German Beer

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On route from Prague to Heidelberg, I spent a night on a train and a day in Munich. On the train I met a couple from the states who I ended up running into later in the day in Munich. We decided to meet again in the afternoon at the Haufbrahouse (I don`t know if the spelling is right), a giant, old school German, beer consuming, establishment. They serve beer by the litre, the servers are all decked out in typical German outfits, and there`s even a band taking requests - just a great atmosphere. I could have spent the whole day there, but by 2:00, I had a train to catch in an hour and a half. So what do we do? We take a subway across the city so that I can experience one of Munich`s famous beer gardens. By the time I got there, I had just enough time to pound my beer (literally 3 or 4 minutes), and run the entire way back to the train station. I made my train with 3 minutes to spare. In retrospect, it probably wasn`t the smartest idea, considering I didn`t even need another beer, but it all worked out in the end.

Munich wasn`t all beer drinking though. I went to this incredible science and technology museum (I`m such a nerd). They had some of the most interesting displays and I could have spent three days there, enthralled the entire time. They had this great aerospace section complete with turbine engines, helicopters, a V2 rocket, planes, and even a section from a 747. So cool!! (such a nerd!!)

I met Dave in Heidelberg and I can`t explain how nice it was to have some company. It`s really easy to meet people at night in the hostels, but very difficult to find someone who wants to see the same things as you on the same day you want to. So company was much appreciated. Dave also gave me a place to sleep, free of charge, which helps the beaten pocket book. He took me to the famous castle in Heidelberg, and we went to the top of a small mountain where we grabbed a bite to eat. Dave and his girlfriend Claudia also took me to a "typical" German restaurant for dinner which was delicious. I had a dish called Schnitzel with a yummy mushroom sauce. It was a orders of magnitude better than the loaf of bread for dinner I`ve become accustomed to!!