A Very Fulfilling Trip

I had a very fulfilling visit to Germany.  I enjoyed visiting with my sister, Irene and her husband, Brian, and getting to know them a little bit more and see how they live in Germany.  It was great to see my German brother Alex again and finally meet his girlfriend Anna for the first time.  And it was wonderful to finally meet for the first time and stay with my German parents, Ines and Georg.  Because of these family members I had places to stay and good reasons to travel to different parts of the country.  I certainly was able to experience and learn a lot during these travels.  

Me, Irene, & Brian

Another aspect of my trip that was very fulfilling was the experience of blogging itself.  There are a number of positive consequences that I experienced because of writing this blog while I traveled.  My initial challenge was to blog about everything I did for every day that I was in Germany and write any additional blogs that I deemed appropriate.  The hard part with writing in general is you need to find enough interesting material everyday if you are going to be able to write about interesting things everyday.  

The first and most obvious consequence I discovered was that blogging forced me to pay more attention to the details and to find an understanding in my experiences.  This awareness helped me learn a great deal about the histories and cultures that I encountered and made me more aware to take pictures along the way.  This helped me to act on my curiosities by conversing and asking more questions and by doing more research on background information.    

Blogs are a lot of fun to reread later in life.  I blogged a few years ago when I lived in China and before I left for this trip to Germany I reread those old blogs.  It was fun to see what I looked like then and see what kind of person I was at that time in my life.  I hope to be able to have the same experience in the future when I reread this blog.

My favorite consequence of blogging was a bit of a surprise actually.  It is something that I didn't discover until I was already half way through my trip (two weeks) and had published more than two dozen blogs posts.  Everyday I would wake up and think "I need to experience enough interesting stuff today so I can have something entertaining to write about".  Blogging may have pushed me to participate in things that I might not have otherwise chosen to do so.  For any of you reading this who have seen the movie Yes Man, staring Jim Carey you will be able to relate.  My mentality of looking to do enough interesting things during the day turned me into more of a "yes man".  I felt like I was able to maximize my experience here in Germany and not waste any time, jam pack my schedule with as much as possible and meet people that I might have been too shy to talk to.  I really learned more about myself because of this consequence and that I need to continue to be more of a "yes man" even now that I have returned home.  

As a good display to conclude my travels in Germany, here is a map that shows all the places I visited during my four week trip.  I thank you for reading my blog and I hope you enjoyed it even a little bit. Prost!

All the Cities I Visited

My Very Long Travel Day

July 1^st

The time was now 12:30 am, I was still awake and Brian had just sat down with me on the couch so we could watch the pregame of the U.S. vs German World Cup semi-final soccer match.  At this point we started sipping our coffees. 

The game was a very good game.  The U.S. defense was fantastic in staving off the German offensive, allowing the U.S. to win 2-0.  I really enjoyed watching the game with Brian.  After we said our goodbyes he went to bed and I only had about an hour before I needed to take a taxi to the train station.  This gave me plenty of time to clean myself up, pack my bags and surf the internet for a bit.

To summarize my travels for the rest of the day, I left my sister’s apartment in Heidelberg at 4:00 am, took a train to Frankfort, flew to Amsterdam, flew to Detroit, flew to Minneapolis and then drove four hours to my parent’s home in northern WI.  And unfortunately for me, I can’t seem to sleep on airplanes so I ended up staying awake for about forty four hours before finally getting some rest at home.  I was very glad to finally arrive home and at the same time was sad that my adventure in Germany had concluded. 

The adventure is over and now it is time for me to change from being vacation mode and go into school mode.  

Nuremberg and Return to Heidelberg

June 30^th

Today was the day that I began my travels towards going back to the USA.  I slept in a bit in anticipation of my busy long day ahead of me and ate a good breakfast with Alex and Georg.  After packing my bags I said my goodbyes to Georg and then Alex accompanied me to the train station.  Unfortunately we left his house a bit later than we needed to. 

