Saturday was our day trip to Munich, which is the largest city in Bavaria. From the moment we stepped foot on the train in Augsburg you could tell it was a game day for the German powerhouse soccer team, FC Bayern Munich. The trains were jam-packed with people wearing jerseys from Bayern and Stuttgart (the team they were playing that day). Everyone was already drinking beer and getting excited for the game. In Germany and most countries in Europe, soccer is basically a religion. Everyone has a favorite team and bleeds that team’s colors. Being a lifelong fan and participate of soccer, it was awesome to see and experience. After seeing how packed the train was, we decided to get off at the next stop and run to another car on the train to see if it was less packed. Sadly all the cars were just as packed and we couldn’t even get the doors to the train open. About a quarter of our group was still on the train, but luckily with our human compass here in Germany, Dr. Feick. We caught the next train to Munich and met up with the rest of our group.
Once we were in Munich, you were instantly reminded of the Bayern game being held later that day. Everywhere you looked you saw a sea of red jerseys and people were already starting to sing Bayern’s chants. We met our tour guide at the Marienplatz, which is really the central square in the city of Munich. She took us to many historical sites including St. Peter’s church, the entrance to the English Garden, and the Theatine Church. There is an interesting story behind the Theatine Church. Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy had an extremely difficult time producing an heir to the throne, so she prayed to God and promised to erect a church if she was able to become pregnant. The next year she had a child and built the Theatine Church to uphold her promise. We also saw a statue of a lion outside a building where people rub the nose of lion for good luck ( shown by the discoloration on the face of the smaller lion).
We were given four and a half hours of free time in Munich to do and see whatever we wanted. Me and a few other students went to the original Hofbrauhaus for lunch and visited a few other stores. The Hofbrauhaus was massive with four stories of huge dining halls and, of course, the food was incredible. We also went to the rich part of the city which included stores like Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Cartier. We were taken back by how many wealthy people were in Munich and how the city is quite luxurious and wealthy. For dinner we went to a very hipster-looking restaurant specializing in unique burgers. The inside of the restaurant was especially interesting due to the many trees spanning from the floor to the ceiling. Overall we had a great day in Munich and I would definitely consider coming back on our free day because I feel that we only scratched the surface on seeing all that Munich has to offer.
