8 days left: Off to Germany (Munich)

After leaving Switzerland we headed towards Germany, but first made a stop off in Liechtenstein, which is one of the top four smallest countries in Europe. During this trip I have visited 3 of those 4: 1) Vatican City 2) Monaco 3) Liechtenstein the fourth is in Italy.

Anyways, being so small we just stopped by here as a breaking point in our trip so we could get some lunch and chill out off the bus for a bit.

Once we got back on the bus, we headed to Munich. Upon arriving in Munich, since we only had one night in the city, there wasn't much time to see all that Munich has to offer, but as soon as we arrived to the hostel, the first thing a group of us did was head to the Dachau concentration camp. The camp was one of the first which was established after Hitler came into power. It was so sad to go there and read about and see where so many people were tortured and executed. I mean you have heard about all of this in your history books and classes, but to see in front of you what once was, and to stand upon the area where so many dies, was such a sad moment. Germany has never been on the top of my list of places that I had to visit in my life, but I am glad I am having the chance to come through Munich, as well as go through Berlin near the end of this trip. Although the city does have a lot of sadness and history behind it, they have come far from that, and rebuilt themselves. However, you still sense a bit of dreariness I feel when here.

We had a group dinner that evening, so we left the camp and headed into the city center for our dinner at Augustine's. It was a typical German dish, with sausages, sauerkraut, and mashed potatoes with none other than German Beer! I wasn't quite sure how I'd like it, because I'm not a big fan of sausages and have never had sauerkraut, but it was really good! 

As you can see with this before and after:

PhotoBombers: Alvix and Carly  Picture: Me, Phil (our bus driver), and Diya

It was so much fun being at dinner with everyone, drinking beer and laughing and having a good time!!! Everyone was getting in on the "beer" experience of Munich, people were chugging beers, buying 1 liter steins of beer, I mean if their is anywhere to go all out with the beer, Germany is definitely the place! 

Our table at dinner

After dinner me and about 3 other people  decided to head over to the Haufberhaus, this restaurant is famous due to the history of it. It was the restaurant where Hitler would gather his followers and party and give speeches to them. We decided to go ahead and have a beer while we were there. It ended up being a great night because we were sitting with an elderly gentleman who was  a legend at the place. He and his family had been coming and sitting at the same table for the past 45 years. He also because he was a "regular" had his own stein which was locked away until he came and needed it. It was just a cool concept to see that. He was also extremely hilarious due to a bit of intoxication, he was telling us stories about Ernest Hemingway, drew a picture of the US for us and more.  LoL! 

This is the room where Hitler would give his speeches (from the Balcony)

We stuck around a bit after our beers and just watched some German dancers and then called it a night and headed back to the hostel.

We are off to Vienna tomorrow....