I found a home! After precisely 22 days, I am finally moving into my first apartment in Germany. I will be a resident of Freising, a small town located 40 kms north of Munich (about 30 mins by train). The university I will be going to is called TUM (“Technische Universität München”) and I will be part of their Life Sciences department which is located in the Freising campus. Freising is only about 46,000 people and is a very picturesque small German village. Half-timbered buildings carved by narrow streets embellished with cobblestone are ubiquitous around town. Bicycle is the principle method of transportation and the amount of bikes is extraordinarily. Carved by the Isar river, the town is split into two sections (East and West) and I will be living on the East side of the river. The town has developed a sophisticated water system by using canals all around town. I am still not sure how it works but hey, that is why I am going to school here!
These past couple of days have been a bit slow as I am just waiting for my student ID and a few other paper work to be processed so I can officially apply for my student visa in Germany. It has been a lengthy process but nevertheless it hasn’t been complicated. Every government office that I have been to has been extremely efficient and helpful. So during this down time I have explored a few sites around Munich such as the Nazis Dachau Concentration Camp, which was quite the experience. You read about it in books, you see it in pictures but when you are actually there and imagine how thousands of malnourished Jews, Polish, Russians, you name it – anybody other than a Nazis, was tortured, stripped of his/her human dignity and killed, well my friend “se te paran los pelos”. We all know the history so here are just a few pictures of the campground.
Munich is more than a city, it feels like a city in the suburbs. Different shades of green govern this city and the Isar river provides that much needed cleansing of water that every place needs. The air that you breath doesn’t feel like it is clogging your lungs and is quite beautiful. I’m starting to acclimate to this place, especially after I found hoppy beers!
-Gerardo
stumble on earth 