Munich and Heidelberg

Our train left for Munich at 10 pm Thursday night. We celebrated Dave's birthday for the first hour in our 6-bed couchette with a bottle of wine that our bartender friend Thomas gave us for free. After all of the planning and trouble we had getting the train reservations, I was so excited to spend the weekend in Germany for my birthday. We woke up at 6:30 am in Munich, grabbed some food, and then headed to Dachau, the Nazi's first concentration camp in Germany. We got there 45 minutes before it opened, but were still able to walk around, reading the signs that were scattered all over the camp. Walking the same roads and hallways the prisoners and germans walked impacted me the most. After we quickly went through the museum, we left for Munich, just as hundreds of people began to show up.

The gate entrance to the camp: "Work Brings Freedom."


From there we went back to Munich, where we planned to go on Mike's Bike Tour. My brother Craig took the same tour when he was in Munich almost 4 years ago, and he advised me to do the same (he also told me about Dachau, what a guy!). Kristina, Kim, and I went on the tour, while Krista, Dave, Parker, and Karissa bailed (big mistake). I absolutely loved the tour. We rode around all of the inner city, then out to the English Gardens (30% bigger than Central Park in NY), randomly stopping for a 5 minute lecture at historic sites. Connecting the past with where you are standing is my favorite thing about being in Europe.

We stopped by Munich's only surf spot.. I got an awesome video of a guy jumping and landing on his board into the wave..


The Hitler and WWII stories intrigued me the most.
Which brings us to our next stop: our birthday celebration at the Hofbrauhaus. (mmm.. Royalty.) Bike tour facts: Hitler used to give speeches here, the 2nd floor was blown off during WWII, and the American troops used it as a mess hall. The whole group met here to have some beers, bratwursts, and pretzels. We spent a few hours here, waiting for our departure for Heidelberg. It was a relaxing time and we had a lot of fun.

Since only the top floor was destroyed, the ceiling of the 1st still remained. Here are the Bavarian flag colors, covering up the swastikas above the lights:


No, the kid with the glasses is not in our Pepp group.. And yes, he is 16...


We arrived to the Pepperdine Moore Haus in Heidelberg late Friday night. It is the oldest overseas program in our school and the house itself is over 100 years old. All of the students that are in the program were traveling, so we had the house to ourselves, accompanied only by our host, the daughter of a professor. After a long day Friday, we slept in Saturday morning and started the day off by visiting the Heidelberg Castle. From there we walked down some famous stairs to the Old Town, where we explored the streets the rest of the day until we left for the overnight train back to Florence.

The Moore Haus on a hill:


Parker and I with the view of the castle from the Old Bridge:


The view from the Heidelberg Castle:


The Pepperdine crest in the house: