My second semester will take place in Athens, Greece. You may already know where Athens is, but here's a Greek map:
I've always had the impression that Europe is a pretty small place... and that you can get from any European country to all the other European countries within a day or two (by car or train)... but it ain't necessarily so. Per Google Maps, it's around a four day trip (car or train) to get from Oldenburg to Athens. When my parents arrive in early February to help me move south, we're still trying to decide our route and mode of transportation (car, train, plane). The most direct car/train route takes us through Austria, Hungary, Serbia, and Macedonia before arriving in Greece. That sounds fun to me, but my folks and I don't speak any Hungarian, Serbo-Croatian, or Macedonian... which might make for quite an adventure. Another possible route could take us along the border of Austria and Lichtenstein -- both German-speaking countries -- into Italy, where we can take a ferry boat from one of several Italian port towns to Greece. Or we could hang out in Germany for a few days and hop on a plane for Athens. I'm not yet sure how much time I'll have between my semesters. The official start date in Athens is February 11... but rumor has it that things don't really get started at the university until around Feb 25. Hmmmm...
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