Munich, Germany & Zurich, Switzerland – Hofbräuhaus, Dachau, and Brats

Following Salzburg we took a quick train to Munich Germany. With a short visit in Munich we quickly dropped off our luggage at the hotel and headed to Dachau.

Dachau was the first concentration camp during WW2. A work camp that nearly turned into a death camp. It was liberated before any of the gas chambers and ovens were put to use. We did not take photos while visiting, but if you ever visit Europe and will be near a concentration camp, we highly suggest visiting.

After Dachau we wondered the streets of Munich looking for dinner. Very difficult. Everything at the center is very overpriced and slightly touristy. We settled on a place that was fairly priced and served giant, crispy, juicy, pork knuckle. Yum. The pork knuckle was probably the size of a small cantelope. Situated right next to two Q-ball size potato dumplings. Sadly for M he ordered sausages, thinking it would be a greasy buffet of pork stuffed into synthetic casing. Turns out it was just a few baby breakfast sausages.

After dinner we visited the Hofbrauhaus. I discovered the Hofbrauhaus while I was studying abroad a couple years ago. It is exactly everything you would hope for when visiting Germany. The building is one of the oldest beer halls in Bavaria and became popular after WW2 when soldiers would bring back the famous HB mugs. The large hall has traditional Bavarian art painted all over the walls, live music welcoming you as you enter, and the best tables reserved for large burly men wearing lederhosen and sporting full white beards. Women wearing the traditional Bavarian outfit walk around selling pretzels and serving beers. This is also where Hitler gave a speech and realized he may have a knack for politics.

The night ended with Gelato.

The next day we woke up early and picked up some Hop On / Hop Off tickets. Our first stop, the Munich palace. Beautiful and similar to Versailles, it had large gardens, sparkling ponds, and wonderfully made statues.

We got back on the bus and drove around taking photos and learning about the different famous spots of Munich. One of which being the BMW headquarters. The three of us eventually ended up in the center of town for lunch, a few quick sandwiches then wondered around the town. Ending our walk with some gelato and a little relaxation at our hotel.

Since we enjoyed the Hofbrauhaus house so much we decided to revisit the second night. We filled out table with schnitzel, sausages, pretzels, and massive beers. We drank, sang songs, and talked for hours. Then on our way out I bought M his very own HB mug.

Then we got more gelato.

The next morning was an early one. We boarded a 6:15 AM train for Zurich Switzerland. A last minute stop for my cousin giving her an additional country visit on her trip. Four hours later we arrived.

Unfortunately for us it was a Sunday, holiday, and there were protests going on. Which made it very difficult to find a restaurant. O Europe. M ended up finding a sausage restaurant called Sternen Grill that satisfied our hunger.

We ate amazing brats, really spicy mustard, odd potato salad with a slice of bread. We still had a long journey until we got home so we stopped by Starbucks. $8 for a Grande Iced Coffee. Switzerland is very expensive.