Our first stop in Germany was Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Yes, I know. This is a town that most of you have never heard of. Don't worry-it isn't because you aren't well traveled. It's because Garmisch is a small mountain town that is sort of in the middle of nowhere. However, Caroline had heard about this town from her friends, and I later found out my Mom had traveled there before and loved it. Well, Carebear and I loved it too! It was a long train ride from Zurich, but we finally made it to Garmisch and were greeted by Trish, a friend of Caroline's that had lived in Garmisch for many years. After dropping our stuff of at the hostel, she showed us around the charming little town. She also was able to take us to the military post where we could buy cheap, American food (which I haven't had for a LONG time) and then bought us dinner. We were so thankful for her hospitality!! Caroline and I went for a walk that night after dinner and enjoyed breathing in the fresh air and appreciating the beautiful creation around us!
The next day we were planning on taking a day trip to a town just outside of Munich, called Duchau. This is where the first concentration camp was established by Hitler in 1933. It is really difficult to describe what is was like being there. I'd studied WWII in so many classes and thought I knew about the realities of the concentration camps, but it was completely different actually being there. To be in the gas chambers and see the bunkers was very powerful. We had a guided tour and though I could recite facts for you about the many that were killed there and their experiences, it simply won't do justice to the experience of actually being there. Hopefully these pictures give you a sense of what it was like.
After seeing Dachau, Caroline and I split up (for the first time in 3 weeks!) She went to the Olympic Village and I just wandered around people watching and doing some souvenir shopping.
That night, Caroline and I began choreographing our next music video. And took some pictures while we were at it...
The main purpose of going to Garmisch was so that Caroline and I could do some hiking. We did two hikes. The first was Partnachklamm, a gorge that was absolutely STUNNING. It was one of my favourite hikes that I've ever done. Lots of rock (which Zach would've loved), waterfalls, and lots of FRESH AIR!!
After about an hour there, we started hiking to the top of the mountain, Echbauer. It was about a two hour hike, and it was filled with lots of laughs and great conversations. We were so hot by the time we got to the top that we rewarded ourselves with what the Germans call a "Radler'. This is a mixture of beer and lemonade. Normally, I would say skip the beer and I'll take the lemonade, but I decided to just go for it and drink it anyway. It was surprisingly good and very refreshing!
Then we headed down the mountain and took a 4 hour nap when we got home.
Our next day was spent in Munich. This was a place that we wished we had more time, but we only had one full day so we had to make the most of it! We figured we would see a lot if we did a city biking tour. We were not disappointed! Our tour guide, Tom took us on a 4 hour bike ride through a big chunk of the city and we were able to see historical buildings, the English Gardens, the second largest beer garden in the world AND lots of naked people who feel that tanning in the nude is the only way to go. That was my least favourite part of the tour, I must say. Usually, there are about 15 people on a tour but in our case, there were only 5 of us. Caroline, myself, Mikka (from Jordan, currently living in Dubai) and the twin sisters Jess and Erin (who we thought were mother and daughter at first). The other three were really random people and the twins didn't seem like they wanted to be there at all. They were definitely not amused by Tom's comedic slant on things and were just really awkward. Mikka, on the other hand was very excited to be on the tour. I think his excitement got the best of him because he crashed his bike three times (one of those times colliding with Caroline and two pedestrians) when just a few seconds earlier he was telling Caroline that I was "the slow one" of the group. It's called CONTROL, Mikka. CONTROL. Anyway, it was a great time. The sun was shining, our tour guide was fantastic and we saw so much of the city!
The beer garden was so cool (and Chinese themed which was sort of weird to me) and had GREAT pretzels and yes, I had beer again. This was a new record for me. Two beers in two days!
One of the stops along the way was a man-made surfing wave in the river. When the river was built, the current was too strong, so they tried to slow it down and as a result, a great wave for surfers resulted. Until last year, it was illegal to surf there (even though everyone did anyways), but now it has become a haven for German surfers!
After the tour ended, we saw some of the sights on foot. We saw three churches, hiked 300 steps to the lookout point, and got some ice cream! Then, we walked back to our hostel appreciating the glorious weather! We ate gulasch that night while watching the FIFA Women's World Cup in a sports bar and then went to bed early because we had a big day ahead of us!
Ever since Caroline and I decided we were going to visit Germany, she could not stop talking about the Neuschwanstein Castle. We took a day trip out to Fussen, to catch a bus that would eventually take us to this famous castle that was the inspiration for the Disney Castle's design. It was packed with tourists, and it was boiling hot but it was really cool to see. Our guided tour provided us with a chance to see a lot of the rooms inside (unfortunately we couldn't take pictures!) and see the great views from the windows. Then, we got on the train for Wurzburg after getting a pretzel and a slurpee! It was a crazy day, but one of our best!
Then, it was off to Wurzburg to visit my dear friend Simone. When we were there, we made this lil' video titled "Backpacking Divas". My next post will have more details about Wurzburg, but this is a little teaser for you all!
Sending love, hugs and smiles!
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