne room of a particular king, WHAT will the throne room of THE KING of Kings look like?!

The astounding beauty made me wonder HOW I ever doubted the existence of God.

The details simply never stopped. Even the floor was made of mosaics.

The other rooms were quite beautiful too, and before I knew it the tour had ended. And I could not stop picturing that throne room. I still can't. Such regality.

Of course, there was a gift shop. My friends and I bought postcards and such, then made the trek back to the bus to take us to the little town, where we had a casual lunch outside.

The next part of the adventure is the most exciting...

We finished our lunch and noticed that a bus was waiting to head back towards the train station. Katie asked us if we should try and catch it. Unsure, and distracted by insanely delicious french fries, I hesitated. Two or three minutes later, we actually got up and started hurrying towards it. As life would have it, the driver pulled away just as we were approaching the rear of the bus.

Frustrated, but also laughing (because we had joked about such a thing happening), we waited in line for the next bus. ..The next bus did not come.. for almost forty-five minutes we waited, knowing that if we did not get to station soon, we would miss our train. There was another train at six, but we were tired after rising early and were ready to get home and pack, as we were leaving for Salzburg early the next morning.

FINALLY a bus came. We were first in line, so we jumped on quickly. To our dismay, the driver waited for EVERYone to get on....which took at least five minutes (hey, that's a long time when you're in a rush to catch a train)!

The ride felt like eternity, as we were watching the clock intently, feeling that truthfully, there was absolutely no way we could make our train. Trains are almost always extremely punctual in Europe, departing exactly when they say they will, if not earlier.

Nevertheless, with determination, we kept off the bus as soon as it stopped, and sprinted towards the train station. We looked around, and almost everyone around us was sprinting with us, trying to catch the same train back to Munich! Adrenaline pumped through our blood as we caught sight of the train, miraculously at the station! We reached an entrance, and suddenly noticed that Leann and Katelyn were not right behind us, and Leann had our train ticket! I anxiously craned my neck, hoping to spot their faces somewhere in the stampede, and after a few minutes, saw them running towards me! They had gotten trapped in a crowd, but MADE IT.

We grabbed seats near each other and sat down with long sighs of relief. What a day.

Still in disbelief,
Princess Samantha

Day 3: Nuremberg

I don't know if I've ever had so much to say and such writer's block when it comes to actually saying it!

There is no way to describe in words how amazing the beginning of this trip has been.
The pictures do not do the beauty justice.

I can't seem to be able to wrap my mind around it either.

But I will try my best. :)

Day 3 began with breakfast and grabbing a sandwich at the train station. I opted for the one that was literally called "Big Sandwich". Because it was cheap and well, big. Lol.

We rode the train for a little over an hour and then met up with our tour guide. I wrote these thoughts in my "Notes" app on my phone...

"It was beautiful on the train, but I could only look out the window for so long because fate had chosen for me a seat that moved backwards. I also believe it to be true that I can only take in so much at once and truly appreciate and enjoy it. The concept of sensory overload if you will. So I let the story of The Fault in Our Stars transport me to another place as we traveled across German countryside, knowing that when we arrived at Nuremberg I'd truly be able to absorb it all.

 I wanted to look at new things with the fresh eyes of a child for the next five and a half weeks. I never wanted to get used to it. I never wanted to take it for granted. I wanted to stay amazed. 

My ears are popping like crazy on this train!! The Germans all seem use to it.

I hear German all around me, unlike on the subway where they prefer silence. There are lots of children but they seem well behaved. No one really looks me in the eye. The sound of German over the intercom sort of scares me, maybe because the voice sounds harsh and sharp. 

The houses and rolling hills are ever so charming. I think it's the most beautiful place I've ever seen, but I also think Salzburg will soon take its place."

To my surprise,  the city of Nuremberg was significantly more charming than I expected!

Case in point.

We continued through the city, only to discover a huge church, ornate fountain, and fortress on a hill.
After climbing the hill to see the castle/fortress, we ate our packed lunches in the shade. I found that two of my new friends had also chosen the Big Sandwich, which was rather delicious.

                                                             The amazing cathedral!

