Germany - Beer and Lederhosen

Day one:

I have never been so relieved to leave a hostel.

The bus ride was around five hours but went quickly. There was free wifi on the bus which was a better connection then in my hostel. I was able to skype with my brother and sister in law plus nephew which was nice - one of the main things I’m looking forward to when I get back is seeing him. We have six months of Alex and Aunty days to catch up on.

I got to Munich in the afternoon and was pleased to find my hostel was only a short walk to the bus station. Exhausted from the last few nights after a nap I did my laundry before an early night. Luckily everyone in the room was new so I was able to get a lower bunk.

Day two:

I woke up with a terrible headache, I don’t think I ate enough the night before. I signed up for a free tour of the city and I really wanted to stay asleep but got up.

I’m glad I went as I learned some about the origins of the city along with some more recent history. The Nazi party started here in the 1920s and I didn’t realise that Hitler was actually arrested her and should have been hung for treason. Instead he was only given a few years in prison and was released less than a year into his sentence.

We also visited the Michael Jackson statue - it is across the road from a hostel he used to stay in. There are a few ladies who maintain it and apparently if you touch or move anything on it she gets very angry. So much so that she had been arrested for assault a week or so before.

We finished the tour in an area with a lot of outdoor markets selling fruit, various foods and beer. As the market is owned by the local government they have to rotate the beer they sell so all local produces equally.

After a bit more sightseeing I ended up back at my hostel for an early night as I was off to Nuremberg in the morning.

Day three:

My bus left at 7am so I hope I didn’t wake up my roommates as I heard a few get back around 4am. I as a history nerd know where my loyalties lay.

The bus was only around a two hour drive and I arrived as the stores were opening. I had a quick look around before heading off to the (name museum).

It was interesting to see the museum from a German point of view as they lost the war. As part of the ticket you could also look around the grounds where Hitler created his area. I had s quick look around but was not overly interested. The lake next door was much more majestic to look at.

I then headed back into town and spent the afternoon looking at these amazing buildings. I was told that Nuremberg is the perfect German looking building and they had not lied. It looked like just off a postcard. It was also amazing to see the work that was down as a lot of the town was destroyed by bombs in WW2.

Day four:

Today I went on a tour of the Dachau Concentration camp. We met at the train station as I had booked as part of a group. There I met some Australians - reason I say this is that I have been told most backpackers and or tourists are Australian. I have seen the complete opposite I’ve encountered mainly Europeans and people from Asia.

I also met a lady from South Africa who were there with her husband. His whole family had been killed in the holocaust apart from his father who managed to escape.

I learned that in Germany the history is taught from an early age and that every high school student has to visit a camp. We started off visiting the yard that roll call happened twice each day often for hours in all weather.

The camp started almost as soon as Hitler took power with prisoners. One of the pictures of the first prisoners was a man wearing lederhosen. The camp was primarily for political prisoners to begin with but as the years passed more and more Jewish people were moved there.

I did feel the tour was rushed and there was a lot more to see. I also didn’t enjoying almost having to run for the bus back to the train station as the tour guide wanted to make an earlier train.

Day five and six:

I visited Salzburg so I’ve created another post for those two days.

Day seven:

I had such a strange dream last night where I become sick. I think my brain was trying to break it to my gently as I woke up with a sore throat and blocked nose. So I hadn’t planned on doing anything today and it was raining, a lot.

So I ended up staying in and watching Netflix and reading my book. I then had to brave the outside to visit a pharmacy for supplies. Luckily I have google translate as I was able to work out what I was buying.