Although I’m a Junior here at UD I’m ashamed to admit that, until very recently, I’d never been on one of the fantastic bus trips the University sponsors. From what I’ve seen on the Student Center’s website (which is linked here for the curious reader), the bus trips run to amazing locations like the Poconos, New York, Washington D.C., and Baltimore. There’s almost no planning involved on the students’ parts, and the trips provide us with the chance to get off campus and enjoy a day of relaxation at a seriously reduced cost.

As I mentioned above, I hadn’t taken advantage of any of these bus trips until this past weekend, when, after a bit of hedging, my friend Nick and I went into Baltimore to see The Book of Mormon on tour at the Hippodrome. My mother (and if you’ve read some of my previous blog posts, you know she’s the sort of woman who pokes around on the UD website and finds these sorts of things out) discovered the bus trip and immediately emailed insisting I go, not that I needed much persuading. Nick and I planned to sign up for the trip… Until a rescheduled choir festival put a wrench in our plans.

A few weeks and a twist of fate later, however, and the cancellation of the choir festival put that date back on our calendars. Nick emailed the trip coordinator even though the website said the trip was sold out, and somehow managed to secure us two tickets on the bus, if we wanted them.

If you know or are like me, or even if you know or are like the archetypal Honours student, you know how hard it is to get us to take breaks from studying or working. An entire day in Baltimore, frittering away time on the bus, in the show, and at dinner afterward seemed like an impossibility for me. But our chances to take those tickets had an expiration time on them, and, just this once, I decided to do the unthinkable: take the day off.

The day of the trip was beautiful: warmer than most we’ve seen these past few months, and sunny to boot. Though I will admit I’m guilty of having read one of my books for class on the bus, I spent the actual bulk of the trip itself doing what I think I’d earned the right to: relaxing. The touring performance of The Book of Mormon, I should add, was just as well-written, thought-provoking, and hilarious as you’ve heard. Paired with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and a trip to the inner harbor Barnes & Noble after the show, and Nick and I wrapped up what we both agreed was a vacation with no planning required. And as someone (read, the Honours student) who plans everything to the T,  that was just what I needed.

~Claire Davanzo

Where in the World took a break for a little while, ironically enough, because of the “Where in the World” phenomenon. Where in the world did all of this work come from? Anyway, we’re back with one of my favorite places on Earth, and also one of Desiree Hartsock’s (from the Bachelorette) favorites: Munich.

You may know this place as the land of Oktoberfest, milkmaids and castle upon castle, but I can guarantee you there is more to Munich, Germany than German girls in cute outfits – there’s beer too! Kidding, sort of. Here are my top three favorite things about this German city.

Building designed and funded by Adolf Hitler.

1. Its rich history. Munich, also known as München in German, holds such a rich history within its city limits that can be seen from a simple one-hour double decker ride through its streets. From old Nazi edifices to the iconic Marienplatz, there is little history that is inaccessible by a quick bus ride or leisurely stroll. In fact, even the city’s name itself is historic. In Old High German it means ‘by the monks’ place as it was founded by a Benedictine order of monks.
2. Munich is unbelievably safe. Okay, don’t hold me to this 100%, but I can sure tell you that I felt very safe walking around the city by myself. I went to go meet my stepsister and brother who had already left to go shopping and in ten minutes of walking by myself, my heart was never in my throat (which happens to me walking in pretty much all major U.S. cities even in the daytime).
3. It has great beer. So I wasn’t kidding about the beer. Not really, anyway. In addition to the famous Hofbrauhaus, which offers a standard three beers in either a liter or half liter, there are also many biergartens, especially in the English Garden. One distinct place in the English Garden that I remember had an enormous Chinese pagoda in it, with absolutely no connection to Chinese food or anything Asian.

With every positive there also comes a negative. Don’t get me wrong; I still love this city. There were only two downsides that I found from Munich, but both quickly disappeared. One was the disparity between small town Bavaria (which we had just spent five days in) and this big city. Although it wasn’t what I became accustomed to after a few days in the country, Munich quickly grew on me.

The second one however, was the flash flood rain that came at precisely 2:00 p.m. every day. And I mean precisely. One day we were having a liter at the outside market, and it began pouring on us. We ran for cover, and just as we were about to buy umbrellas, the rain stopped. Sure enough, it was around 2:00. Hey, at least it was predictable!

Also check out “Lukas Campolo in Munich” on the Enrichment Award Reports page!

Next time on Where in the World, I’ll tell you all about a city where I spent a winter, rubbed a boar’s nose and left my heart (and no, it’s not San Francisco this time).

As I browse through Facebook and Pinterest and the like, I can’t help but become nostalgic for my time spent traveling the world – even if it was just across the country or up to New York City. Am I wrong in that discovering new things is one of the best feelings? I sure hope not, but that could just be the travel enthusiast in me.

One thing that caught my eye was Rick Steve’s Facebook page. I began to follow him about a month ago, and I have yet to be disappointed by one of his posts. Currently he’s on a cruise, sailing around the crystal blue waters of Denmark and Sweden. I might be just a bit jealous.

However, this allows me to reflect on the time I spent abroad, so I decided to present a few of my favorite places that I have visited on this earth in a series. First up is San Francisco, since it is the freshest in my memory.

This summer, as you may know from my post in July (which, by the way, I only fulfilled goal #5), I spent 40 hours a week interning at Burson-Marsteller, a global public relations agency, at their San Francisco office. Boy, was it an experience. I’ve been to San Francisco before, but there’s something about working in a city that brings out a new side to it. Here are the top things I adored about San Francisco:

• In the summer, it’s never humid and never scorching. Yes, that’s correct, there is such a thing as a non-humid summer Delawareans. I wore jeans and a cardigan (and sometimes a scarf) to work every day, and didn’t hate one minute of it. Each day was a high of about 65-70 degrees.
• There are a ton of different neighborhoods, all with their own culture. This is going to make my decision of where I want to live that much more difficult, because you have to try out a few different neighborhoods to really get the feel for what’s right for you. Hint: Do not live in the Tenderloin.

Neighborhoods of San Francisco.

• It’s close to everything. I lived in the East Bay, where my commute was about an hour from my doorstep to my desk in the city. Not bad at all for what seems like a completely different world from the city. San Francisco is also really close to Sacramento (the capital of California), Napa and Sonoma Valleys, Oakland, Sausalito and San Jose, just to name a few. Day or weekend trips are must when you live so close! We even went wine tasting a couple of times.

Wine tasting in Napa Valley.

• The tourist traps. Although native San Franciscans may say that they don’t like the tourist attractions, those are what really make San Francisco, San Francisco. You can take a ferry over to Alcatraz (okay, that might not be a favorite of the natives), eat clam chowder out of a bread bowl at Boudin (get a sandwich/salad combo the second time you go), or take a walk through Fisherman’s Wharf and eat chocolate at Ghiardelli Square or drink an irish coffee at the Buena Vista.

Long story short, this is just one of my favorite places. Where are some of your favorites?

Next week, I will take you to a city that was in the news a lot this summer, and last summer as well come to think of it. Where in the world?

–Chelsey Rodowicz