The Trip of A Lifetime to Southern Germany - Frankfurt and Munich

Day 2: "Frankfurt and Munich," June 25th, 2019
Frankfurt --> Munich

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Day 2

The first part of Germany I had the pleasure of experiencing was Frankfurt. My initial astonishment came from the hills: Prominent figures which display their bold composure for all the world to see, even observable from an airplane a few thousand feet in the air. Little have I seen which compares to the wonder that is the German landscape.

Anyway, we got to Frankfurt around 7:40 am (German time)(1:40am est). The plane was 40 minutes late, cutting a huge chunk of our two hours in layover. The German TSA and their security protocols (which included a pat down for me) made sure to eat the rest of that layover time. Boarding for our flight began at 8:45 am; at which point, a majority of our group had JUST arrived. 2 members weren't so lucky and only managed to get there a minute or two before take off (thanks to the Police's finding and arresting a fugitive within the airport. We arrived in Munich at around 10 am and proceeded to go to a market for an hour and a half of free time.

My first impression of Munich was a sense of marvel at the unique style of architecture. Within the newer sections of the city, I observed several interesting architectural concepts, a majority of which seemed to send from the 18th century's most prominent styles. However, on our way to the market, we stopped at the old court which can be observed as having a prominent Gothic style. This displays the great variety in architectural style within Munich. I also observed several incredible statues of likely notable figures from Munich's past sprinkled about the city.

For lunch, we split up at the Viktualien Markt. My friend and I browsed and bought a foreign fruit called the Leeche fruit, best described as a fleshy shelled grape, as well as some ripe strawberries (both of us have allergies and need to be careful about what we eat). I then stopped at a Caribbean themed market and bought Mexican Shrimp and raw Octopus. Octopus can be described as having an interesting taste. Its flavor was nothing to write home about (pun intended), but it wasn't God awful either. I did not finish it simply because I had a ton of shrimp, and the taste of Octopus wasn't special enough to incentivize finishing it. At first, I approached this trip with the idea of trying to eat as many foreign foods I could which I can't get (in abundance) at home as in order to better experience the culture.

We then walked around and visited the old court in the Marien Platz for a second (more thorough) time. We marveled for several minutes at the splendor of the Gothic building. After this, we walked to get a closer look at another older building (which we didn't know by name and didn't get close enough to because we ran out of time). I theorize that the bell towers utilized copper which has now oxidized over the centuries coloring them a similar color to the statue of liberty.

<--Gothic Cathedral
Copper Bell Tower Building-->

After this, we went back to the hotel to rest for an hour or so before dinner. During this time, I realized it was 9 am in West Chester and tried to call my parents from the hotel floor. My friend commented on the matter:

"Chris, I watched you completely crash today. I watched you try to call your parents for 10 minutes straight then pass out on the hotel's concrete floor when you learned that the phones can't do international calls."

After 20 minutes of napping on the concrete floor (and another 20 in the bed) we left for dinner. On the way to dinner we saw BMW's headquarters and museum out the window. I didn't get a chance to visit the museum during this trip though I wanted to.

For dinner, we went to a place called "Alter Mirt," and had salad, sausage and mashed potatoes, and apple strudel for dessert. Of course, I couldn't eat two thirds of that so I can't comment on this food. To avoid milk (I'm lactose intolerant) I had the vegan option. I enjoyed the potatoes.

On the way back from dinner, the broadcasting tower from the 1972 olympics could be seen. So, I snagged a picture. This is now a restaurant I believe.

By this point, we'd all been up for over 24 hours (with sprinkled cat naps here and there). We went back to the hotel exhausted and eager for the days to come.

My initial thoughts of Germany after 1 day in the country are that it is beautiful in every possible way. I looked forward to what was to come. Then, I closed my journal, and passed out (this time on a mattress).

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Conclusion

Hello everyone! Thanks for reading this second journal entry. Sorry it took so long to get up. While I was gone, a storm hit West Chester and knocked several trees in my yard down. I had to jump on that wood chopping grind today. Anyway, I hope you find these entries interesting. Please remember that feedback is always appreciated! See you in the next post!

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