Week 5- MÜNCHEN!!!!

Let me start by saying this was probably one of my favorite trips that I've taken so far. This trip, like Vienna, provoked a sense of nostalgia since I had been there six years prior. To start it off, me, Claire C., Rachel, James, Maggie and Kanci got on our train at the Bonn HBF which took us to Mannheim where we would have a quick changeover to get on another train to Munich. On our tickets we purchased, it said we were supposed to have a 10 minute layover in Mannheim which would have given us plenty of time to find our connecting train.. However... we arrived in Mannheim 13 minutes LATE. I thought for sure our train had left us since I saw everyone else running while I struggled to get off of the train. Thankfully, some kind German's were holding the doors open on the connecting train so we eventually all made it and were able to get to Munich alright (but that didn't take away from how stressful that situation was lol) Once we arrived, we all decided to just hangout and play card games in the hostel which actually turned out to be very.... eventful to say the least.

Me and Maggie in our hostel

The next morning we woke up bright and early to catch the train to Füssen which is where the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwanga Castles are! The last time I was in Munich I was only able to visit Neuschwanstein but this time, I got to see the other one too. They are both beautiful in their own way and they were just as grand and regal as I remember. We got to eat at a restaurant that is on the way up to the castle that my sister and I had eaten at 6 years prior and we actually sat at the exact same table as before (~trippy~). I had some delicious fried chicken and fries. After taking tours of both the castles I really wanted to walk to the special bridge in the mountains that provides a breathtaking view of the Neuschwanstein castle because during my previous visit, it was closed due to snow.... well the same thing happened again. BUT THAT DIDNT STOP US. Me, Rachel and Claire may or may not have slipped passed a no trespassing sign in order to go to this bridge and take some awesome pictures..... if we did, they probably would have looked like this

 

Honestly a once in a lifetime experience and I would have traded it for the world. After our visit at the castles, we made our way back to Munich and Maggie and I decided to go out! We went to a small bar- Shakesphere's Bar- which was right down the street from our hostel and had the time of our lives. We met a few guys from Norway who wanted to play against me and Maggie in darts (big mistake on their part) and WE WON. At one point, the other people in the bar were chanting U-S-A! U-S-A! because they knew we were from America! It was such a great time. We then made our way to a club and danced a little before we went back to the hostel, It was such a great night!! S/O to Maggie for getting us home lol. 

The next and last day, we woke up early again to visit the Dachau Concentration Camp. It was such a humbling experience and it realized the events of the Holocaust for myself and everyone else who went I'm sure. It still sends chills up my spine thinking about the things that took place there. Ironically, while we were there, Vice President Mike Pence was walking visiting the camp as well. Although we didn't see him, we definitely saw his secret service men walking around all in black, keeping an eye on everything. 

Once returning from the Concentration camp, we made our way back to Bonn which brought an end to such a great weekend. Definitely my favorite so far on the trip. I'm so glad I got to share this time with such awesome people because they definitely made the excursion as great as it was. Thanks guys!