Munich

March 20 we Billy and I left for Munich. We got up around 4:30 AM and took a bus to the London Stansted Airport which is about 45 minutes away. We got on our plane and took the hour and a half flight to Munich, Germany. We got in around noon and could not check into our hostel until two so we decided to walk around the Olympic Park (1972 Olympics). The park was very cool and still used today for football games and concerts. From the park we then went to the Deutsches Museum which is a museum dedicated to modern history of science. The museum was so massive and had so much information in it we stayed for about an hour and were already dead tired so we decided to go back to the hostel and take a nap. After our nap, we went to the Hard Rock cafe for dinner. Following this Billy and I heard about beer that was in a wooden keg and decided to go to Augistiner (local brewery) and have a taste. What we heard was true. From there we went to the world famous Hofbrauhaus for a giant liter of their famous beer. It closed around midnight so we went back to the hostel bar.

Saturday we got up and had breakfast at the hostel. We went on a free walking tour of the city that started around 11. The tour was very imforative and we were able to see a local's perspective. During the tour we got to see the four structures that survived WWII. I was suprised to learn that all of the buildings in the city other than these four are less than sixty years old. We were able to see the Glockenspiel (large clock in the city center that has figurines that dance at noon) as well as several promintent churches in the area. I was also suprised to find out that Munich is very Catholic. After the tour Billy unsuccessfully tried to find a cuckoo clock for his dad. The tour guide told us that we should check out the Augistiner brewery, so we did and it was very clear that it was a locals only spot because it was very obvious that we were tourists. From there we ate dinner and headed back to the Hofbrauhaus for a few more liters.

Munich was a great place to visit. It was everything that you think of Germany: lederhosen, beer maids, beer halls and lots of large German words that you cannot pronounce. What was also crazy about Munich was that all of the taxis were Mercedes and BMWs. Pretty hilarious.

Next weekend: Scotland

Cheers,

Paul

p.s. Happy Birthday Mom and Annie