Freiburg’s closest airport is the EuroAiport in Basel-Mulhouse. It is shared by Germany, Switzerland, and France. The airline EasyJet services this airport, but only reaches a few destinations. I find trains to be the most convenient form of travel within Europe: virtually no baggage size restraints, usually more punctual than flying, and most importantly, breathtaking views.
I had the opportunity to go to Barcelona, Spain with another UMass student during the beginning of April. We left in the early morning of April 7th and I returned back to Freiburg on the 18th, and we managed to book beds in a very pleasant hostel. We booked our flights through EasyJet for rather cheap. We took a very early train to Basel, and then went to the EuroAirport from there. The flight was really short, but over an hour delayed. I really enjoyed my time in Barcelona, especially Park Güell. Barcelona is extremely unique in that it is a truly artistic city. Every detail of the city, down to the sidewalk tiles, was a masterpiece. After seeing hundreds of similar European cathedrals, Barcelona proved to be a breath of fresh air. The Sagrada Família is nothing like any other cathedral. The food was delicious, the people friendly, and the sights unbelievable. I spent a lot of time at the beach (Barcelona is located on the Mediterranean) and walking around the city.
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| Sagrada Família |
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| Port Olímpic |
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| Casa Milà |
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| Bogatell beach |
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| intricate sidewalk tiles |
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| Parc Güell, Gaudí's masterpiece |
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| Dragon/Lizard statue at Parc Güell |
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| absolutely stunning mosaics at Parc Güell |
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| Arc de Triomf |
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| entrance to the Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria |
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| Mercat de Sant Josep de la Boqueria |
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| a plaza by night |
I was lucky enough to have my boyfriend come visit me in Europe for 2 weeks. He stayed in Freiburg for a week and a half and we left for Paris after my class on May 19th. We took a train from Freiburg to Mannheim then from Mannheim to Paris. The whole weekend we were there we had beautiful weather. We went to the second level of the Eiffel Tower very early in the morning, but my boyfriend had made reservations so we got to pass through the giant line. We also spent some time at the Louvre, but since we had both seen the Mona Lisa previously, we didn't bother waiting in line to see it again. We checked out the Notre Dame as well. Paris is an incredibly expensive city, so we only ate out at a restaurant a few times. The cheapest way to eat by far is picnicking. We were able to get a variety of food to feed the two of us for about €10, whereas lunch in a restaurant would cost each of us about €15. He flew back to Boston early Monday, and I took the metro back to the train station and headed back to Freiburg. I needed to make it back to Freiburg in time for my one class (at 16:00) and I arrived in Freiburg with plenty of time to relax at about 13:00. Even though most people try to schedule a four day weekend, I think that my three day weekend was sufficient enough, and luckily my Monday class is later in the day so I had time to travel back to Freiburg.
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| View of Paris from the Eiffel Tower |
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| The Seine from the Eiffel Tower |
My sister and her friend, who were backpacking through western Europe, invited me to join them in Venice before they stayed with me in Freiburg. I ended up purchasing a Bahn Card (costs €25 and gives you a 25% discount on trains within Germany) and took several trains to reach Venice. I really didn’t have any expectations for Venice, except for the picturesque canals. I found Venice to be a beautiful, truly unique city. Venice was rather small and unfortunately packed with tourists, as it apparently has been for centuries. One great aspect of the trip was the incredibly cheap (€9 per night) campsite we stayed at. “PLUS Camping Jolly” in Marghera was unlike any hostel experience I had had, we had an entire tent (on a platform) complete with a lock to ourselves. The tent had one bunk bed and another bed inside. The facilities were all very pleasant for the price. The only frustrating thing about Venice was the confusing bus system. Bus tickets were hard to come by, as you couldn’t always buy them from the driver, nor could you buy them near any stops. I took a train from Venice to Milan in the early morning, then from Milan to Zürich, then Zürich to Basel. From Basel I arrived back to Freiburg by the late afternoon. The train ride through the Alps was one of the best parts of the trip.
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| Venice |
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| side street in Venice |
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| canals of Venice by sunset |
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| view of the Alps on my train ride through Switzerland |
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| train ride through the Alps |
I regret not planning trips for the whole month of April, but I did not know we would have a whole month off before classes started. I probably would have invested in a Bahn Card earlier as well.
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