Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Dublin and Munich down, Strasbourg, Brussels, and Amsterdam to come!

Hello all!
I said I would not write any blogs for a while, but we have a long while to wait for our night train and not too much on the agenda. So, a quick update!
We arrived in Dublin in the late afternoon on Saturday and it was already starting to get dark. We did not do too much, just saw a bit of the Trinity College. I loved the atmosphere though, and definitely want to return to Ireland in the Spring. We walked around in our big group for a while and got some tasty fish and chips from the oldest chipery in Ireland. They were delicious! Then we went back to our respective hostels to hang out for a bit before we went out. It was my friend´s 20th birthday, so we celebrated a bit in Dublin! Our hostel was right next to the famous Temple Bar, so that is where we went. It was the single most crowded bar that I have ever been in, but it was really fun and we met a lot of really nice people. I even learned how to say "my name is Nicole" in Gaelic. Ask me sometime!
We didn´t stay out too late since we had an early flight to Munich the next morning...
After a 2.5 hr flight and 1.5 hr bus ride, we arrived in Munich and found our hostel. It is pretty much the greatest hostel I have ever been in! There is a lounge area, a bar, the best breakfast, huge clean rooms, and really great people! We met a couple Canadian girls, some Americans, and an Australian girl. The first night we just walked around the Christmas markets. They were so gorgeous!!! It is hard to understand how Christmas is taken to the next level without being here... it is not nearly as commercialized in the same way, but there are shops everywhere selling cute little trinkets, delicious food, warm drinks... so nice! And there are lights everywhere and carolers. It was magical! We also ate a traditional Bavarian meal at this wonderful restaurant. Delicious.
Yesterday, we just did a walking tour of the city and saw a lot of beautiful churches, buildings, and parks. We even saw a surfer on this huge wave in the English Gardens. So crazy! In the evening, we went with our Australian friend back to the German restaurant but this time we went to the Beer Hall area. We all got a beer and sat around a chatted. We also ordered this dessert on the recommendation of the waitress, which was a giant pancake with blueberries, ice cream, and whipped cream. It was so good! And the man at the other end of our table, who we never even talked to, left before us and the waitress came over and told us that he had paid for our drinks and that he wanted it to be anonymous. How kind! It was a great evening with great conversation and company.
Anyways, my internet time is running out so I have to dash. I will post about our trip to the Dachau concentration camp that we saw today later. We are off on a night train adventure to Strasbourg tonight! Hopefully we sleep well!

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