The Munich Adventures! (and Last Day in Germany)

We were definitely spoiled by Berlin. Besides how incredibly inconvenient the city itself was (it closed whenever it wanted), the hostel was luxurious and we had so much more time to do all of the things plus take a few rest days. Time has flown by here in Munich. We have been in Munich for about half of the time that we were in Berlin and have done (relatively) few things. However, considering that most of the draw of Munich is the city itself, we have seen and done just about everything we cared to see and do. On top of that, the few things we have done have been the most wonderful day-long excursions! Quality over quantity this time. So, without further adieu (I know my family is dying for details!), I will do my best to describe all of our experiences for you. However, I warn you now, words can do no justice, but I will try (aka. this is gonna be long...)
 

The first day here (New Years Day) I partially covered in my last blog. We got in, went to McDonalds, checked into our hostel, explored and kept it pretty chill. The rest of the day we bought food and recovered from the train ride. Cyrus finalized all of the things he needed to fuel his Crossfit addiction and I took great joy in seeing all of the beautiful buildings and castle-like churches that scatter the city. Did I mention that the buildings and sites are beautiful here?!?! Otherwise, we got to know our new room (8 person, fairly spacious, with attached bathroom) and made our first hot, homemade meal either of us have had in weeks. Not a bad day to start out with.

 







Still not entirely comfortable with our new city, and not sure what to do first, we took another chill day. We also didn't want to fill our time too much (or waste precious energy) since today was the day Cyrus was to check out his Crossfit gym. We ended up seeing the rest of the stores in the city center that were closed the day before and exploring further around the hostel. We ended up finding a nice park not too far away with a statue of a goddess (?) and a lion. Apparently the lion is the symbol of Munich while the Bear is the symbol of Berlin. I'm not sure what the other cities have as their symbols (if they even do), but all of the animals made me feel like I was in an episode of Game of Thrones (which Cyrus has successfully got me hooked on). Not long after that, Cyrus was off to Crossfit and I finished my first blog in the lobby of the hostel. That's why there is an impromptu insertion by Cyrus. He came back from Crossfit at that very moment and had to share his great experiences! He was also starving at that point, hence going to buy him half of a chicken (which he ate from the bag while we were headed back home on the underground, looking like he hadn't eaten in weeks) from the Hauptbahnhof... at 10 pm. We've been back since for their glorious chicken a few times, only once eating our meal on a plate with silverware. And by “we” I mean mainly Cyrus eating the chicken and sharing bits and me... I was usually not hungry when we went. I think we've made a lasting impression. XD

The first few days were a great introduction into the city and we had our fun, but these last few days have been the real adventure! The next day we took a train up to Dachau to visit the concentration camp which has been preserved (mostly) and turned into a memorial. It was a fairly easy journey since the city trains serviced as far out as Dachau, so we didn't need to buy a special ticket (technically)... We have been lucky, only having to run from ticket checkers once so far. Exciting!!! Anyway, the camp was much larger than I had anticipated! Honestly, I'm not sure what I expected, but it all took me by surprise. I don't think any amount of knowledge or expectation could prepare anyone for the emotions that await you at the camp. As we walked down the path to the entrance we saw groups of tourists and tours, but not wanting to be corralled around, we opted to just take it all in; we knew enough already.

The closer to the entrance we walked the quieter everyone got, as if the spirits themselves were instructing the masses and even the children there to move in solidarity. The entrance was a small gate in the middle of an official-like structure with the immortal words “Arbeit Macht Frei” welded into the black bars. Barbed wire stretched along both sides and around the compound interrupted intermittently by ominous guard towers every few hundred yards.

  

As we entered we split, wanting take this experience in four ourselves. The first thing I noticed was how large the open space was between the command center and were the barracks once rested. Two barracks still stood to show visitors the living conditions while the other rows had been demolished. In the courtyard were monuments and words, full of pain, proclaiming “Never Again.” As I walked around I imagined the place full of people and how cold it must have been- I was freezing in my heavy jacket. Everything became so real. I read every sign, walked down every path, silently offering what humble sorrow and solidarity I could to the spirits and their memories. As I walked my heart grew heavier, threatening to break with each church and silent plaque, finally shattering as I came upon a building fitted with smokestacks. 

I could hardly bring myself to walk inside and see the crematorium and attached gas chamber. It was too real. I guess I always imagined huge furnaces and large, windowless rooms equipped with shower spigots, but that's not reality. One room is bare and white- where the bodies were held. The next is about the same, but has four small furnaces- one person was cremated in each at a time. The gas chamber is directly next to that one. Two small windows were visible at the base of one of the walls, unreachable by heavy bars. Monstrous cruelty till the end. My head screamed and my eyes welled up as I passed through the “undressing” chamber where they were told that a shower awaited them through he doors. I left in a hurry, not able to take any more heartache. Too real. I did not take any pictures of this as, somehow, gawking with a camera seemed to cheapen the memory. Cyrus and I met up here and walked around the wooded path where executions were performed and the graves for the unknown thousands stood. We then took some time in the museum that took over the former command house. We didn't make it over half way through before we had had enough and decided to leave. Just remembering it is so emotive. Too real. We didn't do anything else of consequence that day.

