Days 18-19 Munich, Germany

Munich is a very clean, very modern and well-kept city whose residents as a whole obviously have alot of wealth. Everything looks so new here compared to most of the cities we have been so far because, well, it is. Munich and alot of other major cities in Germany were basically destroyed by bombs during WWII and most of the historic landmarks were lost. This didn´t stop the massive rebuilding efforts that took place, and the 2009 city of Munich is actually very impressive and nice. Our hostel was situated in a very central location near the main train station that made it easy to just hop outside and start sight seeing.

On our first day we stabbed straight into the heart of the historic district of the city. The city layout makes it very easy to get around. Unlike the maze-like narrow streets of Madrid and Valencia, Munich is very organized and the streets are much wider. We saw the world famous Glockenspiel (Named the 2nd most overrated tourist attraction in the world). At 3 specific times during the day, this massive gothic looking tower at the city center plays a couple purposefully out of tune songs, then some figurines move and dance around and eventually the whole thing climaxes in the shrill cuckoo of this golden bird thing. It is actually pretty silly.

The historic district of Munich is very nice and has some cool sights. It is a little disappointing to know that most everything was rebuilt after the war and is thus not as authentic as most other centuries old European sights. After our first excursion into the city we came back to the hostel and rested for a bit before partaking in what the city of Munich is really all about, Beer!

Munich claims to be the world capital of beer. There are several "Bier Gartens" sprinkled throughout the city, literally meaning Beer Garden. A Bier Garten is basically a fenced off park that serves 2 purposes: beer and food, and social gathering on a massive scale. We asked the guy at the desk in the hostel which one was the best to go. He informed us of Augustiner Bier Garten. So off we went, starving and thirsty to the international Mecca of beer.

It did not disappoint. The garden has rows and rows of cafeteria style bench seating. There are self service restaurants where you go and order a la carte and walk back with your food and beer to an open table, and there are also tables reserved for full services. We chose the full service section. First on our objectives was a massive mug of Augustiner pale ale, then we ordered our food. I had a plate of various types of sausage sitting on a huge mound of saurkraut with 2 types of mustard on the side and a huge potatoe dumpling with gravy. It was everything I expected and more. The Germans really know how to do it right! This was definitely one of the best meals of the whole trip. The beer was very fresh and excellent as well. It was not quite as fizzy as your typical American beer, and not as light either, but had awesome flavor.

After the Bier Garten, we did a small trek around the historic district at night. The place was very alive with pedestrians and street performers. There was actually a 4 piece band playing, on the street, with a piano, 2 cellos and a clarinet. A street performing classical quartet! Check that off the list of things I´ve never seen...

The next day included the most walking we have done on this entire trip. We saw different sections of the main city including the site of this years Oktoberfest (which we missed only by a couple weeks), the cathedral and other historic sites. This cathedral was not as impressive as some that I have seen so far, the detail of the architecture and the interior were very spartan and understated. After walking around the city center for a good while, we took the metro to the Olympic park, site of the 1972 olympic games. We saw the soccer stadium where Munich plays, all of the olympic facilities, and even went to the top of the olympic tower. This afforded an incredibly panoramic view of the entire city and surrounding countryside. Near the park is the BMW headquarters as well as a BMW plant. On a side note, I have never seen so many BMWs, Audis, and Mercedes vehicles. All of the taxis in the city were E-class Mercedes or higher! After walking around the entire park, we took the metro back to the city center and saw the rest of the sites that we missed until then. We saw the parliament building, some more city squares and some cool statues. On the way back to the hostel we saw another classical quartet playing on the street, this time all strings and wind instruments. They did a very impressive William Tell Overture rendition, and I gave them some money. This was the second street music act that I have given money to on this trip, the other was an accordion player in Toledo, Spain.

The computers at this hostel will not allow us to plug in any external devices so I have to promise again to get pictures up as soon as I can for Budapest and Munich. Today we spend 1 day in Cologne before making our journey to our last stop, Paris. I am saddened and in disbelief that this trip is coming to a close...