Munich, or should I say...MUNCHEN

I just got back from Munich a few hours ago and I am exhausted! I had a wonderful time this weekend and I absolutely loved the homeland! Germany is definitely a lot different than any other place I have visited while I've been over here. Just having been to London the previous weekend, it was nice seeing something TOTALLY different from it. Munich was absolutely beautiful in it's own unique way.

So, where do I begin? Well, we left Barcelona around 10:25 am on Friday, and arrived in Munich around 12:30pm. The second I stepped off the plane and onto the little connector-walkway-thing-ma-jigger, the freezing cold air hit me. First thought that came to mind? Solid work Hannah, you have, yet again, managed to be totally unprepared for the weather. You think as I get older I would actually be a little more prepared. You know, actually pack appropriate winter gear? Pft. Why would I ever do that? I mean, who really wants to be warm when walking around a city in 20 degree weather for 9 hours? Did I mention I came into this weekend with a sinus infection/fever? I'm thinking there is a definite possibility my germs froze to death...it was THAT cold in Munich.

After freezing to death in the 20 foot walk from the terminal to the train station, we proceeded to buy our tickets for the S-Bahn. I can proudly say I have done my first illegal thing in another country (God, I'm SUCH a rebel!!!). Seeing as the train ticket purchasing machine was entirely in German, you can guess we had a little difficulty finding the correct ticket to buy. And yes, you guessed it, we did in fact by the wrong one. About half way through our ride to our hostel, the train people came around to check our tickets and informed us that we had bought the wrong one. The penalty? A 40 Euro fine. Hah, that's a funny joke! I would absolutely NOT pay a 40 Euro fine for a mistake, this was not an intentional violation. So we were told to make our way to another random U-Bahn stop, find the office, and plead our case. After some discussion, we were able to argue our fee down to 10 Euro. I was still pretty angry. I could have used those 10 Euro for I dont know something useful like...A JACKET!!!

About 2 hours later than expected, we arrived at our hostel. This hostel was AWESOME! I've only experienced 3 hostels in my day, but this one was definitely my favorite. It had a real cool atmosphere to it. They had a free German beer tasting at night and the rooms were actually really nice. So, we set our stuff in our room and decided to go out and look around. We grabbed some lunch and started walking around. Within about 10 minutes it became incredibly clear that I needed to purchase some gloves of some sort. I managed to find the ugliest pair of gloves in the country and bought them. Oh well, they kept my poor fingers warm. I couldn't help but laugh when I purchased them. I always manage to have the most random first purchase when I visit another country for the weekend. London: ear plugs to fend off the onslaught of Pablo's snoring. Munich: the worlds ugliest pair of gloves to prevent frostbite from being my only German souvenir.

Now, the best part of my trip to Munich was the fact my cousin, Carina, would be meeting us there. I have only met Carina once, about two years ago, when she came to the U.S for the first time. Her flight wasn't getting in til way later and she wouldn't actually be at the hostel until 10:30. I was pretty nervous to see her again, so I decided to drink my feelings at the free beer tasting. KIDDING!!!!!!!!! (Yes, Dad...I swear I am kidding). But, I did actually go to the beer tasting to kill the time. They served little glasses of different kinds of beer. I don't really like the taste of any kind of alcohol, especially beer, but I figured I'd try because hey, I'm in Germany...they are known for their beer. None of the beers were mind-blowingly good, but I did enjoy the wheat beer to some degree. Around 10:30 I got a friendly tap on the shoulder at the bar, turned around, and there was CARINA! Wooooo! We gave eachother a big hug and I helped her check in and bring her things up to the room. We talked for a little bit and she gave me a gift; a scarf and some German candies. We were all exhausted, so we decided to go to bed after that.

That morning we got up, had breakfast, and made our way into the city center; Marienplatz. Trying to turn over a new leaf, I tried to dress as warm as humanly possible. I wore a pair of stockings under my jeans, 4 pairs of socks, boots, 2 camis, 2 sweaters, 2 cardigans, my northface, a scarf, and my heinous gloves. It pretty much could have been Halloween and I was dressed up as little Randy from a Christmas Story....ya know, the one in the huge snowsuit. Had anyone pushed me over...there would have been NO getting back up. I felt somewhat successful in my attempt to stay warm. It took about 20 minutes for me to go numb, not 2. When in Marienplatz, we saw the giant clock, the Glockenschpiel, ring and rotate on the hour. We walked around and went in some souvenir shops to get postcards, gifts, etc. I really enjoyed the city center. I felt lie I was walking around in a fairy tale, it was great. After about an hour or so of walking around, we decided we wanted to head over to the Dachau Concentration Camp. We all decided that that was something we definitely wanted to do. When we got there we decided to take a guided tour that took about 2.5 hours. I'm going to write a separate blog about the entire experience, but let me say for now, it was a powerful one.

