Looking back on my week-long trip to Germany and Austria, I am still amazed by how much I was able to fit into one week. I don't think I could have kept up the same pace for another week, but it would have been nice to have more time to explore the region.
After landing and dropping our bags off at our Airbnb (we stayed in this flat for reference and I can't recommend it enough!) we grabbed a sandwich in the train station and visited Dachau since many of the other sites were not open on Sundays. I had mixed feelings about beginning the trip with Dachau since I knew that it would weigh heavy on my heart. Seeing the camp in person helped bring to life the Holocaust history and literature lessons in high school and nothing can quite prepare you for it.
After we arrived back in Munich, we had dinner at Geisinger Garten, a neighborhood Bavarian restaurant, at the recommendation of our Airbnb host and it did not disappoint. It was the first of many meals of pork, dumplings, pickled veggies and beer to come for the week. And I didn't hate it one bit.
Monday was spent on a day trip to the medieval town of Regensburg, about 2.5 hours northeast of Munich. It was just Samantha and I and a Canadian couple along with our tour guide. The village was unique in that all within about ten minutes you could see part of the Roman wall, a 14th century cathedral and Zara. The town center, with its narrow lanes of pastel-colored buildings, reminded me a lot of Nice. One of the highlights of the day was eating lunch at Wurstkuchl, the oldest sausage stand in the world. They've had 500 years to perfect sausage, sauerkraut and sweet mustard.
Tuesday was our last day in Munich before we caught a late afternoon train to Salzburg. In each city, we opted to do the Rick Steves Walking Tour on his Radio Europe app. If you like going at your own pace, I would highly recommend them. They were a great way to get aquainted with the city center and know where museums or sites are to revisit and explore more indepth.
The walking tour took about 3-4 hours (with stops for snacks at 3 hour intervals of course) and took us by Marienplatz, St. Peter's Church, Viktualienmarkt, Asam Church, Hofbrauhaus, Residenz, Hofgarten and Englischer Garten to name a few. From many of the blogs I read in preparing for the trip, the consensus was that Munich was a fantastic hub to take day trips to Bavaria from, but didn't require much time in itself for exploration. I would agree with that. It would have been nice to have had a full day to not feel as rushed. Although we did end up dozing off on a park bench in the English Garden before heading back to the train station, so perhaps I couldn't have lasted on my feet all day after all.
I would like to end this semi-brief recap of my trip with a warning to never fly United internationally. About halfway into the 9 hour flight, after the dinner service and the lights were turned off, I had a brief moment I didn't think I would be able to make it through the remainder of the flight. I know that sounds awfully dramatic, but coach was like a cattle car, especially when the person in front of you decides to recline their seat and there were only four in-flight movies to choose from so don't count on that being a distraction. End rant.
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