MUNICH!!!

Yesterday we arrived in Munich, and I instantly knew I would love it. The sun was shining, and we were able to walk around for a while. I quickly realized that Munich is much different than Berlin. The people here are much more racially diverse, the shops are a lot less formal and spill out onto the streets, and the general atmosphere is much slower. Our hotel is about a 15 minute walk to Kaufinger Strasse, which is a couple of blocks of shops, cafes, and restaurants. We eventually found our way to Schneider Weisse, where I ordered a Schneider Weisse Kristall. The beer was interesting because it was a wheat beer, but it had been filtered, so it was clear. It was also very light in color. For dinner I ordered Knodel, which was a dumpling in a mushroom sauce/soup. I'm not sure if it was how hungry I was, but the food was DELICIOUS. After dinner we stopped at Der Pschorr and got a helles beer, which was also very good, and very light in color.

Today was a BEAUTIFUL day in Munich! Woke up and went downstairs to find the most delicious spread of breakfast. I've probably only had one breakfast in my life that was better, and that was cooked by my Uncle Dave. I'll take a picture tomorrow and post it, it would take much too long to explain.


After breakfast we showered headed out on an adventure, which started with a walk past a beautiful church that is right behind our hotel. After viewing this, we were only a block away from where Oktoberfest is held. It was a big empty space, but Gurdrun explained how people show up at 8:00 to get a spot, and don't get their first beer until 3 hours later. Next we walked back to Kaufinger Strasse and Emma and I did some shopping. We found some pretty good deals, my mom would be proud! I also found a Birkenstock shop, which I will need to search through before we leave. We stopped into a small cafe where the guy who worked there started speaking to us in German. (This should be prefaced by the fact that our goal has been to be seen as locals, not tourists) We finally explained to him that we speak English, and he was surprised and thought we weren't German. It was awesome, probably one of our greatest moments. Anyways, by noon we made it to The City Hall, in Marionsquare, where the statues of people in the middle started to dance while bells played. It is a big attraction and there were many people out in the square viewing.

We then found some of our other classmates and went to lunch at a small place, and I got pumpkin soup, which was to die for. I think I say this about everything, but it's true. So good. Then met up with more classmates for ice skating! The rink is outside in the open, and is a huge attraction. We had such a great time, and I didn't fall once. It also started snowing, which was too perfect.

Lindsey and Michael presented today. Lindsey taught us the differences between brewing in north and south Germany. What I took away from her presentation was that the north brews hoppier beers and the south beers are maltier. Michael taught us about Reinheitsgebot Purity Law that was implemented in 1516. This law stated that breweries could only brew with water, hops, and malted barley. Now the law has been amended to include yeast, and also has a few other exceptions. Germans pride themselves on having very pure beer.

PROST!

Schneider Weisse 

Vending machine at Oktoberfest...

Where Oktoberfest is held

Lunch at a small shop! Pumpkin soup and a hefeweizen

Falling on the ice

Tearing up the ice

All the sudden a blizzard hit

Aftermath/snow storm still happening. No snow to so much in about 30 mins