After Dachau, we decided to head back into the city center and get some dinner. We were in Munich and everyone said you HAVE to go to the Hofbrauhaus. The Hofbrauhaus is a giant beer garden that holds about 400-500 people. We walked in and my jaw just dropped. It was a CRAZY atmosphere. You were in charge of find your own seat and hope that a waitress, dressed in full bavarian garb, would see you. There is a Bavarian band playing, and everyone is singing and chanting along. They served giant 1L mugs of beer as well as HUGE Bavarian pretzels. I know it makes me sound ridiculous...but I probably had been this excited to eat in a LONG time. Walking around for 6 hours in the snow did not help the fever at all. I was pretty much dying at dinner. I didn't think drinking a giant mug of beer would be the best decision when I had a fever and was on pain meds..so I skipped that part. The one part I did not skip out on? My meal. I ended up getting a pork roast with bread dumplings and coleslaw. DELICIOUS! I had a great time at dinner. My cousin Carina was having a great time too. We sat next to eachother and just chatted like old friends the entire time; her English is really great, I was quite proud! She recommended we get an apple strudel for desert and of course, a pretzel. We did and both were to die for. Eating at the Hofbrauhaus was quite the experience; a fun and delicious one to be exact!

After the Hofbrahaus we made our way back to the hostel. I looked and felt the living dead. Carina's friend, Ann-Christine, lives in Munich and wanted to take us out to show us the nightlife. The responsible adult in me, that usually wins over, said, "Hannah you are going to make yourself more sick..I think you should stay in and get some rest". The irresponsible side of me, that rarely comes out when it comes to clubbing, said, "Oh Hannah, you're only in Munich once, go have FUN!". I listened to the latter. We went to this club that had three different clubs within it. One club played techno, the other played pop, and the last played hip-hop. It was definitely a fun place to be, but I just really couldn't have any fun because I felt so sick. It was so bad, I ended up getting soda to drink at the bar. That should be a good indicator of how I was feeling. BUT! I'm glad I went out so I can say I at least experienced Munich nightlife.

We ended up getting in really late, getting up really early to check out, and making our way to the train station. It was really hard saying goodbye to Carina...she cries quite easily. She is actually coming to visit the U.S in June with her father and little brother, so I just tried telling her it is only 4 months. Not toooo long! I said I'd be feeling better and I would get to show her around this time! I had a great time with her this weekend. I definitely feel like I've known her for forever, even though I've only met her twice. I would definitely think of going out to visit her in Germany someday. She is a sweetheart and I am so happy that I got to spend time with her this weekend. However, I must say, she is quite the bad influence. She encouraged and laughed at my use of the word SCHIZA. Let's just say it's one of three words I know in Germany...and it's a swearword. :)

I had a fantastic time in Munich. I wish I had been feeling better because that would made my trip a LOT more enjoyable. I also wish I had more time in the city. We really only had one day to do things...but we made the most of it. I am definitely looking forward to returning to Germany some day and really taking in the sights. I loved what I saw this weekend and cannot WAIT to see more. This is going to sound like an Academy Award acceptance speech, but thank you to my wonderful Grammy who helped me out with this trip! This wouldn't have been possible without you! I LOVE YOUU!!! The return to the homeland was a success!

Please excuse any and all typos in this blog. I need to head to bed so I'm going to have to skimp on the revisions. If I'm not too busy I will post some pictures tomorrow, as well as an entry on Dachau. I love and miss you ALL! <3


P.S - The German language has the LONGEST words I have ever seen in my life! I found it humorous, so I kept my eye out for some of the longest I could I find. I have no idea what they mean, and they come from random places like buildings, signs, etc, but here are some of my favorite finds: Fahrplananderungen, Landeskrankenhilfe, anddd last but not least, Anschlussubersicht!! :)