Ein wochenende in München!

My lovely friend Carole emailed me last week asking if I was interested in a student trip to Munich... What kind of question is that?! Of course I am! The group organizing the trip is in charge of student life of one of the schools within my school. I said to myself, is there a better way to meet new people AND experience a new city AND accomplish a goal of visiting a concentration camp other than this? Nope! I signed up, paid my deposit, and eagerly awaited the date of departure.

The students planning the trip organized pre-drinks at their apartment, followed by an 11pm departure time by bus. The idea: have a few drinks, enjoy a nice long bus ride (8 hours), and arrive in Munich by morning. Wednesday evening at around 9 pm, Carole and I headed over to the apartment of one of the students in charge where we met all the other people with whom we were to be going to Munich with. It was an interesting situation, walking into an apartment with room full of people that you don't know, but would soon know quite well. We put our bags down in a bedroom, and braved into the crowd. We successfully socialized for a while, and soon it was time for us to board the bus. As soon as everyone was aboard, we were given cocktails, a theme which seemed to set the tone of the weekend. It was interesting being on a bus with kids my own age and no adult supervisor other than the driver who was there only to drive. It felt like being on a field trip without the teacher. The experience was liberating. We sipped our drinks, danced in the aisles, and got to know one another. By the wee hours of the morn, our bodies had contorted to fit the width of the bus seats as we slept in the most comfortable positions we could think of. The bus was chilled with the frozen air of dawn, and I shivered, awake in my seat, thinking about the adventures that were to be had. The sun slowly crept above the hilly landscape as we drove across the countryside just outside of Munich.

We arrived at the hostel at 9 am. Most of us climbed off the bus disoriented with fatigue, a few fumbling drunkenly down the stairs. Unfortunately the hostel was not ready for us, and we chose to wait for an hour while they cleaned. I found a spot on the floor and tried to re-energize myself for the day to come. After a while, we were finally given the keys to our rooms. Carole and I buddied up with two girls, and together we headed to our suite. The corridor of the hostel smelled like beer, with a faint twinge of vomit. The walls were decorated with graffiti and spray-paint swirls in tones of orange and blue. We found our room, 18, and entered our new lair. There was 3 sets of metal framed bunk beds, with crisp, starchy linens folded neatly upon foam mattresses. We claimed our respective territories, made our beds, and collapsed, rotating taking turns showering. Refreshed and partially rested, we met back with the rest of the group in the main lobby. Once gathered, we set by foot towards downtown Munich. Carole and I found great pleasure in attempting to read the street sides and store names, all of which obviously were in German, a language that neither of us speak. Walking along, I noticed how different the architecture was to that of France- large, boxy, and intimidating. I like it! We followed the route of the tram, eventually reaching Marienplatz, the most popular part of the city that boasts an impressive, cathedral-like city hall. It actually reminded me a bit of downtown Prague. It was there that the group split- half wanting to eat lunch at Burger King, half downright refusing the idea. There is no Burger King in France, so I can sort of understand the desire of many to eat there. That having been said... ew. Clearly I headed away from the Whopper in search of something a bit more appetizing. We ended up at a cafe directly in front of the city hall, where I ordered an amazing omelet made with morsels of fresh pumpkin and veggies, and sat warmly in a wicker chair as I covered my legs with a fleece blanket that they provided. We ate, filling our stomachs with warm happiness.

