German Beer and Australians

Here is a brief conclusion of my trip to Italia.....

Eight days and 32 scoops of gelato later, it was time to say goodbye to Italia. I spent the last 3.5 days in Florence and Venice and enjoyed every minute of it. Florence is beauitful and it has the warmth of a small town combined with the great offerings of a big city. Venice is breathtaking and intriguing....the mere fact that it is a city in water makes you wonder how they have managed to function this way for so long! I kept thinking of the Italian Job while I was there.

As I mentioned before, I definitely like to reflect on my experiences in each country and think about my biggest takeaways. Italy taught me to indulge and enjoy every minute of life. Here are a few examples..

I bought a pair of yoga pants while I was in Venice. They were a bit long so I took them to a tailor shop a few blocks away from the store. I told the seamstress that I hated to rush her but I needed the pants in 4 hrs because I had a train to catch. I wasn´t too worried about asking her to hurry because I offered to pay double what she charged AND she wasn´t busy when I walked in. She said she couldn´t do it in time because it was time for her to have lunch and relax for the next 3 hours. I knew Spain had siesta but it turned out certain places in Italy did too. I offered her 30 Euros to do it for me. This was 3x times more than her rate but I didn´t care because I really needed the pants. I figured this offer would be a no brainer. She turned me down and said this was now HER time to enjoy life and that money can´t buy time. She wasn´t going to budge. End Result: I asked her for a pair of scissors and I cut the extra length off and we were both happy. She then told me to take the 30 Euros and use it to enjoy my life.

Another example...When people give directions in Italy, they are very vague because they don´t offer exact distance (miles, feet, zards, blocks, etc.) Instead they say something like, "Walk down for 4 minutes, turn right, then walk for another 6 minutes and turn left." I´m a fast walker so how do I know what pace these times are based on? I wanted to go to the Duermo in Florence and I knew it was somewhere near my hostel because I read it online. I asked the owner of my hostel for directions and he gave me the Minute by Minute directions so I followed them. He said 5 minutes down the street, turn left, and walk for 2 minutes and it will be on my left. I timed everything and I was nowhere near the Duermo. I walked back to the hostel and told the owner I was lost. He gently grabbed my hand and he started to take me to the Duermo himself. We walked out of the hostel and he pointed to his watch....It was 8:25am. We started walking, we stopped for an esspresso, he pointed to a few things in different stores that he liked, etc. We got to a corner and he pointed to his watch. 5 mins had passed so we then turned left like he had instructed me to. We started walking again and he is talking to me about his wife, his kids, etc and then we stop. He points to his watch. 2 mins had passed and we are now at the Duermo. He told me that I walk too fast and I need to slow down and see everzthing around me and take it all in. BTW, the Duermo was actually on the other side of my block. I had walked 12 blocks away during the first 5 mins which explains why I couldn´t find it. It only took me 43 seconds to walk back to my hostel after I finished up at the Duermo.

Grazie Italia for the great life lessons and all the delicious food!

GERMANY....I´ve been in Munich for the past 4 days and I can´t say enough great things about it. I´m sure everyone is really sick of hearing me say this because I say it so often but I really feel this way about everything I see. The funny thing is that I had no intention of coming to Germany because I didn´t know if I would have enough time. I planned to do Germany another time. Enter Paula and John Hunsche. They invited me over and showed me all their great pics of Munich and said that I had to go to. They were so enthusiastic about their past trip that I made it a MUST DO in Europe. Good thing I listened to them! I was suppossed to leave on the 5am train this morning to go to Amsterdam but I decided to take the overnight train tonight instead so that I can spend another day in Munich because I liked it so much. Thank you Hunsches!

I have mixed emotions when I talk about Munich because there are two different sides to this city. There is the dark side of Munich that served as the capital of the Nazis during WWII. I went to the Dachaus Cencentration Camp to learn about the grim and horrifying details. I walked away from the tour feeling sad, angry, and disturbed. It was such an eye opener for me to see what human beings are capable of doing. This tour was on my mind all day, and the next day, and even now. There were a few of us in the tour group that went out that night and we were still disucssing it and how it affects our lives today. I know I have 3.5 months left of my trip but I can already say that the Dachaus tour will be the most significant thing that I do.

The other side of Munich: Beer Capital of the World and the home of OctoberFest. I had no idea Munich owned the Beer Capital title because I always assumed it would be Ireland. I stand corrected now. I went to a beer hall/beer garden tour to learn about the significance of beer to the Bavarians and it is clearly evident that beer is the heart and soul of Munich. I enjoyed my German beer at the famous Hofbrauhaus and learned what a beer hall was. Please bear with me....I´m sure most people know what a beer hall is but this was my first time. I LOVE beer halls now. We need to introduce these to the U.S. Brad, let´s start working on this project for Chicago. After all, I will need a job so why don´t you open one up and hire me!

The main reason why I love beer halls is because it is a great way to meet people. You walk into a bar and all you see are rows and rows of wooden tables and wooden benches all around the room. These tables are long so many groups can sit at one table. You and your friends just have to find some open space and sit in between others. Everyone at the table is so friendly and so much fun and you basically spend the whole time talking, laughing, and of course drinking. Fun times!

When I was planning for this trip, my advanced backpackers and frequent traveling friends told me, "you are going to meet SOOOOO many people." I figured I would meet people but they kept on saying, "SOOOO many people." so I figured I would wait and see. They were right. When you have environments like beer halls and hostels, it´s almost impossible to not meet SOOOO many people. The people that I have met have been incredible. They are what makes this trip amazing. I´m the rookie everywhere I go so I love learning from these other travelers who are experienced. They are resourceful, quick on their feet, and always have a good answer for all of my questions.

Example...I lost my jacket at one of the bars in Munich. The weather in Munich has been perfect fall weather so I wasn´t too worried about not having it in Munich. I really needed it for Amsterdam because it´s in the 50s and low 60s. Unfortunately all the stores close on Sunday in Munich so I couldn´t get a jacket in time. Also, timing was a bit off too because my friend Risa was going to meet me in 5 days in Paris and she was planning on bringing me a jacket. A few Aussies heard of my situation and gave me a good resolution. They said, "Don´t stress and don´t go to Amsterdam just yet. Go to Sevilla or anywhere warm in Spain so that you won´t need a jacket. Then meet your friend Risa and get your jacket from her before you go to Amsterdam." Sounds like a plan to me! Fortunately, I found the jacket the next day so now I´m go to Amsterdam after Munich, just as I had planned.

AUSSIES...I love Australians. Australian guys are so cute and I love their accents. This guy Drew who I met a few nights ago is adorable. He is 25 years old...a little puppy. Nothing will happen between us. He is so sweet, funny, and adventurous. He has been in Munich for the same time as me and he tells me yesterday that he is going to the Consulate office to apply for a work Visa. He just made up his mind out of the blue and now wants to stick around here. He said if that didn´t work out he was going to apply to work as a bartender on the cruise ships so he can travel to more places. Again, so different from what I´m used to but I love hearing about these different paths that people take. Last night Drew and I were hanging out at the bar downstairs and I was just staring at him and suddenly I said, "I´m sorry but I keep on staring at you because you remind me of someone. That´s why I keep on studying your face." I´m such a loser. I´M STUDYING YOUR FACE??? What? Why would I say that I´m studying his face? I´m not some artist who needs to study a face before I start drawing. I´m a loser. He kindly responded with, "Okay, just let me know who I resemble!". I love him. Okay, time to eat my last Brat in Munich and enjoy my last 8 hours here. I´ll write from Amsterdam soon!