No expectations. I had absolutely none when I flew to Munich, Germany. I thought of pretzels, schnitzel, sauerkraut, bratwurst, David Hasselhoff, polka, its unfortunate past, and that was about it. I had no idea what the people were going to be like or what there was to see. I stepped off the plane and was ready to say Guten Tag to the first person I saw.
The weather was GORGEOUS in Munich. I was excited to be warm and to get out and see the city. After making our way through the train station and grabbing a bratwurst and carrot cake, we made our way to our hostel and was surprised that when we entered our room we were met by a southern with a camo coat and cowboy boots. Oh America…how I’ve missed you. Drew was his name and as a senior in college, he had been to Munich several times and was willing to give us advice on what to see and do. Spur of the moment, we decided to hop on a train and head to Fussen to go to Neuschwanstein castle. Neuschwanstein was the castle which inspired Walt Disney to create the one at Disney World. However, after the two and half hour ride, we had just missed the last tour. No matter, there was another castle we took a tour of and sat within view of Neuschwanstein. After a tour led by a curious character and the temperature inside being colder than outside, we were ready to get out and explore more. The surrounding scenery was beautiful as we walked through a snow-covered wooded area to see at least the outside of Neuschwanstein. Staring up at the castle, I swore we were at a theme park. I could not actually believe what I was seeing before me was actually real…and still can’t. The architecture was phenomenal and all of the stonework on the outside made it look fake. The trees glistening with snow in the background certainly did not help my disbelief and my friends and I stood in shock for a while wondering what was before us. Eventually after we had gawked for long enough and were starting to get cold without coats on, we headed back down to the village to get a taxi back to the train station. We caught our train back to Munich and with a long journey ahead of us and I was not thrilled about sitting on the train for a few hours. The ride was made even worse when suddenly for half an hour we were stopped in a town for an unknown reason. However, we had a notion that perhaps our conductor had gotten off and gone to this place in sight of our window to gamble. A few minutes before we left I spotted him at the ATM and then when he got back on the train to explain what had happened in German, his voice suddenly took a high pitch in a mischievious tone with a bit of laugh…I still have absolutely no idea what he said. However, we made it back to our hostel and enjoyed a night’s sleep, although I don’t know how anyone can get a restful night’s sleep with ten people in a room.
The next day was bound to be a long one as we were set to tour around Munich and then head for Innsbruck. After checking out, we went to the town of Dachau and visited the first concentration camp in Germany. When we first arrived, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect to see or how I was going to react and I don’t think anyone quite does. When we walked down the path to the entrance, I was reading the faces of those who had just left and couldn’t even read theirs to figure how the camp was going to be. I think walking through the gates of the entrance building was the hardest part for me, just thinking of all the people who were forced through those gates, unsure of what was going to happen to them or how long they would be there or whether they would even get out…it hit me then what great amount of history I was entering as I passed through the giant iron gates. Inside there was an expansive yard area where the prisoners would assemble for head counts and exercises everyday. To the left were the barracks with only two reproduced standing today, but where about thirty-two had stood with half on one side and half on the other all in giant lines. On the right was a large building where the prisoners were brought in, shaved, numbered, etc. Today, there is a museum throughout the entire large building, explaining all about the prisoners’ lives and about the war and Hitler. I was greatly fascinated by the fact that concentration camps had been set up six years before the war even began, which I apparently had not put together before and was astounded that it had gone on for so long even before shots were fired. We also saw a video and went through the recreated barracks to see how they lived militaristic and tight quartered lives. Eventually the intensity of the place wore on you and we left to try and bring a bit of light to our day. Even though it was difficult to go throughout the camp and didn’t even touch what it was like to actually be undertaken by such a catastrophic genocide, it certainly made me appreciate my own life and freedom. As I passed through the entrance gates again, I was amazed at how freely I was able to exit without a worry and only thought of those who had never be able to exit those gates.
After a grueling morning, we went to walk around Munich. It had turned out to be another beautiful day and I was excited to see the city because I really didn’t know what to expect from it. We found a park and with the sun shining, it was certainly spring in Germany with the flowers all popping up from the ground. We then managed to successfully wander to the main shopping street where I came across my two favorite things in Germany. First, we went into a department store and along the steps down into the basement was a huge slide. For some reason I was captivated by this slide and only wished that I could go back in my childhood and be raised in Germany because I don’t think the social norm in Germany would be for a twenty year old to slide down. However, I moved past my grievance and was consoled by the most wonderful smell of nuts being cooked by street vendors. Trying to resist the smell was too much and by the end of the street, my friends and I gave in and bought what turned out to be the most delicious, sugar and what tasted like brown sugar syrup…I am tempted to fly back now and by out all of the vendors. Unfortunately there was more to see of Munich so we continued on and just as we did, my friend Jackie dropped one of the beloved nuts and in doing so gasped along with my other friend Audrey, who in turn scared the woman passing next to us. She began to jump and scream grabbing onto her friend right next to her who joined in on the screaming and together they started quite the scene as we were all standing there staring and laughing at the woman who had thought the nut must have been a giant bug of some sort. We then wound up in front of a building, which I honestly cannot remember the name of right now…it was gorgeous nonetheless and had a giant clock and we were there right on time to hear it toll. From there we wandered to find a plaza where Hitler used to give many of his speeches and then we made our way through another garden to find the Hofbrauhaus. Eventually we made it and we greeted by men in liederhausen? and women in dirndls. It was quite the experience and enjoyed an early dinner in the biergarten outside. After consuming an entire half of a chicken and a drink out of the infamous steins, we headed back to the hostel to get our bags to head over the border to Innsbruck.
