Six or seven months ago, when the "going to Germany" planning and saving began, I thought to myself, "These next few months are gonna take forever". And even before I left, I remember thinking "This trip is probably gonna feel so fast... I hope I make it count." But now, I can honestly say that these last few weeks, I feel like I've lived a lifetime. I've seen the beer capital of the world, Munich, in all of it's glorious Bavarian splendor and I've seen the absolutely insane world of Amsterdam- and I've still got months ahead of me. But anyway, I've got a lot to tell, and you've probably got a lot to do, so let's just get down to business. I've decided that Munich and Amsterdam were post-worthy in their own right, so I'll begin with Munich, and make an Amsterdam post soon after. Enjoy!
The Monday before last began for me with a drive down the autobahn at a steady 100-120 miles per hour, no big deal. Three high-octane hours later, we were in Munich, the capital of beer, Bavaria, and all that we Wisconsinites think of as being "German" (bratwurst, pretzels, Lederhosen etc.). Awesomely enough, my accommodation for the week was Marius' uncle's house. I thought that I'd see some different aspect of Munich than what most visitors see. Oddly enough though, from what I gathered, I think the people may just be the jolly, beer-loving, happy Germans that I'd expected them not to be. I mean, the Bavarian idea of a "traditional breakfast" is weißwurst and beer. And every night for dinner, my host-dad had a big mug of beer with dinner, which was usually cheese and sausage with pretzel rolls. Awesome, am I right? I guess the stereotype isn't really so different than the reality in this case.
It's the same mentality I wanted to take in my day-to-day activities there, I didn't want to be "that tourist" who saw the Glockenspiel and ate at a grossly overpriced Biergarten thinking they'd really seen Munich. But once again, I found that it doesn't matter really where you go, Munich is Munich. With how friendly everyone was, I often forgot that I was in a city with well over a million inhabitants. In fact, from the people I talked to, as far as big cities go, it's one of the safest. I mean, in my host family the 6 year old took the public bus to and from school every day all be herself. I bet the biggest threat you face in Munich is getting trampled by the hoards of tourists. I mean, the Glockenspiel at Marienplatz is packed every morning with tourists. As I stood to watch it myself, I heard a commentary about it in like 6 different languages. But its no wonder it's always so packed with tourists, the place has got tons to offer.
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| The Isar |
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The town's got shopping, the Isar (a blue river, no seriously, it's actually blue), a massive park, and of course every single piece of Munich is steeped in historical awesomeness... Oh and beer. Lots of delicious, wonderful beer. Even the town's name sake "München" or "the monk's place" contributes to the city's "beer" identity. During my stay we visited the nearby Andechs monastery where the monks brew beer to pay for the upkeep of the buildings, and have been since the doors of the monastery opened. On a side note, go there. It really doesn't get much better than staring with awe out at the Alps as you drink your beer and eat bratwurst with sauerkraut. Especially when it's the most amazing bratwurst and sauerkraut you've ever had, and the beer you're drinking is brewed in the building next to you.
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| And boy was it good. |
Munich is a crazy city. It's got something for absolutely everyone, as most big cities tend to... but I can't imagine that any of them do it like Munich does. I'd recommend to you, if you like the American idea of Germany, and you
want to see the most Germany German place ever, go to Munich. And if you make it, go have a "Schneider Weisse" beer, and think of your old pal Matt. Make sure you stop at the Viktualienmarkt too. Even if only to have lunch at one of
the fine eating establishments, maybe even the "Pferdemetzgerei" (horse butcher) where you can get a horse burger,
or a horse hot dog. Like I said, something for everyone.
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| Childhood dreams fulfilled +1 |
Of course I finished my own visit to Munich on an excellent note. You see, my favorite movie of all time forever, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, was filmed in Munich. Though the factory no longer stands, the gate outside of it does...
The Monday before last began for me with a drive down the autobahn at a steady 100-120 miles per hour, no big deal. Three high-octane hours later, we were in Munich, the capital of beer, Bavaria, and all that we Wisconsinites think of as being "German" (bratwurst, pretzels, Lederhosen etc.). Awesomely enough, my accommodation for the week was Marius' uncle's house. I thought that I'd see some different aspect of Munich than what most visitors see. Oddly enough though, from what I gathered, I think the people may just be the jolly, beer-loving, happy Germans that I'd expected them not to be. I mean, the Bavarian idea of a "traditional breakfast" is weißwurst and beer. And every night for dinner, my host-dad had a big mug of beer with dinner, which was usually cheese and sausage with pretzel rolls. Awesome, am I right? I guess the stereotype isn't really so different than the reality in this case.
It's the same mentality I wanted to take in my day-to-day activities there, I didn't want to be "that tourist" who saw the Glockenspiel and ate at a grossly overpriced Biergarten thinking they'd really seen Munich. But once again, I found that it doesn't matter really where you go, Munich is Munich. With how friendly everyone was, I often forgot that I was in a city with well over a million inhabitants. In fact, from the people I talked to, as far as big cities go, it's one of the safest. I mean, in my host family the 6 year old took the public bus to and from school every day all be herself. I bet the biggest threat you face in Munich is getting trampled by the hoards of tourists. I mean, the Glockenspiel at Marienplatz is packed every morning with tourists. As I stood to watch it myself, I heard a commentary about it in like 6 different languages. But its no wonder it's always so packed with tourists, the place has got tons to offer.
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