Winter Vacation - Part 1

Background

Taco Bell dinner!

My old college roommate, Margaret, just recently graduated from UT this December. She got herself a big girl job in Houston, but before she embarks on the “real” adult life, she decided to treat herself to a two week vacation around Europe with yours truly… woohoo! She arrived in Mainz on Wednesday, as did my friend that’s in the CBYX Program, Craig. Craig came since he needed a place to stay for a couple of days before his vacation to Greece. Anyway, the three of us went all around Mainz for the next two days getting my much needed errands completed before I could begin our trip. Thursday morning, I went to Frankfurt to get my hair done (professionally this time), and so now I can say I'm officially a blonde again! I think it's true that they have more fun. Thursday night, I invited my friend from Estonia, as well as Howard over, to eat a traditional American meal with us… boxed Taco Bell dinner (thanks Mom!!). It was DELICIOUS. Wow. I don’t even like Taco Bell that much (all I eat there is a soft taco, no lettuce… I’m simple, yeah?), but the mere fact that I can’t have it whenever I want it, and that Germans don’t even know what it is, for some reason makes me want it. Anyway, it turned out great, especially when we weirdly complimented it with Glühwein. Friday morning, Margaret and I woke up SUPER early and headed to the train station. Unfortunately, the train ticket window wasn’t open that early, which meant we couldn’t get our Eurail passes (non-EU citizens can buy a pass that goes through Europe to whichever countries you specify and however many travel days you want) activated…. A very important step in using those things. Without an activation stamp by the train people, your whole pass is invalid and you must pay for the full fare ticket. Well, I decided to ask the cops with the AK-47s chilling out in the train station (they’re everywhere around Germany since the terror threat level has been high lately) and they kindly escorted us to train officials who said it would be no problem to ride without our stamp (really, REALLY unusual).

Day 1 – Dachau & Munich

So we finally get on the train and pretty much pass out for the entire 5 hour train ride to Munich. We were both woken up by some Germans poking us telling us that we were in Munich and it was the last stop. We were definitely lucky that that was the last stop, because otherwise we could have been halfway to Budapest or something. Whew.

We go to the hostel to set our bags down (only a 3 minute walk from the train station… nice!) and then go back to catch a train to Dachau. Dachau is where the first concentration camp in Germany was set up (mostly for imprisoning political insurgents… but later as a death camp) and it created the “concentration camp model” that so many others followed. It was quite an experience walking around the grounds and thinking about who walked there before you. It was snowing pretty hard the whole time, which really added to the grim atmosphere. We used audio guides to take us around the camp, and ended our stay by taking a look at the infamous “Arbeit Macht Frei” (Work will set you free) sign on the gate entrance… gives me chills every time I read it.

We headed back to Munich and met Helen, my friend from the CBYX program, got our activation stamps (finally), and checked into the hostel. From there we decided to check out this special “Christkindl Tram” that the city of Munich sponsors. It was essentially a tram decorated with everything Christmas that runs through the city for around 30 minutes, all while serving you hot Glühwein from their built in bar… all for a small fee of 1,20euro! It sounded like a lot of fun, and was a really good idea in theory, but they let way too many people on the tram at once and made it very difficult to even see outside the windows out into the city, let alone have an opportunity to peacefully drink Glühwein. Still glad we took part in it, though.

Friday night we went to the main square in Munch, called Marienplatz, and checked out their Christmas market (supposed to be one of the best in all of Germany). It was incredibly beautiful, mostly due to the market’s backdrop, the who knows how old, ancient town hall building. We also checked out another market that was in the courtyard of an old palace, just a couple of blocks away. For dinner, we went to the world famous Hofbräuhaus (beer hall), which looked, sounded, and tasted just like the Oktoberfest I had experienced back in September. Margaret had her first “real” German meal (Bratwurst on top of Sauerkraut) along with the well-known liter beers. Her military friend from Texas, that is now stationed in Bavaria (the state that Munich is in), joined us for dinner, and we all stayed for quite awhile talking to locals and some random people from London. Another great “typical” German night.

Day 2 & 3 – Vienna, Austria

Saturday morning we took a 5 hour train ride to Vienna, dropped our stuff off at the hostel, and went straight to supposedly one of Vienna’s best Wiener Schnitzel restaurants. We all ended up getting “natural” schnitzel, which we found out was not the breaded meat that we came there for, but it was good nonetheless. Three guys from Korea who were traveling through Europe were placed at our table, and one could speak alright English. I then suddenly remembered what my Korean friends had taught me in Berlin, so I shout to them in Korean (at the exact appropriate moment, of course): “Hello, my name is Chrissy. I’m hungry. I like chicken. Goodbye.” The guy looked at me crazily and asked how I knew Korean so well, which made me, Helen, and Margaret start bursting out laughing. I knew it would come in handy one day.

