We left Cologne on a 3 hour train ride down the Rhine Valley. Imagine a child drawing mountains on piece of paper, you'd see a frantic set of horizontal zigzags. Then imagine the child drawing fairytale castles on top of those mountains, on the very tippy top. That's what the Rhine Valley looks like. Sharp, dark green mountains, countless fairytale castles on the peaks, and little German villages in the valleys along the river. It was a wonderful surprise. I wanted to go to through the Rhine Valley, but had no idea how we would fit it into our schedule or afford it with our tight budget. So the journey towards south Germany was a gift.
Since Cologne was a big stinkin failure we turned to Heidelberg for redemption. So thank God for Heidelberg. It was lovely. It had the little things that tourists want to see without having to sacrifice its authenticity. Beer halls, cobblestone foot paths, and weiner schnitzel. Our hostel was a pub. We were greeted by a friendly publican who gave us two welcome pints of their local brew. Then we were shown to our rooms that were every backpacker's dream: clean and secure. We ate our very first weiner schnitzel, very exciting all together. I understood from then on why Germans were such good drinkers, look at their food! It was fried pork chops with fried potatoes with bacon and rosemary as garnishes. Yummy in my tummy. And to reiterate, it was great drinking food, so off we set to check out the town and sample the local spirits.
Heidelberg was a lot bigger than we expected, so we walked through the town's main street to hopefully get our first feel for it. It was mostly shops, high fashion and German souveniers. Dermot had to pull me away from the coolest coat I've ever seen, ever. It was only 120 EUR. I said we didn't have to drink for the next week. And he replied by saying that I didn't have to eat or drink for the next week. Point taken. Anyway, we ended up in a pub called the Hemingway. The sun was going down and it was getting cold. We couldn't believe the chill in the air because it was just in Bruges that we were sweating our asses off and melting under the humidity. Excuses, excuses. So, in the Hemingway we were feeling a bit adventurous and decided to pick a random beer off the menu. We chose Rauchbier. It was a dark, thick bottle with medieval writing on it. The bartender decanted the two bottles and from somewhere the smell of bacon came under our noses. Because it was dinner time, and the Hemingway served food, we thought it had to be a passing waitress with the next table's order. Nope. It was the beer. Dermot drank it down. I refused. He laughed and tried to convince me that beer does not taste the way it smells. ALL beer tastes the way it smells. And this was no exception. I begged Dermot to drink mine, as he was halfway through his and determined not to waste a beer. He said if I tasted it, he'd finish mine. So I did, I suffered a gulp. And to my fear it indeed tasted like bacon. Neither of us finished it. The bartender saw this and laughed. He said he doesn't know why they even sell it. So we ordered two pints of a normal pilsner and burped up the rest of the Rauchbier, or the weiner schnitzel, I couldn't tell.
We visted a local beer hall called the Vetter, but I had to stop drinking because I'm a delicate flower with a weally weally sore throat (and I wanted to save my health for Munich) so we headed back to our hostel/pub. There I drank tea while Dermot drank liters of beer as if they were pints. The bar tender informed us the next day that most normal drinkers try one for the experience. Not our Dermot. We ate weiner schnitzel again for breakfast, then went back to bed. German beer is unfiltered and therefore zehr headache inducing. After the nap, we headed up to the Schloss or Heidelberg's mega castle. It was ontop of a mountain overlooking the city. It was a tourist must, so we did, and it was nice. If I described the castle as looking very German, can you picture it? Cause, it looked really German. Stoic and to the point.
We walked around the side streets of Heidelberg to see what we could of the rest of it. We stopped for a while in the square to eat some pastry thing and feed the pigeons (they must not know the Goodfeathers family of Boston - an inside AWA joke). I got some great pictures of the cute little town, but since neither of us were drinking we headed back to our hostel early to get a good night's sleep for Munich.
We left Heidelberg in the freezing morning. Switzerland's impending weather was looming in our minds. Our train to Munich took us through the German countryside. Scattered little towns in between large, dark forested mountains. It was nice to be seeing some mountains after the incredibly flat Belgian countryside, it satisfies the whole aspect of "it's a journey, not a destination" thing.
