Munich, Germany

 After spending a couple of days in Salzburg, we went on our way to Munich, Germany. I have been to Germany many times to see my family, but had never been to Bavaria; I was looking forward to experiencing a different part of the country. We planned to spend a few days in Munich and then go on to Bern, Switzerland. 

Our first stop was definitely the most melancholy of our trip: Dachau Concentration Camp. I won't post many pictures because of the sensitive nature of the subject, but I will say it was an unforgettable site. Everyone who has a chance should stop and spend a good day here to really experience the full effect of Germany's history, and see first hand what happened during the second World War.

Besides the one stop in Dachau, Munich was a bright and cheerful city, definitely my favorite city in Germany that I've ever had the fortune of visiting. We went to most of the tourist destinations, including Englischer Garten:

That day there was a huge festival happening in the park, where we enjoyed some great bratwurst and music for an hour or so. We also decided to rent a paddle boat nearby and make our way around the lake located in the park. The weather couldn't have been better. 

We made our way to the Hofbrauhaus where I got myself a liter stein of beer:

I had been looking forward to this moment for many months, and was promptly disappointed when I was told that I wasn't old enough to drink. The drinking age is sixteen. SIXTEEN. And though I was only 20 at the time, I felt that I had finally grown out of my gangly teenage years into a cultured, young woman. I embarrassingly took out my passport and showed my age. My waiter then expressed his skepticism about my ability to consume an entire liter of beer to myself. "I showed him!" I thought as I stumbled out of the restaurant and into the street.

We took another day trip outside of the city to see Neuschwanstein (say that ten times fast!):

We spent some time walking around the little town down way from the castle while we waited for our scheduled group time to begin (all visitors to the castle must book with a tour in the town before going up to the castle). We found a beautiful music box for our niece before continuing up to the castle:

Here was a waterfall on the walk up:

A view of the valley:

Closer to the entrance:

The hike up was pretty intense. We were more than a little worn out when we reached the top, and we had to wait for a while in the pouring rain before our group began. Note of caution: there's no seating at the top and almost no cover if it starts to pour on you, which is a pretty common occurrence in Germany. Make sure to bring an umbrella, and a snack if you don't want to pay the exorbitant prices waiting for you in the gift shop near the castle.

We enjoyed many other attractions in Munich, that I failed to take pictures of because of our dead camera. I came across the corner of Katherina and Karl Stasse (My mother wanted to give my brother and I good German names, Katherina and Karl. Imagine my delight at finding our corner while we were lost in a residential neighborhood). We visited Marienplatz, and watched the glockenspiel play at noon. Make sure to go around the corner and visit Viktualienmarkt. The window shopping is great, and the fruit juices were even better! And my personal favorite place: Olympic Stadium Park. The Summer Olympics were held here in 1972, and to this day the park is still a wonderful attraction to see. We happened to come across a festival that was being held at the park, where we had THE BEST KAESESPAETZLE IN THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE. And the best rendition of "Proud Mary" I've ever heard.

I hate to be impartial to Germany, but it always feels like I'm coming home. The people are friendly, the food is delicious, and the lush countryside is straight out of a fairy tale. I count every second till I get to go back, and hope that you do too!