There is no dignified way to tell people you spent your Saturday at Legoland. You just have to commit to it.
Six of us from the program piled onto a train to Günzburg on what I can only describe as a collective act of shameless joy. We are, technically, adults. We are studying in another country, taking intensive language courses, visiting sites of immense historical significance. And we decided, with full awareness of all of this, that what we really needed was to spend a day looking at tiny plastic bricks.
I stand by it completely.
Legoland Germany has a way of dismantling whatever remains of your self-seriousness. Within approximately fifteen minutes of arrival, we were arguing about which ride to go on first with the kind of conviction usually reserved for things that actually matter. Someone bought a Lego set. Someone else got a photo at Lego Ninjago world. We went on rides designed for ten-year-olds and had a genuinely great time doing it.
The highlight, if I had to pick one, was Miniland — a sprawling outdoor exhibit of European landmarks rendered entirely in Lego. There was something unexpectedly moving about standing in front of a miniature Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, having just spent weeks living in the country it belongs to. It was absurd and also kind of perfect. Germany in miniature, in a park in Germany, viewed by a group of Americans who had spent the past few weeks trying to understand the real thing.
What I didn’t expect was how much I needed a day like this. Munich is a city that asks a lot of you intellectually and emotionally — the history here is dense, the language is demanding, and the coursework doesn’t let you forget that you’re here to learn. Legoland asked nothing of me except to show up and have fun. Sometimes that’s exactly the right prescription.
We got back to Munich sunburned and tired and in extremely good spirits. Turns out a day trip to a theme park with five people you’ve only known for a few weeks is a fairly efficient way to become actual friends.
Highly recommend. No notes.