Munich Day 2

Our second day in Munich was full of sunshine, beautiful views, and stellar street performers. It began with a group trip to The Duetch Museum, which is one of the largest science and engineering museums in the world.

I spent most of my time in the mining exhibit. The museum created a huge replica of a mine that you can walk through. It follows German coal mining through the decades and also highlights salt and phosphate mining. Hidden deep in the building’s basement, it was kind of eerie to walk through alone. The passages are narrow and the floors creaky, and the whole place smelled of coal. I felt like I was actually in a mine, and had to remind myself on several occasions that I wasn’t!

 

After my time in the basement I made my way to the museum’s roof, which doubles as a Sundial Garden. I checked out the sundials…sort of…but was really more impressed by the incredible view of the city that my six story climb had afforded me. 

Industrialism is a defining feature of the German landscape, especially in the Ruhr Region where I’ve spent most of my trip. But I felt like seeing century old towers beside decade old smokestacks kind of defined Germany for me. Its industrialism is not a mar on its otherwise historic and quaint cultural landscape. These smokestacks are as much a part of Germany as the now crumbling aqueducts are a part of Rome. I've come to see them as something beautiful—as history in the making. 

When we left the museum, we went to a special place on the Eisbach River where dams create artificial waves large enough to surf on, and watched some local surfers brave the waves. It was a cool little quirky thing that I’m glad I got to see.

We then ate in a shady corner of the Viktualien Market. It was sunny and breezy and perfect and the food was absolutely delicious! All pretzels should be head sized or bigger! Pretzel purity laws, anyone?

After that we decided it was time for more stairs! We climbed to the top of St. Peter's Church, a 306 step climb known as the Alter Peter. The view from the top was incredible but even more moving was our experience inside the church.

This is the view of Marien Platz from the very top of the church tower. Wow!

We decided to peek inside the church because there was a 15-minute wait to climb the tower. And within seconds of entering, it became my favorite church I’ve seen in Europe thus far. I have to say that the pictures I took do not do it justice. We’d been sitting enjoying the beauty of the church for a few minutes when we heard the sound of a choir coming from above. Expecting a sound system, I turned to see a full choir with an orchestra and organ playing above us. Sitting there listening, was sublime. I don’t know how to do the profundity of the moment justice other than to say WOW!

We eventually tore ourselves away from the church and made our way to the English Gardens which I’ve heard described as the Central Park of Munich. There we watched a few really talented street performers, and took a refreshing little catnap in the grass (walking can be exhausting!).

After that, we took the subway back to the hotel, which was honestly something of a feet for two suburban kids who speak no German. And that was the day! It was a lot of walking but I feel like there’s no better way to really see a city! If blisters are the cost of adventure, I am willing to pay my fare.  

Munich Day 1

After 8 hours of overnight bus-travel, we arrived in Munich at 8 am on Friday morning. Because it was not yet check in time at our hotel, we went straight to BMW world.

 

The complex itself was very impressive. I guess you could say it was architecturally interesting and it was definitely MASSIVE! There were lots of cars there, and some cool chairs.

This car was new!

After that we went to get lunch. I broke my vegetarianism to try schnitzel and boy am I glad I did it! It was some kind of pork schnitzel that was literally the size of a dinner plate!! It was as stomach-ache-inducing as it was delicious! But it didn’t stop us from catching a free walking tour at 2 o’clock!

The tour was heavily based in history—mainly the city’s relationship with beer, and WWII. It was fascinating! I was most impressed by the subtlety of the city’s war memorials. Most of them are completely inconspicuous, almost made to evade notice. I really enjoyed the tour!

This gold stripe commemorates Germans who were sent to Dachau for passively opposing Hitler. A block away from this gold stripe, Hitler erected a memorial plaque for lives lost in The Beer Hall Putsch. Germans who opposed Hitler would go down the ally pictured here to avoid having to salute the plaque. Eventually the S.S. guards caught on and began sending these passive resistors to Dachau. The gold stripe reminds us of those who died. And the ally has since come to be known as Dodger's Alley. 

This is Munich's Maibaum (may pole), located in the center of the Viktualien Market. It is blue and white, Bavarian colors, and depicts the most important aspects of Munich. Our tour guide was quick to point out that nearly every rung includes beer in some way shape or form. 

This is Juliette, a gift from the Italy to Germany. Rubbing her left breast allegedly brings you good luck in love. I guess only time will tell if it's true or not! 

