Dear Germany,
Danke Schoen. Thank you for all the joy and pain. And when I say pain it’s mostly just the blisters that I feel. I know they will make me remember how walking over 40 miles in the last four days (including one poorly thought out hike up a mountain in sandals)
led me to new adventures, explorations and some well needed time by myself. I think I will continue to have some pain tomorrow when I wake up and there are no pretzels waiting for me in my hotel lobby…it’s pretty much been a carb on carb crime scene every morning. But enough about the pain, let’s talk about the joy!
I was lucky that during my last two days in Germany I got to see both more of the hidden gems of Munich, but also the beautiful countryside of Southern Bavaria. Hidden inside Munich’s English Garden, I found surfers queuing up to catch the waves that occur from all the rivers converging at one spot. I was fascinated by not only the sheer amazingness of nature, but also the boldness of these surfers. With every sharp turn, I envisioned one of them knocking their heads on the riverbank. Thankfully my awe of them was not sullied by this happening
. Later, when I was exploring more of the shops in Munich, I came to the noticing that German businessmen on their lunch hour all seemed to be wearing the same thing. I have not seen the dress blue suit, white oxford and no tie ever done quite this well. While visiting one of the dress shops, I learned all about the dirndl and how much you can learn about someone just by where their bow is tied. Left- single and ready to mingle, Right-taken, look but don’t touch, Middle- Like Mary herself, and when tied in back you’re a widow…or a waitress so tread lightly on that one I guess.
My last full day in Germany, I had the opportunity to travel south to the towns of Schwangau, Oberammergau and Ettal. Two of these towns led me to castles you could only imagine in fairy tales, or Disney’s Sleeping Beauty and the other to quaint and quiet homes with fairy tales painted on them. The day started with a vigorous and ill shoe equipped hike up to King Ludwig II’s Neuschwanstein Castle.
He began building his dream castle in 1868 and to this day some 150 years later it is still not complete. In Oberammergau, I didn’t just see charming homes nestled in the Alps
, but I also learned about a 380 year-old tradition of the Passion Play put on by this small town’s 5,000 inhabitants. The play was first performed in 1634 after the towns people made a pact or a promise with god that if they were spared further from the bubonic plague (brought to their town by some unsuspecting traveler at Christmas time) they would perform the Passion Play every ten years. Legend has it, that after that vow no more plague and the play has continued since. My last stop was at the first of King Ludwig’s creations, Schloss Linderhof. 
This was the only castle that King Ludwig got to see completed before his untimely death at the age of 40. My one regret from my trip was that I didn’t stay a few nights in Southern Bavaria to soak in some of the culture and charm.
In wrapping up I have some questions or I guess observations from my trip.
- What is the deal with Germans and Phil Collins? I mean I heard that David Hasselhoff was big here, but everywhere I went was playing Phil
- Are the DHL uniforms coincidently German colors or is that intentional?
- Do people ever really figure out where they are going in the Englisher Garten?
- And what in the world do you put in your pretzels to make them so GD good?
I started with a thank you and will end with the same, Danke Schoen. I’ve always dreamed I’d come to Germany and even if it wasn’t in the fairy tale fashion I had dreamt of, I’m am so glad I finally made it.
You are having the time of your life. I hope your feet feel better today. Love you mom & dad