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Backpacking Europe: Summer 2009
Greetings from Munich, Germany!
We have solved a mystery! Ever since we came to Europe we have been wondering what WC means. Since we see WC everywhere we thought that it meant "wireless connection"...until we were on a train. We saw WC on the train, turned on our notebook, and realized that we were not connected to the internet. How could that be if WC meant "wireless connection"? We quickly learned that WC did not stand for "wireless connection". Last night we went out with a group of people from England. Somehow, WC was brought up...and it turns out that...WC means "Water Closet" AKA a bathroom. So our mystery has been solved! :)
I ran out of time to post last night because we were running around all day. So here is the past two days of our journey. We are now in Munich, Germany-- having a wonderful time! We are staying at an awesome hostel called Easy Palace. It is about a 20-30 minute walk from the City Center, but definitely FUN at night! Two nights ago, Drew and I had to catch a 6:10am train from Lucerne to Munich. We woke up at 5am to do some last minute packing which was not fun considering we were out partying until 2am. The Eurail is so easy to navigate so we had no problem finding and switching trains. We had a 5 1/2 hour train ride to Germany, so we tried to catch up on sleep-- it wasn't the most comfortable of trains though. We arrived in Munich at 11:30 in the afternoon-- but had that 30 minute walk ahead of us, which feels like a lifetime when you're living out of your backpack. We definitely had to stop and rest once-- well, I had to stop and rest once...Andrew did really good, haha!! We arrived at the hostel and met up with Jason (my brother). He was in Munich the day before, so he showed us some really cool sites. We ate lunch and had Gelato near Marienplatz. Gelato was only 1 Euro and so good! We went out to dinner at night and had pizza. We all decided that the pizza here is better than NY pizza. Munich is a beautiful city with a lot of interesting history I never know-- especially with Hitler and WWII. Oh yeah-- we also went to a beer garden. These are places located around the entire city where you sit and drink beer cheaply (at any time)! We went in the afternoon and met some Munich locals. Jason brought a German dictionary, so we have all been speaking the language to order food and get help or say thank you! Before we speak to somebody we always ask "Do you speak English" in German. And we always say Dank (thank you) at the end of being helped. :) Unfortunately, I have been sick since being here (but am finally feeling better) so have not enjoyed the night life as much as I could. But Jason and Drew definitely have been enjoying it for me! They both couldn't wake up this morning and begged me if we could get up later. Of course, I told them no :)
Today was a bit of a sad day because we visited Dachau Concentration Camp 10 minutes outside of Munich. Our tour guide was excellent and very informative. The experience of being inside a Concentration Camp is very difficult to explain-- Although you may have seen pictures of what the camps look like, it is completely different once you're there. Walking around gives you the chills. Dachau is partially restored and made into a memorial for the 43,000 victims who were killed there. One part that was no restored was the crematory/ extermination building. Everything has been preserved and you walk through the entire building. It was very emotional being there...It made me think about what I could do in my classroom to prevent bullying.
On a happier note-- Europe has an amazing recyling system. Every time you recycle a water or beer bottle you get 25C in return. Today we made 4 Euros just by recycling! Everyone is interested in recycling here, even the youth! No wonder why the streets are so clean. Also, street bums beg for money AND bottles. The money incentive is a big initiative for everyone-- even us! I think I may need to write to Mr. Obama :).We are also going White Water Rafting in Germany tomorrow at 12:15. The weather is supposed to be beautiful, so keep your fingeres crossed!
We miss everyone and love hearing from you all XO
Keep sending us messages!
<3 Allie, Andrew & Jason
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