Surprisingly, I am safely in Austria. Surprisingly you ask? Let me retell the story of my Munich adventure.
We left Switzerland pretty early Monday morning and headed to Lichtenstein, the worlds smallest country. We were there for an hour, with absolutely nothing to do. I bought a mini shot glass with my last franks and then we headed on to Germany. Along the way we stopped for lunch. Where does a giant tour bus full of Americans go? McDonalds! Lol. They really are nicer in Europe though…and each one has different menu items.
After our short stop we got back on the road where I finished a great book called “Second Glance” and ended in Munich. We had about 2 and a half hours of free time before dinner so we explored the city center and saw the bells ring and the glockenspiel turn (not all its cracked up to be). I saw a theatre street that had the main theatre in Germany and a bunch of really pretty churches. We also strolled through the European Gardens.
Dinner was at a wonderful Bavarian restaurant and was tomato soup, cabbage, pork and dumplings, and an apple strudel with vanilla topping. I asked for another glass of water there, and the server said I had to pay, which I replied was fine. Well, he brings me out what looks like water, but is some sparkling crap. I told him I wanted water and he said, it is. Everyone then informed me I had to ask for “flat water”. Well, that would have been nice to know earlier, not to mention I thought he would have brought me the same thing we were drinking before. Lindsey and I left kind of early because we were going to meet Aaron (my friend from Miami).
He wanted to take us to the same restaurant we were just at! So instead we went to the Hofbrauhaus, which is the most famous pub. I, reluctantly, got a stein because I couldn’t go to Germany without having one (even though I really dislike beer). I got a dark one and managed to drink the whole thing without hating it too much. Aaron’s friends Will and Dan came too who were really fun to hang out with. They wanted to show us more of Munich’s nightlife so we grabbed some German Gelato and headed onto the U (subway system) to the artsy part of town. (Oh, and on our way out of the Hofbrauhaus 40 year old asian men stopped us and danced with Lindsey and I. Aaron took pics..it was pretty entertaining). So, Monday night is kind of a bust for going out, but we found one place open where Aaron got fries with mayonnaise and onion, which I kind of liked. (Europeans and their freakin mayonnaise fries!) We walked around a bit more and found a grassy fountain area where a lot of college kids were chillin, so we sat there for awhile.
By this point it was about 12:30 and most places were closed, so they took us back to where they live (which is on a college campus) to their favorite bar. We hung out there until around 2 and decided to just stay with Aaron since it was late and we were exhausted. The plan was to get up the next morning and take the U back to the main square and walk to the hotel (a total of 30 minutes max).
Lindsey and I left Aaron’s apartment around 8 giving us an hour and half to make it back to the hotel. We get on the U, no problem, with our tickets from last night because it is really easy to get on without getting them stamped. We wait on the train for about 6 minutes before it moves to the next stop. At the next stop, an overhead announcement comes on (in German) and people start leaving, so we do too. There is no other U to take from there so we follow everyone to the bus station. A really nice lady tells us that the U is suspended for 10-15 minutes at every stop and says we can get on a bus, to a different U line, and then on another bus to get to the square. It sounds super over complicated and it is 8:40 at this point, so we decided to hail a taxi.
Since the U is moving slowly ALL of the taxis are full, so after 10 minutes of trying. (And using a whole lot of Alexander technique to keep my nerves down) a lady comes up to us and says that a taxi station is about 2 blocks down, and walks us there. (Gotta love the nice Germans!) Finally a taxi comes and he doesn’t know where our hotel is (mind you we keep a list of the hotels, addresses and phone numbers with us, but THIS and ONLY this hotel has been changed, so all we have is the name). The taxi driver calls someone and figures it out and tells us we will be there in 30 minutes with the traffic…it’s 9, we leave at 9:30. So I realize there is nothing we can do, but get there, and the taxi driver puts on American music and tells us he LOVES Americans and asks if we are from California or Miami. Lol.
FINALLY we make it to the hotel at 9:27, run like mad women upstairs to change into pants and zip our suitcases, and fly back down the stairs. Longest walk of shame ever? I think so! Did we make it to the bus at 9:30? You betcha! Let’s just say that was one scary adventure that luckily ended well. I’m not sure what we would have done if they left without us.
So after taking the time to breath on the bus we headed to Dauchau, the first concentration camp. It was remarkable to see. To physically walk through the gates, see the crematoriums, the rows where houses used to be filled with people, and see artifacts of the horrible tragedy was an unforgettable experience. The holocaust is my favorite time to learn about in history, so I really enjoyed having the opportunity to go there. We also got a chance to go into the museum part and watch a movie in English on it, so that was a good experience.
We headed back to the bus and to Salzburg! It is yet another beautiful European city and Sound of Music was filmed there!!! However, we were only there 1.5 hours so I couldn’t go on the tour. I was so pissed. Especially cause Sara knew how excited I was and said it was possible. So yes, I was SUPER bummed, but I got to see where they filmed the hiding scene and the fountain that Andrews sings “Confidence” in front of. I want to go back SO bad. Dad, I wish you were there with me! We would have had a ball! Also, while in Salzburg I had Wiener schnitzel and a chocolate covered soft pretzel and bought a Sound of Music book (look mom, I bought myself something!)
After our short time in the city we got back on the bus to another part of Austria, one I like to call THE COMPLETE MIDDLE OF NO WHERE!!!!!!!! We had to rush through Heidelberg, Cologne, Munich, and Salzburg to end up here for 2 days?!?! It’s worse than Oxford! Dinners are provided in the hotel because there is only one other restaurant. Looks like I will be preparing for my NYC life most of tomorrow!
Sorry for the extremely long blog post! I’m sure tomorrows will be shorter. And the adventures continue…
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