Munchen

Bavarian Cows! 

Somehow, the weather in Germany shifted overnight from the Sahara Desert to November in Chicago. It was a welcome change, minus the monsoons we drove through to reach our first stop- the small town of Lenggries in Bavaria. It was there that I'd have my first traditional German meal.

It took a lot of courage, a massive temperature drop, and some stomach stretching to prepare me for that meal. The rump roast with herb butter, mixed vegetables and fried potatoes with a local Hefeweizen was a surprising treat. Locals entertained us by yodeling their Bavarian drinking tunes which definitely helped the roast go down a little easier.  After the meal, we rolled ourselves home to go to sleep before a long day of sight seeing.

Beer at the Hofbrauhaus

We woke early in the morning to more rain and decided to leave the village and head into Munich instead of going on our planned hike. On our way into the city, we drove by the famous Neuschwanstein Castle and decided we'd come back to scope out the interior and breathtaking mountain views on a nicer day.

The majority of our Saturday afternoon in Munich (which means The Monks) was spent shopping for Lederhosen and Dirndls for the upcoming 200th anniversary of Oktoberfest. Justin and I are both excited to sport our new purchases (I'll be wearing a vintage 70's Dirndl)! After our exhausting shopping trip, we had worked up a thirst  and swung by the Hofbrauhaus House. Of course we also snuck in some sightseeing.

We toured the Pinakothek Der Moderne, Neue Pinakothe (both are 1€ each on Sundays) and looked at some nice cars at BMW World. We then took a stroll in the English Garden where we had lunch at the Chinese Tower. I found it bizarre that the food served at he Chinese Tower was none other than German and was disappointed!

Memorial at Dachau 

Sunday afternoon we drove less than a half hour outside of Munich to Dachau- I had not realized how close the first concentration camp was to the city. Dachau really cannot be put into words. I can only say that it is unimaginable that the beautiful city of Munich was the birthplace to such a horrible part of history (including the Hofbrauhaus). I will never forget the awful things that were done to not only Jews, but to other minorities and to those who were outspoken. It makes me very, very thankful to have my freedom and makes me want to do something for those living and dying today without it.

All our photos can be seen here.