Week 2 - Finished

     Just a little background, we've come to the closing of week two today. This blog is current being written from our Munich hostel, the Wombat. This was the first hostel I've ever stayed in and I have to say I wasn't sure what to expect. The Hostel movies tainted my mind on what to expect from living in one overseas. However, to my delight this was almost on the level of a normal hotel. The major differences are that in the lobby there is a bunch of college students, like myself, surfing the Internet and just hanging out. The other difference is that within a room there are people you may not know. Luckily we are in a six-person room, therefore leaving only one bed open for a stranger. In our case the "stranger" turned out to be another Texan who is on a high school graduation present from his parents. 

     During our travel to Munich, I thought we were going to get stuck in Frankfurt and be forced to sleep in the train station. Our original train, from Frankfurt to Munich, encountered a mechanical problem and was delayed five minutes, then one hundred and ten minutes, and finally got cancelled. We had to talk to the train station ticket counter to try and find an alternate train. A train that would've delayed us an hour and potentially lose our hostel room. Then, out of nowhere, our original train popped up on the gird again with a delay of twenty minutes. Except during all the commotion over which train to get on we almost left John in Frankfurt because he was still talking with the ticket counter. Luckily Jacob was able to retrieve him and run back to the train with only a few minutes to spare. 

     Saturday in Munich was our first full day and first day to see the city in the sunlight. With a short walk out of the hostel and down the street we came to the main market square, Marienplatz. The square has probably been one of the most crowded places I've been in Germany so far. Tourist, Germans, and street performers riddled the street. It was so crowded that I was one step away from turning into a human plow and pushing people out of my way. I have two major problems with people, the first is slow walkers and the second is waiting for people. Being in that square was pushing the envelope. In the end I made it through it all and enjoyed it though. In list form, the places we saw are: Frauenkirche, Deutsches Museum, Hofbrauhaus, and just the city in general (more of an accident). If I now had to list them in order of which I enjoyed the most, it would be: Deutsches Museum, Frauenkirche, Hofbrauhaus, being lost. 

     The Deutsches Museum was outright amazing. It's supposedly the largest science and technology museum on the planet. I didn't realize how big it was until we were being kicked out because the museum was closing for the day. I hadn't even made it through one wing of the museum's three. I thought I was making good time, until I went back to the entrance only to see Rock and John coming out of two completely different wings that I didn't know existed. You haven't seen a large museum until you've seen this one, and I've seen my fair share of international and domestic museums. Every time we talk about the museum someone brings up a new thing that no one else had seen. The Deutsches Museum is a black hole of the worlds many historical scientific inventions. 

     Sunday in Munich was a little bit more planned out. This time I forced everyone to express what they wanted to see in order for me to plan the transportation and directions accordingly. It worked out very well for the most part. We were able to see the BMW world, BMW Museum, walk through all of Olympiapark, walk through the Englische Garten (English Garden), and have dinner. This was all done without being lost or losing anyone along the way, which to me made it a great day. Another plus was that each place was interesting and new. This whole trip in general is just interesting and amazing. Each day I wake up I think of how spectacular it is to be in German and having a real educational and personal growth experience. 

     Tomorrow morning we leave for Vienna and more program events. So from me in Munich, bis dann! (Until then)