When we got off of the night train in Munich's Hauptbahnhof station, I pulled out the map to our hotel. It was bright and early, about 7 am I think. The problem with having maps, especially at train stations, is that it's really difficult to get your bearings directions-wise. So we were standing there like green tourists, trying to figure out what side of the station we were on when a very friendly German man (who I'm pretty sure wanted us to "thank" *ahem...pay* him for his services) offered to show us where the street we were looking for was. Despite the fact that we truly didn't have any small change with which to thank him, we enjoyed his attempt at making conversation in broken English about how wonderful America must be, what with Arnold Schwartzenegger and Obama and all. We just nodded and smiled! :) But...what a totally different feel than England and France...the moment we stepped off the train we loved Deutschland!
On our first day in Munich we visited Dachau concentration camp. It was an extremely sobering experience that I can't really put into words so I'm not going to try.
I will say that while we were walking through the Crematorium and then what is now gardens where there are graves for the many thousands unknown, I felt somewhat sick to my stomach. We didn't talk much, we just kind of absorbed our surroundings silently.
Then later that afternoon we totally and completely switched gears, and visited the renowned Hofbrauhaus, a down-home, authentic beer hall. Although we're Dutch, we definitely felt like the Germans were our people! When we walked in, every single table was jam packed, and it's not the kind of deal where you wait to be seated. So we had to circle the place a couple times before we found room for two at a table. At one point in the night, Matt leaned across the table and said, "These guys could be our Uncles" in reference to the uncle-aged German men sitting next to us. :) He kind of hit it on the head, it was like sitting next to your super-fun uncles, except they don't speak your language! At some point we discovered that one of the wives spoke English so we talked a little and she would translate. So fun!
One of my favorite moments of the night was when the "Uncle" sitting next to Matt started shaking his head as Matt was trying to cut the meat off of the bone. He's motioning to Matt like, what are you doing you crazy American, pick it up and eat the meat off the bone! When he did the wife who didn't speak English was motioning frantically for me to take a picture, and they all laughed hysterically when I did. It was a blast! Definitely one of the top 3 meals we ate in Europe...pork steak and potatoes with apple strudel for dessert!!
At one point in the night, the band walked around and played in different areas. They were really talented! We definitely wished we spoke German, because suddenly the entire hall would break out into song...it was awesome. When we asked, the people sitting next to us said they're just drinking songs, but fun nonetheless! The Hofbrauhaus was an experience like none other, and a memory we'll never forget! Of all the places we went, we would definitely visit Germany again!
This is a doner kebab...a must have if you ever make the trip. YUM!!!
On our second day in Munich we walked through the English Gardens, and just kind of had a relaxing day. We were pretty tired by this point, so it was nice to just take it easy a little bit. We also made one last stop at the Hofbrauhaus before leaving! :) Germany was awesome. Two days in Munich was just about the perfect amount of time, well worth the stop! I'll post more about Italy in the next few days.
On our first day in Munich we visited Dachau concentration camp. It was an extremely sobering experience that I can't really put into words so I'm not going to try.
I will say that while we were walking through the Crematorium and then what is now gardens where there are graves for the many thousands unknown, I felt somewhat sick to my stomach. We didn't talk much, we just kind of absorbed our surroundings silently.
Then later that afternoon we totally and completely switched gears, and visited the renowned Hofbrauhaus, a down-home, authentic beer hall. Although we're Dutch, we definitely felt like the Germans were our people! When we walked in, every single table was jam packed, and it's not the kind of deal where you wait to be seated. So we had to circle the place a couple times before we found room for two at a table. At one point in the night, Matt leaned across the table and said, "These guys could be our Uncles" in reference to the uncle-aged German men sitting next to us. :) He kind of hit it on the head, it was like sitting next to your super-fun uncles, except they don't speak your language! At some point we discovered that one of the wives spoke English so we talked a little and she would translate. So fun!
One of my favorite moments of the night was when the "Uncle" sitting next to Matt started shaking his head as Matt was trying to cut the meat off of the bone. He's motioning to Matt like, what are you doing you crazy American, pick it up and eat the meat off the bone! When he did the wife who didn't speak English was motioning frantically for me to take a picture, and they all laughed hysterically when I did. It was a blast! Definitely one of the top 3 meals we ate in Europe...pork steak and potatoes with apple strudel for dessert!!
At one point in the night, the band walked around and played in different areas. They were really talented! We definitely wished we spoke German, because suddenly the entire hall would break out into song...it was awesome. When we asked, the people sitting next to us said they're just drinking songs, but fun nonetheless! The Hofbrauhaus was an experience like none other, and a memory we'll never forget! Of all the places we went, we would definitely visit Germany again!
This is a doner kebab...a must have if you ever make the trip. YUM!!!
On our second day in Munich we walked through the English Gardens, and just kind of had a relaxing day. We were pretty tired by this point, so it was nice to just take it easy a little bit. We also made one last stop at the Hofbrauhaus before leaving! :) Germany was awesome. Two days in Munich was just about the perfect amount of time, well worth the stop! I'll post more about Italy in the next few days.
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