Getting to Freiburg: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Hello! I am very late with this first post - I am currently sitting at my gate in O'Hare International Airport with a little over an hour before I board my flight to Berlin. I am increasingly more and more excited, especially now that I have some caffeine flowing through my system. I know it will be a long day, but I also know this is the beginning of a great new experience!

I am a rising senior at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana where I study anthropology with minors in political science, religious studies, and human rights studies. I am from Crown Point, Indiana located in Northwest Indiana, affectionately known as "the Region," about an hour or so from Chicago. Although I've been abroad before, my trip to Freiburg for the next couple of weeks will be my longest stay! 

I'm looking forward those next few weeks, but first I have to get there! Once we take off from O'Hare we'll be headed directly to Berlin where I'll have a short layover. From Berlin it's a quick hour-long hop to Frankfurt. There's where it will get interesting - a 2 hour train ride to Freiburg followed by a (very) brief taxi ride to the IES Abroad Center. I'm nervous, but I feel fully prepared and ready to tackle European public transportation. 

But today (and tomorrow) is only the beginning of my travels these next few weeks! I'm looking forward to traveling to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, and Cyprus as the IES Abroad European Union summer group learns about the EU, both past and present. I can't wait to meet my peers and get settled in Freiburg! It will definitely be worth the multiple planes, trains, and automobiles it takes to get there.