Hallo!

I have loads to tell you. Get comfy. Also. Hello. And hi. And I hope your day is going well. And you are all so awesome. And lots of other happy feelings.

I purposefully did not tell you about the remainder of the day in Munich (reference day twenty-one) because it was polar opposite to the hours earlier and I needed the reflection to be about Dachau in its entirety.

On our tour we met Diana (like the princess as she explained), who was Mexican-Canadian and spoke with a lovely accent, and Ellen from Minnesota, who was studying french in Leon and had no accent at all (not even Minnesotan!). They were both super friendly and after the tour we joined them for dinner.

Unbeknownst to any of us Munich had transformed during the day. In their own version of Mardi Gras, there were food carts, concerts, and music blaring from every available speaker. Also worth mentioning, they started playing Y.M.C.A and I died laughing. And yes. The dance is universal.

In the metro station we saw two separate drumlines. Which caused a halt to traffic as people stopped walking to either Take pictures or join in the dancing. It was kind of like New Year and Halloween all in one. Everyone was dressed as something, as minimal as a mask or ears to elaborate group costumes. I saw a lot of monks, princesses, Nintendo characters, and even a spot on Joker. Although my favorite was the couple dressed as the big bad wolf (in Granny disguise) and red riding hood. Also there were a lot of people with gender swapping costumes. I had a good chuckle at myself and the other tourists (which were easy to locate) as we all took in the scene before us.

Leaving the mayhem behind we went to Hofbräuhaus which is a massive beer hall with two floors. The first floor had a bunch of long tables and band in the center of the room. The dancers had commandeered the walkways as the dance floor. Multiple times I literally danced my way through a crowd. When in Germany, yeah?

Not finding a table upstairs we were directed by a waiter to try the upstairs. Upstairs they had eliminated all walls and support beams and instead had tables lining the walls with a dance floor and band on the back wall. American music was played as much if not more than German. The band did a particularly nice job with “I’m a Believer”. None of us spoke or read any German and were clearly struggling when these two older gentlemen invited us to join them at their table. We did, and they brought us English menus and even gave suggestions on what to order.

The younger of the two had a sombrero and poncho on and spoke decent English. The older had a traditional shirt and hat on and did an excellent job miming things to us that he couldn’t say in English. Both were super nice and gave us tips on beer hall etiquette. One of them told Alison that typically a man will drink 12-15 1L mugs and a woman drinks 10! Pardon the language. But that’s batshit crazy. I can’t even fathom how that much liquid could fit in one body.

After a dinner of dumpling and mushrooms with potato au gratin and a .5L of the Bavarian specialty of white beer we headed back out to join the festivities.

EXCEPT!

Everyone and everything was gone. The booths were taken down and the people had disappeared. The cleaning crew had been sent out and it was only 8PM! Clearly we missed the memo about the early closing early. Avoiding the confetti litter and broken glass we made our way towards the hostel. None of us were quite ready to go to bed so we continued in to another bar around the corner. We all had another beer and I had a delicious apple strudel. The effects of the day all hit us pretty hard and we made quick work of the food and headed back to the hostel.

The next morning we woke up early, checked out of the hostel, and headed across town to the Munich Residence. The former royal palace was mostly destroyed during World War II and has been (and is currently being) restored. The residence had over 90 rooms and while there was very little original furniture it was still an interesting architectural piece.

We also toured the treasury which consisted of a mere four rooms. It did not lack in glamour though. It was a bedazzlers dream. So many jewels. Alison and I called dibs on all of them so you all are out of luck. Sorry.

We grabbed pretzels (which they fill with butter! GENIUSES.) and bratwurst for lunch. Our train ride to Salzburg was pretty painless and only lasted about an hour and half. After some confusion and a ten minute train ride in the wrong direction, we walked about half a mile to our hotel. After some vegging and internetting we went for dinner. I had a cheese spatezal with a salad that was absolutely drenched in a vinaigrette. Both were tasty and enjoyable.

Tomorrow we go to the top of a mountain, tour downtown Salzburg, visit Mozart’s Residence, and marvel at some Churches.