European Vacation pt 1: Florence and Munich

Greetings from a not so warm Edinburgh! So, as you know, I've been on Spring Break for a while. We've just started the exam period on the 20th of April, but I didn't have an exam until the 28th, so I took it upon myself to travel a bit around Europe (Brits do not consider themselves to be "European" by the way). So this first blog is an amalgamation of my trips to Florence and Munich, since I did those at the same time. I'll try my best to make this brief.

Florence: City of Colour

Florence is situated in Tuscany, in the northern part of Italy. Let me tell you, it looks just like it does in the movies, if not more beautiful. Nothing really prepared me for how wonderful it would be. So to start, I flew Ryanair from Edinburgh to Pisa, then had to make my way by train to Florence once I made it to Pisa. I have 3 friends who are studying abroad in Florence this semester (they're actually all done now so none of them are left in Florence), so I was going to visit them. Sadly, they all had other people staying in their flats, so I had to find my own accommodation. But let me first stun you with pictures of the countryside before I tell you any more.

These are all from the train, so the window gives it a weird blue tint

 

Upon arriving in Florence, I wandered up and down the streets, which are SUPER windy and confusing, to find my hostel. I found the address after a long and stressful adventure, only to see no sign of an actual hostel. There was a sign on the buzzer outside that said "Backpackers Florence," but no matter how many times I buzzed, I would never receive an answer. I started to, understandably, freak out a lot. I had no way of getting a hold of my friends- my British phone had no money on it, so I couldn't use it. Even if it had worked, I had no one's phone number. At the time I realised this, I was f**king scared and on the verge of crying in front of a crowd of strangers. The only thing that stopped me is the fact that I was looking right at Ponte Vecchio.

It was just so beautiful that I told myself to calm down and figure my stuff out. I eventually found an internet cafe and found my friend, Katherine, on Facebook chat. That night, I had to sleep on Lauren's couch, but I found a little guesthouse, called Mary's House (I would suggest it to anyone going to Florence) to stay at for the other 3 nights I was in Florence. It ended up being better because a) I saved the 30 Euro I would have paid for 4 nights by only staying 3 and b) it was way closer to the train station, which I had to catch to get back to Pisa.
Once I got everything situated and destressed times a million, I could actually appreciate the city. Mariel happened to be there for a little bit of the time that I was, so we walked all around the city while our friends were in class and studying. I'll just put up some pictures so you can get an idea.

Most of these pictures are in Boboli Gardens, which are the palace gardens. We could get in for free because it was culture week

This was a remake of a vineyard/courtyard in Pompeii

 

Pitti Palace

Neptune statue

Necessary pizza. It had sausage, radicchio, and onions. Yummm

The city, and most importantly the Duomo, from Piazzale Michelangelo

 

Cool little grotto thing

Florence is known for a few things- leather, the Duomo, and the statue, David. I saw all of these things quite a bit. There were leather markets ALL over the place, as well as stores and factories. I bought myself a nice leather bag for 25 Euros and a couple leather bracelets which were 1 Euro each.

I spent most of my time in Florence just walking around the city by myself. My friends were all super busy because it was their last week of classes and they were studying for exams. I didn't really mind because I think that's the best way to get to know a city. I also ended up going to a Piccaso/Dali exhibit at one of the art museums in the city. It was really cool and focused on their early works, even though they were decades apart, and how they were similar, but very different at the same time. I also found some great little shops and cafes, but I really just enjoyed seeing the Italian people and how they talked and interacted with each other. I also loved the buildings there. They were all different, both in architecture and colour. I am still in awe of how beautiful that city was.

My favourite picture from Florence by far

 

Overall, I thought Florence was gorgeous and, while a bit touristy, I've heard it's not nearly as bad as either Venice or Rome. I would highly suggest it to anyone who wanted to really experience Italy. On my last day, I caught the train which ran to Pisa Centrale, and then connected to the airport. Let's just say that it took a bit longer than it was supposed to on the train, and I ended up getting to the airport just an hour before the plane was due to leave for Munich. Thank God Pisa is a tiny airport. But so begins the next leg of the journey...

Munich: City of Beer
I sadly was only in Munich for a day and a half, as opposed to the 4 days I was in Florence. My friend Sophie is studying abroad in Munich for the whole year, so I got to stay with her. Munich was far less stressful than Florence for two reasons: 1) I knew I had somewhere to stay and 2) I speak the language. It was incredibly frustrating in Italy not being able to speak Italian. However, in Munich, the only problem is that I don't speak Bayerisch, the Bavarian dialect. But it didn't hinder me too much. Munich felt so different than Florence. It's really a modern city, and doesn't have the same old vibe that Florence had. On my first night in Munich, I went with Sophie and some other Americans to a beer garden. Let me tell you, there's nothing like a Maß of beer.
On the second day, I was able to walk around while Sophie was at work. I discovered the English Gardens and found the old Rathaus (City Hall basically). I was so tired from walking in Florence, though, that I didn't really do a lot of stuff in Munich.

The Chinese Tower in the English Gardens

 

Mmmm Weißwurst und Breze

 

The Glockenspiel/Rathaus

I definitely wished that I could have had more time in Munich. I loved being able to use my German and just understanding what signs said too. But I think that 6 days of traveling and walking all over the place was really stressful and tiring. I was completely exhausted when I came back to Edinburgh. Of course, me being the bad planner that I sometimes am, I left for Amsterdam a day and a half after I got home. But that's for another blog. I'll write that one soon too, so don't worry- more stories soon.