On Friday morning, we woke up at 4 am for our 7 am flight. The metro doesn’t open until 6 am so we took an Uber. Once at the airport, we got through security quickly and boarded the plane.
I ended up getting an emergency exit seat, which meant more leg room! After the flight, we took an hour-long metro ride into the city center.
TikTok has been a lifesaver while I’ve been abroad because I watch videos that recommend good places to visit and eat in the city I’m traveling to. So, TikTok recommended Luffy Pancakes for breakfast and it was everything I could've asked for. I can't tell you the last time I ate a berry.
After, we walked to the Viktualienmarkt which is a market located near Marienplaz, also known as Old Town. It had a bunch of cute shops and restaurants to choose from. I was able to find a postcard while I was there.
Nearby, there were other big attractions to see. First, we went to a cathedral called Heilig Geist. This cathedral might be a top contender for the prettiest ceiling. Bonus points for it being pink!
Next, we walked through the Marienplaz where the Neues Rathaus was. At the time, they were setting up a festival so balloons and confetti were everywhere.
Nearby were the Frauenkirche and the Theatine Church, so we walked over to take pictures of them after.
They both were so big I could barely fit them in the photo.
We walked through the Hofgarten before going back to the market to get some authentic German cuisine. PJ Campbell’s Depot would be so proud. It was a delicious spread: Bratwurst, Aperol Spritz (I hate beer), and a pretzel (Depot’s is a million times better).
After, we just wandered around the city for a while before going to Enighschen Garten. Even though it was cold, dogs and people were everywhere.
We stumbled upon this adorable shack called Milchhäusl and they had drinks. How could we say no? I got another spritz (Once again, I hate beer), and Sophia and I sat and talked for a bit.
We were both exhausted at this point and went back to the hostel to relax. All we wanted to do was go to bed so we picked the closest restaurant we could find to get dinner. Now, I know what you’re already thinking, and to be honest, I don’t want to hear it. So, I’m just going to leave this photo here.
The next morning, we were revived and ready for our day trip to Salzburg! We started our morning by getting breakfast at the Coffee Fellows. It had a super cute environment and it had iced coffee, always a win. Downside, I bought sparkling water instead of still water so I had to buy another one.
The train station was across the street from the coffee shop, so, we walked over there after. Now, I would say I’m a pretty good traveler when it comes to airports but do not ask me anything about train stations. They give me the most unnecessary anxiety. I think Sophia was annoyed with me by the time we got on the train. I thought we were on the wrong train so we got off, then realized it was the right train all along, and got back on. Oopsies! Nonetheless, the train ride was beautiful and the farther we went, the more mountains we saw!
We got into Salzburg around 11:30 am and our Sound of Music tour was at 2:00 pm so we had some time to kill. We didn't have anything specific to see so we just wandered around the city and found a lock bridge!
After, we got burgers for lunch and walked around more. We met up with our tour guide at 2 pm to start the tour. This tour was so much fun! We met a girl named Brigid, from the US doing a solo trip. Turns out, she’s also a nursing major! During the tour, we got to see some of the iconic places the movie was filmed. The first stop on the tour, was the Mirabell Gardens where “Do-Re-Mi” was filmed.
Next, we took a bus to Schloss Leopoldskron which is where all of the scenes from the back of the house were filmed. For example, when the Von Trapp children fall into the lake when they first meet the Baroness.
After, we drove past the front of the Von Trapp House. It’s called the Schloss Frohnburg and I wish we would’ve stopped to see it. At least I got a picture!
We drove more before seeing the gazebo where Ralph and Liesl sing “Sixteen Going On Seventeen”. It was in the middle of an adorable park and I think the film donated it to the park after filming.
Next, we saw the Abbey where the nuns and Maria started at the beginning of the movie. We didn’t get to go inside, but it was still cool to see from afar.
We then drove a little outside of Salzburg to a city called Mondsee and took a quick photo spot.
Look at how stunning!
Also, shoutout to Brigid for snapping these pictures of Soph and I.
In Mondsee, there was Basilika St. Michael which is where Maria and the Captain get married.
It was beyond beautiful inside (also a top contender).
We had little under an hour to explore the city so we went to a restaurant to get a sweet treat. I got tiramisu and it was so good!
We met up with the tour guide after and drove back to Salzburg. We stopped at a grocery store to get a soda before training back in Munich and going to bed. On Sunday morning, we scheduled a tour with Radius Tours, to visit Dachau, the concentration camp. I’ve always been interested in the history of the Holocaust and have had to go to a concentration camp on my bucket list. Before that, we stopped and got breakfast at the Coffee Fellow again before taking a 30-minute train ride to Dachau.
We got to the gates to go inside and on the door, it said, “Arbeit Macht Fret”, which translates to English as, “Work Sets Free”. The guide told us it was a play on words and was used to give the prisoners false hope.
Some other things I learned about Dachau:
- It was one of the first and longest-running concentration camps and was the "prototype" for how a lot of the other well-known concentration camps would later operate.
- It was only a male camp.
- The main cause of the death was disease and starvation.
- All except 2 of the buildings in the camp were the original framework.
- It was estimated that 40,000+ documented deaths occurred in Dachau between the years of 1933-1945.
All I can say is wow. I don't think there is any way to put it into words. The fact that we were walking the paths of so many victims who died was insane.
We walked through the museum, the courtyard area, and monuments dedicated to the main religions affected by the Holocaust.
The tour ended with seeing the gas chambers that were fully functional during the time of the Holocaust.
I swear, you walk into the room and you feel this aura about the room. The hairs on my arms stood up.
On our way back to Munich, Sophia found out a Carnaval was happening in the city center. This was what they were setting up on our first day! So, of course, we had to see it for ourselves.
It was so much fun! Music and people dressed in costumes were everywhere. There were two big stages allowing people to dance and listen to music as well as percussion groups throughout the area.
While walking around I tried a Krapften (basically a jelly donut).
It was hard to enjoy the Carnaval with the rain so we went back to the hostel to grab our backpacks to go to the airport. We got a little mixed up along the way but we made it to our gate 45 minutes before boarding, and I even got to squeeze in a FaceTime with Dad and Greta.
Best Part of the Trip: Both the Dachau tour and the Sound of Music tour. We were lucky to have great tour guides and the history was so interesting.
Worst Part of the Trip: Lack of motivation. This was a hard weekend for me mentally and physically. I’ve been starting to get overwhelmed with school and some days it feels like too much. I wish I would’ve done more, but I’ll say that for every trip. Plus, it was nice to have a more laid-back weekend.
Overall Thoughts: As I said, I wish that I had planned to see more. I’m part German and wish I was immersed in the culture more. I should’ve forced myself to get a big beer, but we’ll get there one day. This weekend was a realization that I’m living in Europe for 5 months and the exhaustion and stress caught up to me. I’m still so grateful I visited Germany and hope to come back one day, but I wish I had taken this weekend off to stay in Madrid and get myself back in a better mindset. Still, these three upcoming trips are going to be good ones so stay tuned!
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