Munich - Free Weekend #1

I'm a little bit sad about the amount of time I will get to spend with my host family by the end of this study abroad session. Since we are travelling, as far as I can tell, every free weekend, I won't be able to get to know my host family much more in Bonn. I have been able to live with them for a little more than a week before we started travelling, but I will have then spent another 10 days away from my host family after this excursion to Munich, Vienna, and Prague. I can't say, though, that I'm unhappy to be going and have gone to these amazing cities, because my experiences thus far have surpassed anything I could have imagined. My family seems to want to hang out with me, but there are just conflicts such as their work, my having class, my travelling, and other random things. Hopefully, I will be able to get to know my host brothers and sister better despite previous time conflicts.

So I thought that travelling with a group of ten people would be a little bit more difficult than my travelling solo through Germany prior to meeting the group in Frankfurt. It really wasn't, though. Everyone was able to get to the train station in Bonn on time, despite the fact that we had to leave at three in the morning. Even with the change of train in Koln, there was no issue with getting everyone on and off the trains. Also, it was very well-received by the group that we had two compartments on the long train ride from Koln to Munich, each with room for 6 people. This gave us all what opportunity we needed to get whatever sleep we could for the upcoming day of travel around Munich. It really felt like we were on the Harry Potter Hogwarts Express, and I was waiting for the candy trolley to roll by the compartment with some chocolate frogs or something. With all the preparation from the girls in planning for the weekend, we were able to easily travel to and find our way through Munich and find our hostel/hotel after figuring out the tram system for the city.

After putting away our luggage until check-in time, we set out for the city center. For the rest of the day, half of us (five) did a bike tour while the rest of us walked around for a little bit and did a walking tour. My group of Alexis, Morgan, Katharine, Jooey, and I did the latter. I ate some cereal (Musli) for lunch. After quickly finding out that the city was celebrating Christopher Street Day in the city center, we found a free walking tour around the city. It was supposed to be only about an hour and a half long, but the tour ended up being around four hours long, bringing us all the way to the end of the day. The tour guide from England brought us quickly out of the city center, showing us parts of the city that had survived World War II and parts that were rebuilt, such as the old and new city halls, the church right close to there with a cannon stuck in the side dating back centuries, a statue of Juliette from Romeo and Juliet, a monument built into the street for Germans resisting the Nazi party, a spot where Hitler was almost killed, monuments and churches built for and by German royalty, and the list goes on. Some of the most interesting things to hear about, for me, were the beginnings and rising of the Nazi party in Munich when Hitler first tried to overthrow the government. It was interesting to hear about the conspiracies that the Nazis came up with after their rise to power to explain the previous failure to gain power in the 1920's. We then ended the day with dinner with the whole group again in an Augustiner brauhaus and then some beers in the famous Hoff-brauhaus next door just to say we did it.

Because some of us were not willing to get up early and spend the whole day in Fussen, six of us went to see the castles like Neuschwanstein while Alexis, Mikaela, Jooey, and I spent Sunday wandering around Munich. Despite the comparatively cold and rainy day, the bird pooping on my shirt, and getting lost for a while, the day was totally worth it to be able to spend time with friends and discover some unknowns about Munich. We were able to stumble upon some strange basketball court with uneven ground and then some car show with all the european companies like BMW, Mercedes, and such before finally finding the BMW museum to get out of the cold rain. Ending the day by putting on some warm clothes and Vapiano's Italian food with a glass of wine definitely highlighted the night and made the rest of the day seem pretty good. It makes it really easy to appreciate the little things by ending the day well. Having that one thing can make the difficult things seem unimportant or easy. That can go with relations with people, too. Being able to focus on the best part of a person, despite the things you might not like about them, makes those things seem unimportant compared to what you may like about them. Then it's just that much easier to get along with anyone, no matter what prejudice you may have had against them.

So our travels then brought us to our current place in Vienna after two days in Munich. I think two days was good enough for Munich, but I'd love to go back for Oktoberfest one year. I'm glad we are spending so long a time in Vienna, and I look forward to what else we will learn about the city's medical history and psycho-analysis.