So after a long train trip that involved intentionally missing a train to wait for some girls who were having a photo shoot in a Starbuck’s bathroom, we finally arrived in Munich. After checking into our place and meeting up with the rest of the group we headed out for the night to a German club called The Milchbar. Just imagine a lot of sweaty German men bumping into you for a few hours.

The next morning we got up to see a few of the sights in Munich. I thought Munich was an awesome city but very different from the ones we already visited mainly because it is much more built up and commercial. Before heading out for the day, David and I ran to the ATM so he could get some cash. When we got back to the hostel the rest of the group had already left and we had no idea where they were heading or how they were getting there. Realizing that we weren’t going to find the rest of the group anytime soon, we headed out in Munich on a man date of sorts and had our fingers crossed we would run into them somewhere.

The first stop was the BMW Welt, a free showroom/museum full of BMW cars, a cafe, and some glowing blobs that moved around the floor. After spending about an hour there we headed next door to walk around the actual museum for a few hours. Turns the rest of the group was getting to the Welt just as we were leaving, go figure.

After the BMW museum and walking through the Olympic park we headed back to the hostel for a couple hours of much needed sleep.

That night we went to the Hofbrauhaus for one of the girl’s 21st birthday. The Hofbrauhaus is a big beer hall and is one of my favorite places I’ve been so far in Europe. Imagine tons of picnic tables with massive mugs of beer and german food everywhere. Then throw in some women in traditional german beer girl outfits, old german men singing, and a bunch of drunk tourists and you would have the Hofbrauhaus. Throughout the night it seemed our group was getting bigger and bigger and by the end of the night we were hanging out with Australians, Germans, Brits, and some new Welsh friends. I’m convinced that the fact we go everywhere with 35+ girls had something to do with it.

The next morning we headed to Dachau concentration camp, which is located outside of the city of Berlin. The picture above is the gate everyone had to pass through on their way into the camp. The words on the gate Arbeit Macht Frei in english means “Work Will Set you Free”. As we walked through Dachau there was a very unsettling feeling, it was uncomfortable knowing that on the same grounds where we were walking, people were suffering and dying almost every day between 1933-1945. It was hard to imagine how people made it through every day being hungry and cold when I was freezing walking around all bundled up. To hear birds chirping in such a depressing place was also a weird feeling. 

Dachau was a very interesting experience and one that I will not forget anytime soon. 

After seeing Dachau we headed back to the hostel and hopped on a train to head back to Lugano. The ride home was much smoother and definitely what we needed after a long weekend.