So after a ridiculously fun week with Gracey (I MISS YOU!! But really. I got used to you being my roommate. Sorry Steph) we left for Munich! We took a bus Thursday night to some other city in Germany that was not Munich so we could go to the Neuschwanstein (gazuntite) Castle, which was the inspiration for the castle in Sleeping Beauty, which is one of the least well-known Disney movies. We were so dazed when we got there (p.s. no bathrooms on the bus! what?!) and went immediately to bed. Grace, Amy, and I shared a room and they put this other girl in the room with us so Grace took one for the team and shared the bed with her. It was weird that we did that, and Grace said that at times it felt a bit like Eunice from She’s the Man.
this is the only picture I can find of me near the castle, and you can barely see the castle, which is a little sad. but here it is!
We took the bus immediately to the castle in the morning where we proceeded to have a 20 minute hike that they did not warn us about to get there. Once we made it, we had to wait 20 minutes (in the rain) for a tour. Somehow someone started singing “Catch a Falling Star and Put it in your Pocket” and the next thing you know, Marissa, Grace, and I are legitimately singing in a 3-part harmony. It actually sounded good, but people were terrified. The castle was awesome. It kind of felt like Neverland Ranch though and there were a lot of swan motifs and operas scenes on the walls. Apparently it was built for his lover, Wagner, who the tourguide just described as his “friend”, which Amy would airquote whenever she said it.
After the castle we had our first meal: bratwurst (yum!) and snow balls. Snow balls are like zeppolis on steroids: fried dough with a slight pumpkin/cinnamon taste to them. They were absolutely incredible. I got powdered sugar all over me. We then got back on the bus and headed to Munich. We checked in and went straight to Springfest.
I love Springfest. I really do. It’s like a huge carnival and then they set up 3 tents (think huge beer halls with a stage and picnic tables) where they serve beer in HUGE jugs and food. I was there for 2 minutes before I saw everyone I’ve ever met, and it was perfect. I think it was a really nice end of the abroad experience trip. I got to see basically everyone from home, school, friends I made abroad, and friends of friends I’ve made abroad. It was so much fun. I want to call it Slope Day on steroids, but that too doesn’t do it justice. We ordered beer and danced on tables for hours. We got there at 5 and by 10:00 I realized I hadn’t eaten anything or even left the general area I was in. It was so much fun! The tents closed at 11 and then I got a candy apple, saw the rides, and we went home.
We woke up at 9, had a “hearty German breakfast” and then went on a 4 hour bike tour. THAT was a lot of fun. We really got a lot of history about Munich, which is really such a gorgeous city. Everyone kind of has this weird connection with Germany because of World War II, but it’s really a nice place and everyone I encountered was open about the history and frowned upon it, just as we do when we think of slavery in America. The tour was great, but I had my first injury of the trip. At one point we had to walk our bikes over this bridge that had cement walls on the side, and I listened. 
Everyone else kind of straddled/pedaled their bike but I physically got off of it and walked next to it until I realized I was the only one doing it. I went to get back on and kind of rode directly into the cement wall. It scratched and bruised my arm pretty badly. Obviously. On the tour we saw the Royal Palace, the street where Hitler attempted to march on in 1923, the palace gardens, and the English garden. It was all gorgeous
slide time live
After the bike tour we went back to Springfest, where I ate more than any human should. Here’s a brief list for prosperity: cotton candy, chocolate apples, candy apples, marzipan, ginger cookies, a 1.5 foot hot dog, chocolate covered strawberries. The list goes on. We also went on rides and walked around. It had the world’s longest portable slide! Did that! Then we went back to the tents. Around lunch time we went back to the hotel to “regame” and when we returned there was a bit of a line to get back into the tent. Bauer and I went to wait on it, and soon there was such a crowd behind us we really had no choice but to continue to wait because there was no way to get out. At this point my mind started to wander as I thought about all the movies I’ve been watching in my WWII class about the Germans…I was kind of worried they would shoot at the crowd (I know, that’s terrible and ignorant to think). Then I heard a loud crash.
Someone from inside the tent punched out the window that was directly on top of my head. The glass landed on me (a pane slapped me on the cheek) and the girl next to me, who actually got pretty badly hurt and her arm was entirely cut up. The bouncer whisked her inside and a security guard came to the door to prevent anyone else from getting in. That’s when I noticed my hand was gushing blood. The cut was small (embarrassingly tiny) but there was actually A LOT of blood for such a tiny cut. It was kind of deceiving. They had the entrance blocked so I did what any dramatic human would do: I brought on the tears. I can fake cry pretty well. I put on an oscar-worthy performance and just started crying. The guard laughed at me a little bit even though I was gushing and then let me in, but not Bauer. She was very upset and I kept trying to get her in but they just were pushing back at the crowds. It was terrifying. This girl helped me clean my hand with purell and check for glass and then they finally let Bauer in. It was traumatizing.
The rest of the night went smoothly. We continued our strict regimen of dancing on picnic tables and hugging everyone we’ve ever met in our lives until the tent closed and then we went on rides. Our first ride was bumper cars. Bad idea. We couldn’t find the seat belt and Amy couldn’t figure out how to get it out of reverse. People just kept banging into us and at one point I was literally projectiled out and I got whiplash. I now have two bruises the size of my hand on my thigh/butt. We then went back to go to sleep. Grace left at 5 in the morning and at 9:30 we went to go to Dachau.
It feels weird putting Dachau in this post with Springfest and Zim’s 21st birthday and me feeling like I was in a 72-hour spin cycle from all of my injuries. We took a train and then a bus, which was stuffed to CAPACITY, standing-room only. I found that really weird that they wouldn’t have more buses. Like they were really trying to create an authentic experience for us (I promise I don’t have that many jokes about this.)
The concentration camp was haunting and terrible and scary and miserable. I couldn’t fathom how with every single step I took, SO MANY PEOPLE probably died in my footprints. This was one of the concentration camps I’ve spent my whole life learning about. It’s hard to grasp the reality of the situation, of how the terrible things they did actually happened to actual people, and how many people were crammed into such a dark, dreary place. I couldn’t go into the Bunker to learn about all of the rooms of torture they had, so I waited outside- I just couldn’t handle being in a tiny space with that much terrible energy. There was a creepy crow who landed right next to me as I waited outside. Is there a law that only really creepy animals could inhabit this area, because it seems fitting.
Dachau was also one of the locations of the many human “research” that took place, and that was miserable to hear about. It also had a gas chamber, which I also couldn’t get myself to walk through- I exited the building and went in again through the exit to re-meet everyone. It was just a god-awful place to be and I just had this terrible fog surrounding me and it was really hard to take in.
So how would I describe this weekend? It was amazing, it was physically taxing, it was emotionally taxing, and it was so much fun. I had a hard time integrating all the different parts into one trip- but as someone said: I guess that’s just life. I’m so glad i did it.
Happy 21st Baby Zimz!!!
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