Watcha Munchen on?

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Munich! The land of the... well, beer.

We arrived at Munich Hauptbahnhof in the afternoon and trammed over to our hostel, 10 minutes away. It was called the Tent, and we didn't really know what to expect.
It was a giant tent. With 150 beds inside. Nice! It looked exactly like a summer camp on the outside... bonfire over here, campy kitchen over there, tables and benches and hammocks and other private tents set up. It was kinda late, so we had lunch at the hostel itself. 3 Euro pasta = Amazing. Oh my it was good.
Afterwards, the girlies went to the computies to use the internets, and the guys started playing cards. A couple Aussies came over and asked to play with us. Their names were Toby and Robert, and really we ended up spending the rest of the Munich trip with them.
We taught them how to play Presidents and played 2 deck soc any time craziness for quite literally an hour and a half straight. Tired and ready for sleep, we... well, we went to sleep.

The next morning, we got up kinda early and had some breakfast at the hostel (which wasn't free). Today's plan (we kinda made it up on the spot) was to go to....

Dachau. One of the more famous (if not the most famous) concentration camps. It was less than an hour to get there (Toby and Robert were on the tour too), and the day was hot. Our guide was a New Zealander (Kiwi) named Sean, who seemed very knowledgable and passionate about Dachau and its history.
The facility was huge and bleak. Lots of empty space. The gates at the front read "Arbeit Macht Frei" -- Work Will Set You Free -- Nazi psychological torture for their prisoners. We went through the museum, the barracks, the long tree lined walk, the memorials, the crematorium, the gas chambers...
(There was a no smoking sign outside the crematorium. Irony?)
Overall, it was a very solemn experience. Our guide ended with a comparison between the Concentration Camps of Nazi Germany with Guantanamo Bay: prisoners had no rights, no right to appeal, were tortured, and could be held indefinitely. It was sad, but very true.

After about four hours, we went back home. Toby took us to Aldi, which is basically Europe's equivalent of a 99 cent store or a Cost Plus or something. Very cheap grocery store. We bought some bread and crackers and cheese and meat and chocolates for a very cheap price and made our own lunch outside. Yum!

For the night's activities, we decided to do the "Beer Challenge," a tour hosted by the same company as our Dachau tour of four of Munich's famous beer gardens. Eleni unfortunately couldn't come because she was 17, so the other four went. We visited the Hofbrauhaus, the most famous beer hall in the world. It was kinda exciting. There was an Umpapa band playing (I think that's what the music is called). And people in lederhosen. And GIGANTIC pretzels. And large mugs of beer. The waiter (who was vietnamese) looked at us kinda funny when half of us ordered water. Tap water. Whatever.
We went to other beer halls, including one of the oldest in Munich (Augustiner). Then we went to a huge beer garden / park with literally hundreds and hundreds of people, when all of a sudden, it started to rain. Like, pour. There was a mad dash inside the beer hall part of the premises (which was kinda cool).
From then on, we chilled with Toby and Robert (who went on the Beer Challenge with us, too) and made some new friends, most notably Tom, a guy from England who was very funny. In fact, all three of them were really funny, really sarcastic, and really smart. It was a good combo. Oh, we also kinda talked to three people from Spain who were really drunk. But that was kinda just for our own amusement.
So anyways, the night ended at a bar in a youth hostel by the Hauptbahnhof with hours of talking, joking, chatting, debating, politics, food, etc. etc. etc. It was a LOT of fun.

Then we walked/trammed back to the hostel and tried convincing Sam that the Colliseum was in Greece. It didn't really work, but it was fun nonetheless.

Next stop: Interlaken.

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Photos

New friends
Robert and Toby from Australia

Dachau entrance
ARBEIT MACHT FREI - work will set you free.

Dachau bunker
The "bunker," where special prisoners were held.

Dachau Irony
A "no smoking" sign outside the crematorium at Dachau

Comments

[Mr. N]

Colosseum
How could you possible convince her? She took Art History!