Travel Series: Munich

So for once, I get to begin this story without a travel horror story. We left Frankfurt later than we had intended, having crashed after a latish night at the bar with the people we were staying with. We had a quick breakfast, packed up and headed to the train station. Today was already going to be an easy day of travel. We were using our Eurorail pass which meant that we could jump on any train to Munich. The trip from Frankfurt to Munich is only 3 hours and there are trains running roughly every hour or every other hour. We got there and hoped onto an early afternoon train and arrived in Munich around 4pm. The only thing that gave us trouble was our Hostel.

Up until now, Sara and I have gotten by the few times that we needed a hostel by just looking one up online and going there in person, day of to book the room. Unfortunately, we have come to realize that as Christmas draws closer, more and more people are backpacking through Europe. More people are off of school and needing a place to stay. We walked to a hostel I had picked out in advance but not booked and they were all full up except for more expensive options. We inquired as to the location of other hostels. So a 15 minute walk later we arrived at the AO hostel which we had a discount for, but the facilities were small and they only had 10 and 14 person dorms and the facilities just weren't all that good. They did, however, have a larger and nicer facility about a 30 minute walk north. They also had 6 person female only dorms. So, Sara and I booked the hostel from that location and then trekked to the other Hostel. At this point, the hike made our bags feel about a million pounds and Sara's tendons were screaming. We made it there and dropped off our things completely fed up with the day. I managed to get us moving to grab some groceries and dinner. Unfortunately, AO hostels do not have kitchens for use, which meant we were going to have to be creative for meals and it was a very real problem. We haven't eaten as much as we likely should in the last couple days and what we have eaten has been sorely lacking in vegetables and protein. But Oh well.

We settled in for a quiet evening, giving up on some pre-exploration of the city after the debacle of the hostels. It was around this point that my spirits had been broken. We had struggled from city to city with something going wrong. I had been optimistic and kept trying to keep up our spirits when Sara seemed ready to give up. But in the quiet of the hostel lobby I was confronted with a train of thought which had been nagging at me on the train. I was not having fun. We had stayed in Frankfurt for far to long, and I was no longer seeing new things. Additionally, my tolerance for new and foreign things was falling precariously low. I missed my family and friends. Sara is a wonderful travelling companion and I love her as my sister, but she is one person and there was a certain solitude and loneliness that had crept into my heart. I kept thinking about Christmas in less than week and how I wouldn't be with my family for the first time in my adult life. I wanted to cry. I felt as though I were going through the motions of travelling because it was what was expected of me. I was supposed to enjoy this grand adventure but I wasn't. It was frustrating but it also taught me something. My life derives meaning from the people I am with. I can be anywhere in the world and it will be meaningless if I feel like I have lost the people I care about. After heavy chatter with some family and friends I was in a much better mood and ready to face Munich. It is a good thing too because Munich turned out to be one of the most fun and beautiful cities we have visited yet.

One aside, the hostel situation.  People can be terribly inconsiderate. As a result, the last couple nights, Sara and I haven't gotten much sleep. The sleep we do get is often after 6 am when our noisy room mates have vacated. The beds aren't particularly night. Also, it looks like for our final night in Munich, the hostel had a mix up and actually booked a man as our 6th guest in the all female dorm. I am a little peeved and looking forward to staying somewhere else and having a kitchen again. But it is cheap and sometimes you just have to go with the flow.

Our first full day in Munich was a bit of a whirlwind. We got up early due to the trouble sleeping scenario and we went to the city centre to pick up a free tour. This touring company has tours all over Europe and they are completely free with the tour guides making their wages on solely tips. We met for the tour and it turned out to be a good way to see a lot of the city very quickly. Unfortunately, it was very cold and before long we wanted to be inside. We saw plenty of beautiful buildings and learned a lot about the history of Munich and its relation to the third Reich as well as the Bavarian kings and queens that lived in the city. The tour started with watching the Glockenspeil go off at the city centre. The tour included many churches and monuments which you can see in the pictures below.

The tour finished around 2-3pm and we grabbed a quick bite to eat before heading back to our hostel to warm up. We were planning on going to a tour later in the evening around 6pm, so we figured it would be good to rest up before we were walking and adventuring in the city again. We went to the grocery store and picked up hot chocolates and NY style cheesecake and watch Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog while planning for the next days travels. It was quite relaxing and very fun.