Munich is massive. It's in the heart of Bavaria, and therefore is the heart of all things German. We planned to come to Munich for the Oktoberfest, but after having met people in Bruges who said they paid 35 EUR per person for a TENT, and that the beers are 4 EUR a pint, we panicked and re-routed our trip to specifically avoid the fest. And for good reason. The population of Munich is 1.6 million. For the Oktoberfest it swells to over 8 million. You can enjoy Munich without the madness of Oktoberfest, as we've found it's a vibrant, youthful city. We started off Munich with a super sloppy pub crawl. Free beer, free Jagermeister shots, litres of beer galore, and lots of pretzels to soak it all up. It was the best night we don't remember, hehe. Our second day here was recovery and a free walking tour. These free walking tours that we're going on are the best ways to see the city and hear it's stories. And Munich has stories. And very dark ones, at that. It's sickening to walk in the foot steps of Hitler. To see where he held his meetings, planned his plans, give his speeches, and hear how there were so many failed attempts to stop him. It's wildly frustrating and at the same time fascinating to think that this was all only two generations ago. Munich is coping with it's past, but it's hard for a first timer to see one discreet plaque on an unmarked wall memorializing Kristelnacht.
But I'll shut my mouth, or in this case, type very little, because it's not for me to pass such judgements. We went to Dachau Concentration camp today and I'm... speechless. There's too much emotion to paraphrase. Too much anger, misunderstanding, hatred, guilt, fear, in modern Germany's past. It has something to do with me because I'm a human being and I'm part of this world. I'm glad at the end of the day for memorials such as Dachau. Because there was so much human suffering there, it spared no one. I don't know what it's like to be a modern German. I wouldn't know how to cope with such a past. Is it a simple, discreet plaque that serves to remind those who take the time to look at it and reflect? Of course it is, as is Dachau. You can't turn Germany into a massive memorial. You have to move on, and as we heard today: to honor the dead we warn the living. I believe Germany is aware, and they can and are coping with it's past.
How to leave on a good note? Don't think I can. Dachau was real, and it will haunt me. But it will hopefully guide me.
New pictures are up. It's taken us 2 hours to upload only Antwerp and Bruges. Cologne, Heidelberg, and Munich will have to wait. Our hostel's happy hour is happening as we type this.
Interlaken, Switzerland is next. We have a 7.5 hour train ride through the alps at 8 a.m.
And on a wonderful sidenote:
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE EVER EXPANDING KUHN FAMILY!! Danny and Sara Kuhn and Kevin and Meghen Kuhn are both expecting little additions come 9 months from now. All the best!! Health and happiness to you all in the meantime!!! WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!
Since Cologne was a big stinkin failure we turned to Heidelberg for redemption. So thank God for Heidelberg. It was lovely. It had the little things that tourists want to see without having to sacrifice its authenticity. Beer halls, cobblestone foot paths, and weiner schnitzel. Our hostel was a pub. We were greeted by a friendly publican who gave us two welcome pints of their local brew. Then we were shown to our rooms that were every backpacker's dream: clean and secure. We ate our very first weiner schnitzel, very exciting all together. I understood from then on why Germans were such good drinkers, look at their food! It was fried pork chops with fried potatoes with bacon and rosemary as garnishes. Yummy in my tummy. And to reiterate, it was great drinking food, so off we set to check out the town and sample the local spirits.
Heidelberg was a lot bigger than we expected, so we walked through the town's main street to hopefully get our first feel for it. It was mostly shops, high fashion and German souveniers. Dermot had to pull me away from the coolest coat I've ever seen, ever. It was only 120 EUR. I said we didn't have to drink for the next week. And he replied by saying that I didn't have to eat or drink for the next week. Point taken. Anyway, we ended up in a pub called the Hemingway. The sun was going down and it was getting cold. We couldn't believe the chill in the air because it was just in Bruges that we were sweating our asses off and melting under the humidity. Excuses, excuses. So, in the Hemingway we were feeling a bit adventurous and decided to pick a random beer off the menu. We chose Rauchbier. It was a dark, thick bottle with medieval writing on it. The bartender decanted the two bottles and from somewhere the smell of bacon came under our noses. Because it was dinner time, and the Hemingway served food, we thought it had to be a passing waitress with the next table's order. Nope. It was the beer. Dermot drank it down. I refused. He laughed and tried to convince me that beer does not taste the way it smells. ALL beer tastes the way it smells. And this was no exception. I begged Dermot to drink mine, as he was halfway through his and determined not to waste a beer. He said if I tasted it, he'd finish mine. So I did, I suffered a gulp. And to my fear it indeed tasted like bacon. Neither of us finished it. The bartender saw this and laughed. He said he doesn't know why they even sell it. So we ordered two pints of a normal pilsner and burped up the rest of the Rauchbier, or the weiner schnitzel, I couldn't tell.
We visted a local beer hall called the Vetter, but I had to stop drinking because I'm a delicate flower with a weally weally sore throat (and I wanted to save my health for Munich) so we headed back to our hostel/pub. There I drank tea while Dermot drank liters of beer as if they were pints. The bar tender informed us the next day that most normal drinkers try one for the experience. Not our Dermot. We ate weiner schnitzel again for breakfast, then went back to bed. German beer is unfiltered and therefore zehr headache inducing. After the nap, we headed up to the Schloss or Heidelberg's mega castle. It was ontop of a mountain overlooking the city. It was a tourist must, so we did, and it was nice. If I described the castle as looking very German, can you picture it? Cause, it looked really German. Stoic and to the point.
