My Days In Munich

Wednesday's bus ride was quite nice on our way to München. When we had got there and unpacked, we met downstairs where Miriam told us we had until 2:30 for lunch. Derek, Katie, Kathy, and I decided to go to the Hopfbräu house for lunch, a sight I'd missed three years ago in Munich. We mad it there by 1:30, after walking, sometimes not knowing exactly where we were headed. I got to see the Glockenspiel again, although not to see it move. We ate outside, Derek enjoying his mas of beer, and we three girls enjoying watching and listening to the band that was playing. One of the trumpet players was really getting a kick out of something - he kept laughing. However, Derek's food didn't come out till 1, and mine, Kathy's and Katie's didn't come out until ten minutes later. So we scarfed it down, paid and power-walked back to the meeting place. This time the trip only took 15 minutes instead of close to an hour, making us only5 minutes late. From the meeting point, the group headed to the Hoptbahnhof, where we got our bikes for the bike tour. I HAD TO PAY €1.10 TO USE THE RESTROOM! What a ripoff - definitely a number for Stuarts book of restroom prices. The bike tour overall went fine, although one of the girls fell off her bike, scraping her knee and turning her ankle. Her knee looks like mine the time I fell down a flight of concrete steps in a swimsuit. The quality of the tour however was less than ideal. First of all, the guide didn't have any tools or even an air pump with him, which made things difficult when TWO of the bikes got flat tires. Nor did he have a first aid kit to help Kit when she fell. And very few of us had locks or the key to our bike locks for when we stopped for a break - quite unprofessional. We didn't really learn much because he kept stopping and starting and none of us could really hear him. A bunch of us are going to recommend Fat Tire or Mike's Bike Tours for next trip. That night we went to the Augustiner biergarten, where Miriam bought us a round of drinks. The chaperones weren't very pleased with some of the singing and ring dunking, etc. that went on, so tempers were high. At the hotel, my roommates threw a "dance party" and drank some of their wine. In the background, Greg, Kit and I had a quite interesting conversation, a bit of which got caught on tape while filming the dancing girls. My comment is taken waaaaay out of context though. Oh well, it's not that bad.
The next day we went to Dachau, which I had also visited three years ago. Last time we visited on a dreary day - very overcast, I think it might have even rained. That made for a very somber and sad atmosphere to view the museum in the barracks. This time the weather was cloudless and stark - extremely hot - which in my mind emphasized the harsh history of the camp. It was a different experience with a guide specifically for our group, although he was extremely soft spoken and so at times was hard to hear. Later that evening, Katie Kathy and I went shopping for souveniers, having realized that Munich would be the best place to get the things we were looking for. I spent the afternoon and evening before and after this excursion playing CSI Miami on Sarahs computer and relaxing. It was quite fun.
The bus ride back to Düsseldorf was even better with only the three adults, and four of us students on the bus - as many of our classmates had elected to leave for their weekend travels directly from Munich. It took about 7 or 8 hours, with many stops, but I made good progress on my cross-stitch. If only we could always travel with that much space, though as Dr. Wasser pointed out, it would skyrocket the program costs.
I am taking another rest weekend in Düsseldorf with my host family, and plan to relax in the over-bearing heat. Kit and I plan to see a movie, whether in German or English we don't know, and I may go to a Menanite church service on Sunday with Max's mom. We'll see.