Fall in Munich

It's now the end of my 8th week in Munich, and I couldn't be happier. I woke up today to the pleasant surprise of having an extra hour, as Europe switches over to "Winter Time."

My second week of classes just came to an end. The classes I'm taking here in Germany are as follows:

-German Language Course, taken with the Lewis & Clark Institute (which runs my study abroad program)
-Basic Course in Transportation Engineering and Planning, taken at the TUM (technical univeristy)
-Technical Thermodynamics, taken at the TUM
-Globalizing the American Way of Life, History of the Consumer Society, taken at the LMU (liberal arts university)

So far it has been somewhat difficult to understand everything going on in class, but I've been more or less following along nonetheless. I finished my first engineering homework assignment and have already done some readings in German. Both definitely took quite a bit of time due to the language barrier. However, I think it will probably get much easier over the next month or two. It will be nice once I can contribute to the class, rather than just survive it.

Meanwhile, I've been enjoying some great weather. In the last few days it has started to get a bit cold, but we've only had a handful of rainy days in October, and it has generally been sunny and mild. When my parents and I traveled through Austria two weeks ago, it was particularly nice,and we enjoyed some breathtaking views of the Alps.

Here are some recent pictures from Munich and from the trip through Austria

Fall in the museum park across the street from the Technische Universität, where I am taking most of my classes.

Perlacher Forst, Munich's own little forest on the south side of the city.

The gate to Dachau concentration camp on the outskirts of Munich. I visited the camp turned monument with my parents while they were visiting Munich. The sign reads "Work sets you free"--a twisted statement of sarcasm aimed at the camp prisoners.

The Austrian Alps in the setting sun viewed from the Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse, self-proclaimed most-beautiful road in the Alps.

A few small boats lined up in the morning lake fog near Zell am See, a picturesque mountain lakeside town that we stayed in.

Nonstop amazing views from the Austrian Autobahn.

The town of Salzburg. The Fortress Hohensalzburg lies in the upper right hand corner.

My parents walking through an arbor featured in the Sound of Music film.

A beautiful tree takes over the scene of another Sound of Music film location.

My mom enjoying dessert in Salzburg--a local delicasy, the Salzburger Nockerl, looks reminiscent of the snow-covered Alps that surround the city.

The awesome view looking out beyond Hitler's Eagle Nest headquarters, built for his 50th birthday.

-TG-