Europe Part 3 - Munich

Wednesday. Leaving Amsterdam

Gonna miss you, A-Dam. Nothing like 10 hours of solid sleep to get the mind and body ready for another country. Cleared out of my room at the Tulip Inn after a hot shower, and grabbed a banana at one of the countless produce counters scattered throughout the city. London was big on this as well... that's something we really need back home.

Walked the 10 minutes down Voorburgwal to Centraal Train Station, and walked right to the platform, where I waited for my train to Munich. Ahh, Amsterdam. Reminds me a bit of Las Vegas, where you just try to make it out alive. But unlike Vegas, it's unbelievably beautiful, with the architecture, the canals, and the brick-lined streets. It's pretty easy to communicate, as most of the locals speak English, but it wouldn't hurt to learn a few Dutch words, just in case.

The train to Munich is underway! This is definitely the way to travel.. my high speed train to Germany. We're speeding up as we leave the city center behind. It's incredibly smooth. I'm in the 1st class car, which is very comfortable and about half full. The 1st class option wasn't really an option with my Eurail train pass, which I bought back in the states. First class was required because of my age (over 26, I think). It was rather expensive at the time, but now is when I'm thankful for it. And this is how I'll travel throughout the rest of Europe... not bad!

Just crossed into Germany... the train is waiting at the station in Koln. Just beyond the station, I can see a towering, multi-tiered cathedral. Koln looks pretty big, on the banks of a major river. "Monty Python's Spamalot" is playing at the art-deco Ford theater nearby. And we're underway, once again. The train is pretty smart... plenty of electronic signs with info in English. We're really hauling... 300 kph, which is just over 186 miles per hour. The middle of the train contains the bistro, where I stopped for a decent tuna salad. And beyond that I just relax, watching the rolling hills of Germany pass by. Beautiful. It doesn't look real... with the little villages scattered amongst the green... with the leaves that are changing. It reminds me of what I'd see riding the rails through my Dad's train set, back when I was growing up.

And here I am, in Munich! I hopped off the train, and found my hostel immediately. A bit chilly outside, and a misting rain. Reserved a bed at the "Wombat", a few blocks from the train station and on the edge of downtown. Very glad I did. This place is amazing... very clean, friendly staff, free internet, laundry, bar, and a beautiful atrium in the middle of the complex, where you can kick back and relax. Too many amenities to list. It makes Bob's in Amsterdam look not so nice, by comparison.

Walked up to my room on the 4th floor, with 6 beds and everybody was home. I met the crew, which is the way to go, right off the bat. That way you aren't wondering who you're living with. Laura from Manchester, Emily and Matt from the states, and Rachel from Australia. VERY cool people... we hit it off, and chatted for an hour before heading downstairs to the bar for a beer. Laura's friend Dan, from Ontario, joined us and we headed outside into the cold rain for a traditional Bavarian dinner. Slept quite well that night in my bunk. It's so nice to have cool, laid-back roomies.

Thursday. Munich.

Day 14 of my travels and I'm feeling good, although it's turned COLD outside. The temps are in the 40's. No rain all day, but when that wind kicks up, yikes. I hit up the hostel with my roommates for a pretty lame breakfast and terrible coffee. I'll let it slide, since the place is all in all VERY nice. Better than many hotels, even. I signed on for a 3rd night here at Wombat's, as we're close to everything, the people are great, and you can't beat the price (21 euros).

Another great thing about Wombat, is they offer free walking tours every morning, and I lined up with two of my roomies, Americans Matt and Emily. Our guide, Ozzie, (complete with lederhosen) took us out into the city for over 3 hours, spending much of our time in the old town, or Aldtstat. So much history. We walked through the famous square, Marianplatz, noticing that most of the buidings were only 60 years old. Most of Munich was destroyed in WWII, and only a few pieces remained: the two clock towers and the glockenspiel avoided bombardment because, due to their heights, the American bombers used them for navigation.

We stopped in a couple churches, one in which we hovered around the "Devil's Footprint". (He supposedly helped finish the structrure when the town ran out of money). The Glockenspiel was quite impressive, and we received some more of our history lesson in the plaza, or Marianplatz, while waiting for the clock to chime. After that, we stopped for bratwurst at a huge outdoor beer garden, and stopped for a heffeweisen (Munich's breakfast beer) in a beer hall. If you couldn't tell, beer is HUGE here, what with Oktoberfest and Haufbrauhaus, which we passed by on our tour. It's the world's most famous beer hall, but it's extremely touristy. It's also where Hitler started to bring toether the Nazi Party.

Munich was Hitler's capital, and our guide was a 3rd Reich expert. Fascinating stuff, as we made our way through the same streets the Nazis did in 1923 after the Beer Hall Push (sp?). We finished our tour at the "3rd Blockade", where Munich stopped Hilter's coux, and instead of executing him for treason, slapped him on the wrist with 8 months in prison so he could write "Mein Kampf". And this, Bavaria's shame, is glossed over even today... and that's why people think of Munich mainly for beer, and Berlin for WWII history.

Beyond the blockade was a huge Catholic church, where strings were playing, and we followed an alley of golden bricks, where Bavarians who were ashamed of Hitler's rise to power would walk, skipping the blockade. They did this even after Hitler placed plainclothes policemen there, watching for people who rebelled. He set up Dachau, the 1st Nazi concentration camp, in the suburbs of Munich to imprison German citizens like these, and eventually Jews and others would fill Dachau. My hostel offers guided tours of Dachau, which I'll be signing up for tomorrow.

