Bye Bye Berlin

 February 27, 2022

Today is our last day in Germany. We were up early because we had to get back to the airport in Berlin. I got to drive on the autobahn this time and while it was a thrilling experience (I maxed out the speed of the car), there was A LOT of fog. 

We then had:

A car rental snafu
No online check in
To visit three different areas before finding the necessary attestation form
Trouble with Jaclyn's passport to the point that a manager had to be called to restart the entire computer system
The slowest security line ever with friendliest, chattiest man ever
To take out all my liquids
Gina's bag being flagged
To RUN to the gate...and our plane wasn't even on time

Once we finally got to Copenhagen we enjoyed some Joe and the Juice which was reminiscent of our first day of the trip. When we got to our gate we were asked a million questions about our luggage and needed a stamp on our boarding pass prior to boarding. Needless to say, we were sad to be bound for the states because one week in Deutschland just wasn't long enough. Until next time, Europe.

PS- my blog photos wouldn't be NEARLY as awesome this time 'round if not for the AMAZING photography work of Gina Workman. Huge shoutout to her for taking, editing and posing me for so many cool photos. AND for making this awesome video compilation of our travels. Click here to view.

Dresden Does Not Like Credit Cards

February 26th, 2022 

"It's after 730! We have to go" Gina whispered as she shot up in bed. I sleepily looked at my phone, only to see it was 4:55am. "Go back to sleep" I said. And just as quickly as she had bolted up she laid back down again. Our morning was an early one though. We had to be up and out before 6 so that we could catch the S-Bahn Train to the airport. We didn't have a clue which tickets to buy and in hindsight I think we ended up buying ones for the wrong train (we purchased them upstairs instead of downstairs) but we boarded the right train and made it to the airport all the same. At the airport we grabbed a quick breakfast and then boarded our tiny plane to Berlin. We got so lucky because the guy on the ground grabbed our bags and put them under the plane which meant we didn't have to do any heavy lifting when we boarded. I slept for the hour flight and after deplaning we headed to Alamo to pick up our rental car. After planing, training, busing, streetcar-ing, and walking for a week, there was something so liberating about having our own vehicle. Windows down, music on, we embarked on the 2 hour drive to our hostel in Dresden. 

We initially made these plans so that we could travel into the mountains, however, by the time we made it into town, got covid tests from the testing center, got our results, paid to use the toilet and checked into the hostel it was mid-afternoon. We hadn't eaten since 7am and had another hour drive ahead of us if we were going to make it into the mountains. We opted instead to get lunch at Rolle, a local kebab place. The lamb meat was fall off the bone tender while the bread was unbelievably fresh however, when we tried to pay for our delicious delicacies we ran into a little snafu. Rolle only accepted German credit cards. What? Why? Certainly there wasn't a setting on the card machine that said Deutsch Only. We had international credit cards. No fees. Paid in euros. Nope. Nada. Not happening. Cash only. Well shit. Our covid tests cost 15 euro apiece and were cash only so we both only had coins left. 😟

Now what?

Run to the central train station (even though we hadn't taken a train in this city) to find an exchange to convert USD to euros. Then run back to the kebab place and pay the nice man who let us leave even though he surely thought he would never see us again. We tipped him generously since he didn't make us wash dishes or surrender our passports to him. Maybe one of us will name our first born after him as a thank you? Hopefully karma takes care of him instead.
After all our running around in the cold we headed back toward our home for the night, a&o hostel, but not before stopping by Aldi on the way for some fruit for tomorrow's breakfast. I caught up on some blogging and reading, while Gina showered and repacked.
We went to the hostel rooftop bar where I enjoyed a radeler pilsner topped with sprite-- apparently a local Dresden favorite. I wasn't too sure how I'd feel about it but I actually found it quite refreshing. While there we met a lovely bartender named Piip. We chatted with them on and off throughout the night, sharing our best hostel stories. Piip shared that an elderly man who was checking in with two huge suitcases lost his pants and it took everything they had not to start laughing at the swearing, pantsless man. Gina and I shared about a girl in our dorm whose phone kept flashing under the covers at night and lighting up the entire room. When we jokingly asked her if she was taking and sending naughty photos she blushingly replied, "....I didn't know you could see the flash...." 🤣🙉
She's been traveling in hostels for OVER A MONTH and we were the FIRST to tell her. Chatting with Piip and reminiscing about our trip was the perfect end to our trip in Deutschland.

We'll Never Be Royals

February 25, 2022

It was another early morning for us because today we were doing a Neuschwanstein Castle tour. We boarded the bus at 8:15 and first stopped at Linderhoff, King Ludwig's most lived at residence. Its extravagance is otherworldly but its size is quite modest compared to his other castles. 

After touring the different rooms we again boarded the bus and this time were headed to Oberammergau, the site of the Passion Play. We perused the tiny shops, took in the beautiful views and were back on the bus, this time headed for Neuschwanstein. 

