Biking Through Munich

My first free weekend was spent in Munich or “Munchen” with everyone in our group. Though it was not my favorite city so far, it was still a great trip. Our excursion started at 3 am when our train departed from Bonn. Of course I spent most of the trip sleeping. We all loved the ICE train because we got our own cabins with 5 of us in each one. After we checked-in to the hostel, which was easy to find luckily, our group ended up splitting up. Meredith, Sarah, Michelle, Mario, and I went on a four-hour bike tour of Munich, while Alexis, Jooyeon, Caleb, Morgan, and Katherine took a walking tour.

The bike tour was absolutely worth every minute and every cent. Thanks to Meredith for informing us about it and organizing us to take the tour. She has really contributed to our trip with her knowledge and previous experiences abroad. Michelle has brought a lot of knowledge as well and been guiding us around town. During out tour, the tour guide was lively and always joking around, which made it interesting. We biked through the city and a beautiful garden. It was gorgeous! Our tour even stopped of for lunch at a Bier garden. We were able to get cheaper Hofbrauhaus mugs here, which was a great deal. Mario always amazes us on his beer-drinking skills, since he finishes a large mug in 2 minutes. Sarah is always entertaining us and making me laugh with her witty remarks. It was a great time! When it was all over, we were exhausted and headed to the hostel for a nap. Later, we were able to meet the other group at Augustiner for dinner, recommended by Dr. Wasser and our tour guide, before going to the Hofbrauhaus. Sarah, Alexis, and I shared one of the large beers, as well as an apple strudel. It was a great way to end the night!

On Sunday, the group split up again, and I stayed in Munich with Alexis, Jooyeon, and Caleb to visit the BMW museum. We took the long way getting there, but it was entertaining. There was a really interesting basketball court at a school playground we passed by on our way. Before reaching the museum, after asking numerous people for direction, we stumbled upon this huge stadium with car engines roaring. One of the security guards mentioned the entrance was free in about 30 minutes, so we decided to go to the BMW museum first. All of the sleek, powerful cars filling the museum were worth the time we spent getting “lost.” There were even Rolls Royce and some motorcycles. After getting our fill of BMW, we walked back to the stadium in the pouring rain to see what had been going on. We found more fabulous cars, like Audi and Mercedes. The trip would not have been successful without Jooyeon’s courage to ask anyone for help, Alexis’s ability to make us all laugh even when we are drenched from the rain, and Caleb’s Germany street smarts.

Taking a chance at the underground train system, we found our way back to the hostel. We decided on Italian food for dinner at a restaurant nearby the hostel. It was great food and I had some German wine, which I enjoyed with the guidance of Alexis with her broad knowledge of wine.

Next weekend, it is off to Prague with the whole group again. Hopefully we keep staying together on the weekends because everyone has been a pleasure to travel with!