Woah..What. A. Weekend! My 21st Birthday in Munich and Salzburg :)

I feel like I always begin my blog posts with "where do I begin?" Well, here ya go: "How the heck to I even begin to describe the joy, the fun, the laughs, the tears, the craziness, of this weekend?" I guess I gotta start somewhere, so here goes:

One cannot describe the joy I felt after finishing my Strategic Intelligence midterm Thursday afternoon. I bolted upstairs to grab Lanier, Lizzy, Brian, and my backpack and then we were on a train headed to Munich! Here are a few photos from the countryside, although I would like to put out a disclaimer. After settling into our train compartment, I made a horrible discover: I left my camera battery charging in the apartment. Ugghhhhh.. Hence, the photos from this weekend are all from my iPhone.

Dolomite Mountains in Northern Italy

After arriving to the Munich Hopbahnhof ("central train station" in German), we made our way to the Holiday Inn in Unterhaching (which is apparently a suburb in Munich in the middle of a field where a bunch of old people live. Several kids our age laughed at us when they found out where were staying!)

THEN we went to the famous Hofbrauhaus, the largest pub of its kind in the world. Yes, I did sample (well, actually more than sample...) the tasty Helles brew. The pretzels were pretty good, too, and the place was full of tourists AND Germans singing along to old Bavarian songs that the band played.

pretzels and beer.. what a great combo!

okay, I know it looks empty, but the place closes at midnight and it was crazy when we got there at 10!  I guess Germans value their sleep?

The following morning, we woke up and took the Munich S-Bahn train to Dachau. Dachau is a quaint, pretty town right outside Munich, but is more known for the concentration camp that used to be there during WWII. For some reason, I've always been fascinated by the Holocaust, perhaps because I am still amazed at how someone so horrible and sadistic as Hitler could have had that much power and caused such an incredible loss of life. And the "Final Solution" only occurred less than 80 years ago..

Anyways, while I could describe Dachau in great depth, I believe the photos I took can speak for themselves:

"Work sets you free." Entrance to Dachau

memorial sculpture

bunks where inmates would have slept

I have more thoughts about Dachau, but I'm nervous to put them on the internet because it is such a sensitive topic. Please ask me in person if I can answer any questions, though.

After our visit to Dachau, we made our way back to Munich and went on Mike's Bike Tour. So much fun! We had a Australian guy named John who took us around the city via bike (of course). Here we are at Marienplatz before the start of the tour:

Marienplatz, one of the largest churches and squares in Munich

We rode through the city while John told us a lot about the history of Munich. Apparently 70% of the city was destroyed during Allied bombings towards the end of WWII, so a lot of the city has been rebuilt, but it has been rebuilt to look older and Bavarian. The architecture is every bit as beautiful.

We rode past war memorials, monuments, plazas, and the University of Munich, where I'm considering applying for PA school! U of M is apparently a very renowned school in Europe, and it's easier for Americans to get in. Seriously, I LOVED Munich; the people (friendly, attractive, not creepy), the culture (lots of history; modern society while still true to their Bavarian roots; "lederhosen" are commonly worn!), and the food.

Anyways, back to the bike tour: we also went through the largest garden/park/greenspace in Munich, much bigger even than Central Park in New York. We stopped at a beirgarten for a brew and some conversation:

Lizzy and Lanier walking towards the garden

Lizzy!

Our bike group! The family in front was from Dallas; the guy holding the beer is our fearless leader John!

Surfers in the small river than ran through the park. I would just like to add that the water was crystal clean but from the Alps.. brrr

While I was not quick enough see them, apparently a lot of nudist enjoy the main park we went to as well! I think Lanier may have gotten some photos. I was looking at the strange looking geese in the river instead.. :p We considered going to a famous bath house in Munich (where clothes are NOT allowed), but didn't find the time!

Friday night was spent in yet another biergarten. One member of our party had a little too much to drink so we had to call it a night fairly early..

Saturday, Lizzy and Lanier stayed behind in Munich to see a few more sites while Brian and I went ahead to Salzburg to go on the "Sound of Music" tour, my birthday present to myself. After I struggled to find our hotel, the kind lady at the reception told me she could arrange for the tour to pick us up. I felt a wave of relief wash over me. This, however, was short-lived.. The tour forgot us. And I had paid. There wasn't another tour until the next day, but we were leaving early. I was DEVASTATED. After having some alone time outside to collect my emotions, I decided that I was going to set out to see Salzburg on my own with Brian in tow.

Fortunately, I was able to meet up with some of my other friends on our study abroad program: Katie, Sydney, Nathan, Haley, Caitlin, and Mandy. Haley had been to Salzburg before and showed us around:

On the DB Bahn!

Where the Von Trapp family hid from the Nazis in the "Sound of Music!"

kind of a grainy photo, but Nathan, Sydney, and Hayley and I from the top of the Catacombs

Mirabell Gardens

Saturday night was spent out in the bar/club district of Salzburg (yes, there is such an area in sleepy Salzburg!) Lanier and Lizzy met up with us and we all went out for my birthday. I had so much fun dancing and sampling the, um, refreshments around town. Just before midnight, we did a birthday countdown and that's about the last I remember.. Still all around a great time!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes! I am so blessed to have such great family and friends, and I can't wait to see you all when I get back to the States! :)