First Stop: Munich

My after study travels began with a few days in Rome with some friends from the University of Texas - San Antonio. Then, I met up with my after travel partners Laura and Emily, both from K-State. We had quite an adventure getting to Munich on time. Always be sure and double check the dates on your tickets, especially if using a third party! We booked a night train that left from Rome at 7:00 pm and arrived in Munich at 6:30 am. After having to have our tickets changed to the correct date, we found out that the train company had overbooked our cabin and instead of 6 people, there were 11! Things got resolved, but needless to say, we didn't get much sleep. The trains have been extrabooked lately due to the volcanic ash cloud.

We arrived at our hostel quite early and weren't able to check in until 2 pm. So, we did a tour of the concentration camp Dachau (see following post). Then, after we had checked in and showered, we headed towards the historic center of town, Marienplatz. Here the Rathous, or city hall, is located.
It is a very Gothic building and there was ornate gargoyles and spires all over!

In Munich, there is actually quite a bit of modern architecture. This is partly due to the rebuilding that happened after WWII. Rena Wandel-Hoefer and Wolfgang Lorch designed this new synagogue, Ohel Jakob, which means Jacob's tent.

Another part of European culture is soccer. The Munich team had just won an important game the night before we arrived and its fans were still celebrating. Everyone was wearing red and white and some were even sporting traditional leather pants with their soccer jersey. What would Tim Gunn say about that?

We ran into a group of K-Staters and had dinner with them at a beer garden at the Chinese Pagoda in the English Gardens. How more multicultural can you get?

This was my first experience with German food and German beer. I got a currywurst, which basically a hot dog with red curry sauce, pommes frites, and a Weiss beer.

Overall, Munich was a very pleasant city. It was interesting to fall asleep in Italy and wake up in Germany. Even though they are so close to each other, they are worlds apart, culturally speaking. A benefit to being in Germany and in a larger city is that most people speak some English. That was helpful, because I speak no German at all.