Deutschland

My adventure to Deutschland was a long time in the making. I knew one day I’d have to visit the fatherland and I finally got my chance.

As you might be able to guess the trip began with everyone’s favorite airport sleepover, although this time we were able to fashion beds out of airport chairs to really up the homeless factor.

We arrived in Munich airport very early and took the train down town for some exploring. The resemblance of southern Germany to Minnesota was a very nostalgic experience – we all felt like we were home.

Our adventures in Munich involved a brie sandwich, shopping, a small snowball fight, and a look at the glockenspiel (or as Becca likes to call it, the Guggenheim). After what seemed like the shortest time imaginable we caught our train to Füssen, which is essentially Walt Disney’s version of heaven.

We arrived late on a very cold night in ol’ Bavaria. After a brisk walk we found our hostel, which was run by two of the nicest Germans I’ve ever met (in fact Germans are all around great people). We enjoyed a great dinner at another hotel close by and had a very great game of 20 questions with the waiter to try and get some desert.

“What is Dachsodisheinencliemeraufwienergrubenschtein?

“Huh?”

“Dachsodisheinencliemerauferwagusoutostienergrubercloserdan?

“HUH?!”

“Dachsodiesheinsli-“

“IT’Z ALL ICE CREAM!!!”

We hit the hay early, preparing for our big hike to the castles the next day.

We woke up early and had a great breakfast, German style, for only 2 euro at our hostel. Our walk to the mountain was breathtaking. If I had to describe Germany I say it is Narnia without the white witch. It was like a fairytale.

We toured both castles (which I wont even attempt to spell) and enjoyed some German humor;

“This was the King’s hanky-panky door...”

The rest of the day was filled with beautiful hikes through evergreens and around lakes and of course a little bratwurst. Sadly we were on a deadline, so we kissed Füssen goodbye and caught the train back to Munich.

We arrived at dinnertime and of course made our way to the Hofbrauhaus for what we liked to call a Lord of the Rings sized beer. The whole place was crazy. The Hofbrauhaus isn’t like the beer themed restaurant we imagined, but rather a massive beer hall FILLED with people. Polka music pervaded our ears as we timidly found a seat (after searching for a good 20 minutes). We dined on schnitzel and proceeded to drink the rest of our dinner. The Germans we sat with didn’t know much English, but we luckily all knew the most important word –

PROST!

After we all finished our big boy beers we had a clumsy walk to a neighboring strudel bar. Along the way we made a great friend Anna who was more than happy to be our momentary tour guide. She was drinking a martini from a hip flask, so naturally I made her my new best friend. After making plans for Oktoberfest in the fall we said our goodbyes and headed for our strudel. We were saddened to learn that all the strudel was gone and instead opted for tequila (story of my life).

A word on German tequila drinking: In Spain we are no strangers to the wonders of Mexican liquor, but we were accustomed to the traditional salt and lemon combo. Maybe it’s their way of apologizing for the Nazis, but the bartender introduced us to a cinnamon and orange chase which completely changed the way I look at the world (and coincidentally tequila).

After a long discussion on the wonders of our trip we made our way back to our hostel, which was a 16 person dorm, full of snoring tourists. In the morning we made our way to the airport to catch our flight, praising Deutschland the entire way. By far my favorite trip!