After lunch, both parties of the group, the Burger Kings and the rest of us, met and headed off to the BMW museum. We ended up in one of the buildings of the museum that is used mostly for functions and presentation, not the museum itself. We spent a decent amount of time there. I guess I could say it was cool, but I realized that cars just aren't really my thing, as shiny and expensive as they are. We didn't even go into the real museum. Instead, we exited the building and walked through a park, leading us to the Olympic Park from the 70s. I was truly impressed by the Olympic compound. We didn't stay there long, as there wasn't much we could actually besides walk around. By that point, the sun was setting and it was quite chilly. We took some pictures, peeked into a few buildings, and called it a day. Noteworthy point: I saw a bobsled! I'm not exactly sure what was going on, but all of a sudden I saw a crew of 5 people pushing a bobsled (on a dolly) across the road. Très cool. We headed back towards the metro and back into the city. We headed back to the hostel to get changed for dinner and a night out. Showered, dressed, and made-up, we headed back to Marienplatz in search of a beer-garden. Never in my life have I been in such an establishment. We walked in to a building that fits hundreds of hundreds of people. Massive painted ceilings, waitstaff in lederhosen and traditional garb carrying glass liter steins of beer, restaurant go-ers in funny hats and traditional garb, a live "oomp-pa-pa" band (as I call it... tubas, accordions, harps, yodelers), the works. The place was beyond packed as people combined up and down the aisles for a free spot at one of the hundreds of giant, wooden picnic tables. Carole and I ordered a liter of beer each, and decided to split a main-course. We had a delicious roasted half-chicken and potatoes, while others chomped on various types of sausage. I'm sorry, but I really don't get all the hype about sausages. They're really bad for you and they don't look appetizing at all. I'm just saying. We drank and ate, and then drank some more. At around 10:30 or 11 we finished dinner, and moved on to a cocktail bar that offers a liter for 6 euro. Having just drank a liter of beer, I was a bit full. I waited for a while, and then ordered a small margarita. Note to self- ritas in Germany aren't the best. We all hung out for a while, chatting and singing along to music. Slowly, the group became smaller and smaller as people began to head back to the hostel. Carole and a few guys were far from tired, and they were off in search of a nightclub. I never separate from a friend if we go out together, so along I went. We ended up at what looked like an industrial complex, but was in fact a complex called KultFabric of 6 different clubs. It was a pretty dead night, but we had a great time nonetheless.

The next morning, I woke up feeling awful. Sure, sure you think that I had had too much to drink. Alas, this was not the case. I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I think I ate something that didn't agree with me. I had such a stomach ache that day, and felt somewhat sick for the rest of the trip. Finally able to crawl out of bed at around lunch time, we headed to the Pinakoteka, a very famous art museum in Munich. The Pinakoteka is actually 3 different museums, with amazing collections of ancient, classic, and modern art. Having lived in Paris for 6 months, I've become quite spoiled in terms of art museums. I wanted to see something new and refreshing, not just portraits of dead, rich people. And so it was that Carole and I went to see some modern art. I am so glad we did! The collection of art amassed in the museum was unbelievable. There was sculpture, art deco, cubist paintings, movies, everything. I managed to make this cultural outing into an amazing photography session. We spent a solid 3 hours there. After finishing our tour with some Picasso, we were both just absolutely drained. We met up with the group of us that had gone to the museums, and went back to the hostel to rest for a little. I was still feeling quite queezy, so it was great to lie down for a bit. It was finally time to go for dinner. The options were the same beergarden, or sushi. I figured that some miso soup and plain white rice would be easier on my stomach, so sushi it was. It was an interesting experience communicating with our Vietnamese waitstaff in German and English, both of which didn't seem to work out. Somehow, everyone got what they ordered, and we had us some deeelish Japanese food. The soup was absolutely fantastic. Afterwards, we headed back to the same cocktail bar as before. I wasn't too keen on the idea, because I think that it's better to try something new. Feeling like crap and clearly not drinking, I wasn't one to oppose. The bar seemed to have transformed from the night prior. Apparently, Friday nights are THE night to go out. The bar was PACKED. Everyone ordered their cocktails, and I opted for a Coke (remembering that Coke helps with stomach aches). I think they gave me Pepsi instead, because after about 20 minutes I started to feel very, very sick. I told Carole that I was going to head back, and she volunteered to come with me. We both agreed that we would need all of our energy for tomorrow. We got back to the hostel by midnight, climbed into our foam bunkbeds, and fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning I woke up feeling loads better. I took a nice hot shower, packed up my bags, and headed down for breakfast. I feasted upon a doughy roll, the first solid food I'd had in quite some time. After, I collected my bag and put it in the undercarriage of the bus. We waited for everyone to make their way outside. From the looks of it, the majority of people seemed to have had a great rest of the night. Once together, we set out to find the train to bring us to the Dachau concentration camp. I am going to write about my experience at the camp in a different post because it does not seem fitting here.

After Dachau, we had an hour or two to explore Munich as we wanted to. We then headed back to the bus, and started the 8 hour journey back to Reims. The trip was a really strange, but great adventure. I met new people, made new friends, and experienced a different city. Overall, I really liked Munich. I'd highly recommend it, and would love to go back- but I couldn't live there. It's just not quite my style.

Tschüs!