The next day I was determined to see the Neues Rathaus Glockenspiel (New Town House Clock Tower). It is an impressive display that moves every day at 11am. The little metal people move and spin, reenacting a famous joust that ends in Bavaria winning, and the following celebration. The entire time bells play beautifully happy tunes and, since it's the holidays, it ended with the song “Oh Tannenbaum” (Oh Christmas Tree). The whole thing lasted about 10 minutes. It was so pretty, and well worth standing in the drizzle that was coming down. After that we relaxed and I prepared myself as I had agreed to go to Crossfit with Cyrus! I was so nervous I'd make a fool out of myself. However, sitting there watching his class (my “Rookie” class was right after), I started to feel jipped. I could do all of the things his class was doing! I was so ready for my class and it ended up being easier than I had expected. It was a good workout still! Cyrus can tell you, he did mine right after his because he's crazy. I have done Crossfit before, and while this place was unique in how utterly sketchy it was (see Cyrus's Facebook for pictures), it wasn't anything new or exceptionally challenging. I am now confident that I can do the “big girl” class next time.

Finally, yesterday! We took a day trip to the southern tip of Bavaria (we could see Austria) to visit Neuschwanstein Castle! Cyrus has written a wonderful guest entry for this trip, so I will be brief and you can get the whole store between the two of us. This one is my rendition and I'll give Cyrus his own entry.

This castle is what fairy-tales are based off of, build by the mad King Ludwig II and standing high above the villages below. It couldn't have been dreamed up any better by Walt Disney himself! However, my phone died before we got to the castle (I'm so sorry mom I thought it was charged, please don't kill me), so I have no pictures... but this dude's blog is pretty good and he did something similar to what we did... http://www.gimmelwald.com/europe/neuschwanstein.html. We started out early and took a two and a half hour train ride (which we actually had to buy a ticket for) down to Füssen to catch a bus to the ticket center for the castle. The country-side down south is beautiful and unlike any one place I've ever seen before with fields mixed with dense forest and little red villages. We got to the base of the castle at 1pm and were just too late to pick up tickets that we had reserved. This was partly because the train took longer than we had anticipated, and also because Cyrus spent 20 minutes at Hauptbahnhof deciding whether he wanted gummy bears, chocolate, or nothing at all for the trip (spoiler: he got chocolate but we ended up eating about 300grams of gummy bears later), causing us to miss our first train.... In fairness, neither of us were keeping track of time, but I still like giving him shit for it. :D So, we finally got to the ticket desk and had to have our tour of inside the castle pushed back a few hours. It wasn't such a big deal though, we had already prepared to be there for the whole day.

The walk up to the castle was about 30 minutes uphill of the most beautiful forest and scenery ever. To one side was a vast valley spotted with a few little villages and churches neighbored by gorgeous lakes, to the other was the Alps and the castle. We were very early for our delayed tour time, so we passed the time taking in the scenery and playing “spot the Russians” amongst the tourists (Hint: everyone). The sun also started to come out from behind the overcast sky throwing glittering light onto the snowy mountain tops. Finally, we made our way into the castle for our audio tour. We thought that an audio tour would be more self-directed. However, we ended up being herded around like cattle, pushed through the rooms and lead by an extremely obnoxious German guy with a nasally “British” accent. It was torturous, but seeing the rooms was worth it. They were so ornate and colorful with large renaissance-style paintings in each room. One room was even a cave! I want a cave in my house!!! The view from the windows was just as beautiful, overlooking the valley sometimes and the mountains at others. The tour was about 30 minutes and didn't even cover the entire castle. I don't care if it isn't all finished, I wanna see everything! Anyway, filled with our share of ornate madness we headed out to find a famous bridge that overlooks the castle and the beautiful waterfall that motivated the mad king to build the castle where he did. To our disappointment, the path was blocked off for safety reasons (ice). However, this did not stop us, or anyone else from jumping the fences (there were two) and going up to the bridge. The sight was pretty with the clear waterfall below and the castle in plain view.

However, being two crazy adventurous kids having been let loose in the mountains, our sense of wonder was not fulfilled and we kept on past the bridge. Soon, we met another fence telling us to turn back which we promptly disobeyed and continued to climb (quite literally) up the mountain. We must have been climbing and running up this massive peak for what seemed like forever. Along the way we climbed across another wire fence- going deep into where we were not supposed to be. After a while the ground began to visibly change from muddy to frosted over, but we kept climbing. The best experience of my life! And the best view that very few have ever seen! Soon the villages were patches of red roofs and the castles (Neuschwanstein and Hoenwald) looked like childrens' toy-houses. The air was clear and the Alps were closer than ever before, as were he clouds. Soon we were up past the clouds, only able to see the forest around us. At one point we stopped to look out and were only able to see an abyss of gray. Stepping closer to the edge we realized that we were on top of a sheer drop. Woods behind and a gray expanse of absolutely nothing in front. Blame the sheer joy of exploring, the rush of rule-breaking, or the obvious lack of oxygen at that point, but I had never felt so alive! Noting the creeping darkness that wasn't only due to the cloud, we resisted the urge to go farther and headed back down before the sun set fully. Racing down the side of the mountain, tempting mother nature, we emerged below the cloud to see the village lights all on and the castles lit up below. We stopped there, taking in the beautiful water-color sunset against the snowy mountains that hid tucked-away lakes, villages, and castles. The sight of dreams. Truly awesome and breath-taking. An image neither of us will ever forget. Racing against the setting sun we scurried back down the steep slopes and across the now deserted bridge. No more tourists, no more noise. Bliss and peace. The perfect day for an adventure of a lifetime. The wait for the bus and trains was cold (and called for more gummy bears), but soon enough we were back at the Hauptbahnhof filling our faces with chicken.

Today, we have checked out of the hostel, all prepared for Amsterdam! It is, yet again, a public holiday (see a theme with us?), so finding food and things to do may be tough, be we will try to make the best of our last day here, though we can hardly ask for more. Next update will be of the train, which I expect to be very similar to the one that got us here, and our new (and final) hostel! Love to all and happy Three Kings Day!