After getting a pretty good night's sleep, I had breakfast, and then we were on the road to Munich, our first big city in Germany. On the ride there we were given the list of all the additional excursions for the rest of the trip. There were a number of different options, many of which I opted for and a few I didn't. Since I have never been to any of these countries/cities before, these additional excursions, although when added up are a hefty sum, will probably enhance this experience even more and show me things I would otherwise not see or experience. (But I did make sure that I would have enough solo time too.) Its a good thing I haven't spent that much money while here and that I have some spin teaching gigs lined up back when I get to NYC, but once again, as Andi keeps reminding us "You don't go on holiday to save money or lose weight." Truth. (I am doing neither for the record. As to be expected.) The reason I did do a tour trip like this, hitting up so many locations, was to see as much as I can and then, hopefully in the future go back to my favorites to do and see more. Doing some of these additional experiences will help me get more out of this trip. I just know After this I will want to hit up more new countries and cities. Spain. Greece. Prague. Australia. Thailand. (Just for starters...) Any takers???
Anyway, once again on the way to Munich (which is part of Bavaria), we stopped at another Superloo. It was .70 euro to get through the turnstile to pee and we received a .50 euro coupon with this pee purchase. With my coupon, I purchased cola flavored Mentos. I do not think this flavor is available in the US, but they should be. They tasted exactly like Coke. Since I haven't had pop in over eight years, this tasted incredible to me. As we headed to Munich we learned some history about the beer halls in Munich and the importance of beer in their culture. It's as important as food to them. They believe women should drink at least half a liter a day and men at least a liter. Geez.
On the way into Munich (which btw was voted the most livable city in Europe), we passed Olympic Stadium where the 1972 Olympics were held. We got the sad and disturbing story of the Isreali athletes that were taken as hostages and killed during those Olympics. I knew some about it and never saw the movie Munich because its just a horrifying story. Being here now, I feel like I want to and should see this movie in the very near future.
When we got to Munich, we only had about an hour and a half to do our thang so I had to make the best of it. My number one goal was to hit up the Hofbrauhaus, a very famous Beer Hall. Before making my way there, Andi gave us a mini tour of the main part of town seeing the Marienplatz as well as the city hall, the marketplace, and St. Peter's church. Then Jenny and I walked around for about a half hour, picked up a snack and some souvenirs, and headed to Hofbrauhaus where we met Vonda and some of the rest of the group. I had a half liter of pilsner (Jenny's treat. So nice!!) which gave me a pretty solid buzz. Because time was short, that's all I could take in. Don't know if that's a good thing or bad thing (why am I such a light weight?) but that's how it goes. I could have stayed there all day to drink though. I also am proud of myself for drinking all this "real" beer here and not the watery light beer I drink at home. Of course thats not even an option here, but don't think for one minute I wont go back to drinking that when I get back home. Sorry to disappoint my craft beer loving friends! The beer hall itself was huge and quite the scene, even in the middle of the day. Not surprised though. It was very authentic (obviously) and I'm so glad I got to go and have a beer there.
After Munich, we were on our way to county number four, Austria. My great grandfather was born there (lived there until the WWII) so my mom and aunt were thrilled I was able to get there. Salzburg is the first Austrian city we hit. But not before another much needed comfort stop. After all the beer and using the bathroom on the bus twice, I badly needed to go...again. Once I broke that seal in Hofbrauhaus, I knew I was in for a losing battle with my bladder. For the cost of .50 euro, I paid to pee again. And Vonda even gave me some of her McD's fries (I won't allow myself to buy them, but I'm not going to rude and say no to a friendly offer. Duh.) and I got free wifi since there was a McDonalds. Double score. The ride to Salzburg had great view of the Bavarian Alps. Such an incredible view. We will get up there tomorrow to see Hitler's Eagle's Nest.
We were greeted in Salzburg with a local tour guide to show us the town. The two things Salzburg seems most famous for are Mozart and The Sound of Music. (I was the only person in my group who had never seen that movie. Perhaps that's the age gap?!) We saw the very pretty Mirabell Gardens, then walked over the bridge (across the Salzach River) which had love locks (like the famous bridge in Paris where all the couples put their locks on and toss the keys in the water) to Old Town and walked around town. We saw the birthplace of Mozart and the very cute and quaint town center area. Even though it still looks very old with its wrought iron signage, it has very modern stores. We had an hour and a half of our own to walk around and wander. The area we were in wasn't that large, so I got around the whole thing pretty fast. Since I didn't eat lunch I was pretty hungry. I was craving red meat and it was no where to be found on the fairly cheap and fairly fast scale. I even peaked in McDonalds because the thought of getting something there was so tempting but the line was really long. Prob a sign for me to stay away. I needed some protein so finally just got a brat from a cart. Because I was tired and marred by a little chafing sitch, I decided to take a seat in Mozart Square and just people watch until it was time to go. Today I think I did the least walking I've done in my nine days of travel. I needed that little break. From there, we headed back to the hotel and had an hour to relax before dinner. For the record and I am sure you are dying to know, I also took the best shower of my trip so far. Aaahhhh.
I called it a night pretty early as I was tired. These nights of a mere six hours of sleep and full days of walking around and going, going, going are catching up with me. They are amazing and fun but they are exhausting. Of course exhausting in the best way possible though. Hopefully I'll get a good night sleep tonight as we have to be up at six tomorrow. I can't believe I have been on this trip for over a week now and am still so excited every night for the next day. It's a great feeling and one I hope to keep the next two weeks. I'm confident that will be the case. :)
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