Munich

Germany was everything I thought it would be and I mean that in a really good way. I had high expectations after talking to my dad, my friend Teresa and seeing movies. It was by far one of my favorite weekends. I ended up going with my friends from Indiana. There were about ten of us which I usually I would think is too many people to travel with, but it was the perfect amount for the atmosphere in Munich! We took an overnight bus from Florence to Munich (about 8 hours) and arrived in Munich around 4am.

After sleeping for a few hours, we began the day with a bike tour of the city. I have been wanting to do a bike tour somewhere and finally had the opportunity. It is such a beautiful city and the architecture is very different then that of Italy. There is also so much history behind it because of the WWII which was interesting. It was great to start the trip knowing more about Munich. On the bike tour, we also made one very important stop to the Chinesischer Turm, the Chinese Beer Garden. The beer garden had food, beer and outdoor tables. The weather was perfect which only added to the already great experience. I had my first official German meal here. Wish I knew exactly what it was but it was some kind of sausage and delicious potatoes :) and of course, a German beer!

Alex, Me, Gina & Jenna ready to ride!

At the English Gardens

Chinese beer garden

First full German meal

We also stopped at a place nearby where people river surf. Very cool! Here's a video of it:

At night we went to Fruhlinsfest, Munich's famous spring beer festival. This place was so much fun! There were huge tents full of people from all over, food, rides and beer.

These are so heavy - how does she carry that many?!

My friend from high school, Teresa has a lot of family in Germany because her mom was born there. She arranged for me to meet up with her cousin, Till, who lives in Munich. Two of my friends and I spent the day with him which was so much fun. He was really nice and we got to see a lot! 

First, we went to Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp opened in Germany. This was very sad, but important to see.

Memorial built outside the museum

It was hard to transition from such a place but we had lunch after. We went to a beer garden outside the Schleissheim Palace then took a walk in the gardens there. So beautiful! I loved it! 

Chelsea, Rachel, me

Chelsea, Till, me

Later that night, we said bye to Till and met up with the rest of the group to go to the famous Hofbrauhaus. The atmosphere was so much fun here! Germans were singing and chanting and there was a German band playing. 

Rachel, Alex and me at the Hofbrauhaus!

The next morning we left Munich but had one last amazing stop before we returned to Florence - Neuschwanstein Castle. This was the inspiration for the Walt Disney Castle and the resemblance is pretty obvious! We hiked a very scenic route to the top. Near the castle was a huge bridge stretching between two mountains. From the bridge, you could see a small river and waterfall right below. 

The weekend went by too fast now I only have 10 days left in Florence. The countdown begins!