We opted out of eating lunch with our tour group because our guide referred to the restaurant as "exclusive" and said if we didn't want the exclusive menu we could order a plate of sausages for lunch. Exclusivity nor multiple sausages sounded appealing so we went to a biergarten with one of the other travelers from our tour. I enjoyed spaetzle with cheese and onions (it reminded me a bit of Mac and Cheese) and potato pancakes with applesauce (one of my faves!)

After a hearty lunch we made the climb up, up, up toward Neuschwanstein. The snow capped trees were beautiful and by the end of the walk I even had my coat unzipped. Seeing the inside of the castle is like nothing I've experienced before. The exquisite grandeur, the opulence, the wealth, the narcissism that comes with claiming more and more and more for oneself. When Ludwig's castle was being built he remarked that as soon as he died he wanted it destroyed so that no one else could enjoy the home that had been built for him. Instead, it stands unfinished (due to his untimely death) and is now a museum for all to enjoy. A few things I took away were that: the castle had its own sewage and piping system so that Ludwig could get water in his bedroom through the mouth of a golden swan. WOW. The kitchen was also remarkable for the time. After finishing our tour (no photos allowed), we got hot chocolates before boarding the bus for home. 

Two hours later we were back in Munich and ready for our night to begin. We grabbed dinner at a pizza place and while it was delicious, we waited entirely too long for it. 

We had planned to get drinks with our bunkmates, Omisa, Josie, Ino and Giovanna. They had never even heard of Hofbrauhaus so of course we had to go. The live music, the lederhosen, the long communal tables and liter beers in steins painted the picture of the perfect German bar. We laughed, we chatted, we played games and then, just like that, they were telling us to finish our drinks because it was almost midnight. Our last night in Munich had ended and we were ready for a quick sleep before boarding a Berlin bound plane in the AM.

Munchen, Bavaria

 February 24, 2022

We started our time in Munich with a free walking tour. It began at the famous glockenspiel so we got to watch the marionettes dance around while the bells rang. 

We learned a lot of things on our tour including:

-It was tradition that after finishing their butcher apprenticeship young boys would have to jump into this fishhead fountain naked.

-This statue of Juliet (as in Romeo and Juliet) is a gift from a Shakespearean town in Italy where the play originated. They have a co-op program with Germany and wanted German citizens to have a way to earn good luck. The legend says they simply need to rub Juliet's golden breast and luck will be theirs.

-This plaque marks the place where Hitler gave his kristallnacht speech. It is now a toy museum.

-Legend has it that King Ludwig's monkey went rogue in the palace one day and kidnapped Ludwig's heir to the throne. The monkey climbed all the way to the top of this spindle with the child before returning him safely back to his cradle.

-Hofbrauhaus: enough said.

-The bows on women's traditional German clothing is used to tell their relationship status. Bow on the right- taken. Bow on the left- looking. Bow on the back- widowed or waitressing.
Yeah, that last one didn't make sense to me either 🤷‍♀️

-This beautiful yellow church was built as a gift to honor ONE. SINGLE. CHILD. 🤯

-These gold bricks bear witness to the resistance movements happening in Germany during Hitler's reign. Citizens who did not want to heil Hitler in the main square took side roads like this one instead.

After our walking tour we got lunch at an Asian soul food pop up. It wasn't the best sushi I've ever eaten, but the bathroom was free. 😊 

After lunch we enjoyed the sunshine in the Munich Residenz Gardens before making our way into the Palace for a tour. The opulence and grandeur are mind blowing.  Velvet walls, gold plated windows, custom made mirrors.

After the palace we went back to our hostel so Gina could shower and I could blog. We grabbed a happy hour beer at the hostel bar (with 1 euro off it was 3.90 for a half liter 🍻)

 

For dinner we went for traditional German food. Our waiter was obsessed with yelling "chi-ca-go" every time he came to our table. We tried a deer meat stew with spaetzle, beets and pear with chutney. I thought it was delicious! We also ordered some dark bread with spreads, however they were skimpy on the bread; we only got one piece to share. 😔

Friends I travel with always joke how friendly and approachable I am, sometimes to a fault. And it was no different on this trip. Gina went to the bathroom and immediately the men at the table behind asked if I could take their picture. They started chatting with me and invited me to have a beer with them (two of my favorite parts of travel- beer and making new friends!) But we had places to go and people to meet so we declined the offer from the Austrians and headed to Killian's, an Irish/Australian karaoke pub. It was packed so we ended up being sat at a table with three others we didn't know. After ordering our first round we got to chatting with the girl who looked about our age. She told us she met the two (much older) men that she was with while grabbing pizza and came here with them 😬 hhmm.. I had assumed she was out with her dad and uncle or something. After she finished her drink she left and then Gina and I were stuck with two old men we couldn't communicate with. They kept trying to talk to us and we kept trying to use gestures and words to hammer home the point that we did not speak German. They tried to order us shots but we declined and the waitress had to translate-- thank goodness for her! The atmosphere was buzzing and the karaoke lineup was really good. Gina got her name on the list and when she went up to sing the crowd went wild. Everyone was singing along and the old men at our table went up to the stage to get a video. They then proceeded to spend the next 30 minutes trying to show Gina the video (she was there so I'm pretty sure she remembers) and trying to convince her to give them her number so they could whatsapp it to her.🤦‍♀️ These are the type of friends I don't like making when traveling. We appealed to a table of younger Germans across the way who immediately adopted us into their karaoke family. Our friends were clearly jealous and came over to chat with the boys in German. Luckily for us the boys sent them on their merry way. Too bad it was almost bar close. We had a really fun night at Killian's and I would highly recommend it for those diehard karaoke-ers out there.

