la mia vacanza italiana: Munich/Munchen

So it's been a while...and this trip occured weeks ago but here it goes...

Warning: events may be out of order and details may be innacurate. Just let it happen.

After our first block of classes, we took a group trip to Munich and Salzburg. All 27 of us loaded up in a bus and headed north. The bus ride was one of the prettiest drives I have ever been on. weaving through the Alps and quaint little towns.

5-6 hours later, we arrived in Munich and checked into our hotel (which we were ecstatic about after staying in 3 Ducks in Paris). Then Martin took us on a tour through the frigid city and, knowing our group all too well, dropped us off at the Hofbrauhaus. This is the mecca for beer lovers. We gathered in a table and had beer liters at a time. The beer was great but the food was disgusting (I am not a big sausage fan). One girl ordered some sort of sausage and it came in a pot with a lid. We all imagined a warm sausage potato mixture or something like that and waited for her to remove the lid. Her expression upon opening it told us that we were wrong. Inside of the pot were two stark white sausages, still connected, floating in tepid water. I gagged. Others described it as an aerial view of the beluga whale tank at the GA Aquarium. Needless to say, the belugas were not consumed.

After the night was over, I had consumed 2 liters of beer and felt like I was going to bust for the rest of the night. At the time I didn't make the connection that what I was drinking was the equivalent of a 2 liter bottle of coke...one that I may buy at the grocery store and nurse for at least a week, not in one sitting. Then the group wobbled back to our hotel and had a great nights sleep.

The next day Martin took us to the concentration camp Dachau. Dachau was originally a prison and work camp for male political opponents, but towards the end of the war became more extreme and included women as well. I had no idea what to expect going into it. There is just a feeling of heaviness walking around somewhere like that. Even going through the gas chambers (which were never used) was a terrible feeling. It was and still is so hard to understand how so many people were so brainwashed that they were okay with concentration camps.

After Dachau, Martin dropped some of us off at the BMW headquarters. After growing up with a car fanatic, I was very excited to see this place. We went into the showroom where a creepy lady was singing and got to look at the new cars. The cars were all so shiny and nice...we loved getting to sit in the drivers seat and imagine for just a second that this was our ride. Then we heard a motorcycle reeving. Suddenly a man on a motorcycle flew through the showroom, driving up and down the large flights of stares. Pretty interesting. Then our stomachs got the best of us and we headed for the nearest Subway (no more beluga whales for me) and then went to the hotel to rest.

That night we decided to go to a 5 story discoteca, M-Park. The description on the internet made me want to go ahead and blast Lady Gaga and flick the lights on and off. When we arrived the bouncers looked at our international student cards and said, "Nope." (and for the record, the age to get in is 18. We are all 20+ and ecstatic to be away from fake ids in Athens. We are legally allowed in this place.) They want passports. I reply, "Do you really think I would bring a passport to a discotech?" and proceeded to whip out my UGA card, debit card, credit card, health insurance card, car insurance card, and bus pass, all of which have my name and a couple have a pic. We got in.

The drinks inside were overpriced and the cheapest thing we could get was 2 euro tequila shots. I hate tequila. My feathers are already ruffled from the bouncers and now they don't even serve beer for less that 8 euros. But the music was good and I knew most of it, give or take a few German beats. The girls all started dancing, especially when "Bad Romance" came on. Then a few of us went to dance by the DJ. Apparently the spot where we were dancing was already taken because a nasty girl out of nowhere shoved one of us off the stage. We brushed it off as an accident and then it happened again. All of her friends (including a 6"4' German man) started pushing us around. I tried to be nice but it really got out of hand when the man knocked one girl completely over. Unacceptable. Finally we had enough and moved on, but not before I got my last little jab in when I yelled, "You're giving a bad reputation to your country," turned on my heels, and stomped off. Later when I told everyone my verbal accost of the girl, they laughed, just as she did, and asked if that was really the best I could do.

When we left I was absolutely livid and the bouncer was stamping each of us as we left (I guess in case you wanted to return later). When he came close to me I told him:

a. Don't touch me.

b. I hate this place.

c. I'm never coming back here again.

On the way home a few of us sang the National Anthem and The Star Spangeled Banner the whole time.

Though I had a frustrating night out, I would love to see Munich in the summer when the weather is nice.

The two towers at a church in Munich. In this church is the Devil's footprint. I proposed to Martin and the group that we all go in and see if there is a match, but he wasn't as into that idea.