The tour which we were going to at 6pm was the Beer Challenge tour. It had a small fee but included two beers and a Jaeger. It was a bar crawl with an informational tour about the role Beer played in Bavarian history and the various types of beer and beer halls in Munich. This tour was loads of fun. Sara and I shared beers at each of the bars, but in total we got to try 5 different beers, some of which were from companies which had been brewing since the 700s. I am not normally a beer drinker. I have never really cared for the taste of Hops, but these beers were some of the best I ever had. We also had the former pope's (Pope Benedict) favourite beer, Augustina. We got to know some of the people on the tour which included Americans (midwesterners even), Brazilians, Australians and Mexicans. Safe to say when people get drunk they get to be more friendly! We ended up staying out later than planned which meant that we had to modify the next days activities, but I don't regret a second of it. I completely understand why beer is such an integral part of Bavarian culture.

After a later start than planned, Sara and I got a Bavarian day pass and hoped on a train to Fuessen. Fuessen is a small city nestled in the Alps and a popular romantic destination for a few major regions. The city itself is quite beautiful and the mountains add an air of grandeur and beauty. The area is also home to a number of castles which are pieces of art in themselves. Our particular destination was Neuschwanstein castle and I am so glad that we went. The sights were breath taking and the castle was art. That is the only way I can describe it, each room was beautifully hand crafted and painted. The castle itself remains unfinished due to the death of the king who had built it, but what has been completed is breathtaking. I don't think I could ever live in such a castle because I would spend all my time wandering aimlessly through the halls and staring at one wall for hours trying to discern every detail. If the inside weren't beautiful enough, the castle sits among the mountains of the Alps. The trek to get up to the castle was a bit of a pain because ice and snow which had settled the day before (and only served to make the area more picturesque) made the roads too precarious for buses. As a result everyone either had to walk or hire a horse and buggy.

The snow also meant that the park closed off a path that lead to a bridge not far from the castle a little further into the Alps. From this bridge, there is an amazing view of Neuschwanstein castle with the backdrop of the city. Additionally, the path houses a few more spectacular views. It is from this area of the mountain that all of the pictures of the castles that are on postcards are taken. Feeling a bit like rebels, we and many other people bypassed the blockades and trudged up the icy path anyway. I completely understand why they closed it. The train was quite slippery and if you slipped in the wrong place, it could have fatal consequences. But if you took it slow and were very mindful, the trip could be made safely without slipping once. Plus, the views were worth the risk. These pictures don't do it justice, but perhaps they can give you some idea of the beauty.

We took the long train back (2 hours) and have since settled back into our hostel for the last night of relaxation and packing. We leave for Salzburg tomorrow and say goodbye to Germany. It has been fun. Full of ups and downs but also a lot of beauty. The most memorable are the views that I have gotten to see and the Christmas markets I have gotten to attend (somewhere in the ball park of 11). I can't wait to see what the culturally rich and musical county of Austria has to offer. Until then...

Adventures Await!

KH

Travel Series: Frankfurt

So, let us begin again with how things always seem to go wrong when Sara and I travel. We left a good hour early for our bus from Cindy and Alex's house. It was sad to say good bye. They were two amazing people and I hope at least on some level that we keep in touch. We arrive at the bus station and look at the boards...and can't find the bus for Frankfurt at the time stated on our ticket. Confused, Sara looks at the ticket a second time and notices that the date was for 16th (the next day) and not for that day the 15th. I burst out laughing at our luck and then immediately ask her which company the tickets were from so we could go talk to them and buy tickets for today. She is as usual upset, but I tell her it isn't that bad and we should be fine.

The two women working the kiosk were very kind. They arranged for us to be on the next bus to Frankfurt which left in 2 hours and made a special exception such that it didn't cost us a thing! Relieved we waited until the next bus.

This bus was perhaps the nicest bus we have been on. The seats resembled plane chairs with pull up trays. There were refreshments for sale and each level of the double decker had two television screens which projected what the bus was seeing from the driver's perspective. We got some rest and took care of ourselves for the 6 hour journey. The bus was ahead of schedule and out of toilet paper and so it took a break at a rest stop to pick up more. This was right around lunch and so Sara and I decided along with the entire bus to go to the only restaurant, McDonalds and pick up some food. It was amazingly crowded but I got what I usually got...only about twice as expensive. We rushed back on the bus and arrived even a little ahead of schedule.

We met up with Ben upon arrival and then immediately went to find our hostel for the night. It was only for one night that we needed a place to stay, the next three nights in Frankfurt we would be spending with our last couch surfing host, Aybi. We went to one of the serial hostel chains A and O and got a nights stay in an 8 person mixed dorm for €7.25, which is pretty cheap. We locked up our stuff and then went out to try and find a place to eat and maybe see a Christmas market with Ben.

Ben had only just arrived in Frankfurt and this was only his 2nd day in Germany and on break as a whole. We caught up and ended up going to an Asian restaurant and having some apfelwein, which turned out to be a a of Frankfurt. After wandering aimlessly through what we didn't know then was the red light district, failing to find a Christmas market, we retired to our hostel and had an early night skyping our families.

