ok, germany is the most incredible place i have ever been. i know i said that about switzerland (i think i said that on here). but seriously, switzerland was #1 best place ever for a week, but it has been overtaken by both germany and austria. as of june 22, i had never been out of the USA. since then i have been in 5 different countries. italy is great, but it's #6 out of 6 on my list (including the US).

my current list:

1. germany
2. switzerland
3. austria
4. great britain
5. USA
6. italy

germany this weekend was just wow. as forest put it, "we saw the top of the reich and the bottom of the holocaust."

on saturday, we visited hitler's eagles nest in berchtesgaden. it was so incredible. knowing that i was walking around on the very ground that hitler chose as his home was very weird. and then on sunday we toured dachau, the first concentration camp. that was also incredible, but in a completely different way. it was absolutely awe-inspiring to walk around and think about what used to happen on the very ground i was walking. i was there with 4 other people, but we all managed to split up without discussing anything. it was just like we all had the same thought: this was the kind of thing that you should do alone. just walking aroudn the site for two hours and taking it all in was a pretty emotional experience. i was fighting back tears for a great bit of it.

and on a lighter note, last night we went to the höfbrauhaus, which happens to be the largest pub in the world. kind of a mecca for me. it was absolutely wonderful. also, the wheat beer there is so FUCKING GOOD (wheat beer is kind of their thing).

i can't wait to go back to germany on friday!

i'll be back in west virginia in a week. that kind of sucks, even though i miss everyone a lot.