                                                                   Ornate fountain!

                                       Fortress and tower. (Tower reminds me of Rapunzel)!

Before long it was time to hop on another train to check out the courtroom where the Nuremberg Trials were held. There was a museum and although we were all pretty exhausting, it was still interesting. We listened to audio guides and moved through the exhibits at our own pace.

We soon hopped back on the train to go back to Nuremberg, and then back to Munich.

My four friends and I planned our trip for the next day, which is described under "So This is Love"...

In awe,
Princess Samantha

WebRep

currentVote

noRating

noWeight

Day 2: Munich

Yesterday began with a walking tour of the city with our charming tour guide Frau...I already forgot her name. But she was fantastic. By far, my favorite things were the two churches we went into. The details were just amazing. It made me wonder how I ever doubted God's existence, and made me wish places of worship were still this ornate.

Following the tour, a handful of us chose to climb to the top of this insanely high tower and got an INCREDIBLE view of the city. We took photos and then traveled down the stairs to the marketplace for lunch.

*PAUSE: Listening to Spotify and the commercials are in German! Yay. (I am listening to Tim McGraw to ease the slight homesickness for Southern culture...)*

There were endless tiny shops open selling fine cheese, bread, seafood, and of course, sausages, pretzels, and beer. My stomach was slightly upset from pork, potato, and beer from the night before, so a friend and I chose to have a lighter lunch. We found fresh fruit smoothies and a bakery, from which I got what looked like a cheese danish, but ended up being mostly sugary bread (it was SO good). My friend and I were entertained by a young man near the smoothie shop who took it upon himself to explain every single flavor to us even though we were clearly not THAT confused...after his lecture he sighed, "I love American girls", to which we giggled, of course.

Soon it was time to meet back up at the glockenspiel, the giant clock tower, to go to the train station together. And then: More hail! It lasted a little longer tho time and strangely enough, I found walking through it to be somewhat enjoyable. (I did have my comfy sneakers and trench coat, and umbrella).


We then went underground and traveled to Olympia Central, where there is a BMW Museum and the park/facilities that were used when Munich hosted the Olympics in 1972. We learned from the walking tour that hosting the Olympics changed everything for the city and its economy. The Olympics does much more than provide entertainment and world unity!

The BMW museum was not really my thing, but it was still cool to see all of the old cars and their evolution. It also didn't hurt that our tour guide was rather adorable. ;)
*Sidenote: As my close friends/family/roommates will ALL tell you, I love clean cut, well-dressed guys. Feminine might be stretch, but basically, ALL THE GUYS IN EUROPE ARE MY TYPE!! Maybe not all, but a large majority. Lord send me a European husband. <3 Lol..

Time to head to breakfast, definitely need to write more later. In the evening we went out to dinner and then saw the city light up at night, and finished the evening with gelato for only a euro (I love a good bargain). I also need to write more about the culture and differences from the US...the Underground, the diversity, etc.

I'll be back soon. :)

Regards from my bunk bed,
Princess Samantha

Day 1: Arrival in Germany

Well. After some unexpected travel issues (flight delay and transfer), I have safely arrived in Munich, Germany! And it is so cool.

We took the train from the airport to the main city, then walked to our hostel. The names seem slightly misleading to me, as the train was more like a subway and the hostel closely resembles a hotel (it's a nice hostel).

We checked in, freshened up, then walked to the historic part of town for dinner. We went into the restaurant and my friend almost immediately remarked, "So the German stereotypes are all true!" There were waiters in leiderhousen, and women in the stereotypical German dresses, a man walking around selling huge pretzels and of course-- the largest beer glasses I have ever seen accompanied everyone's dinner.

It was so lovely sitting with a small group of friends, some old and new, all absorbing this new culture together. Some have been to Europe before and others have not. Some speak a little German and others not a word. Overall everyone in my group seems extremely flexible, nonjudgemental, and open. Not to mention friendly! I think these next 5 weeks will be a lovely experience.

After dinner we walked back to the hostel, and we noticed that we had dined for three hours! A new friend mentioned that he had heard dining for longer periods of time was part of the German culture to which I responded, "Hey, I don't have any problem with that!" (I love food..)

