Wow am I exhausted! As I write this blog from my hotel room, I can barely feel my feet from all of the walking I've done today. Although we have been to Munich twice to visit BMW, today was the day we were finally able to visit the actual city, something I've been wanting to do for as long as I can remember. I've seen all of the pictures and learned almost everything there is to know about the city, but today was finally the day where it would become a reality! We took the train there early in the morning, so naturally, I fell asleep on the train. I've come to realize that anytime I get on any mode of transportation, I fall asleep almost immediately. We almost had a small disaster when half of our group got off at the wrong train station and had to rush back on to avoid missing the train and being left behind. But no worries, we hopped right back on and finally arrived safely in Munich. When we got off the train, I immediately felt like I was at Grand Central Station. It was so busy with people walking in every direction. But we kept waking until we got to the famous Marienplatz. It was absolutely spectacular! The Rathaus was just as beautiful if not more beautiful than it was in pictures. Although it was raining, I still was able to get some great pictures. We were also just in time to watch the Glockenspiel, which plays at 11,12 and 5. I've learned so much about the Glockenspiel in my German classes so I was definitely looking forward to this! It wasn't too exciting, but it is something you have to see if you come to München. After this, we were greeted by our tour guide for a city tour. I really enjoyed the tour because it brought us to all of the main sites that I have learned about in my German classes. We went through the Viktualienmarkt, an outdoor market with a huge variety of fresh foods, crafts, drinks, etc. We also walked through Maximallianstraße, a well-known shopping street full of stores that I can barely afford to walk into. Nonetheless, it is another place you have to at least visit while in Munich. The tour ended at the famous Frauenkirche, which is the tallest building in the old city of Munich. Our tour guide even told us that there was an ordinance that no building could be built taller than the Frauenkirche. After our tour of the city, we were free to explore on our own. Dennis and Ben, two of the German students, led us to the Englischer Gartens, which is a huge outdoor park that kind of reminded me of Central Park. We found a quaint beer garden where we ate lunch. I ordered Bavarian white sausage, which was so yummy! Also, while in the park, we went to go watch people surf. It was the coolest thing! In my German classes, I had actually learned about this, so I was excited to finally see it first-hand. After people-watching for a while in the park, we went back to Marienplatz. The boys in our group went to go and find somewhere to watch the Bayern München soccer game, which was naturally not very appealing to the girls, so my friend Alex and I then decided we wanted to climb to the top of the tower at St. Peter's Kirche. We knew we would be in for a good thigh workout, but we also knew that the view would be worth it. We then climbed the 400 stairs to the very top of the tower and were greeted by a breathtaking view of the entire city of München. It was like a postcard. I took so many pictures from every angle! After climbing the tower, Alex and I did a little shopping before meeting back up with our entire group in Marienplatz. From there, we took a train to dinner at a burger restaurant. I was very surprised that we were eating in a burger restaurant because Munich is obviously known for its traditional Bavarian food, however, I was not disappointed because I had already eaten a lot of Bavarain food so it was a nice change. Somehow I got stuck sitting at a table with all of the guys from our group so I was in for a night of some interesting but also amusing conversation. The burger was so good and was definitely unlike what we have back in the states. I cannot really pinpoint what exactly was different about it, but whatever it was, I really liked it. After dinner, we took the train back to Augsburg, and of course I fell asleep again. We then got back to Augsburg and took the tram to the hotel. Everyone was pretty tired so we decided to stay in and just relax and rejuvenate for the days we have ahead of us.
Bis Später!
Lindsey
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