About Freiburg: Climate

Freiburg boasts the warmest temperatures and most sunlight hours in all of Germany. I was happy to leave the snow banks behind in Massachusetts, though Freiburg was only just a bit warmer than back home (around 40 degrees or so). Spring came rather early, with temperatures reaching around 70 degrees in early April. One thing that continues to amaze me is that the sun has not yet set at 9:30 at night. It is very strange to experience the high of the day at 5:00 pm. June has brought quite a few rainy days, but summer feels quite comparable to New England so far. I would recommend learning a few key temperatures in Celsius because I feel rather left out when other students/teachers talk about temperatures and I can’t relate. As far as packing goes, I would recommend bringing a few sweaters/long-sleeved shirts. I brought about three sweaters and around 2 long-sleeved shirts, but only wore them for about three weeks. I am trying to have my visiting family members bring back my winter clothes with them so that I will have more room in my suitcase for the trip back home. I tend to wear sandals everyday once it gets warm enough out, but having a good pair of sneakers/boots is a good idea too. I would not recommend bringing high heeled shoes, because cobblestones create an uneven surface that heels do not handle too well. I brought a thin wool coat for winter, but I haven’t worn it since March. It was definitely essential during the first weeks in Freiburg, but now it is just hanging in my closet untouched. I also brought a thin rain jacket that has come in handy many times since being in Europe. I tend to overpack, and was very proud of myself for fitting everything in one suitcase, but looking back I wish I had packed less. There are so many shirts that I wear infrequently. There is an H&M and many other clothing stores that sell slightly cheaper basic items, but overall clothing is much more expensive here than back home.

About Freiburg: Location

Freiburg is located in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwestern Germany. Freiburg lies very close to both the French and Swiss borders. Something that surprised me was that Freiburg is actually at a higher latitude than Massachusetts. 

Map courtesy of: http://www.tulane.edu/~rouxbee/kids04/germany/_ccarpen2/pictures/germany-map.gif

Getting There

I booked my flight to Frankfurt (note: there are 2 airports with the name “Frankfurt” in them) through STA Travel.  I arrived in Frankfurt in the early morning of March 2^nd extremely exhausted due to the fact I hadn’t slept much. From Frankfurt I took a 2-hour-long train ride to Freiburg. I managed to get some rest on the train and arrived in Freiburg in the afternoon. Once there I was met by Silke Uebelherr and another UMass student, who showed me to my dorm. Flying into Switzerland is also another option, because Freiburg is so close to the Swiss border.

Introduction

This is a blog I am keeping for my semester abroad in Freiburg, Germany through the UMass/Baden-Württemberg program. I am studying in Freiburg for the summer semester of 2011.

I am a second-semester Junior pursuing a Linguistics/German joint major. I am working towards a minor in both Anthropology and Information Technology (IT) as well. I enjoy art, travel, languages, and spending time outdoors. I had always dreamt of studying abroad so I knew that I had to fit it into a semester. I visited Germany once before studying abroad, in February 2008 with my high school German class. The whirlwind trip gave me a quick overview of quite a few cities in Germany and I knew I would return again one day. Once accepted into the UMass/Baden-Württemberg program, I narrowed down my options and had to choose between the University of Freiburg and the University of Tübingen. I ended up deciding to study in Freiburg because I like the idea of a larger city and it seemed to be more of a hub for transportation around Europe, which was very important to me because I planned on doing plenty of travel during my time abroad.