Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Much Fun In Munich

Our first stop in Munich was a huge bier haus near the grounds of the famous Oktoberfest. We were served a traditional German meal of mashed potatoes, sauerkraut and bratwurst sausage. The servers were dressed in traditional clothing, including dirndl dresses and lederhosen. After dinner Marco took us to our hotel for check-in. We said our last farewells to Stephanie, our tour director, who had announced to the group that she was leaving us due to health reasons.
After check-in we headed to the S Bahn station and into Munich to the Hofbrau Haus. We were very lucky to get seats close to the stage so we could watch the band and listen to the traditional music. Some of the group sampled the beer (it was discovered when we arrived that after 9:00 PM you must be 18 to be served alcohol) and others tried the apple strudel. We also discovered that the subways don't run as frequently and we had a long wait to catch the S Bahn back to our hotel.
We had an early morning wake-up call and then we were on the bus to meet our new tour director Tom. Our city guide joined us on the bus and took us on a bus tour of the city. We saw the old city gates, museums, churches, and the Olympic stadium. We stopped at Nymphenburg Castle. We had enough time to take some photos and watch the swans as well as hear about the beautiful castle. Our next stop was the BMW Museum and Showroom. there were lots of oohs and aahs over the cars and motorcycles. We finished our tour with a walk to the Marienplatz where the famous Glockenspeil is. Some of the group headed to the Viktualienmarkt for a traditional lunch and stroll around the outdoor market, while others sampled German food at McDonalds!!
Our afternoon was spent at Dachau. Tom, our new Tour Director, is trained as a tour guide at Dachau. He led the group through the main building and grounds. It was a very moving experience for the group. The photos below are of the Jewish, Catholic and Protestant Memorials at Dachau.
When we arrived back in Munich we went to the Galeria Kaufhof. it is a large department store and we had dinner in the cafeteria on the upper floor. This was a very popular place with the students because they could choose from a wide variety of items and refill their plates if they wished. After dinner some of the group went shopping while others went back to the Hofbrau Haus for their last sample of German beer and to browse in the gift shop.

No comments:

Post a Comment