Munich June 12-16

Ah, of all the cities we've been to, I think Munich was a favorite. Maybe it was that we did more, maybe it was the fantastic people we met (and have continued to be friends with-- Mike and Sarah took us out in Dublin when we visited!) but I feel like Munich was almost a highlight. The hostel was not good but not bad, and the Germany-Australia opening game was the first night we were there, so a good start to the stay.

We got to Munich in the afternoon, and had to contend with colder weather than we expected (welcome to Germany) and the usual confusion of trying to find the hostel in a new city. But we found it easily, and then found out that they had the wrong booking for us, but the guy was nice and helped us out by correcting the mistake. Starting on a good foot, Germany! Then Air and I had to go back to the station to get tickets for Berlin while C tried to organize what we were going to do while we were in Munich.

We took some tours (The Neuschwanstein and the walking tour) and had some festival food (brats and bretzels) and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We tend to skip the "pubcrawls" that most hostels host or try to get you to go on, mostly because they aren't much fun and they're expensive. But we heard great things about Munich, so we took the "Munich New Europe Beer Challenge" which was entertaining, to say the least. When beer is served in liter steins, it's a sure challenge going to five bars and not dropping like flies. There was a lot of fun and laughter, and of course, plenty of friends made.

I think that makes a city memorable-- the people you meet. Locals or foreigners, men or women, old or young, they all have a lasting impression, they leave you with a sense of the city you visited more than the empty photos of old buildings and fountains. I think that in order to truly enjoy a city, you have to have a good time with the people around you. If you don't find great people (like in Prague) then the city seems lifeless and shabbier than it needs to. Munich is a beautiful city filled with old-looking buildings (painstakingly rebuilt after being destroyed in WWII) but it is also a city that works, a well-lived in city that, while filled with visitors, is very much a home to the people there, and it shows in the pride of the people who live there.

I enjoyed Munich, and I would tell anyone to go. Many of the people we've encountered who went there didn't enjoy it as much as we did-- but I think it's down to the whole people thing, and that we don't party and club hop and all that.