We decided to stop at Dachau on our way to Munich. Dachau was the first of many concentration camps that sprung up before/during World War II. It was a weird place to visit, knowing all the horrible things that happened there. Some of the old barracks were still standing and they also had a gas chamber and furnace room that you could walk through. It was very emotional being there and kind of hard to take in. There was also a museum with lots of photos and other information about Dachau and the other camps that came after it. We also watched a movie they had which was pretty powerful. It was a pretty sobering morning, to say the least. Jase that it would be an interesting day where we would see the good and bad aspects of German culture, starting off the day in Dachau and ending at the beer halls. It was definitely a rollercoaster of emotions.
A little bit later we arrived in Munich (Munchen) and walked towards the Marienplatz (the main square area) to see the famed Glockenspiel, which is this old clock (below).
Apparently the thing goes off a couple times a day and does a little sort of show, but Jase said it's like the most boring 10 minutes of your life, so we went shopping instead. (Oh, but first we went to the toilets near the underground subway station underneath the Glockenspiel. They were really gross and it totally smelled down there. Ew.) Tash, Erwin, and I went into some department store where Erwin found some other guys from our group and promptly ditched us. I bought some new sunglasses (sunnies) and the cutest earrings. Then Tash and I went to some stores and she bought a bunch of stuff. When we got back to the bus we found out that a group of them had gone beer drinking at the Hofbrauhaus and that Paul actually stolen a glass stein from there (bad Paulie. heh). So they were slightly sloshed as we headed to our hotel.
The hotel was fairly normal. We got ready to go out and then headed to the Pschorr-Keller beer hall for the optional dinner.
I opted to have the pork knuckles for dinner, which was actually very tasty. The beer was also very good. It came in big 1 liter steins that were really heavy and made a great sound when you banged them together. I only had one stein at dinner, but lots other people had two (it may be because our table's came late - but really I knew we were going to another beer hall after dinner and I didn't want to puke before we got there - or after either). We were entertained during dinner by some dancing girls and another girl who sang and played bells, all accompanied by some band guys funnily dressed. It was fun.
We were all pretty intoxicated on the way to the Hofbrauhaus (the famous Munich beer hall). Apparently they don't take reservations for large groups (or at least large groups of Contiki people) so we had to go in as small groups and then reconvene at a table in one of the back corners.
It was a pretty big place, full of long wood tables and a band playing polka music in the middle. We quickly ordered a couple of beers and had a taste of someone's giant pretzel which was great (best pretzel I've ever had). The drunkenness continued for quite some time. Eventually some of us decided to grab a taxi back to the hotel.
next day...
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