Tess and katie had a smooth flight across the world and met Julia in the Madrid airport on Monday morning! We made great use of the benches in the airport and slept in shifts while waiting for our flight to Munich. We figured out the 'bahn' trains very quickly - they really do arrive on time! The three of us checked into our hotel and stepped out for a quick dinner in the neighborhood - meat, potatoes, meat, meat and potatoes! And beer, of course. It was delicious, bacon on everything. After our first night of real sleep in 36 hours we went on Mike's Bike Tour in downtown Munich. It was a great recommendation from a friend! We saw all the sights - cathedral, royal palace, opera house, interesting glimpses of the Resistance Movement, the Englisher garden and lunch at a huge beer garden! Rotissere chicken, potatoes, sausage and beer was the best break we could imagine from all that peddaling. After the bike tour we toured the market and had a snack of apple struedal for an appetizer :) Then it was a quick nap before going to the world famous Hofbräuhäus!! We had a few drinks with the oompah band in the background and were joined by two nerdz german dudes that we found HILARIOUS! (Picture the schprocket guy from SNL.) We closed the place down and fought severe urges to buy gelato on the way home.
Day 2 in Munich
We got up very early and breakfasted in the adorable hotel dining room before packing up and heading to the Dachau concentration camp. We were surprised to find out how close it was to the center of downtown Munich, so we talked about it and decided it would be really important to see and experience. We were on the train 20 minutes and took a short bus ride to the memorial site. It was moving to say the least. The three of us did an audio tour of the main building, the entrance, past the doors saying 'work will set you free' into the rows and rows and rows of barracks. There was a huge yard for roll call which was much, much larger than I had imagined. We were struck by what a neighborhood surrounded the site and the expanse of the space. Our general takeaway was that it was done respectfully and demurely but more scientifically than we expected. There was no emotion in any of the descriptions or explanations. At the very end of the rows of barracks were chapels built in the '60's and '70's by the Jewish community and the catholic church.It was very moving and we were glad to go and have the freedom to leave the town of Dachau at the end of the day.
We raced back to our Munich hotel and grabbed our bags for a run (literally) to the main train station for the train to Salzburg, Austria. The giant backpacks tried to hold us back but we ran with all our might to catch the 4:32pm on track 9 to Salzburg. It was an absolutely beautiful train ride through farmland and the mountains. We ate cured ham, baguette, fresh gouda and fresh peaches for our lunch on the train - just divine. As we approached the town we had a picturesque moment pulling into town and seeing the fortress on the hill that was featured in the Sound of Music.
The town of Salzburg seems small but is quite spread out, so we took a taxi to our hostel, and here I write! The hostel is comfortable and katie is sleeping in the drop-down bunkbed in our room. Its pretty cool! Katie and Julia just joined the group in the hostel lobby for the nightly viewing of the movie Sound of Music, so we'll know what to look for on our tour. We'll step out for a late night dinner and start to explore Salzburg when we get our second win. The grand tour continues!!
No comments:
Post a Comment