60% of the time.....is done and over with

-We spent last weekend in Paris exploring the city and doing touristy things. The eiffel tower and the rest of the city were as gorgeous as all the postcards and books have made it out to be. Although most of our visits were rushed, in between the running and crowds of people was time to really observe the minor cultural differences. The French aren't quite as American-despising as we have been told...in fact some were pretty darn friendly. Naturally there are always a few rotten apples in the basket, so we did run into some people that fit the French stereotype. The beauty of Paris was tarnished by the tons and tons of people. Much of my time was spent in a state of constant alert: hands on valuables and a mindfulness to the safety of my backpack. At times this felt overwhelming as some of the stores we were shopping in were six floors high with no more than a meter's worth of radius of personal space at any time. At the end of the weekend, most of Paris was unexplored giving rhyme and reason to another trip in the future.

-Our week began with an excursion to Nuremberg. We toured ruins in Disibodenberg with a lovely woman who's life has been basically dedicated to this site. Through the tarnished stones and moss covered steps, I think we all found some sort of peace. The group was relatively quiet during the whole tour because we the majority of us were finding symbolism in what we were seeing. The isolation and reflection of our own life "labyrinths" is still fresh on our minds.

-Tuesday was the day we visited the Nazi rally grounds. I expected a much more surreal feeling than I actually felt. I credit this to the fact that much of what we see in pictures has been destroyed; the giant swastika was dynamited in the 1940s and much of the rally grounds themselves are covered with grass and weeds. The memorial and our tour guide really proved that the rallies themselves were not the disciplined, neo-patriotic events that history books have taught. They were actually more like parties....with entertainment and substances of all types to keep the people "rallied." It's kind of appalling that this is not more well-documented and publicized....I think it would give a lot more perspective that the majority of these followers were not as gung-ho about the movement as we have all thought.

-Wednesday began with a trip to Munich where we met our tour guide, Marc. I knew from the second we met at city hall that Munich was going to be my favorite city in Germany. The architecture and city layout were exactly what I expected when I signed up for this trip. While there were plenty of tourists like us, I saw a lot of natives living their daily lives in a large European metropolis. However, the bliss of this city was temporarily dulled the next day.

-Thursday we visited the notorious Dachau memorial that we were told would affect us negatively. All is well until you walk through the rod-iron door with the words "Arbeit Macht Frei". Afterwards, the sheer size of the place begins to affect you; it's all downhill from there.

-Friday we toured the University where the movie about the White Rose took place. It was a lot smaller than the movie portrayed it to be. The exhibit was in German, so unfortunately we could not quite understand everything.

-Our weekend in Munich began with a group of us venturing out to the English Gardens. We sat on the lawn and ate while we watched the sunset. Saturday morning involved a visit to Neuschwanstein castle by bus, a bikeride to and a swim in an alpine lake, nearly paragliding, a rain-soaked hike to the castle, a tour of the castle, and finally a busride home to the fireworks show at the Olympic park. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend in Munich.

Two weeks left!