Köln (Cologne), Germany – These are my grandparents. They’re German, so we call them Oma and Opa (German for Grandma and Grandpa). I love this picture cause it’s just these cute old people walking to the restaurant in stereotypical German weather (Gutes Deutsches Wetter). The meal we had here was a great reintroduction to German culture and just an amazing dish in general.

Berlin, Germany – This was the stop where we started almost every adventure – U7 Gneisenaustraße. The subways traverse the city and are absolutely the best way to get around. German efficiency made the subway quick and easy. Makes it a little weird driving cars back in the States.

Berlin, Germany – This is Krumme Lanke. Remember the adventures that start on the U7? This one ended at the final stop of the U3, out in the wild wooded suburbs surrounding Berlin. Nothing like foggy forests and iced over lakes to bring back the nostalgia of a winter in Berlin.

Weimar, Germany – The Deutsches Nationaltheater (German National Theater) stands in a large square in the center of the city. Standing in front of it is a statue of the German writers Goethe and Schiller, both of whom lived in Weimar for a period in their lives. You may be asking, “Marco, why are all your pictures so dark?”. And I’ll just say, “Ha, welcome to Germany in the winter. It’s pretty cold there as well.”

Berlin, Germany – Back in Berlin, you stand on a bridge above the Spree. It’s sunset, you have your camera, and there’s a cool old building. When was it built? I don’t know; look at Wikipedia. All I know is that it’s the Berlin Cathedral, and as beautiful as it looks on the outside, the interior is infinitely more so. Maybe there’s a lesson somewhere in there.

London, England – The completely free British Museum. And it was filled to the brim cause it was raining. Or maybe it’s just always that full (but then again, it’s always raining in England). But there was quite an impressive collection of old stuff and even the Rosetta Stone. It’s ‘aight.

Salisbury, England – Funny things happen when you don’t really do a whole lot of research before saying “let’s go to Stonehenge.” But, then again, doing the research beforehand is boring and you wouldn’t have a crazy story to tell. After taking the train from London and leisurely walking around to find the bus to Stonehenge, it turned out we were too late. But a quick question to a taxi driver turned into our own private tour of the area. Much better than a tour bus in my opinion.

Warner Bros. Studio, England – What’s more amazing than being able to see the actual sets and props used in the Harry Potter movies? Nothing. This was the model of Hogwarts used to film the exterior shots of the castle! And it was huge too, at least 10 feet on each side, maybe 20.

London, England – The West End, walking back from seeing Matilda, one of the most amazing shows and full of incredibly talented child actors. This is one of my absolute favorite photos from my time abroad.

Barcelona, Spain – When you fly for the weekend from the cold depths of never-ending winter in Berlin to the sunny beaches of Barcelona, there’s not much that can go wrong. So when you’re walking along the beach, you can’t help but stop for a photo shoot and praise the sun.

Warsaw, Poland – Class trips to Warsaw are fun, especially when you’ve got friends like these two. Yes, this is a pretty accurate depiction of the trip, and Berlin to be honest, but more of that in the next picture.

Berlin, Germany – You make good friends when you study abroad, and that guy sitting at the counter, that’s Andrew and it was his birthday! You don’t really need an excuse to have fun with friends and eat cake, but this was a great one.

Liverpool, England – I went to Liverpool for spring break to visit Stephen, one of my best friends from back home who is studying at the music school there. And his campus is right across the street from the Liverpool Cathedral. Pretty cool if you ask me, and the view from the top is also spectacular!

Köln, Germany – This is Stef (the human) and Julia (the tortoise). She (the tortoise) has been living in my grandparent’s backyard for about the past 40 years, ever since they forgot to bring her inside one winter. She’s been the queen of the yard since. Oh, and Stef’s absolutely great too!

Berlin, Germany – Our farewell dinner was bittersweet to say the least. I made some amazing lifelong friends in Berlin: Andrew, Stef, and Jennifer. They are the most amazing friends you could ever ask for and it was so heart-wrenching to know that soon I would be so far away from our daily shenanigans.

Amsterdam, The Netherlands – Our last trip together and the perfect bookend to a perfect study abroad experience. Amsterdam is a fine city and I suggest going there at least once in your lifetime. There is so much history in that amazing city and it is so alive with friendly people everywhere.