Over spring break, I had the opportunity of a lifetime to travel to Europe and visit Switzerland, Germany and Austria with Troy Abroad.
I was able to go on this trip thanks in part to the Chancellor’s Award for Global Competitiveness, $1,250 that goes toward the total cost of the trip, and with the help of Troy’s Study Abroad Director Sarah McKenzie. This specific award is available to all students who are enrolled in at least 12 credit hours and have at least a 2.5 GPA and are committed to going on a Study Abroad trip in the near future.
Our group departed Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, March 9. We landed in Zürich, Switzerland, on the following Sunday to start our tour in one of the richest, and prettiest, countries in the world.
We were only in Zürich for a few hours, as we made some quick stops at Bahnhofstrasse, the downtown area, as well as several beautiful churches like Fraumünster. Our first hotel was actually a former prison, but was full of charm and close to everything in Luzern, or Lucerne.
Despite visiting places like München and Vienna, Luzern was my favorite city during our trip. Just about everything was within walking distance with plenty of things to do, like visiting Mt. Pilatus, which offered one of the prettiest views you can find from a snow-capped mountain top.
Luzern is also the home to Kapellbrücke, Chapel Bridge, which is the oldest wooden covered bridge in Europe that details the history of the city and the country through beautiful paintings. Luzern sits just north of the Swiss Alps and has countless views of the mountain range in the background.
After a day in Luzern, we hopped on the coach and headed to Innsbruck, Austria where we saw the Bergisel Ski Jump. This specific jump has been in use since 1927 and is one of the stops on the FIS Ski Jumping World Cup and was home to the 1964 and 1976 Olympic Games.
We didn’t stay in Innsbruck for too long, as we then made our way to Liechtenstein. Liechtenstein is the third-smallest county in Europe, nestled in-between Switzerland and Austria, with a population of just over 39,000 people.
We arrived in München (or Munich) a couple hours later, which is the third-largest city in Germany with 1.4 million inhabitants.
Just before arriving, we toured the Neuschwanstein New Swanstone) Castle, which was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in 1869 with the king moving in before it was completed in 1884..
Neuschwanstein was also a source of inspiration for Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle.
München is the capital of Bavaria and is known for having plenty of beer halls where friends, and strangers, gather to drink lots of beer and snack on pretzels.
Later that same day, I was able to go on a tour of the Allianz Arena in northern München, home of the biggest soccer team in Germany and one of the biggest in the world in Bayern München, commonly known as Bayern Munich.
This was definitely my favorite part of the trip as I was able to get behind-the-scenes looks of where one of the best teams in soccer history plays. The Allianz Arena holds 75,000 spectators for soccer matches and is one of the most famous stadiums in the world, so I was thrilled to be able to scratch that off my bucket list as a soccer fan.
Our last day on the trip was spent in Vienna, the capital city of Austria. We stopped by Salzburg, which also located in Austria, en route to Vienna.
In my opinion, Luzern and Salzburg were very similar in walkability, and they both have many different things to do but both still maintain the elements of a smaller city.
St. Stephens Cathedral was one of the major sights in Vienna -- as it was, in my opinion -- the most breathtaking church we visited over the week.
Vienna is also home to classical music where Mozart lived and died, as we toured his museum while also attending an opera as our last activity before returning to Atlanta on Sunday, March 17. Our last day in Vienna also saw a stop at the Schönbrunn Palace – which translates to beautiful spring.
My favorite meal we had on the trip was schnitzel, which is essentially a thin meat (pork in this case) that is fried. We had schnitzel in both Germany and Austria, but I liked it better in the latter country.
This week-long trip was fast-paced and filled with so many things to do, and I highly recommend going on any kind of Study Abroad trip that Troy University has to offer whether it be a week-long, semester-long or full academic year.
I also recommend going to these three countries I visited if you have the opportunity to do so for some of the best views in the entire world along with plenty of historical locations.
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