But enough of the heavy stuff for today. I'm trying to warm up in a coffee shop, and about to head back to the old town to look for a good hotel for my last night in Munich.

Friday. Munich.

It's amazing how two hostels can be so completely different. This is my last night at Wombat's, and it's night and day compared to Bob's in Amsterdam. I can't remember the last time I've met cooler people... I've just felt so welcome from the 1st night I arrived. The Americans in my room, Matt and Emily, left today, and were replaced by two women, Mickey and Yvonne. So now I'm the lone male in our room of 6. I really like Rachel and Pauline, both Australian, and as cool as cool gets. But when it came to hanging out, I had an absolute blast with Matt and Emily, plus two other Australian women, Kat and Suzie.

I finished up Thursday night in Munich with a bang. Went back to the hostel after finding a cool looking hotel for Saturday night. Did some laundry, and in the process met Kat and Suzie. Chatted for an hour, and we made dinner plans. The 3 of us met up with Matt and EM, had a beer at the hostel's bar (Wom-bar), and walked up to the Augustiner. Amazing beer hall that our tour guide recommended, over the usual tourist choice: Hofbrauhaus. The place was a madhouse... very crowded, but we had no problem getting a spot at a big wooden table, which we shared with some friendly locals. The tradition in Bavaria is to get your Weiss by the liter, which we had no issue subscribing to. The food was amazing. I ordered pork liver after the duck was sold out (I'll need to go vegetarian for at least a month after this trip is over). Such a great time. Amazing how you can chat with peple like you've been friends for years. After dinner, we headed badck home, and chatted till 3 am in the hostel's impressive atrium / garden. Just didn't want the night to end. I'd be the only one left the next morning. It's time to meet some new people... so it goes.

Friday, after a late night, I was surprised to wake up so early. But I wanted to meet up with a tour guide who took us out to the suburbs of Munich, to Dachau.

Dachau was the 1st Nazi concentration camp, originally built to house only 5000 of Hilter's German enemies, but eventually held tens of thousands of Jews, Catholics, Gypsies, and others, in horrific conditions. It was a cold, gray day, and much of the camp still stands. We followed the path the prisoners walked after being taken off the train, stopped in the courtyard where the soldiers would beat and mock them, and passed under the original gatehouse, entering the camp through the gate.

Our Irish tour guide was top rate, and we toured the camp for over 3 hours. We stopped in the interogation room, explored replicas of the barracks (the originals were destroyed after the war), and paused at the crematorium. The whole thing was just so much to take... something you want to turn away from, but something we can never forget. Walking through the sight stirs up some powerful emotions, and I don't know what else to say about that.

After walking out in a total daze... (stunned is a decent word), I regrouped with Krista, a fellow Michigander and Wombat resident who hung out with me during the tour. We returned to Munich, and the sunshine, and walked the Marianplatz where we caught a U-bahn (subway) to the English Gardens, basically Munich's central park. Strolled the paths under falling leaves, reflecting on the Dachau tour and present day politics. She's a very sharp woman, real good head on her shoulders.. a physician's assistant who now lives in San Francisco, after leaving her home town of Ludington, MI. We stopped off for a beer at a cool "mini beer house", on the western edge of the park, before heading back to the hostel. I rolled into bed a bit earlier tonight (midnight), not really sure how I felt about mooving out of the hostel tomorrow night.

Saturday. Munich.

Woke up to a beautiful, clear day, and headed to the train station after checking out of the hostel. REALLY going to miss the Wombat... especially the people. But move on I must. Reserved my seat on tomorrow's train to Prague, and took the walk to my new accomodations: Hotel Am Markt, located in the heart of Old Town. It's down a cool little alley, lined with pubs, between the Marianplatz and the huge outdoor market we visited on our walking tour. Checked into my room and dumped my luggage, managing to bump my head on the low ceiling between bath and bedroom. Ouch. Definitely saw stars... but I'm surprised I haven't done it more often... Europe isn't built for tall drinks of water such as myself. I regrouped and headed to the market.

Sat down for bratwurst and potato salad with a very nice couple from Frankfurt. We talked about my journeys (in English), and they scholed me on proper Bavarian sausage ettiquette. I should have had the Weisswurst (white sausage), since it was before noon. They took pity and gave me a chunk of theirs, which was delicious. Even tasted good after I found out what it is: veal, calf brains, and spleen. With the spices, it was so good, especially with the traditional chunk of soft pretzel.

After lunch, I took a stroll along the Isar River, to the Deutsches Museum... the world's largest for science and technology. Very impressive... technology from shipping to astronautics, to ceramics, to robotics, to aviation, farming to printing to electricity to... I think you get the picture. When they mean the world's biggest, they mean it. Everything is here, and I mean EVERYTHING. I got a bit burned out after a few hours, so here I sit in the cafe, enjoying an apple and a box of water.

Finished up the tour, and headed back to the hotel for some rest, hitting up the beer garden once again for a "big boy pretzel". Found a great little sushi bar near my hotel for a much needed "non-meat" meal. I was well overdue. Walked around a bit, and hit the sack early, falling asleep to Germany's version of "America's Got Talent". If you ask me, the judges are way too polite to some AWFUL singers.

Well that's Munich... Such a great time here... met some fantastic people, and just felt so very welcome throughout. It's not easy to leave... but Prague and Vienna are next. Keep reading, and I'll keep writing! Thanks everybody, and talk to you soon...