Schnitzel, potatoes, & peach?

After lunch we walked around the city. We stopped by the infamous Christmas market outside of the city’s town hall, which was definitely one of the prettiest I have seen so far. Then Margaret and I went back to the hostel to get ready for the night, where we met up with two CBYXers, Whitney and Daniel. The four of us met Helen at a wine tavern in town, one of the oldest around, and enjoyed some local wine, and Margaret finally got a “real” Wiener schnitzel. We then checked out some of the night life, but not too much to comment on.

Sunday morning, Margaret and I met Helen at Café Central, a really famous café where Sigmund Freud used to play chess with Trotzky and Lenin. Pretty crazy. We enjoyed a “typical” Viennese breakfast, which included the best croissant I’ve ever had, a soft boiled egg that I politely declined, and Melange, a coffee drink with steamed milk that is very popular in Vienna.

Schönbrunn Palace

Whitney & Daniel walking
through the palace "gardens"

Margaret and I then walked through the city to the Sigmund Freud Museum, which was inside his old house where he lived and also had his practice. It was cool to see all his old stuff, but I was expecting to learn more about his teachings and work instead of just his old house, so I was slightly disappointed. I ended up buying one of his books afterwards so I could learn some more.  After that we met Whitney and Daniel at the Schönbrunn Palace, the summer estate where the Habsburgs stayed. The Hapsburgs were the emperor and empress of the old  Hungarian-Austrian Empire..or something like that I'm sure haha..  Later Maria Theresa took over the estate, where all of her daughters, including Marie Antoinette, grew up. It was funny to be there in the winter, because even the people that lived in the palace didn’t go there in the winter. We toured the “gardens” and the “labyrinth,” but it was all pretty much just covered in snow…. Still pretty, though, especially the inside of the palace.

Sunday night we stopped by an Italian place for a quick bite to eat, then went to the Opera house to try to get some tickets, which proved to be quite easy. We bought standing room tickets to Der Rosenkavalier, but we left after the first act. Classy, yes I know. It was about 85 degrees, we could only see half the stage, we were put off by the small, skinny girl acting in the lead male role, and we were too exhausted from the day to pay attention. We ended up going to a bar in the Bermuda Triangle district (called so since people drunkingly disappear for days at a time only to reappear unharmed), where we tried the supposed “Strongest Beer in the World.” It came in a bottle, and said it was only 11%. False advertising. Then we chilled out in our hostel and called it a night.

Day 4 – Salzburg

Next morning was a 3 hour train ride to Salzburg. We sat in a small 6-person compartment room, with an old Viennese lady who had lived in Washington, D.C. for 34 years. What are the odds? She was extremely nice and told us some of the best places to go in Salzburg. When we got to the town, we were greeted by a very bright, shiny sun that I hadn't seen in probably 2 months. At that point I was more than happy to squint my eyes and take off my jacket! We checked into the hostel, and then immediately began a walk around town that included stopping at the well-known Maribell Gardens, where the Sound of Music was filmed. We ran through the (snow covered) ivy terrace and around the fountain... yes yes, I know, but it was a must. 

We then met up with Helen's American friend who had been studying abroad in Prague, Stephan, and the 4 of us checked out the local Christmas market and more of the town. Then we hiked up to Mönchsberg Mountain, where the views were absolutely amazing. We got there right as the sun was setting, and enjoyed the view while eating some packed sandwiches that we picked up at the grocery store on the way up. It started getting pretty cold at this point, so we made our way back down the mountain (after a few unsuccessful attempts) and went to the Augustiner brewery (there since 1621!). Here, you grab a liter beer from a shelf, go to a fountain to wash it, present it to the cashier and pay, then present your mug to the "beer dispenser" who fills your mug up with freshly brewed beer out of wood barrels. It used to be a monastery. Craziness! We sat down with some of Stephan's friends he had met the day earlier, and enjoyed talking to them about all of our travels thus far. His friends were currently living in Jordan to learn Arabic and had been all over the world. It really makes me realize how many opportunities are actually out there to travel the world.

Afterwards, we decided to find a cafe open that late, because a stop in Austria wouldn't be complete without trying their Torte. We found a place called Shakespeare's, who gladly served us some cake and ice cream, but apparently it wasn't the "traditional" cake that we were expecting. Ah well. We got a good night's sleep and woke up bright and early to catch our 8:00am train to Switzerland!

Next up... skiing in Switzerland for my very first time & Christmas in Paris!