Off to Deutschland

In 8 days I will be shipping myself off for a two week stay in Germany (for both work and play).

My plan:
I spent a lot of time deciding which city I wanted to hit and when, planning out train schedules and deciding how to make the best use of my time. I’m not a huge planner, but due to my short span of free travel time, I wanted to make sure that I focused on the areas I most want to hit. Other than planning, which cities I wanted to go to and deciding on a “must see” for each city, I left the days themselves fairly open.

Essen (5 days) – These are my work days. I will be attending an aluminum conference for the trade magazine I work for. I’ll have a few days and evenings to explore the city while I’m there.

My must see in Essen: Museum Folkwang, which houses 19th and 20th century art, including work by Manet, Renoir, Van Gogh, and many others.

Hannover (3 hours) – I’ll be stopping here for just a few hours on my way to Stralsund for the purpose of meeting up with a friend I’ve made through youtube. I love all the different ways that the internet allows you to connect to people from around the world. I love the idea that no matter where I stop, I could, potentially, have a friend to hang out with.

Stralsund (2 days) – I really wanted to visit the Baltic Sea on my trip, so I looked into the various towns that are on the coast. What sold me on checking out this town was the amazing brick gothic architecture.

My must see in Stralsund: Historic Town Center, because of this. *drool*

Berlin (3 days) – As soon as I knew I was going to Germany, I knew instantly that I had to go to Berlin. I can’t even fully explain my attraction, but a large part of it has to do with its history of division and the Berlin Wall.

Must see in Berlin: Museumsinsel (Museum Island), which has five different museums all in one tightly packed space.
Schwules Museum (Gay Museum), an LGBT museum. I just love that there is a museum dedicated to this subject and I definitely want to check it out.

I’m experiencing a churning mix of excitement and anxiety about going, but that’s normal for me. I’m always nervous about setting off for somewhere. It doesn’t matter where it is, I always feel I might miss some vital form of preparation (especially when it comes to getting from place to place). And I don’t speak a lick of German, though I don’t expect that to be much of a problem.

I just force myself take a deep breath and remember that everything is going to be okay. I can always work around any complications that arise.