Bridge in Nuremberg

We speed walked to a bus station, took a bus to the subway and then the subway to the Munich train station.  On the subway ride we kept glancing at the time thinking that there was a strong possibility I could miss my train.  The subway pulled into the station giving us three minutes to get to the train.  The doors opened and we sprinted out of the subway car to beat everyone up the escalator and then up another long flight of stairs.  We got to the surface and glanced at the big departure board, found the correct platform and then continued running.  We made it just in time with one minute to spare, plenty of time to give my brother a quick hug and then jump on the train before the doors closed behind me.  Now onto Nuremberg.

Entering Nuremberg

I used the one hour train ride to finally cool down from all that running with my heavy back packs.  When I arrived at the Nuremberg train station I threw my bags into a locker and then went in search of a restaurant to have some lunch.  Just inside of the old city I found a nice German restaurant and ate my lunch while I read my travel book to learn a little about the city.  After polishing off my beer and plate I was off to start the walking tour.  About half way through my walking tour I somehow veered off the tour and kept walking without realizing what I had done.  I wondered so far, I was no longer on the city map that was provided in my travel book, I was lost.  Eventually I found the river that flows through the center of the city and followed it back to landmarks I recognized.  I was still able to finish my tour of the city (though now on a tight schedule) and then make it back to the train station.  I really enjoyed Nuremberg because much of the old city wall still is intact and it has a cool history of being a free city state.

Me at the Nuremberg Train Station

From Nuremberg my train took me to Frankfort where I needed to change trains to go to Heidelberg.  My train arriving in Frankfort arrived late but luckily my train that I needed to board for Heidelberg also had arrived late.  I was extremely lucky with my transportation thus far.  Unfortunately my train leaving for Heidelberg also departed late and I arrived at my final destination about thirty minutes late. 

It was good to see Irene and Brian again.  After dropping my bags off at their apartment we all headed out to eat at a French restaurant just a few blocks away.  During the dinner Brian reminded me that the U.S. vs German woman’s World Cup semifinal match was on that night (1am) and he invited me to stay up late and watch it with him.  Of course I thought it sounded like a fun idea and accepted the invitation.  Now I would stay up all night to watch this soccer game before making my travels back home.  My sister, Irene needed to go to bed since she worked in the morning so I said my goodbyes to her since I would be leaving when she would still be asleep.

     

Dachau Concentration Camp

June 29^th

I slept in a bit and then enjoyed breakfast with Alex and Georg before figuring out my travel plans to Dachau.  I set out on my own and departed Munich on a subway headed for the small town of Dachau.

Dachau Prison Camp

Main Gate

Dachau was the Nazi’s first concentration camp that mostly housed political prisoners and was a working camp.  Though many people were killed at this camp, it is not the same kind of camp as Auschwitz Concentration Camp (death camp).  In more recent history this concentration camp in Dachau has been used as an educational resource that reminds it's viewers of the consequences of what an evil government is capable of.  All Bavarian school children are required to visit this concentration camp. 

Dachau Memorial

There was a fair number of tourists going to see the camp along with me, but I managed to squeeze in line and make it aboard the buses that took me to and from the train station.  I did a self guided tour accompanied with an audio guide.  The tour first started with us passing through the gate house with the famous iron door with the words Arbeit Macht Frei (work makes you free) and then we stepped into the open courtyard where the prisoners stood in rows to be counted.  I only took a few photos during my visit because I felt it would be disrespectful to those who died there.  And to my astonishment I witnessed some visitors taking selfies with the furnaces in the background.  The most emotional part of the tour was a thirty minute video that gave a synopses of the camp.  There was dead silence during the movie and I have to admit I had gotten a little choked up while watching it.  The museum and the other displays of the living and torture conditions were very good at portraying the horrors that occurred there.  I can’t imagine enduring that kind of ordeal. 

