munich has always been one of the main reasons why i decided to do my exchange in germany. not that I knew loads about it, just that i was sure it was somewhere i wanted very much to visit, with its rich history and culture. afterall, this is the capital of the bavaria state and the very place where the world’s most famous beer party – oktoberfest, is held.
28 feb, thursday
it was our 1st time on the ICE! so imagine the excitement! the trains were more or less how i imagined them to be, with 6 seats in one cabin for the 2nd class seats, which was what we got. i think we got a good deal too – paying 46 euros a ticket.
getting around munich was pretty easy. our hostel for the night – euro youth hostel, was literally a stone throw away from the hauptbahnhof, and the s- and u- bahns were just right beside it. luck was on my side when I managed to find a cheap SD card for my camera, after stupidly leaving my one and only one at home (i lost the other one along with my mountain smith camera pouch in dublin, i think :/)
our 1st stop of the day was the BMW Welt (no prizes for guessing who was the most thrilled of us all) – but even I might admit the plant tour was worth every bit of the money we paid for. the guide took us around the factory where the cars are manufactured, and brought us through the entire process – from the transportation of raw materials, to the assembling of the parts, the installation of the interior fixtures, the paint job and finally, the test drive.
office building shaped like a 4 cylinder engine
precision was of utmost importance, and we were all fascinated when we saw how the assembly of the doors to the car body was fully automated and run by robots. screws, bolts and nails were also absent, as many of the parts were actually held together by industrial glue.
but of course, my favourite part was still watching them attach the shiny BMW logo onto the car.
olympiastadion was where the 1972 summer olympics was held. the place was beautiful and we even managed to save some cash when we decided to ditch the olympiaturm tower and instead, hiked up a little hill – which gave us just as good a view of the area. i think it was that very moment when i sat there that made me realize – im in love with munich (:
and in our usual tradition, we managed to find joy in the silliest (and free) things. Like feeding the swan. taking pictures. lying on a shit-covered grass patch. taking more pictures. trying to outdo each other in a kicking competition. and falling down (ok, that’s me). and taking even more pictures.
feeding the swan with biscuits crumbs - remnants of our lunch
shit-covered grass patch
which, yea, we decided to lie on.
next stop was allianz arena, where the football clubs – fc bayern munchen and TSV 1860 munchen, train and play their matches. according to caroline, the stadium lights up at night, and the colour depends on who is playing that night. but even without the lights, the place still looks really big and nice (:
biggest audi ever sighted
allianz arena
i could almost feel the atmosphere of an actual match being played – the players running out from their changing rooms to the field, greeted by over 70,000 screaming fans. the lights would be so bright, the energy level so high, that it didn’t matter if you even like football. everyone just wants to be part of all that action.
i want to be there when all that happens.
i used to be such a fan. this trip so far has made me realize the many joys that i have seem to lost these past few years. i use to attribute it to my own character, and how i can never stay interested for long. at anything. but sometimes i cant help but wonder – what if i had the time? and that life didn’t have to pass me by so quickly? would I have slowed down? would I still be that ardent football fan i was back then, waking up at the craziest hours to catch the EPL matches with sis? drooling over daren anderton from tottenham hotspurs, and being totally anti-beckham (which I still do). would i have been a drama addict – staying up till 2am just to catch matthew fox and scott wolf on party of 5? would i have picked up an instrument like i said that i have been wanting to for the longest time? how would my life be if i didnt move at the speed which i did?
we pose everywhere!
marienplatz, the street which houses the alte and neues rathaus and the glockenspiel, was our next destination. the street was really pretty and even though it looked like every other shopping district we have been to so far, i still like it more. i think im just biased.
neue rathaus
i love munich!
the glockenspiel
bright lights, big city
marienplatz
dinner was at the augustiner restaurant and we couldn’t wait any longer to sink our teeth into famous local delights like the weisswurst (white sausages) and pork knuckles. potato dumpling aka knodel kinda suck for me and actually, i prefer the normal bratwurst like the frankfurters.
augustiner restaurant
i so wanted to steal this home!
with my pretzel...
...and beer
pork knuckles + knodel
our room that night was really a steal at 13.50 euros per night. besides the amenities and all, the best part was that we got the room to ourselves! tho a common bathroom, they were decently clean and the heating system was great. im a fan (:
euro youth hostel
29 feb, friday
a day which only comes once in every 4 years shouldn’t be spent in a sloppy fashion. so summiting the highest peak in germany it shall be. haha. actually looking back at all the peaks i have conquered, i realize that height doesn’t always promise the best view or experience. afterall, the one that took my breath away wasn’t the tallest or the toughest. it was the one that made me want to stay there forever, and made me understand why i was working so hard to be there.
anyways, the real intention to visit zugspitze was to ski. my last and only skiing experience was back in secondary school, when i was in korea. not that I can remember much of it – only that i went home with two big bruises on my knees.
the place was snowing when we arrived and after all the navigation, we managed to get our equipments and was all ready to go. well, sort of.
it took us a lot of time to figure out which slope was right for us. i was struggling just to climb up the slope with the skis, while the rest seemed to do it with so much ease. didn’t help that the wind was constantly blowing and there was this point when i was trying to get downslope, a snowstorm starting blowing and i was literally blown away, hitting a signboard to my right. which i should ironically be thanking my lucky stars for – for to the other side of the board was a clift that would have been easily 3m in height. I don’t know for sure, for the visibility then was so bad.
we eventually made our way to the beginner’s slope, and even though the slope was still rather steep, but at least it was wide enough which meant that i was more likely to fall down than fall off. which i think was the lesser of two evils. ha. the sense of helplessness i felt on my way down was not exactly foreign, but somehow i just knew i would eventually figure something out. just like everything else. i just needed time. so with all the falling down, skidding along, standing up and all, i managed to finally get the hang of it and by the 2nd try down the slope, i was actually beginning to enjoy it. during the few seconds when i was skiing down at an uncontrollable speed, i felt a sense of recklessness which was exhilarating. things that i thrive on. ha.
