Rockin´ around Germany
As I sit here in a smokey internet cafe in Munich I´m trying to sum up my thoughts about Germany so far. Firstly and most obviously the ´z´and ´y´ keys are swapped on the keyboard which is slowing this process down greatlz ;)
Secondly the countryside is just beautiful; rolling green hills, forrests of every hue of green and cultivated fields alternating between light brown ploughed rows, green crops and bright yellow fields of rapeseed. We have travelled by train from Frankfurt to Stuttgart to Munich and enjoyed every moment.
Everyone has been really friendly and helpful which has made our journey so far that much easier and in many respects the contrast with India could not be greater. On our first day Frankfurt I was absolutely struck by how clean the streets were; how clean the air was; how few people there were; how peaceful it was to not be accosted by auto-rickshaw drivers and others; and lastly how much cooler it was than Delhi.
Frankfurt is really nice if not a tourist destination. Stuttgart, where I had a business meeting has a few more sights and its picturesque location in a valley rimmed by hills on all sides is on full show from the incredible youth hostel. Stuttgart´s youth hostel is quite simply amazing - stunning location matched with recently refurbished rooms (we were in a "dormitory" of just two beds with its own ensuite) and a 5 star hotel style four storey glass elevator entry.
Munich is the number one tourist destintion in Germany and it shows; a short trip to Marienplatz in the city´s centre today left us battling crowds even as we took some happy snaps and grabbed a sausage on a roll (yum!). We also visited the Nazi concentraction camp at Dachau today which was the original concentration camp upon which all the other Nazi camps were modelled; truly a sobering reminder of very recent history.
Tomorrow is more sight seeing with us safe in the knowledge that the first of our Eurail trips are booked. Over the next few weeks we´re training it overnight to Berlin which should see us safely out of Germany before the Football World Cup hysteria completely takes control. Then on to Paris followed by Barcelona and Nice. After that we´re planning to take in Italy in a more leisurely style.
We´ve had some great luck finding that one of our room mates here in Munich is an Aussie girl, Paige, who we´ve enjoyed meeting and hanging out with. Her family lives in Brisbane, she lives in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, and of all things, she´s a dragon boat racer. What a small world! Paige is also heading to Berlin next (we´re sending her up as an advanced scouting party tomorrow) so we´ll all get a chance to cruise around the German capital together.
Some observations about Germany:
* I politely try to remember to always ask someone I approach if they speak English instead of just assuming that they will and the response is universal, "a little." In fact everyone seems to be almost fluent so perhaps this is just an example of German modesty. Almost all tourist oriented signs have both German and English anyway so its super easy to get around.
* Where was the famed German efficiency as we entered the EU though?! Having flown from India where we had walked around rural areas no doubt infected with some pretty nasty agricultural pests and diseases, there was no customs or quarantine when we entered the EU. Just a 10 second stamping of each of our passports and we were free to wander off without even being asked where we had travelled from, either verbally or by form. Hopefully a four hour layover in Heathrow dislodged the suspect soil from our shoes sufficiently that we won´t cripple the local farming industry.
* Similar to the Czech Replublic, you can buy beer just about anywhere. I just wish our beer budget was a bit higher :)
Now I´m off to rustle up some coins for the beer vending machine in the lobby of our hostel...
DM
Secondly the countryside is just beautiful; rolling green hills, forrests of every hue of green and cultivated fields alternating between light brown ploughed rows, green crops and bright yellow fields of rapeseed. We have travelled by train from Frankfurt to Stuttgart to Munich and enjoyed every moment.
Everyone has been really friendly and helpful which has made our journey so far that much easier and in many respects the contrast with India could not be greater. On our first day Frankfurt I was absolutely struck by how clean the streets were; how clean the air was; how few people there were; how peaceful it was to not be accosted by auto-rickshaw drivers and others; and lastly how much cooler it was than Delhi.
Frankfurt is really nice if not a tourist destination. Stuttgart, where I had a business meeting has a few more sights and its picturesque location in a valley rimmed by hills on all sides is on full show from the incredible youth hostel. Stuttgart´s youth hostel is quite simply amazing - stunning location matched with recently refurbished rooms (we were in a "dormitory" of just two beds with its own ensuite) and a 5 star hotel style four storey glass elevator entry.
Munich is the number one tourist destintion in Germany and it shows; a short trip to Marienplatz in the city´s centre today left us battling crowds even as we took some happy snaps and grabbed a sausage on a roll (yum!). We also visited the Nazi concentraction camp at Dachau today which was the original concentration camp upon which all the other Nazi camps were modelled; truly a sobering reminder of very recent history.
Tomorrow is more sight seeing with us safe in the knowledge that the first of our Eurail trips are booked. Over the next few weeks we´re training it overnight to Berlin which should see us safely out of Germany before the Football World Cup hysteria completely takes control. Then on to Paris followed by Barcelona and Nice. After that we´re planning to take in Italy in a more leisurely style.
We´ve had some great luck finding that one of our room mates here in Munich is an Aussie girl, Paige, who we´ve enjoyed meeting and hanging out with. Her family lives in Brisbane, she lives in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, and of all things, she´s a dragon boat racer. What a small world! Paige is also heading to Berlin next (we´re sending her up as an advanced scouting party tomorrow) so we´ll all get a chance to cruise around the German capital together.
Some observations about Germany:
* I politely try to remember to always ask someone I approach if they speak English instead of just assuming that they will and the response is universal, "a little." In fact everyone seems to be almost fluent so perhaps this is just an example of German modesty. Almost all tourist oriented signs have both German and English anyway so its super easy to get around.
* Where was the famed German efficiency as we entered the EU though?! Having flown from India where we had walked around rural areas no doubt infected with some pretty nasty agricultural pests and diseases, there was no customs or quarantine when we entered the EU. Just a 10 second stamping of each of our passports and we were free to wander off without even being asked where we had travelled from, either verbally or by form. Hopefully a four hour layover in Heathrow dislodged the suspect soil from our shoes sufficiently that we won´t cripple the local farming industry.
* Similar to the Czech Replublic, you can buy beer just about anywhere. I just wish our beer budget was a bit higher :)
Now I´m off to rustle up some coins for the beer vending machine in the lobby of our hostel...
DM
posted by Leden at
12:57 am
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