Weekend #2 in Germany was a complete success. After much debating we all ended up deciding to take a road trip to München (Munich). In case you didn't know Munich is where Oktoberfest is held and they have over 600 registered bars and restaurants. So it was pretty much amazing.

We had decided to accompany the Brazilians on their trip so we added 11 people to their 4. In the end we had to rent 3 cars to fit everyone. The Brazilians are all over 21 and have international driver's licenses so they were old enough to rent the cars and could drive. After class on Friday the Brazilians had to take a bus to a nearby city to get the cars. So we roamed Kaufland for a really long time and hung outside the train station drinking beers. We pretty much took the Autobahn the entire way there. It's really weird because there is a speed limit most of the time. Until they just decide to put lines through the signs then you're free to go as fast as you'd like. On the way back we went 110 mph. Crazy!

We got their Friday night and checked into our hostel. It was my first time staying in a hostel and pretty much the oddest thing ever. We get our keys and the lady tells us that we have a room with 14 beds. So first we have to walk down a staircase (we pretty much stayed in the basement) and we came to a door. We were expecting it to be our room with 14 beds…. Instead it was one long corridor that connected 2 bathrooms and 4 rooms with like 8 sets of bunk beds in each room. We did have one whole room to ourselves though then the rest of our group shared the one next to us with a group of Australians. Needless to say though, it was really creepy. They had lockers you could put your stuff in but the only way to actually lock them was if you had a think padlock. If not, you could buy a smaller one with a key and keep your stuff in lockers in an outdoor courtyard. Yes, outdoors… I was pretty happy I didn't bring anything valuable with me.

Saturday consisted of us taking a "free" walking tour of the inner city. It was absolutely freezing but so gorgeous the cold didn't matter. Munich is such a beautiful city and has such a rich history. Hitler actually formed the Nazi party there and I stood on steps where he gave speeches. It was such an odd feeling to be in a place where so many things have taken place. It's almost hard to believe that such dark things happened because the city was so pretty and lively.

Towards the end of our tour we visited the Hofbräuhaus, which is the world's most famous beer hall. Of course we went back directly after the tour to eat. Now sit and imagine every German stereotype you can think of. This is it. I was served pretzels, sausage, and a liter of beer. Do you know how big a liter of beer is? I literally had to use both hands to hold it when I took a drink. There was live polka music and men wearing hats with feathers loudly yelling "Prost!" and clinging their giant mugs of beer together. It was quite awesome, and of course we went back Saturday night.

We did a lot of walking around, and visiting shops and various places to drink. I didn't sleep very much Saturday night because the group of Australians we met at the hostel turned out to be amazing. I ended up staying awake until 6:30am with one of the girls, sitting in the women's shower room staring at the ridiculous shower curtains (check out my pictures) just talking.

On Sunday we left pretty early and headed to Dachau, a nearby concentration camp. It was the only concentration camp to be open the entire time Hitler was in power. It was opened the day before he was elected and closed the day after he committed suicide. There's nothing anyone can do to prepare themselves for a visit there. To understand, you have to have seen this place first hand. It's a place that my words can't describe and even if I tried I wouldn't be able to get the feeling across to you. Let me just say I will never go back to the same camp twice. Never.

On a better tone though our weekend in Munich was amazing and I definitely plan on going back at least one more time before I leave here, preferably when it is warm.

I got home yesterday and received a package from my mom. I pulled my pillow out of the box and smelt home. I was so happy I cried. I got my cord for my camera to so I'm now able to put some more pictures from Baden-Baden up.

Things back here in Horb are good. My German is getting much better and although class can be boring it has it's fun times. Like today when we were playing "What animal or office material do I have in my hand" in German. It got pretty intense…

This weekend the school has planned a day trip to Konstanz. It's located near the border of Switzerland and is near the Bodensee. Should be fun J

However, I am exhausted (as usual) so I'm going to put up some pictures then get to bed.

Tschuss!