Somehow without a great amount of English and after enjoying the breathtaking view of Innsbruck after descending from the Alps with only the lights of the city below us, we made it to Innsbruck, Austria. We were met by Jackie’s friend and his two friends who would be a tour guides for our journey here. We stayed with an American who had an interesting life of moving around, being a Fulbright scholar, and spending a total of about 8 years of his life in Austria. For hours we sat in his apartment talking about anything and everything, which was nice especially to have fellow Americans who were going through the same experience of you being away from home and learning what it takes to make somewhere else a sustainable home. We went to bed and then woke up in the morning to another beautiful day starting out with tea on the balcony with the hammock seat and the Alps in the background. Such a scene was never one I ever expected to actually play out in my life and yet there I was in disbelief at how I had gotten to where I was and yet I still don’t know. Our tour guides took us to a spot on top of building which overlooked all of Innsbruck and I was amazed at all of the colors of the buildings from light blue to pink and yellow to green. From there, we took a tour of the city and as soon as we turned a corner, my friends and I gasped at the sight of the Alps over the buildings. I honestly felt as though I was going to overtaken by the mountains, they are so forceful and it seems as though you are in the ocean and they are acting waves, just as though they are about to engulf you. The view never got old throughout the journey or the sense of the mountains collapsing into the city. We passed the famous Golden Roof and then made our way to a flee market in the street and then another along the river. I could have purchased several different things, but with RyanAir’s restrictions on cabin baggage, it’s a bit difficult to buy everything that you want. From there we went to a delicious pizza place and had a great lunch and started off for a trip up an Alp. After one train and two gondolas, we made it to the top of an Alp. From where we were you could see Italy and Germany to the north and the west. All I wanted to do was strap some skis to my feet and zoom down the slopes, but the nearly dead drops off a cliff stopped me from doing so and the potential for an avalanche as I was warned. Prancing through knee-deep snow, I tried to make it to the peak but having no traction on my boots, I figured it was best if I just stopped rather than slide all the way to bottom of the mountain. So I stopped for a bit and completed one of my life goal’s by listening to Life in Technicolor ii by Coldplay at the top of a mountain and was blissfully happy at that moment as I looked down and there was the city of Innsbruck beneath my feet. My surreal moment was broken when the mountain was about to shut down and we had to make our way back down. Eventually we made it back and we went to a café for some cake and coffee. I tried the infamous Sacher torte, although a bit of an imposter version and was quite satisfied. We then went across town and saw the palace of the Hapsburgs and sat in the gardens for a bit overlooking the city again. Night had fallen and we were ready for some energy in the form of some genuine Austrian cuisine. Entering into a traditional hall full of the smells of sausage and sauerkraut, we were seated with two Russian girls and were ready to start our meal. I ended up getting a dish of beef and a heavy sauce and a pretzel sausage-esque side…needless to say, I am glad I was only there for a short amount of time because I think either the cuisine would clog my arteries first or I would get right sick of the food and have to leave. We then went to see our friend’s student housing which came with two rooms, a bathroom, and a fairly nice kitchen. We then went to a pub right next to their housing which was underground and clearly full of younger locals, however, the smoking ban hasn’t reached Austria and my asthma was not loving the lingering smoke clogging my eyes and throat. Thankfully we left soon after and went back to the apartment and sat on the balcony all talking again and having another pleasurable evening full of banter and laughter.