The next day was also a bit of a nightmare. We collected our things and checked out from our hostel to find Aybi's house which turned out to be all but impossible. She lived about 45 minutes outside the city and the nearest U train was still a 15 minute walk. She had given us a bus number that went right by her house, but the bus didn't go into the main part of the city. The place to pick up the bus was poorly marked as in not at all on any maps and even the information desk couldn't help us. We struggled and doubted and then just decided to try to get to her flat. After 2 hours of struggle, we finally arrived at the U station near her house and decided to walk. Unfortunately, it was all up hill, and Sara suffers from Tendonitis. She was in so much pain by the time we got there, I am amazed we could keep on a happy smile. Aybi kindly let us in and we were relieved to have just arrived.

Aybi lived with three other flat mates in an apartment near her university where she was studying computer science. There was a kitchen and main living room which had the two couches which would serve as our beds for the next the nights. The main thing of note was the white piano which sat in the middle of the room which over the next few days would play some lovely tunes by the flatmates.

We only got lightly to know everyone in the flat, as exams were coming up and everyone was busy studying. We didn't mind too much and set off back to the city to meet up with Ben and actually explore. It was this day that we went to see a few of the more close sights. We examined a close Christmas market which had a honey store, in which we bought some mead. We also saw the old opera and a few other churches. It wasn't a very long time though, until we returned back to the flat and settled in for another quiet night.

The next day, Sara and I slept in before meeting up with Ben and truly exploring the Christmas market and the dense block or two of churches, museums and landmarks. Of particular note, was another long climb up the Frankfurt Dome to a beautiful view of the city. The sun was out in full and it was even comfortable enough to unzip our coats for some much needed warmth. We took time catching up and enjoying the scenery. We learned that the best thing you can do in Frankfurt is find the highest point possible and look on...that or sit by the river!

The last full day in Frankfurt, Sara and I were a bit at a loss of what to do. We had seen most of the main sights and had little interest in going to a museum. We had come to the conclusion that we really didn't need this extra day in Frankfurt, there just wasn't as much to see. Frankfurt is a very industrial city and even though it is rich in history, it does not contain as many landmarks or sights as some of the other cities we had gone to see. We decided to just go wandering and run a few errands with Ben. This ended up being tons of fun as we stumbled upon a park and for at least a moment pretended to be kids again.

Tonight we went to the bar with the people living in the flat and got to know them a bit better. Tomorrow we will leave early for Munich and hopefully see Neuschwanstein castle. Frankfurt has been the most laid back we have been since we have begun our travels and this is probably for the best. I even got to play some videogames. We are really thankful to our host Aybi and wish her the best of luck on her studies. Look for a post on our last German city, Munich. Heres to hoping that we don't run into any other troubles on our travels to Munich. *Knock on Wood*

Adventures Await!

KH

Travel Series: Berlin

Now, I think I am going to begin all these stories with something that has gone wrong. No matter what Sara and I seem to do, we have some problem in transit to our next location. Fortunately, everything has been small and not too terrible and additionally easily repairable. So let the story begin with leaving Cologne.

We said a sad fair well to Toni and made our way to the central train station for our night train which I had booked in advance. The train was leaving rather late at 10:30 and we arrived at the station a good hour early to be safe. We went up to the platform with the reservation and our eurorail passes and waited. There was something really strange about the stop. At the same time and at the same platform, another train was leaving for an entirely different location. We looked at the board and it said the train we wanted should arrive 5 minutes later. So we sat down and waited as the train pulled up. Both Sara and I had a nagging feeling that we should ask someone what was going on, but thinking that we had read the board correctly we didn't do anything. Then we watched as our train passed by the station and the last car on the train had the number and name for our train. Sara freaked out, but see that's the beauty of a Eurorail pass. We had marked in the day for tomorrow, because that is what you are supposed to do for a night train. As a result, we had the flexibility of taking any train that travelled from midnight to midnight the next day. I consoled Sara and we went to information services and took the next available train to Berlin. This meant that we left at 2 am and had a connection in Hamburg. So the cost of this little mistake, roughly 16 euros in reservation. The bonus, we get to say we have been in Hamburg for about 10 minutes.

We arrived in Berlin at about 8:30 am which worked out better than the 4:30 am that we were originally going to arrive at. We immediately went to the home of our next couchsurfer host Cindy and her new fiancée Alex. The graciously welcomed us in and immediately made us tea and gave us a map detailing the important sights in Berlin. We got to know them and were fast friends. We shared the remainder of the Christmas cookies we had made with Toni and took the time to calm down. We then left to go to the nearby area for a short sight seeing tour.

