Munich!

I got an early start to my day waking up at 5:30. I got ready and headed out the door to catch the 6:57 bus into town (never again am I going to miss a bus). I had planned to meet Jackie and Megan at Billa (the grocery store near the college) to pick up some snacks for the trip. I got there at 7:13 and Jackie wasn’t there. The store opened at 7:15 and Megan and I went in, grabbed a few items (including the German gummy bears!!) and went to catch the bus to the train station. We were wondering what happened to Jackie, but just figured she would get to the train station on her own.

Once at the station, we ran into a couple of the girls, but were missing quite a few. We ran into everyone outside the McDonalds, which was a quick breakfast for many of them. Along with them was Jackie. She had apparently been at Billa a little before 7, but got tired of waiting so she took an earlier bus.

We were waiting for the train and then there was an announcement that our train had been canceled. We were told by one of the conductors to run over 3 tracks and catch the S-Bann, take it to another station, then take the connecting train to Munich. What they didn’t tell us was that we’d also have to run to catch the connecting train. Once all 14 of us were on that train and settled into our seats it was a pretty relaxing 2 hr ride to Munich.

We knew once we were in Munich it would be too complicated for all of us to stick together, so Jackie, Brendan, Mike, and I went off on our own instead of poring over the map to figure out where things were.

The four of us just set off to wander around town. First we headed towards the center of town to the Cathedral Frauenkirche. We climbed up the tower to see the view of the city. To get to the top, there are about 76 steps in a small circular staircase. There is only the one staircase, so you have to share it with the people going in the opposite direction. It made things quite interesting, having to plaster yourself against the wall to let people pass. Then the second part was cramming into an elevator to get to the top. There were some gorgeous views from there.

Close to the cathedral is The New Town Hall and the Marienplatz. The New Town Hall is famous for the Rathaus-Glockenspiel. We timed it perfectly to catch the Glockenspiel playing and the figurines moving. I had remembered this from 10 years ago when I visited Munich. The others had no idea that figurines did anything.

We continued to wander around town, walking in and out of shops. We found the Grand Opera house and walked around it looking to see what was playing (a lot of Wagner).

By not following a map, we managed to find some cute little areas away from the touristy stuff. We walked along the River Isar and saw St. Lukas Church. Then we came across a beer garden where we stopped to rest for a while and the boys ate lunch. From the outside this beer garden looked like a prison, the surrounding walls had barbed wire along the top. Inside it was a sunny little place where a lot of locals go for beer and lunch.

After the beer garden, we continued wandering around and headed back towards the center of town. Along the way we passed by this little shop with a bunch of dirndls in the front. Jackie and I walked in and the boys sort of grudgingly followed. In the back part of the store the boys stopped grumbling because it was basically a second-hand vintage store. There we were all trying on funny hats and Jackie and I both tried on awful gaudy dresses. We couldn’t stop laughing. There was another group of girls from Germany that were trying on the awful dresses as well. We were all laughing at each other and taking pictures. I think Jackie and I both agreed it would be our favorite memory of the day.

We wandered back to Marienplatz where we found a cute little café where Jackie and I had a light lunch. I got a tomato soup (which was white). It seemed odd, but it was delicious. After that we started to wander in the direction of the Hofbräuhaus where we were to meet the others at 5:30 for dinner and some good German beer.

We got a little lost trying to find it. We stopped to ask about 3 different people and were in a blocks radius of the Hofbräuhaus before we finally found it. We were early enough to find a seat, which can be quite difficult. It is known for the beer and the waitresses in dirndl’s that serve the beer. These women (and now some men) will carry up to 5 full liter beers in each hand (it’s crazy!!). The four of us each got a liter of the original house beer partly because that’s the only way it’s served. Jackie and I both got desserts (I got apple strudel: it was incredible!!). Mike got white sausage and Brendan a port knuckle. All the food was incredible. There were women who walked around the place selling large pretzels for a couple Euros as well. It took me 2 hours to finish the liter of beer.

The rest of the gang finally arrived at 7. They had gone out to Dachau (concentration camp outside the city) and had to wait for a train back. Once they arrived, it was late enough that there weren’t any table’s open. They wandered around for a while looking to see if they could find anything. There was one that had some space and apparently there were a few German guys in lieder hosen that wanted the “pretty girls” to join them. They were a little creeped out so opted not to. There was a table that opened next to ours, but was then put on reserve as it turns out for the umm-pa-pa band that had been playing. There are tables throughout the Hofbräuhaus that have family names over the table. If they decide to go, the table is automatically given to them. There is also a tradition for the regulars. If you sit at a regular’s table, the waitresses will not serve you.

Luckily after a few minutes the table behind us opened up and we were all able to squeeze into the two tables together. There we wall caught up on our day and enjoyed the atmosphere at the Hofbräuhaus. It was quite noisy in there so it was a nice change from Austria to be able to be a little louder, laughing and having fun without sticking out like sore thumbs as the “noisy Americans.”

Around 9pm, four of us were ready to go, so we left and caught an earlier train. Once again, our train from Munich to Salzburg was canceled, so we had to take another to the last stop and switch. Once we arrived, we had missed one connection by about 5 minutes. We had to sit and wait for about 40 minutes. Unfortunately we all had to use a bathroom, and as it was midnight, everything was closed. We were all tired and a little hysterical. Luckily, there wasn’t anyone else at the train station. We were all laughing and Brendan kept us occupied reading the history of the Hofbräuhaus in an amusing voice and singing as well. When the train finally arrived, we took seats right next to the bathroom. As it turned out, we were only one stop away from Salzburg and only 3 of us had time to use the bathroom.

Once in Salzburg, we all caught cabs to our respective homes and crashed. I didn’t wake up until noon.

Now it’s about time for the college to close for the evening, I hope you are all having a wonderful Sunday afternoon.