Summer language programs abroad offer plenty of advantages compared to learning back home. I began my German-learning journey almost two years ago through a summer program offered by the Maximilian Ludwig Universität München (LMU). I joined a second time to do the A2.1 level and had a great time, traveled, made new friends, and of course, improved my German! 🙌

Before getting there 📅

If you are unfamiliar with how it is like to join a summer language program overseas, here is how this one works. You pay a deposit to get your seat reserved and, if interested, a room. I highly suggest to book a room with the university because finding an apartment in Munich is a nightmare. Also it is highly unlikely that someone will rent you a place for just a month. You will end up renting an Air-bnb for 3 weeks and pay 4 times what you would have paid with the university. The dorms are not luxurious but I am highly practical and just need a place to stay. Both times I’ve stayed at the dorms and had no problem as they are located near transport stations and supermarkets. 

Depending on your country of origin, you may or may not need a visa for courses of less than 3 months. I suggest that you contact the German embassy at your country to make sure you have all your documentation in order. 

Servus, München! 🛫

Once you arrive, you need to attend a check-in event where you are given class information and keys to your apartment. The next day and for the next three weeks I would have lessons everyday from 9:00 to 13:00. What I love about this type of environment is that you get to learn alongside people from all over the world. It is fast-paced as would be any other intensive course but the total immersion in the language and culture is worth it. With every lesson, I felt more confident in speaking the language and tried to practice it “on the real world” as much as I could. I would try to communicate in German at the supermarket, coffee shop, train stations and stores. I even went to the pharmacy twice and was able to communicate effectively with the technicians. Most locals appreciate your effort in speaking their language so they are willing to speak slower, make a lot of signs or say some words in English. 

As part of the class excursions, I went back to the Neuschwanstein Castle in Füssen. I had only visited in the winter so the landscape was completely different. It was a very hot day which wasn’t so fun, but I had the chance to go on Marienbrücke and take the best shot of the castle:

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Winter❄️ or Summer☀️? Swipe ➡️ . . . . . #deutschland #bavaria #bayern #castle #neuschwanstein #winter #summer #travel #wintertravel #alemania #germany #fairytale #winterwonderland #visitbavaria

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Augsburg

Want a summer abroad?

If you are interested in knowing more about the summer courses that the LMU offers, you can click here.  There is also the Goethe Institut that offers intensive course in different cities and throughout the year. Munich is a very international city, beautiful and, in my opinion, the perfect size to have an abroad experience for the first time. It is small enough to not make you feel overwhelmed, but big enough to still feel like a modern city. You will learn a lot and find plenty of activities to do. It's a win-win.

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*2018 price

Nuremberg is a city in Bavaria, about 1 hour away in train from Munich. It is well-known for its Christmas market. I visited in the summer, so there was no market around, but I enjoyed a nice afternoon with comfortable temperatures and a mix of sunny and cloudy weather. 

💡 Getting there from Munich: although the Bayern Ticket will take you there for around 27 euros, I found another option a few euros less. It is similar to the Bayern ticket in terms of being unlimited for 24 hours, but it is exclusive to the München-Nürnberg route. When searching for routes in the Deutsche Bahn website, pay attention to the price and the time, as not all trains are direct. 

I walked from the station towards the center. My plan was to see the most prominent landmarks, wander around for a bit and then visit the Castle. I didn’t have much time but I did enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere compared to busy, crowded Munich. 

On my fifth day in Munich, I decided to visit the place that inspired Disney’s Cinderella castle: the Neuschwanstein Castle. It is near Füssen, a town around 2 hours from Munich Central Station.

To get there, I followed this guide, which was very helpful. I bought a Bayern ticket for 24 euros and took the 9:55 AM train. Looking back, I should have taken the 11:55 AM train but I was afraid I would be late to pick up my entrance ticket.

Views from my train on the way to Füssen:





I arrived in Füssen at around midday and immediately hopped on bus 78 that would take me to the ticket center in Schwangau. It was so, so cold and there was snow everywhere. I had reserved my tickets online at 12 euros for the 3:35 PM tour so I had plenty of time, almost too much time before my tour. My initial plan was to take the bus -3 euros round trip- to get to the castle, located at the top of a mountain. When I asked the ticket center employee, he told me that the bus shuttle was not available due to the heavy snow but that it was “just a 40-minute walk uphill”. Now let’s be honest, I would have made the walk if I had appropriate shoes, but my feet were already numb by that time. I decided to take the other option: the horse carriage.

The horse carriage costs 6 euros each way. I waited in line for around 1 hour until it was my turn. Standing still on the ice during all that time didn’t help my frozen feet situation. Maybe it had been better if I had walked up the hill.

💡Tip: Wear snow boots if you’re going in winter. If not your feet will suffer, you will suffer and won’t enjoy it as much. Also, bring snow-specific gloves. I was wearing 2 pairs of normal gloves and my fingers were numb nonetheless.

The carriage doesn’t take you all the way up. The drop off area is at around 7-10 minutes from the castle. After taking some pictures, I walked up. Marienbruck, the bridge from where you can take awesome pictures was also closed due to the snow [might be better to visit in Spring or Summer].







