My study abroad has been a great experience thus far. I’m halfway through my program in Bregenz, Austria and have loved it. After the first week of classes, our director took us on a group excursion to Munich, Germany where Dachau concentration camp is located. We toured this camp for a few hours and it was a very humbling experience.

After this we were allowed to break up into groups and travel to wherever we wanted for the weekend. A few groups went to Berlin and Prague. However, my friends and I decided to go to Salzburg, Austria. Salzburg is not a huge city, but it is very beautiful. I was able to see several old churches and cathedrals in Salzburg. Some notable places I visited were the Mirabell Palace and Gardens, the Hohensalzburg fortress, Mozart’s childhood home, and the lock bridge. The lock bridge is a place where you can put a lock on its chain links and throw the key in the river. Our group made a lock for the KIIS study abroad program. We toured Salzburg for two days and I was able to visit the main landmarks, see some beautiful sights, and purchase some great souvenirs.

I enjoyed these two cities very much and plan on visiting more Austrian and German cities during my study abroad. I only hope every weekend will be as fun and interesting as this one has been. I have a great group of friends and really enjoyed traveling with them to these beautiful and historical cities.