PROST! Munich, Germany

Beer tent in Munich

Wandering Munich

Sorry this has taken me so long to update. I'm usually on top of writing my blogs. But with only two weeks left in Florence I feel like I have no time any more. I wish I could stay longer, I'm not ready to go home.

Last weekend me and a group of 7 friends all headed to Munich, Germany for the opening weekend of Munich Fruehlingfest (aka Springfest, the less known but just as awesome version of Oktoberfest). It certainly lived up to its expectations.

Drindl

Ditching the walking tour. Lion Balls...

We arrived in Munich around 3 AM Friday morning, so after attempting to get some sleep, Sara, Kendall, and I headed to a free walking tour. But we bailed kind of early because the tour guide was awful and it started to hail! So we wandered on our own and had a great time, we even tried on tradition german outfits called drindls, but they were 150 euro so we didn't buy them. I did manage to sneak a picture of mine though!
(pictures weren't technically allowed...)

A typical German night at Springfest. Eric's lookin' good.

Later that night we headed to the opening night of Springfest and went into a huge beer tent called Augustiner Brau (isn't German beautiful?). We got there at 6 PM and managed to Prost (the German way of saying cheers) and dance until we were kicked out at 11 PM. It was so much fun and we all managed to get away with a German Stein as a souvenir :)

Old Crematorium. It wasn't efficient enough.

The next day had a very different tone to it as Sara, Kendall, Eric, Hannah, and I all headed to Dachau (the first concentration camp in Germany). I've heard all about concentration camps but it's really a life changing experience to go and see one. I recommend it to anyone that has the opportunity, it may not be a very cheerful day but you won't regret it.

River Sufers

Of course the one day where the atmosphere felt gloomy the weather was gorgeous. #studyabroadproblems (Twitter reference for those who don't know what # is). But after we arrived back in Munich it was round 2 of celebrating Springfest. We walked through the English Gardens, which I compared to Central Park (even though I've never been there) and stopped at a beer garden. We also saw the famous river surfers at the gardens! It was very cool to watch. We also walked through a nude meadow. Only one person was topless... disappointing. At night it was time to return to Augustiner Brau. But this time we didn't get there until maybe 8 or 9 PM so we had to wait an hour to get in. In the mean time we managed to ride bumper cars and play some carnival games! Once we were finally in the tent there was only an hour left of prosting before we were kicked out again.

Andrew and I at Neuschwanstein Castle

On Sunday morning we got on the bus at 10 AM to head to Neuschwanstein Castle which is the German castle that inspired the Disney Castle. We had quite a hike up to the castle. Since it was relatively nice weather in Germany I didn't think much about wearing just flip flops on my feet. However, mother nature thought it would be really funny if it started snowing while we hiked up the massive hill..... Needless to say, my feet were numb. But the views were well worth it and eventually I regained the feeling in my poor feet.

I was to Lake Como and Switzerland this weekend, which will be a new post in the near future. This week is going to be a busy one. We have Notte Bianca coming up, which is a night all of Florence stays up all night until 6 AM wearing white to celebrate Labor Day. No classes on Tuesday! Also, this Tuesday is my roommate Kendall's 21st birthday! It should be a great time! This coming weekend I'm staying in Florence. I feel like I haven't stayed in the place I call home very much and I want one last weekend of fun before studying for finals. Hopefully we can fit a beach day in soon too!
Ahhhhh don't make me go home. I love Italy so much :(

Legally enjoying a beverage at the hostel in Munich, Germany