Wednesday, May 16, 2012

München!



Last weekend I got to meet up with Frau Losch’s group in Munich—the really big city! For May Term the group of students are studying German at a language school in Marburg, and they travel to different cities on the weekends. After a long day of travel, including an exciting (or not so exciting) hour delay in Fulda, I met them at the Hauptbahnhof in Munich. Friday night we enjoyed a Bavarian meal at the Augustiner.

On Saturday morning we had a walking city tour. This was very informative, and it was a great way to get an overview of the history of Munich. Our guide carried photos of what the buildings looked like in the past, and she told stories about their background. Many of the sites were of significance to the founding of the National Socialist Party. Points of interest included the Hofbrauhaus and the glockenspiel.





The highlight of the tour for me was when we stopped at the university where the resistance group the White Rose was caught distributing pamphlets. In the building there were memorials for Hans and Sophie Scholl, two young siblings who were part of the resistance group during WWII. I learned about this group in my high school German course, so it was important for me to see the place where the history took place. It was dangerous for people to publish writings speaking out against the Nazis, so I admire their bravery and the legacy they left behind.



In the afternoon we had a tour of the artwork at the Alte Pinakothek. I love art museums because they offer such a unique perspective of history, so this was an enjoyable part of the trip for me. The gallery featured many religious pieces. Later in the afternoon we had free time, so some of us went out to purchase Dirndls (traditional dress) in true Bavarian fashion.

Sunday was palace and castle day, featuring Neuschwanstein—castle of King Ludwig II. We rode an English-language tour bus on the way there, seeing the beautiful countryside of Bavaria. Once we arrived at the site of Neuschwanstein, we had a nice hike up to the castle, and then we hiked up further to the bridge for an awesome view. Photos do not even begin to describe what it was like.





No comments:

Post a Comment