Trip to Munich, Part I

So our trip to Munich (as you can probably tell from the title) was quite successful and absolutely wonderful!! Because it was such a long trip, and because I'm long-winded, I'm going to break it into sections. So I'll have this post about Munich in general and food (always food!), then our trip to Dachau, then our castle excursion, each in its own posts. Maybe Chris can even coordinate the pictures with the posts, how cool would THAT be!

So, Munich. My new favorite city. I want to live there. I want to be German. It really is a fantastic place. First, let me wax on about our hotel, then I'll move on to their food.

The hotel couldn't have been more different from Pamukkale if it had tried! We arrived to a quiet, discreetly decorated lobby 5 hours before check-in. I asked the kind, ENGLISH-SPEAKING front desk clerk if there was a place to store our bags, since I knew it was before check in. He winked and said he was pretty sure they could accomodate us right away. Sure enough, 5 minutes later we had our room key and were headed to get some much-needed sleep! (Our plane had flown at 7AM, so we'd been up since 3:45AM.) Later, when Alis called, she said the front desk had been hesitant to put her through because they knew we were sleeping! How kind and wonderful is that?! The room was absolutely beautiful, complete with HEAT and...wait for it... HOT WATER! whoo hoo! (They even had a radiant heater in the bathroom, with towels draped over it for heated towels!) And not a mosquito in sight! Beer and wine glasses were provided, in addition to feather pillows, comfortable beds, and a balcony. We were in heaven.

Now, for food. Ahh, the food. I think I ate more sausage than in the past 5 years, no kidding. I was craving something new, and Germany had it! So, first, on Friday, the Christmas markets in Munich opened, which means really yummy food stalls with reasonably cheap food. (I say reasonably because nothing was cheap in Munich, sadly enough.) So right away, Chris and I bought fresh bratwursts while we waited to meet up with our friends. I really was in heaven then! They were hot, greasy, and absolutely not Turkish! We met our friends and they showed us the glüwein stalls, which is mulled wine (hot wine spiced with cinnamon, cloves, and other deliciousness). Alis, the friend we had flown with over there, introduced us to her boyfriend, who is a history major in Munich. He took us all over the city center explaining the various buildings and their history, as well as the sections of the markets and all that we could get there. It was such a festive and fun evening! After they left for dinner, Chris and I ate at Hofbräuhaus, one of the most famous beer places in Germany. I had the best saurkraut ever! Slightly sweet, very sour, with cloves. Accompanied with sausage, of course. And fresh pretzels. OMG. Chris had pork with cracklings, potato dumplings (those were a bit weird, spongy and not all at like we thought they'd be), and we split au gratin potatoes. An absolutely wonderful meal!
The next morning we were headed to Dachau, and needed breakfast before going, so we went back to Marienplatz (pronounced mar'eenplots), the city center, to hunt down a restaurant. We found one serving the traditional Bavarian breakfast of, you guessed it, sausage and beer! WHOO HOO! The sausages were veal with herbs, the beer was amazing (you know that's good coming from me!), and the prezels were good as well. I also had a really spectacular cappuchino. Afterwards we went out and grabbed a mulled wine and some candied peanuts before getting on the train to Dachau. (Seriously, this was an eating trip!)
When we got back from Dachau, we stopped at the city center again and grabbed another bratwurst and some more mulled wine for supper. (Are you sensing a pattern here? :D ) Then we went shopping for Chris for some shirts so he could have more than 2. Luckily, Bavarian men are tall too, so we found some, and bought 4. So yay for new clothes! I also bought a Christmas ornament (you know me, I love Christmas time!) that is handmade and gorgeous. We were going to get crepes but someone (i.e. me) was cranky and tired, and just wanted to get back to the hotel. So we went, laid down and relaxed for a bit, and then went downstairs to the Italian place where we got pizza and (guess what) beer. The restaurant was run by Italians, and was really quite good!
Sunday morning- breakfast is the same as the previous morning, because it was so delicious and we hadn't had enough. It's just so weird to be drinking at 10:30AM (and on a Sunday!), looking around, and realizing that everyone else is drinking beer too! The Bavarians know how to do mornings right! I could probably learn not to hate getting up if I got to get up to that every morning... We snagged some deep-fried apple slices and mulled wine for dessert too, before beginning our journey to the castles.
While we were in Füssen we had supper, which was a plate of various thinly-sliced hams for Chris, and another breakfast for me. We also had lots of beer and mulled wine. Although we still planned at that point to get back to Marienplatz in time to try crepes and more sausages, we didn't end up having time. (See the castle post for more on that.)

Monday morning we didn't have time for breakfast, so I was sad. :( However, we COULD have had one last beer in the airport, they were selling it to go with breakfast. I love Germany. :D
Before I wrap this up, I also just need to add that the train system was awesome! Complete with *gasp* timetables, schedules, and MAPS! It blew our minds! Also, so many Germans speak perfect English that we had no trouble getting around. I loved it. When we got directions from the DHL driver to our hotel (apparently it's only in the US that DHL doesn't exist anymore), it was in perfect English with landmarks and specific instructions.
Germany was so clean, so well organized, and so relaxing, Chris and I both agreed that it was nice to back in a country so close to what we're used to in the US. If I'm honest, I am having a hard time being back in Turkey right now. One can't help but make comparisons, and other than Germany being colder and more expensive, Turkey doesn't come out looking well. I wonder if Germany is hiring...