Munich/Salzburg

Let me say that the trip was FAB-u-lous.

Bringing a pillow on the bus was definetely one of the smartest moves I made in my life. 9 hours in a stuffy bus is deadly. I was lucky enough to get two seats to myself, so I could stretch out every so often.

First touristic stop:
Neuchwanstein Castle. For the original "Sleeping Beauty Castle", it was a little disapointing. Only becuase it's not complete, so the tour seemed pretty weak. The parts that were complete though were so overly ornate. I guess much like all of castles I've seen in my life (the ultimate being Versailles, so no comparison there). King Ludwig sure liked his swans. Each room had a Wagner opera in it somehow. In the carvings, in the paintings...it was pretty cool. I wish Music History taught me more about them. Grade 4 right? Meh, it was too long ago.

We arrive in Munich in time for dinner at a traditional German restaurant. Props go out to the waitresses who can hold 4 or 5 full one-litre beer mugs (in each hand) without breaking their wrists. (At the Hofbrauhaus some wore wrist braces.) Dinner was a soup, pork and a baseball of doughy stuff, and apple strudel. How are German people not 5-gazillion pounds? The pork and baseball was the best. The pork was much like roast porc you can buy at a Chinese BBQ shop where the skin was all crunchy and stuff and the baseball was like eating a sticky rice pyramid wrapped up in leaves. If was weird. Two completely different cultures, but the same-ish food. The baseball really did look like a baseball. Except it didn't have red stiches.

The next morning, we headed to Dachau. I wondered how I or the others around me would react to it. It was a grey and rainy day which added to the vibe of what I was expecting it to be like. It was quite powerful, and I wasn't too surprised by anything I saw, but it really hit me when I was standing in the "shower room". Dachau was a work camp, as opposed to an execution camp although people did die there. It is thought that the shower room was not used for mass extermination, but instead for testing of substances. It wasn't a surprise, I mean, it was just like I'd imagined it would be. The white walls, dark. The low ceiling really added to " ". I walked through by myself, and there were a couple others around me, but it still felt " ". Seeing the German words for "shower room" above the door and looking up and seeing no pipes. It was really interesting though. The pictures, the words. Hearing the tour guide talk. Just seeing the buildings themselves was a good experience. I don't consider myself outwardly emotional, so it didn't hit me in that sense, but like with how I take everything else in my life, I'm glad I experienced it and all the thoughts that came with it. I guess I'm very internal. Schindler's List is an amazing movie, and since I don't really study history, maybe I don't know as much about the subject as I would have liked, but I still feel like I saw and learned a lot of things, and I'd actually like to get back again to spend more time reading every single placard/graphic/text thingy. I'm not sure if I'm getting my point across, but I really enjoyed the experience and having seen Schindler's List, what I was expecting Dachau to be like turned out to be very much what I saw.
I'm finding it hard to put into words what I experienced, because...well, I don't know. It's just one of those things in life that you can't put into words.

In the afternoon, we took a walking tour of the city. I was so exhausted by this point that I didnm't really have the attention span to take everything in. Also the fact that the streets were SO crowded completely threw me off. I don't know if it's always like that in Munich, or just becuase it was a Saturday afternoon. I felt very bewildered and lost because I hadn't been in a crowded area in such a long time (remember, Neuch is pretty small - I'm predicting a little bit of shock upon return to Toronto). Munich has some amazing buildings. Old European buildings, that I can't relate to history (sort of wish I could) but are amazing on their own to look at in awe. It seemed like such a contrast that in a city full of culture, I was also surrounded by so many modern and FAB shopping!!! It was mayhem. I didn't really get time to shop very much, but imagine my excitment/happiness/smiling on Bloor St. magnified by 10. FAB.

That night, after another dinner of traditional German fare (same as yesterday, plus pigs feet and duck - although mine came with chicken for some reason) we head to the Hofbrauhaus. It was FAB. It made me wish I enjoyed beer, just so that I could partake in the fun-ness. Lots of happy (often drunk) people. So friendly, so much enthusiasm, so much energy. I love that if you were a regular, you had a special beer stein that was locked in a personal locker for you to use whenever you were there. Live music, lots of people, FAB. I was ready to order a beer so that I could say that I did so in the Hofbrauhaus, but there was no point. I just don't like the stuff. I like the fact that the most famous German beer hall is right across the street from the Hard Rock Cafe. Leave it to the American to invade a cultural gem's space.

Sunday morning, we get back on the bus and head to Salzburg. I couldn't believe it...I'm sitting on the bus heading towards snow covered mountains. Is this for real? It was absolutely ______. Speechless...you're all missing out. As with most of Europe, things are pretty dead on Sundays, but luckily, there's some stuff going on, because Salzburg is maxing on its tourist stronghold. I, Miss Jao have now skipped (yes, skipped) down the vine covered arched tunnel-y thing that was used in the filming of the Sound of Music (forgive me, for I haven't seen the movie in over a year, I don't quite remember if it's the part where Maria's skipping with her bag singing "I have confidence" or when Maria and the Von Trapp kids are riding their bikes singing "Do Re Mi". I think it's the former). I didn't have time to see Mozart's house though. So I need to go back there at some point. Salzburg is totally maxing out on the Mozart factor. And I happily jumped on the bandwagon and purchased multiple Mozart-something brand chocolates. Souvenirs, check. At night we went to a concert. For some reason, I was under the impression that Eine Kline would be on the programme, but I was wrong. One piano four hands was on tap. Of course there was the one obligatory Mozart piece, and a couple other composers that I canm't quite remember off of the top of my head. Bach, Dvorjak, some others. 5 pieces in total. The small concert was held in a hall that Mozart once performed in, so that was quite special. The room was rediculously ornate. Lots of bling. I was in Salzburg and attended a concert. FAB.

Monday, we're on the bus and stop at the "Eagle's Nest" on the way home to Switzerland. I had so much fun. We were worried that we wouldn't get to go, because the day before it had snowed (yes, I said snowed) so much that they couldn't clear the roads sufficiently. Since the Eagle's Next is so high up, you have to take a bus up a winding road (with yet another breathtaking view) up to a point from which you get into a huge brass elevator that finally takes you up to the actual lookout point. Anyway, the roads were cleared, and we were given the go ahead to visit the place. It was sprinkling snow. FAB. I tossed snow in the air, climbed around rocks, was jealous of the birds who soared above, I was so happy. I wanted to make snow angels, but wasn't brave enough when I saw everyone rolling their eyes at me. I was still satified with the whole experience.

Sidebar: I still can't comprehend how I've gone from being SO upset one year to where I am now. And it takes me A LOT to get that upset. I feel like a bird.

Finally, back on the bus and 7-ish hours later, we arrive in Neuch.

In just two weeks, I will be in Belgium. Jealous? =)