The hostel gave us a map with a route that led to the main city attractions. We kept walking along it and got to Viktualienmarkt. The market had a lot of the typical market products like fruits, vegetables, spices, olives, seafood and reminded me a lot of Naschmarkt in Vienna. Emily and I were super excited to find dill pickles. They just aren't the same in London.
We continued on the path to Hofbrauhaus, one of the most well-known beerhalls. It was also a spot that Adolf Hitler frequented so there's quite a bit of history there. We stopped to have a beer and people watch. I got the smallest glass I could of Münchner Weisse which was a described as tingly and refreshing. Some of the older locals were dressed in traditional Bavarian grab. Before we left, a band was setting up to play music. I'm sure at night this place is packed!
We continued walking along the streets and going into souvenir shops. We had already chosen to go to Weisses Brahaus for dinner since it was in a lot of guidebooks for having great traditional food. In Germany you have to find your own seat at a table so we spent about 15 minutes just doing that. We ended up sitting on the end of a table with two other men. They were very nice and helped us figure out what to order. I went with a safe bet and had potato pancakes with apple sauce and beef stew soup. We ended our dinner with fried apple fritters and apple strudel. I was able to have a bite of Emily's weiner schnitzel and Jake's roast pork dish. Everything was delicious.
On our second day in Germany we went on a day trip to Schloss Neuschwanstein. The train ride was about two hours. I slept for the first hour or so then watched out the window. The trip was worth it just for the train ride into the alps. It was slightly colder when we got there but understandably so. Neuschwanstein Castle is what inspired Walt Disney to create Sleeping Beauty's castle. It is also seen in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. There is a second castle on a lower hill right near Neuschwanstein called Hohenschwangau. We walked around the outside of both but decided not to pay the fees to enter. It was quite a hike to the top to see Neuschwanstein but definitely worth it. The views were incredible.
That night we decided to go to a local beer hall for a taste of nightlife. We once again had to find our own seats and ended up on the end of a long table with an Austrian soccer team. We had a great time with them. They of course began drinking much earlier in the day so they provided some entertainment for us. One guy asked my name then stood on top of the table and began to sing/chant my name throughout the beerhall. Everyone joined in. My face turned bright red. We even became facebook friends with one of them named Franz, who we spent the most time talking to since he spoke English. I had a drink called Radler which is beer mixed with lemonade.
On our last day in Germany we took another day trip to Dachau concentration camp. We got audio guides to help us with the tour. The camp was very much like I expected it to be. We were able to walk around the grounds, see the memorials, and enter a sleeping barrack. The rooms were still set up like they were when it was used as a concentration camp. There was a large museum with much more information on the prisoners, camps in general, and a film. There was a huge map showing all of the camps and their individual purpose. I was amazed at how many there were that I had never heard of. It seems as though in school we only learned about 4 or 5 camps. Overall I'm glad I got to go to Dachau since I had learned about it in school and was now able to see it for myself. However, it was very depressing but I expected it to be.
When we got back to Munich we went to the BMW museum. We would have had to pay to enter the full BMW exhibit so we just went into the open area and looked around a bit. There were some new and old cars. A stuntman even rode through the lobby area, up and down the stairs doing tricks. There were also videos and interactive games to help you understand motors, driving, etc. Jake was in his glory. Emily and I, not so much.
We walked around quite a bit of the Olympic Park. It's a huge area so we did as much as we could before catching the train to Switzerland. We were able to enter the swimming arena and sat in the warmth for a bit. This was interesting for Emily and I since we watch the reality TV show "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" that includes past US Olympic swimmer Bruce Jenner. We saw the tennis courts and the track area from behind a fence. We also walked by the large lake in the middle of the park. There is a small memorial for the 11 Israelis that were killed. However, if we hadn't known about the story we would have had no clue. There was no information about it anywhere to be found.
That was the smallest beer you could get? My kind of place.
ReplyDeleteLooks like fun sis.
It looks great. I loved Munich. I went there when I was in college, and then Uncle Chris and I went back there when we visited Uncle Steve and Aunt Diane in Germany.
ReplyDeleteI visited Buchenwald back in college; it's not the kind of thing you forget, really. Nor should we, of course.