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Mar 27, 2008 18:22

Well we're home now. I have to say that was a very fun trip and worth every penny! We shared some great experiences; I'll never forget Germany.

Some things of note are:
-They like to eat mayonaise with their french fries, and ketchup costs money
-It could cost up to 1,50 Euros to use a public bathroom (aka "water closet")
-Their coffee is foamy
-Their food is all meat, cheese, and breads
-Their chocolate is delicious
-Americans aren't their favorite, and there are plenty of them around
-Step by Step is a hit on Comedy Central
-People like to start drinking early

It snowed every day we were there but one. But that was ok, it was pretty. The flight there was fine, the flight home was long and nightmarish. We only hung out with Amanda and Matt a few days, we split and went different ways. Dan and I ended up travelling all up and down the east side of Germany. The train rides are fast and smooth going. Anyway, here we are just landed in Munich:




Las Vegas City, the Greatest Gambling Hall in Europe!



Marienplatz, Munich







The Amper river, Dachau



Graffiti:



Dachau Concentration Camp:



Crematorium



Where they inserted the gas for the gas chamber:



the shower room, aka gas chamber:



the crematorium:



public bathrooms were either in the museum or...the crematorium. I thought this was rather insensitive.


My Dan, on the way to Fussen


Hoenschwangau Castle:



Neuschwanstein Castle:





View of the Bavarian Alps:



Fussen:



Scenery from the Train:




Beethoven's statue in Bonn:





Beethoven's house:




Here's where we stayed in Cologne:



Roman temple archway, built approx. 50 ad:



In Cologne we went to the Dom cathedral, and it was so enormous I couldn't fit it into a picture. Building of it started in 1300's and didnt finish until the 1800's. We went on Easter Sunday and the bells were ringing all day long.

Entrance:


We toured the museum down below and saw a collection ranging from roman times to 1950, centuries of relics the cathedral has used. Then we decided to do the ascension of the tower to have a view from the top of the dom. we read that it would be 500 steps but we didnt fully comprehend what that meant. Turns out it's 500 steps up a narrow, crowded, steep, spiraling staircase with no handrail! I thought I couldnt go any further around the 300th step, and at 400 I knew i couldn't so we stopped at the bell tower. By the time we reached the top my legs were shaking and I thought I was going to fall down. We got to go inside in between mass. The inside was as gorgeous and intricate as its outside. The Dom at Cologne is a massive, breathtakingly beautiful structure.

View of Cologne:


Inside the cathedral:











One of the tombs of the priests within the cathedral:



crafted in 1300's:


Floor of the Dom:



Onward we went to Rothenburg! We had it all planned out and everything was going as scheduled. After a 5 hour train ride we quickly connected onto a 2 hour train ride, but literally as the doors on the train closed we realized there was more than one Rothenburg, and that we were now headed 150 mph towards the wrong one. We got off at the next station an hour later at some hoopdy-ass mountain town named Bayroit(?), where we were stared at for being Americans. No one spoke English there. It was uncomfortable, although to be fair I'm sure they don't get many foreigners in Bayroit. After an hour's wait, the next train came through and after several connections we finally made it to the right Rothenburg:



Due to our delay, the tourist information office was closed, but they did have a map with rates on it and we found the most adorable guest house with rooms available. We opened the old wooden doors and came into a hallway, then rang the bell and waited. Finally, a little old hunch-backed lady comes and let's us inside the house. She simply hands us a key and tells us we can pay after breakfast in the morning. Such kindness! Turns out the guy who lives there (presumably her son) designed and built all the furniture in the 600 year old house. It was so old and cozy, I loved it there. We sat and ate breakfast with the resident cat :)







After breakfast we headed to the town's medieval crime and punishment museum. It was cool because it didn't have replicas, it had authentic devices. It was so sadistic. Though Germany was a beautiful place, I must say it does serve many reminders of how sick and cruel humans can be.





A chastity belt:



Iron Maiden:



Executioner's sword and mask:





On to the Hofbrauhaus! Don't know if you guys have been there in Vegas, but we checked out the original. Cool place, too bad our waiter sucked. It was clear he didn't like us, then he makes a little note on our receipt to point out theres no tip included in the price, but he doesn't write it for the germans sitting at our table. So we left him a $1 bill, worthless American currency. Kinda like leaving him a paso haha





Germany was a very cool place, and I will definitely go back to Europe!


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