Marienplatz

Feeling a bit down after finishing my tour of the camp I needed to do something to cheer me up.  I returned to the train station and hopped on subway and headed towards the city center to do some shopping.  My goal was to find some lederhosen.  Ines had recommended me a certain shop that she marked for me on a city map.  I eventually found the store and started trying on different styles of lederhosen (long or short).  Because of a package deal I ended up buying the whole outfit.  Now that I have lederhosen I will just have to return someday for Oktoberfest so I could wear them.  This left me very excited to show Alex, Ines and Georg.

Me in Lederhosen with My German Parents Ines & Georg

When I returned to Alex’s parent’s house I first was greeted by Ines and I immediately showed her my lederhosen.  She responded by telling me that now I was a true Bavarian.  Shortly after that Georg sat down with me on their patio and we talked about the Dachau concentration camp and a bit about Munich and its Nazi history.  Dinner was fantastic, Ines is a wonderful cook and Georg is always watching to see how full your wine glass is.  After dinner Alex and I had fun putting on our lederhosen and taking some family photos.  At the end of the evening I said my goodbyes to Ines and she would have to leave to work early in the morning.

Tomorrow I head back to Heidelberg and stop in Nurnberg on the way. 

       

Nymphenburg and the Beer Garden

June 28^th

Today’s schedule was going to be a little less busy since Irene and Brian only had half a day to spend in Munich before they had to return to Heidelberg.  We all ate breakfast together and then headed out to the Nymphenburg Palace and Park.

Me in the Nymphenburg Gardens

Conveniently Nymphenburg was not too far away so we were able to walk there but it was warm out so we had to stop to get ice cream along the way.  We took our time walking through the park, took a few pictures and Alex shared with us some of the history of the palace and royal family that used to reside in it.  Actually the royal family still does live there, in one of the wings of the palace of which is off limits for tours.  Then we continued on out of the park to a nearby beer garden where we were going to meet with Ines and Georg for some lunch.

Irene, Brian & Ines at Augustiner Beer Garden

We found a nice place to sit and enjoy something to eat and drink until Ines and Georg arrived.  Since it was a Sunday and the weather was perfect, the beer garden was packed.  The atmosphere was very welcoming with a band playing, families gathering for lunch and the smell of delicious food.  At beer gardens in Munich, unlike beer gardens in other parts of Germany, guests are allowed to bring their own food to eat as long as they purchase the beer there.  Seeing many of the men wearing their lederhosen at the beer garden made me smile.  We enjoyed our lunch together and then we had to part ways; Irene and Brian had to return to Heidelberg and I was going to go back to the palace for a bit.

The Nymphenburg palace is very large and very beautiful.  I purchased a ticket to have access to all of the exhibits, starting with the main palace itself.  The entrance hall was stunning and the remainder of the halls and rooms were also a lot of fun to try and imagine people actually living there.  One of my favorite rooms was called the Gallery of Beauties.  King Ludwig I was an avid girl-watcher and had paintings made of some 36 women whom he deemed to be the prettiest women in all of Bavaria.  Then I also strolled through the exhibit that displayed the carriages and the works of the ceramics factory.  After that I wandered around the garden and took a look inside the hunting lodge and a chapel. 

Nymphenburg Entrance Hall

In the late afternoon I returned to Alex’s parents house and socialized with them in their garden while enjoying the nice weather.  We made our way back inside, ate some dinner and then Alex and I left for the city center to meet up with some of his high school friends who were visiting in Munich.  We hung out by the river until the sun had long set.  Alex and I returned to his house pretty late.

Tomorrow I will go to Dachau Concentration Camp.

A Walk Through Munich

June 27^th

L>R Irene, Brian, Me, Georg, Alex

Alex took a night train from Hamburg and arrived around 7-8 in the morning in Munich.  When he arrived we were able to have a classic Bavarian breakfast, boiled Weisswurst (white sausage) with honey mustard, a pretzel and weissbier (wheat beer).  I have had this breakfast a few times now, thanks to my sister and it has become one of my favorite meals.  We all sat around the table and after proper cheers, we dug into our meals.  Funny thing is we changed our beer glasses three times before finding the right ones for the meal.  Prost!

