3 Days In Munich

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So its been about a week since Munich and Salzburg, so my thoughts are not as fresh in my mind as they could be but here is my best attempt to recollect that wonderful week. So Friday morning we all head to the charter bus that we will be taking there. We are all pretty beat from spending a late night out in Verona the night before so sleep on the bus is looking like great option… however, we happen to be driving through the Alps. And I can’t close my eyes with that view. See the pictures to the side and you will get a glimpse of what I am talking about. The drive to Munich is about 6 hours, so we leave at nine and get there at about 4. When we arrive, we check in to our hotel which takes some time. There is a big group from Italy traveling as well. Apparently the schools get out for spring break at around this time and travel all around Europe. Ben, Bryan, and I are in a room together so we get our key and head to the adjacent building where our room is. We have some time until we have to meet Martin so I go exploring for a bit around our hotel area which is right outside of town yet in a pretty crowded area. Munich has a more modern and American feel than the Italy I have seen. The streets are wider. The cars are bigger. There are more American chain restaurants (like Starbucks). People speak and understand English fluently. Apparently Germany is economically the best off in Europe which kind of surprised me. I would have thought England. Anyway, we meet Martin in outside the hotel and head to Marienplatz (St. Mary’s Square) to get a brief history walking tour. He then plans to drop us off at Hopfenbraus, the famous beer hall. I have heard legends about this place but really don’t know what to expect except pure Germany. Turns out I was right there but I will get to that in a second. We walk to the end of the street and get to the central train station then hang a right and get to Marienplatz. We end up seeing the Duomo and plenty of covered up fountains which is what they do here in Germany in during the cold season. The history of Munich (from what I can recollect) begins with the fact that major cities in Europe are positioned around rivers or bays. A river runs through Munich (Isaire) as did it run through its rival cities. Salt was imported from Salzburg and the ruler of Munich at one point saw that all this salt was going into these neighbor towns and was hurting Munich’s growth. So what does he do? He hires men to burn the bridges of the surrounding towns so Munich can grow faster. That’s as much as I remember from Martin telling us but we keep walking around the square and he points out the clock tower that has these statues of Jesters and queens that “come alive” at certain hours of the day. They rotate and move at these hours as the bells echo throughout the town, Martin says its something the tourists should go see. I made a mental note of this and got to do it 2 days later. It was pretty cool. When we get to Hofbrauhaus and walk inside, I immediately am reminded of a polka house in Wisconsin. I mean this place literally confirms every stereotype I have of a German bar I have in my mind. Gigantic Viking like, burly women carry 5 liter sized mugs on there arm as they make there rounds from table to table serving these thirsty Germans who need twelve more rounds to get them feeling the slightest effects of the alchohol. Serious, intense security guards effortlessly and robotically usher out men (boys really) that have had too much to drink and are starting a riot. A band of men dressed in Lederhosen’s play music that floods the huge beer house and brings German culture to your face. We wander the building searching for a table and eventually find one. We look at the menu and I already like how these Germans eat. It becomes apparent why German’s are taller than the rest of Europe. They eat meat. And Potatoes. Our waitress comes by and takes our orders. She is a cute older blond lady and very friendly. She smiles, unlike the rest of the staff I had noticed to that point. When she leaves I lean over to Sammy and tell him “I love her, that I know she’s like 40 years old but I don’t care, I love her anyway.” I order the mixed sausage plate and a liter of beer. I basically decided that I was going to splurge that meal and I am glad I did… the food was so good. I top it off with an ApfelStrudel which was absolutely incredible. I have never been so full. We end up staying there awhile then head back to our hotel. There are a lot of Turkish restaurants in Munich. Burak (a Turkish guy on our trip) comments that he feels like he is at home a bit. He says that the Turkish are comparable to the Latin American’s in the U.S. There are 500,000 in Munich which is about a quarter of the population. The plus to that is delicious Turkish food. I have never had a kebab that tasted so good. Its nice to go to the restaurants with Burak because he can communicate perfectly with the men there and knows exactly what is good on the menu and orders it for us. One of the nights, the entire gang went to hard rock café. It was a great idea, I can’t lie, but Burak, Ben, and I were in kind of a different mindset. I figured I can always get American food and how often am I in Munich and able to eat at these Turkish run places, so we three decided to eat at a Turkish place near the hotel. I ordered this stuff called Iskendar, which is like a fancier and longer prepared kebab with sauce and yogurt on top. It was incredible. They guy at the restaurant was really nice and offered us some complementary tea. The next morning we get breakfast at the hotel. This large German women is like the