Take It Easy

[July 25] This was my first time travelling on the weekends with other people; while it was certainly more fun than being alone, the downside is inevitably the amount of time it takes to come to a compromise about the day’s events. After a Friday spent catching up on sleep at a comfortable Holiday Inn, Saturday was a long stroll through the Munich Zoo. While generally the same as the one in Cologne, it seemed a lot more fluid and natural. Each of the exhibits (at least the terrestrial ones) sort of blended with each other and the path. You had to look for the seam between the people and the other animals. There was even a sort of outcast medley of peculiar looking animals that didn’t seem to have any relationship to each other, but that in itself made the enclosure the most endearing.

We ended the day with a night at the Hofbräuhaus, but not before walking around the city. Munich, the capital of the American sector when Germany was split in quarters, is a city of boisterous pride and liter-large mugs. It was a feat to find your way to the most famous brewery in the country; after all the twists and turns you really felt like you accomplished something. And though it is still perfect place to buy a stein or some lederhosen, its people were surprisingly down to earth. You have to be, to find patience with the throngs of tourists that consume the city, come October.

The following morning I departed for Salzburg. There I took a four-hour tour of all things Sound of Music with another group of students. Among other things, we saw the trees where the curtain-clad children greeted their appalled captain-father, the gazebo where Rolf and Liesl danced, and the church where Maria got married. It was nice to be able to watch the countryside and learn something new while in the comfort of a bus seat, since I feel like I have spent the last two weeks constantly walking. I might be biased because of the tour, but this city seemed to me to have achieved a level of quaint modesty that most large cities outgrow. We had Melange at a warm coffee house, then walked around until dusk over close buildings and cobblestones. I bought a scarf.

This weekend taught me the the good it can do to take it easy on such a long trip. While it may be important to see a lot of history and experience the culture with whatever time we have here, it shouldn’t be at the expense of your health and comfort. I had fun this weekend and honestly, I didn’t do much. Sometimes the best way to have a good time is to take your time.