break time!
after a very expensive lunch at the ski cafeteria, we took the cable car up to the highest peak – zugspitze, which promises the view of 4 different countries, namely – germany, austria, italy and switzerland. which we saw – not! haha..the summit was so foggy that we could hardly see anything, which was a pity (think yong yap – which promised a breathtaking view of cameron highlands too – but all we saw was mist)
but oh wells, it was still nice (:
atop zugspitze!
clearing all that snow!
on our way down from the mountain, we were busy snapping away at the beautiful sights we saw along the ride.
we decided to ditch our initial plans of staying in garmisch as we found out that 1) there’s nothing much to do in garmisch 2) we could still catch the train back and reach munich around 8ish 3) we love munich (:
we were lucky to find a double room in wombat since it was a last minute decision to head back munich. dinner was a shitty affair – as we ate at the hauptbahnhof and i had the awful smoked salmon sandwich. so to cheer ourselves up, we decided to hit another beer hall. and it was probably the best decision we made, for the hofbrauhaus was one of the biggest and most famous biergarten in munich.
hofbrahaus!
look who i met at the hard rock cafe opposite hofbrauhaus!
the place had 3 different floors, each with its own theme. the 1st was almost like the augustiner, filled with benches and tables and of course, lots of beer. the atmosphere was vibrant and fun and it totally changed when we reached the 2nd floor. the 2nd level was more like a restaurant, a perfect hideaway for a romantic date or for friends who want to enjoy a quiet meal. then came the big hall on the 3rd floor, which we eventually found ourselves in. long tables lined the hall, and at the front was a podium where the band was playing traditional german folk songs. people were dancing away and i could just so imagine having a class gathering there.
the hofbrauhaus original was really good, although at 1 litre, it must have been the largest amount of beer I have consumed in one seating. a pity the place closed at 11pm, so we had to leave. still, that didn’t keep me from keeping the mug as a sovenuir, as i marched out of the place with mug and beer in my hand.
the mug was so heavy!!!
strange encounters with a street busker
crazy us in the lift of our hostel
1st march, saturday
today was reserved for the castles – neuschwanstein and hohenschwangau. heard so much about the castles even before visiting, and everyone was saying how beautiful it is. With a nickname like disneycastle, you could almost imagine it resembling the ones you read in fairytales.
but i must say i was rather disappointed. for me, the nicest bit was probably seeing the alpsee – the alps lake, which was backed by the lovely alps. definitely more breathtaking than the castles.
neuschwanstein from afar
hohenschwangau
i think i make the castle look nicer than it really is actually. with the help of the natural colours of nature of course. i love blue skies. and the sun. and the fluffy white clouds.
hiking up to neuschwanstein
the beautiful alpsee. i like (:
this was probably the reason why ludwig II wanted to build his castles here
dinner was at a nice and cheap italian restuarant that resembled va-piano. alot.
after dinner, we head back to wombat since we still had the welcome drink which we are entitled to. spent the night playing monopoly until we were chased out as they had to close the common area.
big money! ok...wrong game
2nd march, sunday
on our last day, we visited the dachau concentration camp, which is probably the place i wanted to visit the most on this trip.
dachau - the significance of this name will never be erased from German history. it stands for all concentration camps which the Nazis established in their territory - eugen kogon, at the entrance of the memorial site
was clear in her explanation and even though i knew of all that has happened here, i guess the history classes in secondary school can never quite describe the magnitude of the cruelty and the atrocities which took place here.
- work will set you free
i knew i will be affected but i guess what surprised me was that when my eyes went misty a few times, it was not for those who died and suffered here, but for the tormentors and the very very warp mind they must have had to be able to inflict such pain on another human being.
chain used for pole hanging - one of the punishments
whipping rod
a game to them would be to throw a prisoner’s cap onto the grass patch and make him go pick it up, knowing very well that anyone who sets foot on the grass will be shot to death immediately by the patrol guards station in the watch towers all over the camp.
a punishment to them meant making a prisoner stand on his feet in the blistering cold for 22 hours, in just t-shirt and shorts. and its often implemented over the pettiest offence like having a coffee stain in their cups.
an experiment to them is to send prisoners to their laboratories and have them experience extreme temperatures to understand what is the minimum that a human body can take, after which, killing them just so they can do an autopsy of their brain.
a form of entertainment for them was to capture women and house them within the camp, and make them prostitutes to the guards.
and a “noble” deed was to purify the human race by kidnapping babies with deformities and secretly killing them, passing it off as an accident on the operation table.
it doesn’t help that all these were done a mere 60 years ago. in our generation in which we claim to be civilize, these tormentors found the most cruel way to degrade another human being – not by inflicting physical pain but by stripping him off his dignity. it was so surreal looking at the piles and piles of dead bodies, being labeled as mere “victims”. they were all once unique individuals, like you and me, each with his own family, dreams, future and most importantly, an identity. and the only mistake they make was to exist in that era – to be born at the wrong place, at the wrong time.
i constantly question myself what i would have done if i had existed then. but the questions yielded no answers. i only wish that if it had to happen, that i would be ignorant, and not know of how my life could have been. so that i would not be wishing for something i know of but can never have.
the only remaining row of barracks
grounds where the barracks once stood
area where prisoners assembled every morning for their row count
the gas chamber, which they named "barrack x" as a cover up for their hideous acts
sprinklers which emitted poisonous fumes
the waiting area
still, with all that said, munich really rocks as a city. afterall, it made me give some serious thought to doing my summer internship here in germany (:
