Munich and Ice Skating

We arrived in Munich yesterday via the ICE train.  The train reached 230 kilometers per hour.  But we were really travelling at a million smiles per hour.  We had a great deal of fun on the train ride.  When we arrived in Munich the sun was shining.  It was interesting to see the differences between Munich and Berlin.  The architecture is very different than in Berlin.  In Berlin, there was new mixed with the old.  This provided an interesting contrast which reflects the personality of the city.  In Munich, however, there are much older buildings.  It seems that this reflects the personality of this city, there seems to be more traditional elements (especially in the food).

Today, we had an almost free day which allowed us to explore the city around our hotel.  We walked around and saw some beautiful churches.  We also saw the field where Oktoberfest is held every year in Munich.  There was an interesting dispenser that sold various health care items such as vitamins and tests.  This was interesting because they were all important things that one might need while at Oktoberfest enjoying some beer.

I also was able to try some Weiss Wurst which is a white sausage.  This is a traditional German dish that you eat with sweet mustard and soft pretzels.  It was delicious!  I also had some amazing pumpkin soup for lunch.  It was life changing!  Today, the food brought me closer to German culture.

A group of us went to the outdoor ice skating rink in the center of town.  This was an awesome experience because we were skating outside while it was snowing.  It was fun to watch all of the young school aged kids skate around on the ice.  They must have had a field trip this afternoon to the skating rink.  We also had some Gluhwein :)

I enjoyed our almost free day today, I feel like I really got to see some of Munich.  I cannot wait for the walking tour tomorrow.  We will get a chance to see more of Munich and understand the differences between the North and South of Germany.

Until then,

Prost!