Everything went well getting to Munich, you can tell by my slight jubilation for Lufthansa in the prior post that I was a fan of their service. We arrived late in the afternoon and sorted out where the hell our hotel was. I have to say, it’s pretty small by American standards. The bathroom is actually smaller than my first house’s bathroom (believe me that’s small) and the beds are very European. There is a small work surface and a TV that plays incredibly funny dubovers of American programs.
At the time of writing this I was just listening to a station on the TV (radio on the TV) that seemed like some good techno music…but then I noticed that “Jesus” came up a lot…German Christian Techno Rock? Hah!
We went out for a wander and to find some food and drink. Munich is a very nice city and at the center is a lot of shopping and activities. We stopped just short of the area we later learned was the pub district…but we did wander into the Augustiner Restaurant and Brauhaus. We were able to work out from their menu that they’ve existed far longer than the US has been independent.
That’s the funny thing about history in Europe. It’s just so much longer than American history and it’s great to compare things to how long your country has existed, not just as long as you’ve been alive. It’s very eye-opening.
The meal is also worth mentioning.
Using the English menu I ordered what seemed to be the everything plate. On a bed of Spatzel was sausages, pork chop, onion straws and amazing cream sauce with mushrooms. It was delicious, but by god, if Germans really eat like this all the time it’s any wonder they don’t live past 12.
Also had some of their apple strudel, which to be honest was disappointing.
We were also charged 95 euro for a damn pretzel and given the wrong beer. It made giving a terrible tip much easier. Unlike the UK, Germany is more like the US when it comes to tipping. I’m guessing most of the civilized European countries are. However, they still don’t seem to be as crazy as we are about tipping for every damn drink. Which I love 🙂
We stumbled around in the rain. It’s about 45 degrees here and it wasn’t quite pissing down rain, but it will still wet and cold all the same. We stopped by a pub that was far too push for our kind, came back to the hotel bar for one, and then ended up around the corner at a Doner Kabab shop that had a bar/cafe next to it, for the last rounds of the evening.
Josh got pretty drunk and ended up wandering into the Kabab shop and just pointing at food and giving a thumbs up. He had himself a proper meal of random meats and vegetables on rice with bread and disappeared to fall asleep for the night.
I must admit, I had exactly one more than I should have last night, but it was great fun, stumbled down the block back to the hotel, sorted out some things for the morning, and put myself to bed.
Woke up the next morning, which was hard to do. Dave and I sorted out some breakfast and a coffee but Josh couldn’t be woken. We actually missed our tour group and decided to take the 12:30 tour, but then fount out that they don’t do a tour on Thursdays! No matter, we sorted out the transit and headed to Dachau.
Seen here is the space between the prisoner barracks and the administration building to the Dachau Concentration Camp.
I have to say, this is a horrifyingly real experience.
I think I’ll write more as I digest it over this trip. I’d like to get some pictures processed and think about the emotion a little bit. I don’t want to bury these details in the middle of a post. Because it’s honestly such a sobering experience. This happened. I didn’t doubt it before…but now I’ve seen the remnants of it first hand, and that’s just…something.
On that depressing note.
We’re off in a few minutes to grab the tram to the city center and do a proper nights drinking. First some more sausage! Talk to you all soon.
lunks