An Overview

Pre-Departure, Part I

The majority of August will be spent studying German, five days a week, 4 hours per day at the Münchener Internationale Sommeruniversität (Munich International Summer University, MISU) at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (University of Munich, LMU) with weekend excursions to

• Salzburg (yes, in Austria, thank you Schengen!), 
• Schloss Neuschwanstein (Neuschwanstein Castle) and Wieskirche (Wies Church), 
• KZ-Gedenkstätte Dachau (Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site) 
• And a "Brauerei" (brewery) - it's Bavaria after all.

Not much planning needed for this bit because I'm staying with die Feministin, my ex-flatmate and a LMU alumni and Munich native, in Gauting, a leafy village just 35-min on the S-Bahn (overground rail) out of Munich.

The bit I need to plan is where I should go when finally finish slaving away with the German Grammar book! I will have 11 days to roam around Germany! Of course I plan to make the most out of it...so the question is how?

First, the ticket. I plan to get an Interrail Germany Pass i.e. a railpass that gives you unlimited travel within a month for a certain number of days which need not be continuous. My problem is whether I should go for the 6-day or the 8-day pass. Which leads to my second and more major consideration of what would I like to see in Germany.

It's not unlike putting me in front of a enormous buffet.

I've already been to a fair few major cities and historical towns (well, my last count was 12) but those visits were so rushed I hardly even scratched the surface. Another rushed trip is the last thing I want. So the first to go is northern Germany (incl. Berlin) out since that's pretty accessible from London. Shrinking my focus even further, I will travel within the two states of Bayern (Bavaria) and Baden-Württemberg, constituting southern Germany - "The most beautiful part of Germany." (source: my mother)