We started out in Fussen to see the famous castles there. Because we had the whole day (and there's pretty much nothing else to do in Fussen), we decided to walk to the castles. It was about a 40 min. walk and it was raining, but it was very pretty, so I don't regret skipping out on the bus.
There was some ridiculously blue water along the way that I had to take a picture of... Plus, I was admiring that great graffiti. The Europeans definitely know how to graffiti things well!
We saw Neuschwanstein and took a tour inside. This is the castle in Sleeping Beauty! (the cartoonist picked this one to draw for the movie. Surprisingly enough, they didn't have Disney back in the time of King Ludwig II). I couldn't take pictures of the inside, but the coolest part was the king's room; he had a forest theme on the walls and the ceiling was painted like the sky! There was also a secret door so the queen could sneak up whenever she (he?) wanted.
We saw a second castle, but it wasn't as famous. It is a lot prettier from the outside in my opinion, but it wasn't really technically a castle -- more of a summer home for the royal family.
I may have missed out on the BMW museum with the other Munich crew, but I did spot a gorgeous motorcycle on our walk!!!
When we got to Munich the next day, we pretty much had no idea what was worth seeing, so we took a free tour from New Europe. The guy was great; he entertaining, cute, and Australian, so you couldn't ask for much more (sorry, Jackie, I forgot to ask for his number at the end). This is the most famous beer garden in Munich (and therefore the world). It is also a tourist trap, so we basically went inside, took pictures, and left.
The ceiling is shaped so that you feel like you're inside of a barrel!
I had some amazing hot chocolate because it was so cold/rainy outside. Apparently it wasn't sweet enough so they gave me a huge packet of sugar with it. I love Germany.
On Sunday morning, Mariel and I split off from Layla and Anthony to meet up with Andy, Senthuran, and Ahmed for a visit to Dachau. It was a perfect day to go because it was a Monday (meaning it should usually be closed), but it was also a holiday (Monday after Pentecost), so the concentration camp was open, yet very few people were there. It was incredibly moving, and by far the best thing I could've decided to do in Munich. I was originally not going to go, but I was so disappointed I hadn't gone to the BMW museum with the other group that I really wanted to hit this other hotspot (I had been told Dachau and BMW World are the two places you HAVE to see in Munich). It was really emotional to see what people had to go through; the museum was good at emphasizing how inhumane so many people acted during WWII and what kinds of things people had to go through. The most momentous part was the gas chambers. Dachau was mainly meant for "special prisoners" (people openly defying Germany or well-known figures), but there were still many many deaths during that time.
It was horrible to read the sick words above the chamber. 'Brausebad' means 'showers.' They actually told people that they were going to take showers. They even installed fake showerheads in the ceiling. Going through this part and the museum (which was in the old barracks), we passed by a few people from different countries. Each of us knew what the other was feeling, and it was gratifying to realize that despite our cultural (and especially linguistic) differences, we knew we were having the same experience/emotions. If you want to hear more about the concentration camp and everything I felt when I absorbed it all that morning, I'm happy to talk (email?) about it. It's tough to put in a blog everything I'd like to convey to people about it. I'm not much of a history person, but I could truly understand why it was so important to preserve this piece of history for us to experience.
We saw a second castle, but it wasn't as famous. It is a lot prettier from the outside in my opinion, but it wasn't really technically a castle -- more of a summer home for the royal family.
I may have missed out on the BMW museum with the other Munich crew, but I did spot a gorgeous motorcycle on our walk!!!
When we got to Munich the next day, we pretty much had no idea what was worth seeing, so we took a free tour from New Europe. The guy was great; he entertaining, cute, and Australian, so you couldn't ask for much more (sorry, Jackie, I forgot to ask for his number at the end). This is the most famous beer garden in Munich (and therefore the world). It is also a tourist trap, so we basically went inside, took pictures, and left.
The ceiling is shaped so that you feel like you're inside of a barrel!
I had some amazing hot chocolate because it was so cold/rainy outside. Apparently it wasn't sweet enough so they gave me a huge packet of sugar with it. I love Germany.
On Sunday morning, Mariel and I split off from Layla and Anthony to meet up with Andy, Senthuran, and Ahmed for a visit to Dachau. It was a perfect day to go because it was a Monday (meaning it should usually be closed), but it was also a holiday (Monday after Pentecost), so the concentration camp was open, yet very few people were there. It was incredibly moving, and by far the best thing I could've decided to do in Munich. I was originally not going to go, but I was so disappointed I hadn't gone to the BMW museum with the other group that I really wanted to hit this other hotspot (I had been told Dachau and BMW World are the two places you HAVE to see in Munich). It was really emotional to see what people had to go through; the museum was good at emphasizing how inhumane so many people acted during WWII and what kinds of things people had to go through. The most momentous part was the gas chambers. Dachau was mainly meant for "special prisoners" (people openly defying Germany or well-known figures), but there were still many many deaths during that time.
It was horrible to read the sick words above the chamber. 'Brausebad' means 'showers.' They actually told people that they were going to take showers. They even installed fake showerheads in the ceiling. Going through this part and the museum (which was in the old barracks), we passed by a few people from different countries. Each of us knew what the other was feeling, and it was gratifying to realize that despite our cultural (and especially linguistic) differences, we knew we were having the same experience/emotions. If you want to hear more about the concentration camp and everything I felt when I absorbed it all that morning, I'm happy to talk (email?) about it. It's tough to put in a blog everything I'd like to convey to people about it. I'm not much of a history person, but I could truly understand why it was so important to preserve this piece of history for us to experience.
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