I got to the castle at around 2:15 PM, so I had to wait for over an hour. It was probably the worst mistake I did. You have to wait outdoors so I walked around, sat for a while, and then walked around more, hopelessly trying to stay warm.

Nonetheless, the view was spectacular:



I bought a hot chocolate to try to get warmer, but it didn’t work. I was starting to feel really bad, my feet went from numb to pain. At around 3:10 PM I went to the castle to try to cover myself from the wind. I would enter the bathroom every 3 minutes to warm my hands with the dryer. It really felt like an eternity until, at 3:35 PM it was my time to get into the castle.



When you get in, they hand you and audio guide. The tour lasts for about 30 minutes and you cannot take pictures. It’s a very pretty castle inside but I am not sure if it’s worth paying to enter. On the other hand, the ride from Munich is way too long to just go up, see the castle on the outside, and then leave. After the tour, you can visit the kitchen on your own, the gift shop and then leave.

I went out after 4 PM, and after considering paying the 6 euros for the ride down, I decided against it. With all the snow, the walk downhill would be fast and would almost feel like I was skiing. It took me around 15-20 minutes. Walking towards the bus stop, I took some shots, this being my favorite one:

A post shared by Krystel (@krysxc) on Jan 13, 2017 at 10:32am PST

I also took some photos of the surrounding area, now that I didn't have the rush to get to the castle on time.










When I went to the bus stop, I realized that I had to wait for other 35 minutes to catch bus 78 back to Füssen train station. I was worried that I would miss my train back to Munich but hey, it’s Germany and public transport is perfectly planned. I got to the train station by 6 PM and took a ride back to Munich, getting there at around 8:20 PM. I was exhausted and hungry, so I met with my sister and we went to grab dinner.

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So, do I recommend visiting the Neuschwanstein Castle? Absolutely I do. It’s one of the most impressive castles I’ve seen and getting there itself is an adventure. At just 2 hours away, it’s the perfect activity for anyone who feels like they’ve seen it all in Munich. And even if there’s still much to see, if you’ll be there for a couple days, I suggest that you save one for this.

Would I do go back during the winter? I might not. While it looks like a fairytale, the weather was a little too much for me to handle. Also, during the winter you can’t pass to Marienbruck, which is one of the main reasons to visit because the view you get from there is the most spectacular one.

Nevertheless, it was a great experience and another place that I checked off my bucket list. Until next time, Füssen!

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If you're looking for ideas about what to do in Munich, check out part 1 and 2 of my diary!

After my first two days in Munich, I felt more familiarized with the city. I knew where to have breakfast, lunch and dinner, what to wear, how to deal with the snow. Also, I didn’t get lost between my hotel and the Central Station.

Day 3 – January 5 – Sightseeing in below zero temperatures

My sister -who was taking a Human Rights course- had to do some sightseeing in search for certain landmarks around the city. I joined her but little did I know how bad the weather would be. It was snowing constantly, it was windy and freezing cold. We walked and walked, met some cool people along the way and at 4 PM, I called it quits. Nonetheless, I saw some pretty places.

We walked from Odeonplatz to the Englischer Garten, a beautiful park with rivers and beautiful nature. I can’t wait to go back in the summer.

A post shared by Krystel (@krysxc) on Jan 5, 2017 at 9:59am PST

A post shared by Krystel (@krysxc) on Jan 5, 2017 at 10:06am PST

The Chinese Tower

Day 4 – January 6 – Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site

On the day of Epiphany, we went to the Dachau Concentration Camp, the first concentration camp opened in Germany by the nazi regime. I advise to anyone visiting Munich to go there and learn a little more about this tragic era. Entrance is free and tours are reserved for groups, but you can pay for an audio guide and walk the whole place.

The awful acts that took place there make you feel ashamed about human history but when you hear the locals talk about it, and how they say that it’s finally their generation (under 40 years old) who are able to deal with the past, talk about it and work towards not letting it happen again, it’s incredible. People often overlook how Germany pulled itself together in such a short period of time. They also have profound shame for the things that happened. Such a big nation got back on track from historic shame, and yet I see smaller countries like mine struggling to pull themselves together with a significantly smaller population.

I took a group tour that lasted about 2 hours and it was very comprehensive and well-explained. The tour takes p;ace inside and outside of the buildings, so there were moments in which we were outside for periods of 30 minutes or more. I was freezing. Then, our guide described to us the type of clothing that the prisoners would wear all-year long: some simple shirt and trousers, with wooden shoes. They had to do forced labor for countless hours during the day. Some would die of hypothermia in winter. Yet there I was, wearing two layers of clothing, a coat a scarf and a hat, double pair of socks, and complaining about cold.

It made me think of how privileged we are, even when we think we are not. What those people went through -and some of them survived- is such an amount of pain no human being should ever experience. Visiting places like Dachau helps us see things from a different perspective.

Russian Orthodox Chapel - one of the various religious memorials

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I spent my next two days in Germany a little far from Munich. I visited the Neuschwanstein Castle near Füssen, about two hours away. On my last day, I went to Salzburg, Austria. I feel like both places deserve a post on their own, so stay tuned for the following weeks!

This has been part 2 of a 4-part series about Munich. Read part 1 here.