waitress/security guard of the place. I think she was really overwhelmed with our big group and the big Italian group being here and kept telling us to wait and go to a different table and make sure we stayed put. As I was sitting down she sighed and told me she felt like Cinderella. Again, I am proud of the way these German’s eat. There are eggs and meat and cheese and just more food in general. I eat well and stock up for the day. The group heads to Dachau for the day, the first concentration camp. In the bus on the way there, we are all pretty silent, aware that this certainly won’t be an enjoyable, but we know it’s a necessary sight to see. An eye opening and learning experience. Martin gives us a little background on Hitler before we get there. Apparently he wanted to be an art student. He was never really very good and got rejected from art school. At one point he was a hippie like bum. He loved his dog growing up but hated people (no kidding). On the way to the camp we pass Olympic park. When the countries came to participate in the Olympics, they each brought a tree that was unique to that country and planted it in the area. Eventually we show up at the Museum. We get to the gates and in German, the wires of the gates spell, “Work will make you free.” When prisoners were brought here, they were stripped of their identity and given a number. Barbed wire fences lined the gates and guards watched the places to make sure prisoners didn’t attempt to escape, they would shoot if a certain point was passed. Some prisoners committed suicide this way if they had had enough. We begin walking throughout the place. Only two of the housing quarters still stand but the foundations of the other 30 some still line the large open area inside. There are four structures that were built after the war as memorials to the religions of people that were executed in this camp: Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Orthodox. I took plenty of pictures, but overall consensus of this place is that it was kind of eerie being there. Knowing that I was walking on the very grounds that these horrible events took place, standing in the gas chambers, seeing the spot where Martin told us thousands of bodies were piled below, it was chilling, but at the same time perspective broadening. It was interesting talking to other students about it. Hearing Sammy’s thoughts were especially interesting. Because he is Jewish, he has had a lot of experiences where he learned about the Holocaust. He has heard an account from an actual survivor and talked with them face to face. He has also seen memorials including one in Israel and heard countless of other stories. Basically he always grew up knowing that the Holocaust was a reality and going to Dachau didn’t really make it seem anymore real emotionally but it was eye opening none the less for him. After Dachau, we headed back to Munich and walked around the square for a bit. Some students and I went to Starbucks. I tried using my gift card but I got shut down. Bummer. Later that night, we went to eat at a place called Augustiner, which is another well known brewed beer in Munich. I ordered a raddler beer (beer+lemonade= refreshing) with pork loin and potato dumping. I also ran into some people from Wisconsin here, which was pretty funny. Later that night, walking back to the hotel, Ben and I came across this Russian comedian/musician. I would love to go into detail describing this guy but basically he had just about every stereotype down. He would play famous songs from the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkle, Rolling Stones, and U2 and throughout his show he would poke fun at Germans, Americans, East Germans, Asians, and even Russians. He had the accents down, facial expressions, everything. At one point there were about 60 people from the street watching him, keep in mind this is very late at night so its not even really that crowded. He knew Ben and I were American, when we left, he yelled at us… “American’s come back… this is Munich, not Vietnam!” The next day we went to a palace which was magnificent architecture but we were all very tired and agreed for the most part that this was rather boring, but Martin has an uncanny way of making the most boring thing somewhat interesting. I labeled some of these pictures if you want to know a bit about that palace. Afterwards, me and about 6 other students went to the BMW factory and museum. I am no car enthusiast but it was pretty incredible seeing these vehicles and the technology and engineering efforts that go into these vehicles is unreal. I took several pics… highlights being with the Z8 that was used in the James Bond film “The World is Not Enough.” That night was our last night in Munich and about 5 of us went to a hookah bar to top the weekend off. It was a great decision. It had been about 2 years since I had smoked hookah, lets just say there is a time and a place for everything and that moment was it for hookah. Very good. The bus was leaving for Salzburg in the morning so we got a good nights sleep. Great conlusion to a good 3 days in Germany. It was nice to know I saw the heartland for the Thiel clan.

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Photos

Tourist Sights
The cool statues that move at certain hours.

Entrance to Dachau
"Work will make you free"

Comments

[Dad]

Touching base from Germany
Hi Jonathan, I am outside Frankfurt enjoying your Germany trip. To think we were only a couple of hours away from each other. It appears you are having an incredible experience. Mom and I are looking forward to seeing you in a week. I hope all is going well. How are the two classes going...you are taking courses, right? See you soon...love dad