Munich

After we finished at Oktoberfest, we brought our fun into a tour or two of the city of Munich. This was my first time in Germany and the first time I heard the language, my mind was blown! As culturally aware as I think I am, it's kind of hard not to laugh when you hear harsh, throaty German contrasted with the smooth, romantic Spanish that I've gotten used to over the last month.

Our group walked around a bit on our own, exploring Marienplatz (city center) and the surrounding areas, even climbing to the top of the Frauenkirche (big church). Worn out, we returned to our apartment Saturday evening, went grocery shopping, and had a good "The Big Chill"-esque night of cooking and eating dinner (although Liz and Robert did the cooking, we all enjoyed the food and had a blast sitting at the table together).

Sunday, we headed back to Marienplatz for a free tour. Yes, I said it -- a free tour of Munich. There is a company called Sandeman's New Europe Tours. The guides work completely on tips (there are some paid tours, but several European cities have free tours) and are young, fun, and very knowledgeable. If you're in Europe, find one of these! Anyway, we met up with our guide and group and walked around Marienplatz (where we saw the city hall and its famous Glockenspiel). We continued through other parts of the city, seeing the building from which Adolf Hitler ordered the destruction that occurred on Kristallnacht. Munich was a hub of Nazi Germany and it was fascinating (and terrifying) to learn of all that went on. On Kristallnacht (rioting and burning of Jewish businesses), most Jewish-owned businesses were destroyed. There are very minor memorials in present-day Munich...they don't call much attention to themselves, but one building has a plaque commemorating the perseverance of that family to restore its business over the years. There is also a great Jewish community center and memorial building that I wish we could have had more time for. I'll explain more in my post about Dachau, but Germany seems to be handling its past in a good way---acknowledging what happened and opening itself to show the world the capabilities of humanity gone wrong.

Our tour was great, then we went to Dachau (next post), but came back for dinner at the famed Hofbrau Haus (royal brewery). It is a giant beer hall, but the food was great too. We each got one beer, but I also got a roast pork loin with potatoes, all covered in gravy...and a pretzel on the side. Great meal (Germany food is very hearty).

At first, it seemed a little bit average, but I ended up really falling for Munich. It helps so much to get the history (even just a little bit) of a city to know why certain buildings and churches (which can start to run together in Europe) are unique and important. The tour really helped and I learned how interesting and fun Munich and Germany both are!