Small People In Small Places Do Small Things

February 23, 2022 

Today was our last day in Berlin. Gina went on a 3.5 hour walking tour that I opted out of because the bathroom situation here in Berlin is tricky. Many places don't have bathrooms, and those that do require payment. I didn't think I'd make it 3 and a half hours without the toilet and was afraid I'd lose my group if I wandered too far. (Y'all remember the Russian restaurant incident, right? And that was close to home!)

Anyway, I relaxed at the hostel and caught up on some blogging while G was away. Then Ben and I (one of the guys we had met the night before) met Gina at The Berlin Wall. There's lots of cool art work along it, but some of my favorites are below:

After we went to this super cool hippy commune with artwork made of garbage, a telephone booth sized solo disco and lots of small eclectic eateries and drinkeries.  

Our day wouldn't have been complete without a good dinner so we checked out a Japanese American fusion place called Shiso that made burgers in a whole new way. Since the three of us were now besties we ordered 3 burgers to share. The kitchen was outraged at our request to cut the burgers, or to get silverware at all, so we became fast friends and shared bites of burgers with one another. We're triple vaxxed for a reason, right?

After saying our goodbyes (to my favorite lobby giraffe) at the hostel, we took public transit to the train station where we'd be boarding our 4 hour train bound for Munich. 

I tried to sleep but couldn't get in a comfortable position so was in and out most of the way. Luckily for us, our hostel, Wombats, is a 3 minute walk from the station so we (I say we but y'all know I really mean Gina) had an incredibly easy time navigating us there. When we arrived we ended up in the elevator with another American who happened to be in our room. She was so excited that we were roomies and escorted us the rest of the way and excitedly introduced us to everyone upon entering. It was a mini midnight party 🥳  What a fun way to start our time in Munich!

Museums Minus the Disgusting Food

 February 22, 2022

We were up and at 'em early so that we could enjoy coffee with a hostel mate before heading out for the day. He was Canadian and has been traveling for almost 7 months. He took an immediate interest in us the night before because of our friendliness, and invited us for a coffee the next day. His story is that of a traveler, but is especially intriguing because he was in Ukraine prior to coming to Germany. After wishing him well and saying our goodbyes we set out for the Cathedral. There are 267 steps up to the dome that provides a small walkway with 360 degree views of the city.

While it was very cold and windy at least it wasn't raining. The views were beautiful, both inside and out. 

After we went to the Pergamom Museum which shows the history of the Middle East. It was 3 floors of artifacts, but one of my favorites was this stone carving in which the men appear to be playing rock, paper, scissors 🤣

After we had lunch at a traditional German restaurant where we tried currywurst (it was HUGE) and flammkuchen (the equivalent of German pizza). They weren't our favorites but they weren't bad. I enjoyed the mustard based potato salad with cucumbers most. 

After lunch it was on to museum number 2, The Bode. The Bode is an art museum and some of my most favorite exhibits were the room of mirrors and the photography installation of sex workers through snapshots. 

We decided to take the scenic route home and boy am I glad we did. As we walked along the river we heard SO MANY HORNS honking so we stopped to see what was happening. A group of cars had crowded onto a sidestreet and blocked traffic. There were drummers who stepped out and were playing while men in suits were hanging out of cars honking and laughing. There was also a photographer and flowers adorning the hood of one of the vehicles. We never were able to figure out what why this was happening, but after it dispersed a few of the cars were heading our direction. We heard the men sporadically honking and hanging out their car windows all the way down the street. 

We got back to the hostel and packed our bags since it was our last night in Berlin and then went out for dinner with Lola, one of the girls we had gone to the Disgusting Foods Museum with. We went to a tiny cafe where I had lentil soup and cheese filled naan- so delicious! We decided to spend the evening at the hostel brewery and were so glad we did. There was a new bartender, Danylo, and he let us play DJ for the evening. We met travelers from Australia, Israel, UK, Brazil and danced the night away with them. We had so much fun singing that at bar close we decided to head across the street to Mein Haus Am See, where there was supposedly a dance floor. Unfortunately the downstairs was closed so we ended up sitting on stairs with pillows and paying cash only for drinks. Either way it was a fun night with new friends.