The next morning we were set to leave for Frankfurt, Germany to catch our flight back to Dublin. Before we left we went to mass, but were almost refused because the man at the door thought we were just going to go in to take photos and disrupt the mass due to our tourist looking selves with our backpacks. Thankfully, our friends spoke German and we were able to get in and even though I did not understand a word of what was going on, it was comforting to still somewhat know what was going on based upon the continuity of the Catholic church throughout the world. However, many young people in Austria don’t go to church because there are heavy taxes placed on Catholics in Austria and so they are turned off from the church and even if you want to go, but do not have the money, you cannot attend mass. The question then lies in if Austrian Catholics will be able to sustain themselves in the future with their dwindling members. After mass, we went straight to the train station and said our farewells before getting on our first of several trains. When we made it to Munich, we had to figure out the best way to get to Frankfurt. Thinking we would take the cheapest way, we decided we would take three trains to get there and planned extra cushion time. If I only knew what I was in for, I would have just gone straight to the Munich airport and taken any flight, no matter the cost. As soon as we figured out what we were doing, we also figured out that we had two minutes to get to our train and so we took off in a dead sprint. I nearly broke some sliding doors and knocked a few people over, but thankfully we made it on time to our train and were able to get a seat. Forty minutes later we were at our next stop and got some food and waited for our next train. However, the train was so full that we ended up sitting on steps that led out the door. Luckily, that was a shorter journey as well and we made it to our next stop, but then things started to go wrong… When we were trying to find our next train and finally did, it never came. Now, none of my three friends or I speak German so we tried to ask anyone I could, but you could tell they had absolutely no clue what we were saying. By the grace of God, some man told us what had been being said and we made our way to take a subway to the next town over to get the train we wanted. What?! Yes, we made our way to the next town over and got onto some train…I honestly do not even know if it was the right one, but we got on it and we were off on the fourth train of the day and ended up somewhere, but I’m not quite sure where that was. Looking at the time, I knew we were going to miss our final train to Frankfurt and there would be no way we would make it out of Germany tonight. All I wanted was to be in my bed and sleep. Thankfully though we asked the ticket taker if there was an ICE train or the really fast one that would take us to Frankfurt and get us there on time. The woman said yes and that it even went all the way to the airport. No, there was no way that was actually possible. I couldn’t believe we were going to get a fast train to Frankfurt and make it all the way to the airport, someone was on our side that day. At the next stop we knew what we had to do and were ready to get our train to Frankfurt. We went to check the board to see what platform it was leaving from and having been told we had about ten minutes, we took our time. But for some reason the train had been moved up seven minutes and again, we all took off in a dead sprint. We dashed and darted between people and climbed the stairs, making a few people mad, but they clearly didn’t know that I, Keelin McGee, was not greatly willing to spend another night in the middle of nowhere Germany with another meal of sausages. Thankfully, again somehow we made it onto the train and found out that it was in fact the right one. However, as we sat down, we realized that we still had not bought tickets…we sat there worrying about whether if they were going to throw us out of the train, if they were going to fine us heavily…what was about to happen?? When the woman came around we held our breath and also with limited money we were afraid we wouldn’t be able to pay the fee. We even put our food and drinks under the table so she thought we were really desperate and poor. Another grace of God came upon us as the woman allowed us to buy our tickets and without paying the whole normal ticket price, we were also able to use credit cards. Amen, alleluia we passed that test! I felt like I was floating on Cloud 9 after the horrific day of sprinting and five trains. We got off at the Frankfurt airport and looked for information to find out where the RyanAir check-in was located. Looking back, I truly pity myself for actually thinking that RyanAir would fly out of a major airport, that they would fly somewhere that was located in the actual city. I should have learned from Paris and Oslo, where the RyanAir locations were both at least an hour outside the city. Oh no, I for sure thought we wound up on time and the right airport. Pity the fool. I was the next in line at information and I asked where RyanAir was…a few chuckles later, I was told to walk down the corridor, down the stairs and to the shuttle for an hour journey to Frankfurt HAHN airport. Apparently the woman on the train earlier who when we asked if the airport that the ICE train dropped us off was Hahn did not understand us either. For another rousing sprint and an hour to go before we were to be at the gate before it closed, we found the nearest taxi and made our way to the Hahn airport. I sat there with the most annoyed and frustrated face, wondering why I had agreed to travel across Germany and fly out of Frankfurt. I think the Amazing Race should have shot our day of traveling and shown the contestants what an amazing race is actually all about. I was just praying that the man knew where he was going and that we were actually going to end up at the right airport, I figured we actually would not and was ready for the worst. I sat in the front watching the minutes go past and with 22km to go until Hahn and with 15 minutes before the gate closed, I was praying the rosary and hoping I didn’t pee in my pants. Biting my nails, the taxi rolled up at 10:40, the gate closed at 10:45. I looked at the meter and the sum total for our adventure was 165 euro. Together we slammed all of our money together, it was not nearly enough. I was taking ever last cent I had out of my wallet and slamming it into this man’s hand pleading for mercy that our plane was about to take off and that we needed to be on it. After enough begging, he said it was alright and we ran to the counter to check-in, which just so happened to be located about 300m on the other side of building. We just could not catch a break and in another sprint, we were off and then back the same to make our way through security. We were well past the gate closing time and then we had to go through passport control. However, when we made it to the gate, no one had been loaded onto the plane and we sat there for five minutes waiting to get on. Of course. I was sweating bullets and was ready to collapse from hunger and thirst. I had never had a more frustrating and tiring day of my life. We made it onto the plane with no problems and thankfully, had a safe flight back to Dublin, but I will never go across a country for a cheap flight again. Ireland was the most beautiful sight and I collapsed into my bed that night…