We had noticed some storm clouds and were expecting some rain, but all of a sudden small hail starting raining down on us! I don't think some people in our group had ever seen hail before haha. But almost as soon as it started, it had ended, and we were fine to lower our umbrellas.

After our meal and German beer, everyone was feeling the jet lag. We were determined to stay awake until at least 8-8:30pm, so our circadian rhythms could successfully align again. A different group of us got together to go our for coffee/dessert. We found a small cafe and chatted for about an hour, then went shopping for various things that people needed. By then it was around 8 o'clock, and everyone was ready for bed.

Today is a new day, we are all rising and getting ready for breakfast, which will be followed by a walking tour of the city. I opened my laptop to check the weather before dressing, and I'm glad I did because it's supposed to be colder than it was yesterday! All 40s this morning with a 50% chance of rain.

I have no idea what we are doing after the walking tour because I forgot my Munich itinerary at home. Normally I would freak out a little bit about that but it's kind of nice, just going with the flow and truly living in the moment. I woke up this morning feeling so strange, remembering that I was in another country...on another continent! This is the farthest I have ever been away from home, and without anybody I know very well. I immediately felt so strongly though that this is something will be so glad I did in my twenties. These are the years to travel and explore.

Thanks for tuning in, I'll update whenever I can. :)

Thank God the "Post" button is orange otherwise I would have no idea what to press... everything on this webpage is in German!

Yours from Munich,
Princess Samantha

Taking Off

Dear readers,

Thank you so much for choosing to join me as I travel to Munich, Germany and Salzburg, Austria (and who knows where else I might stop along the way..)!

I am a music education major focusing on choral singing, and will be studying music history and instrumental arranging at Salzburg College.

Last summer may have been the driest season of my entire life, devoid of activity, and devoid of music. That being said, I truly couldn't be more excited and grateful to be immersed in what I love this summer, in a new and beautiful place! In Europe!

Being the natural worry wort/A-type personality that I am, I am overthinking and over planning like crazy, and getting a little anxious.

It is the day before I leave. I take off to Munich tomorrow afternoon and no...I am not yet fully packed. And I sit here typing away instead of getting a move on! ;)

It will all get done. It will all be well. I have to keep telling myself that.

What scares me the most is the unknown.
When I left everything I knew in love in Virgina four years ago and moved to Florida, the unknown terrified me.
One year later I left for the University Florida, and tearfully embraced my parents in disbelief that I was actually moving out. I had no idea what to expect.
That following summer I worked at a sleep away camp in the Poccono mountains for inner city children, and the unknown bewildered me.

In all of these cases, the reality was so much different than my expectations. In so many ways, it was better. I need to rest in that now.

All of the little details about getting there are not what is actually important. I'll get there. And once I'm there, I just need to enjoy and soak up every single moment.

I'm normally pretty okay at that. :)

As for the name of the blog, well, some might say I have an obsession with Disney Princesses. Okay here's the thing: I like how they sing. I like the songs. That's the main reason. But they have become, in some ways, my role models and inspiration for beauty and grace. Okay now I am not an "anti-feminist": Women do not need to look or act like the princesses to be beautiful. But if I want to resemble them in their patience and kindness, I don't think there is anything wrong with that.

So I began identifying myself as a princess. Perhaps I'm just revisiting a childhood dream.
But the label helps me combat the negative thoughts about my worth.
It also reminds me that I am a daughter of God, who is King over heaven and earth, and King of my heart.
Therefore, I truly am a princess.

Salzburg is so much more beautiful (even in the pictures) than anything I've seen before.
There is a real castle, unlike the replica in Disney World.
I can't help but feel like in Salzburg, I will feel at home. In a fairytale. A princess in her kingdom.

Here I will post my thoughts and feelings (hopefully on a weekly basis), and upload photos as well. Hopefully there will be a little on culture shock...dealing with German, Euros, and different social norms.

I can't wait for all that I will learn. For how I will be stretched and grow.

Thanks for reading.

All my love from my anxious heart,

Princess Samantha