The first thing we did was go to the DDR museum. The museum was an interactive informational tour of the life of those under socialist Germany. They looked at school, career and media with particular emphasis on the good and the bad. For example, at least under socialist Germany, women were treated equally to men and even given day care services. A bit more progressive than you would initially think. The museum was interesting but I quickly found that the nights more than exciting events and the little sleep (a mere 2 hours) were making my head foggy and the details all started blurring together. Not to mention, I was becoming increasingly hungry as the last meal we had had was at midnight that morning. So Sara and I left the museum and went in search of food. There wasn't any reasonable cafe's so we went to the nearby christmas markets where I had a currywurst. The currywurst as we were informed by our hosts was an invention of Berlin in the time when Ketchup was a hot commodity making it scarce. Since it was so expensive to get Ketchup, the people of Berlin took to creating their own tomato based sauce and mixing in curry spices. It was delicious and definitely cheered up my day.

We wandered back towards the main station and through another Christmas market before heading back for an early night with Cindy and Alex. As we recouped and I took the time to set everything up for the next day, Cindy and Alex made dinner and offered for us to join. So we had home made Ratatouille  and freshly preserved cherries from Cindy's grandmother garden. We talked about our lives and our families and ended up talking until later into the night before retiring for a long sleep.

Sara and I woke up late the next morning before heading on a tour around Berlin's more famous sights. Fortunately today was a clear day, unlike the day before which had been foggy. We started at the Reichstag and began a circular tour that followed the Berlin wall to Check point Charlie. We saw along the way, Brandenburg gate, a memorial to the persecuted Gypsies, a memorial to the Jews, a memorial to homosexuals, pieces of the wall, old soviet police stations and finally check point Charlie. See pics for details.By the time we got to Check Point Charlie we were freezing and it was beginning to get dark. We had plans later that evening to meet up with Cindy and Alex for a Christmas tradition which was similar to a White elephant party in the states. They even wrapped gifts for us so that we could participate. Since we still had two hours before our meeting time, I urged Sara to continue our sight seeing tour. So we went to see a burned down church in the more western part of the city and the elephant gates.

We then took the opportunity to wander through that part of the city in search of a different train station so that we could meet up with Cindy and Alex. Of course this was a special version of getting lost on purpose and as a result got to see a few interesting and unique parts of Berlin. We reached the meeting point on time, but due to some confusion ended up travelling separately to the party location. The party was in an office building space and was hosted by a club of people who were all speakers or travellers to Eastern European countries but they also knew German. We didn't know anybody but Cindy and Alex but everyone was inviting and the food and drink was amazing. We played the white elephant like game and Sara got Christmas socks and candle and I also got candles. We then spent the remainder of the party chatting and ultimately dancing. It was loads of fun and we spent more time getting to know Cindy and Alex.

We got home late but resolved to get up early the next morning so that we could trek to visit a concentration camp near enough to Berlin that we could get there by train, Sachsenhausen. We left the next morning a little later than intended but managed to make the 1 and a half journey to the camp. It was once again a foggy day which suited the mood of the location. Once we had stepped on the grounds of the camp, a certain weight pressed against our shoulders and a chill began seeping into our bodies. There was a strange scent that was equally off putting. Most of the camp had been destroyed in bombings during the war. Few of the actual buildings remained. However the foundations did remain, which gave the entire camp a hallow and ghosty field. Some of the remaining buildings, was the entrance check points and administration area (which had been transformed into a museum), a few of the bunkers which had been salvaged and recreated from multiple bunkers, the running track, the prison, and the gasing chambers. We took what pictures we could but before long, the cold drove Sara and I to leave before seeing every detail.

We returned a little frozen and had a quick dinner before joining Cindy and Alex at a more local Christmas market which was only available on the weekend we were visiting. The market was much smaller with many of the same booths and then it concluded with a 2+ hour concert by some local choir groups. We went to the concert and listened to the music. It was interesting to see how they interpreted some american Christmas carols and also to hear some German ones. Like my choir when I was in High school, they sang numerous African tribal songs and even a song featuring a didgeridoo. The choir was sub par but the acoustics were fantastic. There was a brief intermission with a bake sale and Sara and I tried some poppy seed cake and some other baked goods. We retired with a late second dinner and chatted with Cindy and Alex until late once again.

The next morning we headed by bus to Frankfurt! But I will save that small horror story until the next post. Overall, we really enjoyed spending time with Cindy and Alex and seeing Berlin. We were very grateful for the hospitality we received and the opportunity to engage in so much cultural exchange. There was much joy and sorrow in the trip, but it was all worth it. We are looking forward to seeing our good friend Ben on the next leg. Until then...

Adventures Await

KH