Monday, May 13, 2013
Prague
From Munich, I took a five hour bus ride to Prague. The ride was pretty quick and really beautiful. I got to Prague around 8:30 pm and then headed to my hostel. I settled in and went to bed pretty early; I was exhausted. I woke up early on Wednesday and explored the entire city. I first did a tour of the old town, which was given by a nice guy from California. While on the tour, I met some people from Connecticut. One of the ladies and her husband were now living in Prague, but she was a UConn graduate and her daughter was hoping to get into UConn Med, so we clearly had lots to talk about. Her friends were visiting from Simsbury, CT...small world! We visited all the major sites of the old town. Prague is absolutely beautiful. It is one of my favorite cities I've visited in Europe. After this tour, I bought Mom her crystal glasses, lol, and then did a tour with the same group of the Prague Castle. By then, I had just enough time to go to the Charles Bridge and Lennon Wall. After this, I headed back to my hostel to pick up my stuff and then was off to the train station. My stay in Prague was short, and I definitely wish I had had more time, but it was worth it. Prague was amazing, and it's definitely a top city to visit.
So I was planning on taking an overnight train from Prague to Krakow from Wednesday to Thursday. I got on the right train, but apparently the first woman who checked my ticket was supposed to send me to a certain car in the train...and she didn't. The train had split, and I was not on the half that went to Krakow. At 4:00 am, the guy checking tickets realized the mistake and in very broken English told me I was not going to Krakow. Luckily, the couple sitting across from me spoke English, so they were able to translate for me. They told me that we were going to Slovakia. Luckily, they helped me buy my tickets to Krakow and waited for me until I was on the train. I was so grateful!
So I was planning on taking an overnight train from Prague to Krakow from Wednesday to Thursday. I got on the right train, but apparently the first woman who checked my ticket was supposed to send me to a certain car in the train...and she didn't. The train had split, and I was not on the half that went to Krakow. At 4:00 am, the guy checking tickets realized the mistake and in very broken English told me I was not going to Krakow. Luckily, the couple sitting across from me spoke English, so they were able to translate for me. They told me that we were going to Slovakia. Luckily, they helped me buy my tickets to Krakow and waited for me until I was on the train. I was so grateful!
Munich
Neuschwanstein Castle
Hofbrauhaus Beer Hall
Springfest
New Town Hall
Dachau Concentration Camp
To the Land of Pretzels and Beer!
About 7 hours after we got back from Croatia, my friend Mary and I repacked our bags and took an overnight train to Munich. We got there on Sunday at about 7:00 am and easily found our hostel. We dropped off our stuff, grabbed some breakfast, and headed out to explore the city. We walked around the beautiful city center for a bit, which is new, because it was all rebuilt after WWII. It's modern but was rebuilt to look like traditional Germany. We then took a tour to Dachau, a concentration camp about 45 minutes outside of Munich. We had a great tour guide, and spent the whole day exploring the camp. There was also a memorial service in honor of Liberation Day, so there were hundreds of survivors and families at the camp. The tour was extremely informative, but the only word I can really use to describe the day was "heavy". It was a lot to take in and understand. Dachau was the first concentration camp built by the Nazis and was liberated on April 29, 1945, when it set 32,000 prisoners free. We followed the path of the prisoners throughout the camp from when they first arrived until they were forced into the gas chambers. While there is no evidence that its gas chambers were used for mass extermination, they are in almost perfect condition, one of only a few concentration camps where these still exist. The camp had many uses after the war, so all the original barracks were destroyed, but 2 have been reconstructed since then. I am glad I went on this tour, and it was extremely eye opening, but it's not something I would say I enjoyed. After our tour, Mary and I headed back to the hostel. We met a cool Australian guy, and the three of us had a great German dinner (pretzels and beer included). We then went to the final night of Munich's Fruhlingfest or Springfest...basically the spring version of Oktoberfest. It was a huge carnival with lots of rides and food. There was also a huge tent with a live band and people dancing on tables drinking Munich's famous liter beers. Naturally, we joined right in and had a great night!
Monday, we woke up early and took a tour to the Neuschwanstein Castle, about 2 hours outside of Munich. It's the castle Walt Disney based the Disneyland castle off of. It was a bit of a hike up to the castle, but it was well worth it. It's nestled in the Bavarian Alps and surrounded by valleys and waterfalls. It's absolutely beautiful. We toured the inside of the castle, and then hiked farther up the mountain to a famous bridge which stands over a waterfall and has an amazing view of the castle. We then hiked down the mountain alongside the waterfalls and river. It started to rain toward the end of our trip, but we still had a great time. We also went on this tour with some friends we met on our tour of Dachau the day before who were studying abroad in Rome from the States. When we got back to Munich, we all went to Hofbrauhaus, Munich's most famous beer hall. It was really cool! It's basically a huge hall filled with tables of people drinking, eating, and listening to music. Eventually, we had to call it a night and say goodbye to our friends. It was a perfect day.
Tuesday morning Mary and I took a tour of Munich. It really is a beautiful city; we both really enjoyed it. We ended our trip by going to the Englischer Garten, a huge park with a great beer garden and the "Munich surfers". There's an artificial stream that runs through the garden and has waves people actually surf on. By then it was time for me to catch my bus to Prague and Mary to catch her train back to Paris. We had a great few days and were sad to leave Munich.
Monday, we woke up early and took a tour to the Neuschwanstein Castle, about 2 hours outside of Munich. It's the castle Walt Disney based the Disneyland castle off of. It was a bit of a hike up to the castle, but it was well worth it. It's nestled in the Bavarian Alps and surrounded by valleys and waterfalls. It's absolutely beautiful. We toured the inside of the castle, and then hiked farther up the mountain to a famous bridge which stands over a waterfall and has an amazing view of the castle. We then hiked down the mountain alongside the waterfalls and river. It started to rain toward the end of our trip, but we still had a great time. We also went on this tour with some friends we met on our tour of Dachau the day before who were studying abroad in Rome from the States. When we got back to Munich, we all went to Hofbrauhaus, Munich's most famous beer hall. It was really cool! It's basically a huge hall filled with tables of people drinking, eating, and listening to music. Eventually, we had to call it a night and say goodbye to our friends. It was a perfect day.
Tuesday morning Mary and I took a tour of Munich. It really is a beautiful city; we both really enjoyed it. We ended our trip by going to the Englischer Garten, a huge park with a great beer garden and the "Munich surfers". There's an artificial stream that runs through the garden and has waves people actually surf on. By then it was time for me to catch my bus to Prague and Mary to catch her train back to Paris. We had a great few days and were sad to leave Munich.
Saturday, May 4, 2013
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)