Beer, biking, and breaktime in Bavaria
Trip Start
Jan 11, 2011
1
46
60
Trip End
Jul 13, 2011
Where I stayed
Morgans in Mittenwald
Bavaria, Germany
Friday, June 10, 2011
We woke up on Wednesday, June 8 and had some American cereal for breakfast. Then we took a two hour train to Munich and another short train to Dachau. Once we arrived in the town of Dachau we walked to the site of the former concentration camp. Once there we walked around in the museum exhibits. There was a huge amount of information about the camp, Germany during World War II, and all of the victims of the Nazi concentration camps. After reading for a long time we walked around the grounds. We saw the two replicas of the former barracks, various religious memorials, the cremation buildings and machines, various sites of mass graves and the site of the former shooting range. Then we watched a documentary about Dachau and the concentration camps. After the film we walked through the former specials prison cells for 'special' prisoners who had solitary confinement but generally better quality of life. When we finished that building we left the former camp and headed back to the train station. We took the train back to Munich. We got some kebabs to eat in Munich since it was already 6pm. Then we took a train back to Mittenwald where we relaxed, watched some television and went to bed.
On Thursday, June 9 we had breakfast before taking a train and a couple of buses to get to Neuschwanstein Castle near Fussen. King Ludwig II had the castle built in the late 19th century in the 'style' of the old medieval castles. Although the castle was never finished cause Ludwig died prematurely and mysteriously much of it was finished and its beautiful. We also walked up the adjoining mountain a bit to get the best view of the castle. From Fussen we took a bus and then train straight to Garmisch where we had some doner kebabs for dinner. Then Brian and I met up with the rest of the Morgans at their German school. Natascha and a large group of her friends had prepared a concert and called themselves Classical Infusion. They had done a similar concert the year before. Over 500 people came to the concert and it was a lot of fun. After the concert Brian and I went back with Bill, Birgit, Annika, and Michael (Birgit's mother's husband). After we got back to Mittenwald we had a couple of beers and watched the Daily Show and Colbert Report before going to bed.
On Friday, June 10 we slept in and then had a pretty lazy day. It was pretty rainy and cold out so Brian and I couldn't find much motivation to go see anything. Instead we watched some television and the Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. The rest of the day/night we hung out with the Morgans and watched some tv.
On Saturday, June 11 we went into Munich to explore the city. Although the weather still wasn't great the rain held off while we were exploring the city. First we walked to Marienplatz. Then we walked around that part of the city a bit especially around a big market area. Then we went back over by Marienplatz to watch the Glockenspiel on the Neus Rathaus. Next we walked to the Hofbrauhaus where we each had a liter of great Hofbrau beer. After the beer house we walked to the Englischer Garten, where we saw some surfers in the river going through the park. Then we headed back to the city center and went to the Residenz. This palace housed the Bavarian rulers from 1385 to 1918. While much of the palace was destroyed during the two world wars a great deal has been salvaged and/or reconstructed so the palace was interesting to walk through. When we finished the Residenz palace we bought a couple of beer stein/glass souvenirs and got on the train back to Mittenwald. We arrived back in Mittenwald at around 7:30 and we found some noodles in the fridge that we warmed up. I added some cheese and butter and Brian added cheese and hot sauce. We also had some fresh carrots with ranch dressing (one of my favorite American snacks). We watched some tv and hung out with the Morgans before going to bed.
We woke up really early on Sunday, June 12 because we were planning on going skiing in the Austrian Alps if the weather was good. However, we decided that it would be much more fun to bike because it was supposed to rain/snow in the mountains where the glacier is. Instead we went back to sleep for a few hours. After waking up the second time, Bill, Brian and I ate breakfast, made some sandwiches and then went biking. We biked on a trail that we picked up near their house and that went into the Austrian Alps. The bikeride was tough but very fun. We reached a hut in the middle of a valley where we had some Radler beers and ate our sandwiches. After getting back to the house we stayed active and went to play tennis right away. First Bill, Brian and I just hit the ball around and then Bill headed back to the house and Brian and I played a set. After falling behind 4-0 I won 7-5, a typical 'Paul and Brian match.' After tennis we went back to the house and showered up. Then we went with the whole Morgan family (minus Ethan who is living with his girlfriend in Austria) out for dinner at a good Indian restaurant in Garmisch. I had some great chicken curry. When we got back to Mittenwald we talked with Birgit for a while before going to bed.
On Monday, June 13 we woke up thinking that we might go for a hike if the weather was nice. However, it was raining again so we ate a leisurely breakfast and then threw in some wash. Then Corey, Sean, Brian and I went to the tennis club in hopes of playing some indoor tennis but the building was locked so we came back to the house instead. Brian and I watched a sci-fi movie online called 'The Twelve Monkeys.' The movie was pretty good but had an odd and confusing ending. That night we had dinner with the family and then hung out for a while with Bill and Birgit talking before going to bed.
On Tuesday, June 14 we woke up and had breakfast and then packed up all our stuff and took a train to Munich. From Munich we took a train to Prague.
