Prost Muncih!

So this trip just gets better and better. I have just returned from Munich where I got a little taste of German culture...mostly in the form of local food and drink.

We got on a train Friday afternoon after classes and arrived in Zurich after about 2.5 hours. We had a 2 hour layover at the train station before we had to be on our train to Munich. I haven't ridden many trains in the states, but I can imagine the stations are very different at home than they are in Europe. Because the train station is located in the center of most of these cities, and are used more regularly than trains at home, they tend to be an entire city center. The Zurich station had several grocery stores, a bunch of shoe stores, some chocolate shops and a really cool beer/liquor store that had beverages from all around the world.

We jumped on the 4 hour train to Munich, and got in around Midnight. The hostel was located about a block from the station, and after figuring out which direction we had to walk in, it was pretty easy to find. Wombat's Hostel owns several youth hostels in Europe. They are voted number one in cleanliness and atmosphere and it was immediately evident why. The rooms had 6 beds and a bathroom ensuite. The doors had automatic key cards that also controlled the provided lockers. There were big windows and a large shower/bathroom. Downstairs, the bar was hoppin with a live band and there were hammocks and swings in the atrium. We used our free beer passes that we received at check-in, watched a little Karaoke and hung out downstairs for an hour or two. We wanted to get up early the next morning to see the city.

We got up, showered and ate breakfast at the Hostel bar. For 3.50 Euro we got a full breakfast with fruit, yogurt, meat, cheese, nutella and panini sandwiches. I ate more than I normally would for breakfast, because I knew I wasn't going to want to pay for any food until dinner. A few of us walked around the hostel surroundings. I got a black and white scarf at a street vendor down the street. We met up in the Hostel lobby to go on a FREE walking tour of Munich.

A young man who grew up in Munich met up with about 11 girls from Virgina Tech and a group from Miami of Ohio to show us around the city. We walked through the city center and went to the Frauenkirche church. It boasts the tallest towers in the city, but an old folk story says that it is haunted by the Devil, who makes the wind blow really hard on the outside. We continued walking through the city and made it to the New Town Hall in time to see the Glockenspiel play at 12:00. The life size figures re-enacated a famous wedding scene and tournament as the music from the Carillion played.

We continued to the Viktualienmarkt, an open air market that sells local goods and groceries. We had some time to grab a snack. Some of my friends got a glass of honey wine and we split a pretzel. We met at the Maypole in the middle and learned about the tradition of stealing maypoles from neighboring towns. We ended our tour by walking through the royal palaces and residences and stopped at the Bavarian Memorial. We rubbed the noses of the lucky lions near the palace, and hopefully will have good luck the rest of the time we are here. Bavaria is represented by the Lion and known for their beer. The Monks of Munich were the first to brew beer, and drank it during religious fasting as a way to recieve calories...that is where the image of a fat monk came from.

We lucked out with clear skies and sunshine, but after spending the morning walking around the city, we needed a place to warm up. We found a coffee shop that sold regular American drip coffee in large mugs and indulged. It is very difficult to find coffee in Switzerland that is bigger than a shot of espresso, and every drink is much smaller and more expensive than we are used to.

Some of our group decided to go back to the hostel to take a nap, but Katie, Cheryl and I continued to walk around Munich. We climbed the top of the tower at the Alter Peter and took in the amazing views of the city against the clear background. We walked down the shopping streets and picked up a few souvenirs. We ran into a peaceful march protesting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in front of the New Town Hall.

We met up with the rest of our group at the Hofbrauhaus to eat dinner and drink up the German culture. I had a sausage platter, a liter of Beer, a liter of Radler (which is a mix of beer and lemonade) and a pretzel. We stayed for a few hours listening to the German band and talking with some people who were visiting from Berlin.

We went back to Wombat's, who was hosting a ska/reggae band and spent the rest of the night at the front of the stage. We went to bed around 2 because we knew we had a big day ahead of us.

We met our Dacahu tour guide, Jamie, at the train station at 10 the next morning. He was an Irishman who has been living in Munich for several years. He guided our group of 12 to the Dachau concentration camp and gave us a fantastic introduction to the history of the concentration camp. He told us about how the Nazis gained power in Europe and their methods revolving around the prisoner work camps throughout Europe. I never realized the intensity of everything until I looked at a map with the numbers from each area who were slaughtered in the Holocaust.

Dachau was the first Nazi concentration camp to open and the last to be liberated, so Jamie explained the various transitions that it went through and how it has been memorialized since it was liberated. The entire experience was very moving and I am very glad we decided to hire a tour guide for only 4 Euro more than an audio guide. We were able to ask questions and receive information that pertained to the thoughts we were having.

We had a quick break in the train station on the way home to grab a bite to eat, then it was 6 hours back to Lugano. We arrived pretty late, unpacked and went to bed.

We had Italian class Monday morning and were told that our exam that was scheduled for Thursday would be moved for Tuesday, so we only had one night to prepare! There was a written portion and a few minutes of one-on-one conversation with Magda. I think I did pretty well on the written part, but I was pretty nervous for the speaking portion and I definitely think that showed.

The next day we had a lecture with Julian, a USI student who does research with David. He told us about Swiss culture and some of the history of Switzerland. At the end of the lecture we had a Wine tasting where we sampled wine from the German, Italian and French provinces of Switzerland. I took down the names of the wines we tasted and am planning to bring some bottles home.

Today a man from the non-profit organization NoWomanNoLife spoke to us about social entrepreneurship and how their organization functions. Afterwards, Katherine gave a lecture about the history and culture of Ireland. She live there for a year and many of us are heading to Ireland and England next week.

We have a big research project and presentation the week after we return, so we are working on gathering information for that. Six of my friends and I are going to London and Dublin next week, so look out for some great information about that. I am so excited!