Rome - a special experience!

From 14 to 18 January we took our trip to Rome. We had both never been there before, but of course we had heard a lot about the city. Forum Romanum, the Colosseum, the Circus Maximus, the Vatican... so many things that it was not possible to see everything in four days. And Rome has not only ancient things to offer! There are also things like Eataly or some new shopping centers and of course much more. But well, let's start from the beginning!

Typical for prospective students, we of course booked flights from Ryanair in advance, what else?

In the afternoon our flight went according to plan, and after a little over an hour and a half we were already there. We took the bus to Termini - the main train station in Rome - to get to our hotel from there by metro. When we arrived at the train station it became clear to us that the advantage was true - the Italians are really chaotic! With our suitcases in hand we wandered planlessly through Termini for the next 20 minutes - and finally found the metro towards the hotel. Our hotel was located in the Piertalata district, not far from the center, but not really nice: many old terraced houses with some older shops, lots of garbage and some construction sites. Our hotel - the Camplus Guest Roma - was right in the middle of it. It is a student hotel, which can also be booked by tourists - and it is quite cheap! Unlike youth hostels, the rooms were minimalist but very modern. After dinner at McDonald's and some small purchases, the first day was over.

For the next day, the visit to the Colosseum was planned, as well as the Spanish Steps and the Trevi Fountain were our goals for Monday.

First of all, we went to breakfast - as usual in Italy, the buffet was very sweet, there were lots of cakes, croissants and many other very sweet things, which was really unusual, but who can say no to cake?

We took the metro to the city center, to be more precise to the Cavour stop. From there we went towards Via del Fori Imperiali, from there we could already admire the first parts of the Forum Romanum, although the sight of so many ruins was really unfamiliar at first. Then we went on to the Colosseum, on the way there were a lot of street vendors, like in every big city, offering selfie sticks, water bottles, umbrellas and all sorts of other things that seemed incredibly useful at first glance - but of course they were way too expensive and anything but serious. When we arrived at the Colosseum, we thoroughly explored each floor. I think pretty much everyone knows what happened there back then, but to go through all that again in your head while reading the information signs is a really impressive idea! Here, where we are standing right now, the inhabitants of Rome stood many years ago, cheering on the gladiators down there!

To be continued...