Travels on my year abroad — Winter Semester edition
By: Emily Woodall
Tags: Travel Writing, Travel Safety, Travel, Year Abroad, Travel Tips

Between the start of the winter semester in Germany (October) and the Christmas holidays, on top of settling in I really wanted to do some travelling. I’m so happy that I’ve already been able to see some amazing new places and I can’t wait for even more travels in 2020.

In the past three months I’ve been on small trips within Germany as well as some further afield. My favourite so far has probably been visiting my friend in Malaga, who is also on her year abroad. This is a fantastic way to travel as you get to see your friends and amazing new cultures, but also save money on accommodation and see the place through the eyes of an expert, as they are living in the culture and can show you niche places and use their language skills.

I really believe that you should have a go at using some of the local native language whilst visiting, such as ordering at a restaurant, and this is great when you have your own language specialist there with you! It’s also a great way to be travel aware when abroad, as your friend will know the good and bad places to go and will be more aware of any cultural specialties or any possible dangers.

…so onto the actual travelling itself!

I started off the year abroad by settling in and exploring my small city of Tübingen. However, on the first day of moving into my shared flat, we went on a three-hour group bike ride to a nearby town of Reutlingen and the surrounding hills and valleys. This was a great bonding session with my new flat and it was still warm enough that we could all get an ice cream and chat!

This introduced me to the beautiful countryside surrounding Tübingen and led me to explore lots of local towns on various runs and walks (including coming across a farmer’s vending machine to buy local products!)

The surrounding areas of Tübingen

Regional produce in a vending machine

Of course, I couldn’t come to Germany and miss out on Oktoberfest, which had finished in Munich by the time I arrived but was in full swing in Stuttgart. We had lots of fun drinking from big Steine, eating Currywurst and trying the rides. I made sure to be travel aware by going with a group of friends and making sure we stuck together, watching how much we were drinking and planning our trains home in advance so that we knew we could get back safely.

The Bierhalle in the Stuttgart Oktoberfest

My first trip outside of Germany was an exciting visit to see my friend in Malaga. I had never been to Spain before, so this was a great opportunity to see the culture and try the food, and even speak a bit of Spanish to the waiters after a lovely meal of paella, tapas and sangria! It was great that I could try and speak to them in their native language and they were delighted to see me give it a go! Whilst in Malaga we saw lots of the town, tried beach yoga, used the exciting electric scooters and went on a beautiful trip to Rhonda, which was a town high in the mountains with a stunning bridge and gorgeous views.

On the beach in Malaga

My flight back to Germany from Malaga had to stop over in Barcelona, a place that I had always wanted to visit since reading George Orwell’s ‘Homage to Catalonia’ at school, so I decided in advance to extend my Spanish adventure and choose separate flights to give me five hours in Barcelona. Whilst this wasn’t enough time to see everything, it gave me a snapshot of the beautiful city and inspired me to visit again in the future. I was able to visit all the George Orwell sights (although they weren’t that obvious to a tourist, as he evokes memories of the civil war however I was able to research before and find some great spots) and even some extra tourist spots such as some of Gaudi’s work and the cathedral. This is a great tip if you find you need to make a stopover, as you don’t have to fork out for a hotel and instead of spending a day travelling, you can break it up and spend time in a new city!

An example of Gaudi’s work

Orwell sightseeing

My friend was lucky enough to find 20€ return flights to Milan, so within the week we were jetting off to Italy, again somewhere that I had never visited before. Whilst normally I would prefer/recommend a more environmentally friendly way of travelling, especially whilst being in central mainland Europe for the year abroad, it was an offer we couldn’t miss out on. I loved the Italian culture and Milan itself lived up to its image of a place of fashion and luxury, especially the ‘Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II’ which is the luxury shopping centre right next to the cathedral. We saved money by staying in a hostel but remained travel aware by choosing a single gendered room and locked our valuables away in the provided lockers. However this was such a great way to make new friends, who we played cards with and explored the city at night.

The newly painted Gucci wall in Milan

Milan centre

Since coming back from Italy I mainly travelled within Germany, as it was coming up to the season of Christmas markets, entailing delicious food, Christmas traditions and of course Glühwein (a German Christmas mulled wine)! Firstly a friend and I travelled to Sigmaringen to see the Hohenzollern Palace and visit the Christmas market that had been recently set up. They also had an advent calendar on the town hall windows and the town had lots of history, which we learnt whilst on a guided tour of the palace. We found it was very easy to use the regional trains in Germany to go to local towns and cities, so this inspired many more trips in the local area.

Sigmaringen Hohenzollern Palace

Tübingen itself had a chocolate festival for a weekend in December, and whilst this wasn’t travelling, it’s worth mentioning as apparently the biggest chocolate festival in Germany. It was great to see my town transformed into a big market and to hear tourists who had visited from all over the world; definitely a great time of the year to visit Tübingen, especially with the Christmas market that followed the weekend after.

Tübingen Chocolate Festival

Hechingen was next on the list, specifically the twin of the palace in Sigmaringen; Hohenzollern Castle. This was a majestic looking castle which reminded my friend and I of Hogwarts and we visited for the Christmas market inside the castle itself. I later visited with my brother for a hike from the town all the way up to the castle, so this is a highly recommended place to visit if you are in southern Germany.

The view from Hechingen Hohenzollern Castle

Myself, my brother and my friend from Malaga visited Esslingen for their Christmas market (I think I must have set the record for the most Christmas markets visited!) This one was extra special because it had a medieval section, where they asked for ‘Teller’ instead of Euros and dressed up to fit the theme.

My final trip within Germany before Christmas was to Stuttgart with my brother where we visited the Winter Garden at the zoo; a Christmas-themed light display, and of course we had to go to the Christmas market in the centre of Stuttgart starting at the Schlossplatz, an old palace/stately home now a museum.

Stuttgart Winter Garden

Stuttgart Christmas Market

After all the travelling in Germany, I was ready to travel home for Christmas (if I hadn’t overdone it already with all of the markets) and after a quick weekend trip to Glasgow to see friends I was finally back home in England.

I’m so pleased with the amount of new places I was able to visit in just three months and I used various methods to save money such as staying in hostels, visiting friends, travelling locally and on days when travel wasn’t as expensive or even free. However, the most important thing was staying travel aware; having a travel buddy, keeping aware of your belongings, walking down the bigger streets instead of side alleys etc. You can always prepare yourself for a trip abroad to anywhere in the world by checking the Foreign Office’s online site.

It would be great to hear from you if you’ve travelled to any of these places or have somewhere to recommend for my 2020 travels!