Photo 1 (above)
Taken from the Mariahilfberg, this photo shows off so many of Passau’s main sites, such as: the cathedral, the town hall, Veste Oberhaus, one of the three rivers (the Inn) and the Innstadt brewery. It goes to show how this fantastic city manages to cram so much beauty into such a little space.
Photo 2
Taken on a bridge connecting Austria (Ö) and Germany (D), this photo of a tiny border marker shows just how easy it was to wander from one country to another while I was living in Passau. I was living in a stunning part of the world where I could enjoy the culture of two countries, united by one language. I took this photo on a day when two friends and I cycled about 30km along the river Inn, passing castles along the way, before stopping off for some lunch as well as a customary beer in Austria.
Photo 3
Here, I’m standing with four other friends at the Eagle’s Nest (in German, the Kehlsteinhaus) in Berchtesgaden, Bavaria. I was lucky enough to do quite a bit of travelling during my third year abroad and I did so with people I met from all over the world. On this particular trip, my friends and I walked around the top of a snow covered mountain (in May!), ate Schnitzel in the same room that Adolf Hitler once sat in, rented rowing boats and went swimming in a very cold but stunning lake, the Königsee.
Photo 4
Standing on top of two boxes of Carlsberg, in the glorious sunshine, bottle of rosé in hand, in the middle of a sea of fired-up Bayern Munich fans chanting away at the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final, this was a very surreal moment indeed. The atmosphere was electric and whereas I might have felt somewhat intimidated by so many rowdy football fans back home, I felt perfectly safe on this particular match day!
Photo 5
Here with my German language partner, I was enjoying Passau’s Mai Dult, a big beer festival at which I spent more money than I care to think about but at which I had an absolute ball. My friends and I spent evenings dancing on tables to music played by a live band whilst drinking lots of locally brewed beer, surrounded by people in German traditional dress eating oversized pretzels. Bavarians are staunchly proud of their culture and I had a great time experiencing it here at first hand.
