Bavaria .... Aka Munich Germany

Munich Germany, know to the people as Buavaria was a favorite from day one! We decided that we wanted to start off getting to know the city itself by taking a free walking tour aka your tip is what pays for the tour. What we thought was going to be a 2 hour of brief history and culture was really 4 and a half hour long tour filled with not only history and culture but gave us a insight to, Germany, Bulgaria, economics, religion, history and so much more . helping us not feel like an ignorant tourist but helped us feel like we had already spent a week here...and we did. We literately hit the ground running with this tour. Our tour guide was very passionate about the tour and at first we were jogging just to keep up with him. Within five minutes of starting we had already witnessed a truck hit a car! With already  an exciting way to start the trip our guide announced right as we started that he was setting the walking pace and if he tapped you on the shoulder you weren't going fast enough! With his long legs everyone was trying to keep up. We started at the church where he gave us a thirty min lesson about the history. Honestly this was one of the best tours we went on, it taught me more about not only Munich but World War Two and how many of our problems today are linked to it. Munich itself is one  of 16 states however Bavaria technically is its own country because they never sighed the same constitution. Mostly  anything you can think of that is stereotypical of Germany is actually Bavaria  this includes Nazis ( started in Munich) and  Lederhosen .

  We got o see the Glockenspiel followed by eating of some delicious sausages , and we tried one one of there specialty drinks that has coke and orange juice, even though I'm not a big fan of pop I really enjoined the Mezzo mix . We got a traditional dessert and got to walk in the market. We saw the opera house, stores, the building where the the Nazi party was started, beer garden, Homburg ( beer hall aka what they call a restaurant) the only beer hall owned by the state. It was a very informative tour and was really fun. At the end of the tour the guide asked about 10 people (some of his favorites , including us,) to go and get  a drink, we were like we don't drink and he goes you can get some wine, and we were like no we don't drink at all, and he goes what are you Mormon and we go yes! His reply was well than get some apple juice!  It was funny but we decided to go back to store that had this bag my mom wanted. We than spent the rest of the city retracing our steps and just browsing stores and enjoying the culture.

  Our second day we got up early to go to Neuschwanstein  Castle, it was a two hour trip there followed by immediately jumping on bikes and riding around the castle along with a loop with their Swan Lake. We than stopped where some people swam, I waded in the Alps water lake, it was really cold and rocky. After the bike ride with some amazing views we got to go on the alpine slide followed by a magic show. We than took the bus up to the castle where my mom braved her fear and went on Mary's bridge and we took a 27 min tour through the castle.

 Our third day we went on a five hour tour to Dachau the first concentration camp open for 12 yeas. It was emotional but we had a great guide that showed us around. Is was weird standing in a place where you know such death, disease and misery took place. We also got to watch a video that the United States troops that liberated the camp took it was shocking! They showed the piles of bodies just waiting to be barried and burned something else that hit me hard was when they showed those who lived in the city going through the camp. Another fact that I found interesting was that they required that those in the city come and see what they had been allowing to happen in there city. They still have survivors that come on the anniversary of when the camp was liberated on April 20 th. we got to go through a gas chamber and as I stood in there it was a very somber feeling as you walk and you think that where you stand groups of 150 people were murdered. It is something that will always live in my mind. And as the one of the memorials says we must never forget

 Overall Munich has to of been our favorite city it's just is a collection of amazing things to see and I would recommend in a heartbeat coming and enjoying it for yourself!  

 

~* More pictures to come of Munich*~