Munich was a day I had been looking forward to since before we even left Pittsburgh. My family is originally from just outside the city, so this was not just another stop on the itinerary for me. It was personal. And while Munich absolutely delivered, it was also different from what I had imagined in ways I did not fully expect.

The city is stunning. Clean, walkable, architecturally rich, and clearly prosperous in a way that feels earned rather than manufactured. But having spent four months living in London, I think I had unconsciously built Munich up in my head as something comparable in scale and pace. It is not, and that is not a criticism at all. Munich has its own identity entirely. It felt more livable than London, more manageable, more intentional. The energy was different, quieter, but still very much alive.

We gathered at the Marienplatz to watch the Glockenspiel at noon, which drew an enormous crowd and was a fun moment for the group. From there, we had time to explore on our own, and after visiting the Eisbachwelle to watch locals surf a standing river wave in the middle of the city, which is exactly as bizarre and cool as it sounds, a few of us made our way to the Hofbräuhaus.

That ended up being the highlight of the entire day for me. Inside, we got talking with a group of guys who turned out to work for Bayern Munich as team police officers. As a massive sports fan, sitting in one of the most iconic beer halls in the world, having a genuine conversation with people connected to one of the biggest football clubs on the planet was one of those moments you simply cannot plan. We talked football, we talked Munich, we talked about what life actually looks like here versus what tourists assume it looks like. It was exactly the kind of interaction that makes travel worth it.

The guided tour afterward gave good historical context to everything we had already seen, and touched on Munich’s complicated relationship with the Nazi era, which set a more somber tone heading into Sunday’s visit to Dachau.