When in Rome…or Milan
After moving to Milan less than a week ago, my friends and I were yearning for a little day trip adventure before classes start rolling soon. One of the beauties of this city is that it’s easy to find a change in scenery with a quick bus or train ride. Or, if you’re feeling a little reckless you can book a flight to Germany. Add to that a wine-and-pasta happy group of new friends, and you’ll book one that departs just seven hours from clicking confirm.
11 p.m. Friday Night
Post-dinner, we find a $30 round-trip flight to Nuremberg on Hopper. The flight is set to leave Milan at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning and return at 6 a.m. on Sunday. At first it was a bit of a joke, but within about 30 seconds we had all convinced ourselves that 20 hours in the quaint, medieval town was not just doable but also pretty freaking epic. Flights booked. Fingers crossed.
4:30 a.m. Saturday Morning
As you might imagine, the nerves of embarking on such a spontaneous trip outside of the country kept me up for the little nugget of sleeping time I’d have until 24 hours later. But with about an hour of shut-eye under my belt, I grabbed a taxi with what little Italian language I possess and met my friends at Milan’a central train station.
10 a.m. Arriving to Nuremberg
Our flight touched down in Germany, and my heart immediately felt giddy. It was almost child-like. I just couldn’t believe that we’d managed to find ourselves in Germany when only half a day earlier I was going about my life in Milan.
11 a.m. Exploring the Old City
Our first stop was the castle, obviously. I was geeking out to say the very least.
12 p.m. Lunch at the Market
I’ve been eating primarily plant-based for a number of reasons, but I am giving myself a little more grace in Europe this semester. And when you happen to find yourself in a German market, you simply eat the Bratwurst.
An Afternoon of Exploration
We explored the amazing shopping scene in between visiting breath-taking Gothic churches and monuments. After an extended and much-needed coffee break that didn’t quite match up with my newfound Italian standards for “caffè”, we walked to the site of the Nuremberg trials. Sitting in the courtroom was quite a surreal moment and a feeling I hope to never forget.
Restaurant Hopping Throughout the Night
We didn’t buy a hotel since our flight was so early, so that left us with quite a few hours in the night to kill. Including a necessary romp in McDonalds, we ended up sampling five different restaurants until 2 a.m. when we finally threw in the towel and headed to the airport for a few hours of blissful shut eye, supported by the cold metal benches of Nuremberg Airport.
9:00 a.m. Sunday Morning
Exactly 24 hours after departing from Milan Centrale, we all triumphantly said “auf wiedersehen” to each other and drug our tired bodies onto our respective underground lines.
This is the stuff I could only dream about for months before coming to study abroad. And now here I am: fighting to keep my eyes open until a reasonable bedtime, looking back on a day filled with beautiful friends, conversation, and adventure. Maybe I won’t book myself into another 24 hours of travel without sleep, but I have nothing but love and joy to look back on as I think about our day trip to Nuremberg, Germany.
I am definitely impressed! Have fun, but study a bit.