Michael Jackson Memorial

Now that our bellies were full of weisswurst it was time of our tour of the city to began.  Alex as our tour guide brought us to the city center to begin.  On the way to the center we stopped by the Michael Jackson Memorial which is located in front of a hotel he would stay at.  Then we moved onto the city center, passed the New Town Hall building with the glockenspiel and then continued on to St. Peter’s Church where we climbed its bell tower to get a good view of the city.  Climbing the tower was bit of a hassle because there was hardly enough room for people to be both ascending and descending its stairs at the same time.  Once we finally got down from the tower we headed to the famous Hofbrauhaus.

Me and Alex with Masses at Hofbrauhaus

The Hofbrauhaus was very busy since it was lunch time which cause us some trouble finding a place to sit and eat even with its 5,000 person capacity.  There were many people dressed up in the lederhosen and dirndls and a live band was playing there as well.  We sat down and ordered Masses (1 liter beers) and bought a few pretzels (from a cute pretzel girl).  After polishing off our glasses it was time to continue on our tour.

We quickly passed through part of the Residenz (place of residence of the royal family of Bavaria) and made our way toward the English Garden to watch a very unique sport, river surfing.  After watching the surfers for a bit we all started to get a bit sleepy so we opted for some coffee at a local café.  Next we headed off to the Olympic Center where an X sports biking competition was going on.  We watched a few bikers take a go through the course and then continued on to the carnival to have some dinner. 

River Surfing

We returned back to Ines and Georg’s house to rest and enjoy some wine and share with them what we had experience on our busy day.   

Salzburg and Munich

June 26^th

We all had a pretty lazy morning and checked out of our room just minutes before the deadline and then we ate breakfast in the hostel cafeteria.  When I finished eating I finalized my travel plans to do some sightseeing in the afternoon and then catch a train to Munich.  My Canadian friends would be leaving a bit earlier.

We all walked down to the train station together and then said our goodbyes.  It is always sad to say goodbye to the friends that you make over bonding through participating in adventures together.  I will miss my Canadian friends but it is easy to still keep in touch.  I was on my own again, and after chucking my bags into a locker I headed back to the old city to explore the Hohensalzburg Fortress that overlooks the city. 

Salzburg from the Fortress

Me and Monks from St. Johns

The temperature had gotten warm and hiking up the steep hill that the fortress was located was quite a work out.  To cool down I enjoyed a nice cool radler before I continued on with the tours.  The history of the fortress is quite interesting.  It was build to protect the city more for looks than anything and it was successful in doing so for eight hundred years until Napoleon arrived and at that time all of Salzburg just surrendered.  As I wandered down from the fortress a baseball cap caught my eye; it read St John’s.  In my excitement the man and the group he was with and I asked if him and the rest of them were Johnnies.  Two of them were monks and faculty at St. John’s.  I took a quick picture with them and then headed to my next location. 

I next visited the Salzburg museum of which I didn’t spend much time in because I thought it was really lacking.  Instead I spent the remainder of my time walking along the river and then around the Mirabell Gardens.  Very beautiful and very relaxing.

 Eventually later in the afternoon I arrived at the train station, grabbed my belongings and drank a coffee.  The train ride was only one and a half hours to Munich and my train arrived at the same time as Irene and Brian.  Once the three of us found each other we departed the train station for Alex’s parent’s house (Ines and Georg). 

It was wonderful to finally meet my German parents, Ines and Georg.  I had heard so much about them from Alex, my parents and my sister and it was great to finally see it all in person.  After the proper greetings had taking place we all sat out on their porch with some beers and had friendly conversations.  As the sun started to go down we went back inside to have our dinner.  Ines and Georg were splendid hosts, the food was delicious and Georg shared with us some of his good wine collection. 

Tomorrow Alex would arrive and he would guide us around Munich to see all of the main sites.