Germany

This week a highlight in Florence was climbing to the top of Il Duomo. Over six hundred steps, and about three breaks on the way up, but the top was SO worth it. Unfortunately I didn't take my camera because I'm a doofus.

This weekend's trip was to Germany, specifically, Heidelberg, the location of another Pepperdine abroad program, and Munich, the location of... a lot of bars. Our group of three were joined by a German in our four bed compartment. He joined later, and when I opened the door to let him in, he was speaking in German, I had just woken up, and I was pretty frightened. I looked at him and said "English, Spanish, or Italian dude." He turned out to be the nicest guy that just wanted the bottom bunk because he can't sleep up high.

We arrived in Heidelberg after switching trains in Munich, at 10 in the morning. We met up with a friend that attends the Heidelberg program, and he showed us around the city after we took advantage of the breakfast that is available on the weekends for the students there. Their house is great, they have an actual 15th century castle almost in their backyard, and a modern city a walk away. It was here I tried my first schnitzel, and it was quite tasty. It happened to be a weekend when a lot of the Heidelberg students had stayed for the weekend so about fifteen of us went out for dinner at the local famous brewery Vetters. Great food, even better beer. We then went out for a night on the town, culminating in a karaoke bar where I sang Hey Ya and Roxanne and had a generally splendid time. We left the following morning for Munich at 7.

First order of business in Munich was finding our hostel, which might as well have been a hotel it was so nice. For sixteen euros a night it was a bedroom with a private bathroom, beds for all, a lounge with internet and a bar, great location next to a subway station, and cleanliness. In Munich we spent the day walking from place to place, church to church, a museum with many Rubens paintings, Velazquez, and El Greco. The Rubens were the most impressive by far however. The German people in general are super nice. They are quick to smile and quick to help tourists. They love speaking English and love telling you what to go see and how to get around. We visited the Marienplatz, the Frauenkirche, the Peterskirche, the Asamkirche, and the Alte Pinakothek. You can ask me what those mean, but I couldn't tell you. Anything that ends with "kirche" is a church, the first one is the main town square that was beautiful, and the last one was the museum. That night we went to the famous Paulaner brewery/restaurant. The beer here is world famous, and more famous in Germany, it's commonly considered the best lager in the world. It was spectacular, and the food delicious. After, we went to the Hofbrahaus, the most famous pub in the world. It's a giant beer hall, with drunk people of all ages, listening to a loud polka band and yelling loudly. Hitler came there all the time, and I think also Mozart.

I came back earlier than my friends did, I took the 9:30 train out of Munich the following morning. I got a six person compartment to myself, it was pretty nice to finally be alone for the first time in a long time. I read a lot, and stared at the beautiful German/Austrian countryside passing by me. Small German towns surrounded by mountains and fields covered in snow. Did I mention I was freezing the entire time? Cuz I was. I am about to go to Turkey for five days so expect a LONG blog when I get back.

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