Germany

Wow, the frequency of my recent posts is alarming! Even to me!! But I want to keep this blog updated while stuff is still fresh in my mind.
So Hauptbanhof........ it mean train station, or the place shannon and me have been spending a lot of time in the past couple days. We came to Munich on friday and checked into a middle of the road hostel. 40 bed mixed dorm room for 19 euros a night, met some cool people, some not so cool ones, you know how that goes! Anyways we have spent 3 nights there and are sleeping there again tonight, so it feels a bit like a home now. On saturday morning we went to Dachau concentration camp. What a place! To actually see the place and walk where the prisoners walked and walk through the crematorium building was quite a experience. We ended up spending 4.5 hours there, so much to see and read and learn. Very sad. Quite unbelievable what the prisoners had to go through.
Later that day we stumbled upon a summer festival at the Olympic park complete with rides and carnival food, and a live band, and beer gardens with the servers in traditional costumes - ledrhison I think its called. Funny. We made our way to the Olympic Village where the 1972 Olympic massacre happened. I took a course in university and we spent a lot of time learning about it, so it was great to see the park with my own eyes.
The next day we went to Berteshgarten (sp?) which was a three hour train ride one way to go to the top of a mountain in an elevator shaft to see Hitlers fortress which was a gift to him on his 50th birthday from the SS. It was pretty cool and a beautiful day, we could see the whole mountain range. But my time is being cut short again because of the expensive internet. Till next time......

Hi!
Just bought some minutes here at an internet cafe in Fussen in Bavaria, so thought I would update on the happenings of the last couple days. Staying with Shannons friends Ester and Jens and their baby Julian was great, they were so hospitable and just happy to have us (I think). They had a lot organized for us and we got to a lot of places we probably couldnt have seen without spending tones of money and time on the train. We drove down to South Germany to stay with Esters parents at their place in the Black Forest which was so beautiful. The thing that really struck me about all the cities and towns we were in was how each little street was so unique and pretty. All winding cobblestone streets with tall buildings with all sorts of colorful flowers on the windowsills. Lots of outdoor cafes....... Just a really beautiful holiday spot in my opinion.
We had lots of funny moments with the family, like how Shannon and I cannot say Goeten Naacht (sp?) which means "good night", the closest we come is saying "good nude". This German language is difficult!! But we ate a lot of German food like Schnitzl (sp?) and Bratwurst (sp?). At breakfast time they put out like Sandwich meat and cheese and rolls and everything.... its funnny.
We left the Kriekenbaums yesterday morning and took a train to Fussen. It was a 6 hour ride but there were 2 changes enroute so it didnt feel that bad. When we got to fussen we had a bad experience finding a place to stay. We went to tourist info to get a list of available hostels and we chose the cheapest one and set out to find it with our packs on our back. An hour later we found our place and rang the doorbell......nobody home. It was getting dark and starting to rain at this point and we hadnt eaten since breakfast. We set our packs down and mulled over our choices then just started ringing the doorbell out of tiredness and frustration and a woman answered!!!! We were a little surprised but more greatful than anything. Till she said she had no rooms to rent despite the rooms available sign in her window and the info from the tourist place. Packs back on....... A hour and a half later we made it to another place and thank the Lord they had room or we would have been sleeping in the train station! So this morning we got up early and went to the most beautiful castle I have ever seen or imagined. Neuchveninstein, it is right in the Alps, so high up that the clouds actually surround it. It is amazing. I would elaborate but I am going to run out of time on this computer. We are off to Munich in an hour, tomorrow will see Dachow(sp?) a concentration camp and Hitlers eagles Nest. Bye!

Hallo (German greeting),
Ahh, so much to say, so little time! Flew into Frankfurt on saturday and go picked up and taken to Neinleganan sp? to the home of the Krighleibaums sp?. Since then have been to a wine festival; Strasborg, France ; Heidlburg ; Europa park (europes disneyland) ; and Friburg. Right now we are in the town of Walwadt sp? which is right near the black forest, staying at the home of Esters parents where we have been eating and drinking like queens and marvelling at these fancy germans. But tomorrow we must part ways, and Shannon and I will learn what it is like to be on our own in a foreign non english speaking land!
Tomorrow we take a train to Fussen where we will spend the night at a cheap hostel and travelling to see the castels in the morning. The one castle in particular we are interested in is the one that Walt Disney modelled Cinderellas castle after. It is the number one tourist thing in Germany, so may be crowded but should be worth it. Not looking forward to the 6 hour train ride to get there however.
It is very beautiful here, lots of trees and mountains. The weather has been hot which I very much welcome after rainy old england! You should see the house we are staying in right now...... Gigantic and fancy!!!! Me and shannon are sleeping in the loft and it is just like in the movie Heidi, how you open the huge windows in the morning and the beautiful mountains and trees are close enough to touch and the cathedral tops from the nearest city are just visible. It really is gorgeous. But its late and I got to go and get organized for tomorrow. Hopefully we will soon find an internet cafe so I can spend some time and fill you in on some of the details.
Ciao (Germans say that)