Munchen Fun!

Our last stop on the European tour was Munich. We took a 6-hour, un-air-conditioned train all the way there from Prague, making it into the city at about 5 pm. We checked into our hostel, and immediately headed out to see the city. We walked all the way over to the English Gardens, this big park where thousands of people were out enjoying the sunshine and great temps. It was crazy how many people were out there, some of them even nude. Hey, it’s Europe. In the gardens, there was a large beer garden that was showing the first World Cup match of the day. We caught just the end of it, but there were so many people there watching it on a big outdoor screen. It was really nice, so we sat down for a massive pretzel before heading out for some more sightseeing. We continued to walk the streets, and I mean walk nearly all of Munich. We went back across the city to check out the hotel we were switching over to for the next two nights. Then, we made our way to the Augustiner beer hall to watch the US soccer match.

The English Garden beer hall after Uruguay's World Cup win. So cool!

This beer hall was really cool. We had some good typical Bavarian food, sat with some pseudo-Americans (well, they were Canadian, but close enough), and endured a brutal defeat of the US by Ghana. But hey, the beer and food was good, the atmosphere fun, so no complaints here.
The next day, we woke up and switched over to our other, nicer hotel. We then made our way down to Marienplatz, the main plaza, to take a free tour of the city. When we got there, there was a finish line set up in the plaza for a half marathon that took place in the city. If only I knew about it sooner. And was in shape. Before the tour started, we changed our mind at the last minute and went out to Dachau to see the concentration camp while it was open. This was a great experience to have, very moving. We walked the entire camp, bought audioguides that told us the history and tragedy that occurred here, and saw some intense sites. I had seen the concentration camp in Berlin, but this one was even bigger. I’m glad that my two brothers got to see one while they were over here, and I feel like everyone should see them to know even more about the atrocities that occurred there.

Dachau gates, which read "Work makes free."

After leaving Dachau, we headed back into the city to go see Germany play their first elimination match against England. We went to the Lowenbrau beer hall that was over by our hotel, and watched it was hundreds of other Germans. It was such a crazy experience to have. When they scored, the people went crazy. Luckily, Germany won and it was a crazy night.
After the game, we regrouped back at the hotel before going out to see Munich’s Olympic Park. It was a really modern facility, with an amazing stadium and many other nice complexes. It was also right next door to the BMW factory, so we got to see a lot of cool buildings while we were out there. Although nothing was open, it was a great place to walk around.
The next day was our last full day in Munich, so we took advantage of it by going out to the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles about 2 hours outside of the city. They were the boyhood home and adult home of King Ludwig, the crazy king of Bavaria. Neuschwanstein was a castle that Ludwig built, but died a mysterious death (found drowned in a lake with his psychologist) halfway through and it was never finished inside. But its claim to fame is that Disney used this castle as inspiration for his Disney castles. After seeing it, I can see why. The castle and all its surroundings were very picturesque.

The amazing lake in the castle town. The water was so pure, you could drink it.
Us in front of the Hohenschwangau castle with Neuschwanstein in the background.Matthew on the bridge with an amazing view of the castle.

When we made it back into the city, we walked some more around the center until we found the Hofbrauhaus. Unfortunately, it was extremely overpriced and hot inside, so we went to a pizza place by our hotel where they served Hofbrauhaus beer! Great compromise.
The last day in Munich, we were only there for the morning before beginning our long journey home. We decided to go on part of a free city tour to hear a little of the history, then took the train ride out to the budget airport we were flying out of. From there, we made our way back to northern Spain. When we got there, we found out that we had to wait about 5 hours in the little Spanish town of Reus for a bus back to Madrid. There was a huge parade going on in the town, but we were able to find one open place (Domino’s, of course) to watch the Spain game before boarding the 6-hour night bus ride. After hours and hours of travelling on trains, planes, and buses, we finally made it back to my apartment in Madrid at about 6:30 on Wednesday morning. All in all, it was a great trip and one that I’m glad I made with my brothers.

The sunset in Reus as we waited hours for our bus.