We walked around the side streets of Heidelberg to see what we could of the rest of it. We stopped for a while in the square to eat some pastry thing and feed the pigeons (they must not know the Goodfeathers family of Boston - an inside AWA joke). I got some great pictures of the cute little town, but since neither of us were drinking we headed back to our hostel early to get a good night's sleep for Munich.
We left Heidelberg in the freezing morning. Switzerland's impending weather was looming in our minds. Our train to Munich took us through the German countryside. Scattered little towns in between large, dark forested mountains. It was nice to be seeing some mountains after the incredibly flat Belgian countryside, it satisfies the whole aspect of "it's a journey, not a destination" thing.
Munich is massive. It's in the heart of Bavaria, and therefore is the heart of all things German. We planned to come to Munich for the Oktoberfest, but after having met people in Bruges who said they paid 35 EUR per person for a TENT, and that the beers are 4 EUR a pint, we panicked and re-routed our trip to specifically avoid the fest. And for good reason. The population of Munich is 1.6 million. For the Oktoberfest it swells to over 8 million. You can enjoy Munich without the madness of Oktoberfest, as we've found it's a vibrant, youthful city. We started off Munich with a super sloppy pub crawl. Free beer, free Jagermeister shots, litres of beer galore, and lots of pretzels to soak it all up. It was the best night we don't remember, hehe. Our second day here was recovery and a free walking tour. These free walking tours that we're going on are the best ways to see the city and hear it's stories. And Munich has stories. And very dark ones, at that. It's sickening to walk in the foot steps of Hitler. To see where he held his meetings, planned his plans, give his speeches, and hear how there were so many failed attempts to stop him. It's wildly frustrating and at the same time fascinating to think that this was all only two generations ago. Munich is coping with it's past, but it's hard for a first timer to see one discreet plaque on an unmarked wall memorializing Kristelnacht.
But I'll shut my mouth, or in this case, type very little, because it's not for me to pass such judgements. We went to Dachau Concentration camp today and I'm... speechless. There's too much emotion to paraphrase. Too much anger, misunderstanding, hatred, guilt, fear, in modern Germany's past. It has something to do with me because I'm a human being and I'm part of this world. I'm glad at the end of the day for memorials such as Dachau. Because there was so much human suffering there, it spared no one. I don't know what it's like to be a modern German. I wouldn't know how to cope with such a past. Is it a simple, discreet plaque that serves to remind those who take the time to look at it and reflect? Of course it is, as is Dachau. You can't turn Germany into a massive memorial. You have to move on, and as we heard today: to honor the dead we warn the living. I believe Germany is aware, and they can and are coping with it's past.
How to leave on a good note? Don't think I can. Dachau was real, and it will haunt me. But it will hopefully guide me.
New pictures are up. It's taken us 2 hours to upload only Antwerp and Bruges. Cologne, Heidelberg, and Munich will have to wait. Our hostel's happy hour is happening as we type this.
Interlaken, Switzerland is next. We have a 7.5 hour train ride through the alps at 8 a.m.
And on a wonderful sidenote:
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE EVER EXPANDING KUHN FAMILY!! Danny and Sara Kuhn and Kevin and Meghen Kuhn are both expecting little additions come 9 months from now. All the best!! Health and happiness to you all in the meantime!!! WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!
4 comments:
Hi, Abby and Dermot!! WOW! You guys are seeing the world. I'm sooo jealous. ADHD Joe is working on an Excel spreadsheet and you're drinking gallons of juicy beer!!! Take more pictures, especially the ones in the pubs drinking and laughing...while us poor shlucks back home here feel even worse about what we're doing : ) ! !
I love yuz guys!!!
The Goodfeathers get a reference! Maybe it is their German cousins, Herr Gutfetters? Miss you and hope that despite the darkness, that you have enjoyed the major German leg of the trip.
HaHa Bacon flavoured beer, I think even I'd struggle with dat one!
Da travel blogs a great idea, think theres a budding journalist in ya Abb? Herm ur gonna end up looking like Jim Morrison in his latter years da way things are progesing LOL,...Watch out for them Alp monkeys , crazy I tell ya!!...L8R
Thanks for the well-wishes.
Rauchbier is an acquired taste, that's for sure. Fortunately, I have acquired it. Basically, to make it, dry the malt over an open fire, and it gets all good and smokey.
I like your blog. Maybe when you get to the states you could get a job ghost-writing memoirs?
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