This is the famous Rathaus-Glokenspiel!

When it was over, three hours later, it was back to the hotel to gather a group for dinner. On the way we ran into some traditional African street performers and tried unsuccessfully to start a Congo line!  

We decided to have a traditional Bavarian meal at a restaurant recommended by our tour guide. It was so delicious! I’m starting to really like Bavaria! And on the way home we encountered a jazz group playing in the street. A jazz group complete with a baby grand piano! In the street! Only in Munich! Exhaustion aside, the day was exquisite! I love Munich!

To Trier and Beyond

I'm beginning to appreciate the spontaneity of my German host family. We started today with the intention of making the scenic drive from Traben-Trabach to Trier and ended up stopping to see a castle and a darling little village along the way.

 

First, the Castle! Apparently it was more of a fortress (burg) than a castle (schloss) but it was still beautiful, and situated high on a hill overlooking the river. To get there you have to make a beautiful little 1.5 km hike from the car. And the hike itself was delectable, the air was crisp and enlivening, and wild flowers were everywhere!

Then came the castle, which though in ruins, maintains its charm. I must say humanity definitely took a turn for the worse when we stopped building castles! Not only do castles enhance landscapes but they also aid in capturing them. Check out these views from the tower!

Here is a picture of me with my Turkish-German host family.

We enjoyed coffee and ice cream inside the Castle and then we got back on the road, stopping once again in the little fairytale town of Bernkastel-Kues.

Though completely overrun by tourists, the place was beautiful. The streets were small, and music was everywhere. If I haven't mentioned it yet the region we've been in for the past three days is German wine country, and I think some kind of festival was going on. Anyway, it was in Bernkastel-Kues that I became acquainted with the German delicacy of flammkuchen. I'm pretty sure they're just regular flatbreads with a fancy name but I DON'T CARE! They were german and delicious!

Next was Trier, which is a beautiful Roman city. The influence of the Roman empire was everywhere! Most notably, in the massive stone structure that used to serve as the city's gate, the Porta Nigra (black gate). 

Here I am inside the gate with my host Dad.

We got to climb to the very top of the gate, from which you can look down the central street of the city. It was beautiful, and there was a man dressed as a gladiator inexplicably wandering the halls so the whole experience was very exciting. The city looked beautiful from above. Here are a few areal shots I took from the gate--amateurish I know, but bear with me. 

And we ended our day in the most delicious Italian restaurant EVER! Exhuasted from a long day of exploring, I was delighted to sit down to a traditional Italian meal at Pizzeria da Franco. It was warm and the food was the best I've had in Germany, and my only regret is not taking pictures! Sorry Elizabeth! So we ended a good day with some good food and good company! I am starting to really like Germany!

Luxembourg, The City of Flags

We spent today in the city of Luxembourg, capital of The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg! And for the first time in almost six days we had cloudless blue skies and sunshine! It was perfect, because in all of its natural beauty, Luxembourg is not a city I would want to see without a bright sun.

We arrived around noon, and proceeded to tour the downtown area. I’ve been trying to eat healthy
while overseas, but my host father insisted that I have an ice cream cone. And it was a glorious ice cream cone! Walking down the inexplicably umbrella overhung streets licking my mint chocolate chip gelato was nothing short of a religious experience. I have to say one of my favorite things about Europe is that more often than not a middle aged business man in a well tailored suit will be in front of you in line for Gelato. It always cracks me up when he walks off casually with his double scoop strawberry cone in one hand and a briefcase in the other.

Next we explored the casemates and crypts that earned Luxembourg the title of Gibraltar of the North. Some of the dimly lit winding stairways and narrow passageways were downright creepy. But the almost century old structure was impressive nonetheless.

We then made our way down a series of stairways to a beautiful garden nestled into the side of a steep hill.

  

And we finished our day exploring this naturally beautiful part of the city. Hilariously, the meal we had in Luxembourg was Tex Mex of all things. More than four and half thousand miles from home I can’t escape the Texas influence.

It was a wonderful day. I appreciate that a country as small as Luxembourg (population 531,441) is so prideful of its heritage. In the city center, you literally could not take a photo without inadvertently capturing a Luxembourg flag in the frame. It is a beautifully spirited country! It’s the kind of place where there’s nothing weird about hundreds of umbrellas hanging from the sky! And there’s something really great about that!