Sorry folks, I was not able to record the time I woke up like usual, but I was able to arrive to breakfast before 8:45 am. This means I completed Arielle’s mission to be there by 8:45. Today was a big day for us all. We were finally going to Munich. During breakfast, I did my normal walk to the fruit basket and picked out the best apples and pears to devour during the tram ride to Munich. I just want to go on record by saying, they were delicious. We then proceeded towards the tram station and arrived at Munich around 1 ½ hrs later. The station we arrived at was bigger than I expected and looked really cool.
We walked out of station and down the street. We headed towards Marienplatz which is a street full of shops, and is one of the biggest tourists’ attractions in Munich. Near the end, there stood the New Town Hall which is home to the Glockenspiel, a clock tower with miniature figurines positioned at the top. The bell chimes three times a day , and when it does, the figurines start to dance and move around in circles. At the end of the 12 minute performance, a cuckoo bird appears and chirps like smaller cuckoo clocks do.
We were then given a tour of Munich, saw all the wonderful sites, and took in the wonderful weather. We also learned about the history of Munich and about Henry the Lion, Duke of Bavaria, Oktoberfest and more. We learned if you say that something is 15 kilometers away from Munich, it means it is 15 kilometers from a tower in the middle of Marienplatz. Near the end of our tour, we saw a map of Munich. I thought it was interesting that each building on the map was identified in braille. I have never seen anything like that in America, but that would help the blind residents and tourists immensely. I think it would be equally as helpful if they also identified the building in German.
Here are some of the photos I took during the tour.
After the tour was over, we had free time where we were off program, so I am not allowed to talk about everything that we did. However, I did confirm with Dr. Feick that we probably had a better time then he did. Take that how you may. We did go to Hofbräuhaus, and I had a slice of roast pig with a side of potato dumpling.
We got our food and the serving sizes were so small. I finished my meal before some even got theirs. I loved the environment, but the overall service was terrible. We were there for over 2 hours and 1 ½ of those hours was spent waiting to order and again waiting for the check. After lunch, we shopped at souvenir stores. We also visited Starbucks to experience the wonder that was their bathroom. First off, the bathroom was down a hallway that wasn’t even in the store. Next you had to put in a code that was on your receipt if you purchased something. You then had to journey down some stairs to a strange corridor. There, two more doors awaited the travelers with weak bladders. However, to gain access to those doors you needed to punch in the same code from the first door. Inside those two doors were thankfully the bathrooms, which were insanely small.
We visited the beir garden and enjoyed the market, buying strawberries and cheese. We then headed back to meet up with the group. Once we were all accounted for, we headed to a burger joint called Hans Im Glück Isarpost. This place was totally funkadelic. The bathroom was pretty crazy too.
We ordered our burgers and I was lucky enough to order one that was stacked with two patties. “Thanks again Arielle and Dr. Feick”. Once again, I was so hungry (is there a pattern here?) that I finished my burger and half of Alex’s. I even finished my burger before Arielle and Dr. Feick even touched their food. Needless to say, I was pretty impressed with myself.
It was quite noticeable in Munich just how many people spoke very good English. This would make sense of course because this is one of the biggest tourist spots in all of Germany, and business owners are dealing with all of Americans in the souvenir shops. Having good English would ensure good customer service , and allow the workers to be efficient in their job. After a long day, we then headed home with lots of great memories and stories to share.
That night, Ravi and I once again went back to eat our favorite ice cream flavor, rocky road,and finished the whole box. After we finished, we met some people and sampled some other flavors such as mint, milk chocolate, sherbet, and more. All in all, I had good day. Thank You!!!