First stop in Munich: the world famous Hofbräuhaus. Not only is it home to one of Munich’s oldest breweries, this is seriously the largest restaurant I’ve ever been to. We walked into the massive dining hall on the first floor and were greeted by wait staff in lederhosen and a full German band. I was in heaven! We enjoyed lots of really amazing food and beer and of course, made a trip to the gift shop for a one liter stein for Christopher.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our first full day in Munich, we went to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. Of course, it was an incredibly somber and sad experience, but I think everyone should visit a concentration camp if given the opportunity. It’s so important to remember what happened during the Holocaust and make sure it never happens again. We learned that Dachau was one of the first concentration camps and unlike the majority of later camps, the public knew it existed. It was advertised in the paper as a labor camp that rehabilitated people who didn’t agree with the government. Although people didn’t know specifically what was happening at Dachau, they knew they didn’t want to end up there. The site included specific memorials for Jewish, Catholic, Protestant and Russian Orthodox prisoners. In addition to Jewish prisoners, Dachau had many Germans who were communist or socialist, Roman Catholic priests from Poland, and an unknown number of captured Russian POWs. Walking around the grounds and remembering what happened there, it’s impossible to not be moved and saddened by all the lives that were lost and families that were affected by the Holocaust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our second day in Munich (and the last day of the vacation), John and Erin went to the BMW Museum in the morning while Christopher, mom and I walked around Munich on our own. We went to a farmer’s market and checked out a few churches. Christopher went up the 303 steps to the top of St. Peter’s Church to get some awesome photos of the city while mom and I waited to meet our tour guide below (plus our legs were going to fall off by this point in the trip). The five of us met up again and went on an awesome walking tour of the city. Our tour guide took us to specific sites around the city that were significant to the rise of the Nazi party and the beginning of WWII. We learned that Hitler gave many speeches at Hofbräuhaus and it was a big Nazi hang out. I thought back to our awesome table in the second floor bay window our first night and was hoping that wasn’t Hitler’s usual spot, and luckily it wasn’t. We saw the SS headquarters and a large town square where a lot of Nazi rallies were held. Each person was required to do the Nazi salute when they were walking by this building; guards were stationed nearby to make sure everyone was doing this. But the people of Munich discovered a back alley, aptly nicknamed Dodger’s Alley, and chose to walk this way to avoid saluting. Our guide said that Munichers don’t like to talk about their city’s dark history, but they are really proud of Dodger’s Alley (photo with the gold line on the street) and their small acts of defiance. We wrapped up the trip with a walk to the English Gardens and dinner at Ratskeller in Marienplatz…. and a selfie photo shoot.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day, Erin and John flew back to Boston 😦 But the trip wasn’t done yet for Mom; she joined Christopher and I in Helsingborg!

On August 30th, Christopher and I flew to Rome to meet up with my mom, sister Erin, and her boyfriend John. They had spent the previous few days in Paris and then we joined them for the next two cities: Rome and Munich!

Rome was huge, beautiful and full of really amazing food. My only regret was that we had gelato 3 times- we should have gotten it much more but there was no room left in any one’s stomachs.

For our first day, we took a train about 30 minutes outside of Rome to Ostia Antica. The archaeological ruins date back to the 4th century B.C. and most of the remains that we saw were from the 3rd century B.C. I was astonished at the complexity of their society; there were bars, shops, a 3 story apartment complex, a coliseum, a town Forum along with a lot of houses and bathhouses with really intricate mosaic tile floors. Also, I didn’t even know this while we were touring the site, but the oldest known synagogue in Europe was unearthed in the 1950s. The town’s population peaked in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D. at about 100,000 people. Despite is seeming huge when we were walking around, that would be a lot of people for a city its size. Afterwards, we headed to the Mediterranean to have some lunch on the water and relax.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day was pretty rainy so we had a lazy morning and then went to check out the Trevi Fountain and do the Ponte Sisto stroll. It was actually pretty unfortunate because a lot of the sites were under construction while we were there, including the Trevi Fountain. I guess we’ll just have to go back and see them all again! All of the piazzas were so beautiful and it seemed there was something ancient and amazing around every corner! Once we finished the Ponte Sisto stroll and crossed the bridge, we did some more exploring and stopped for some drinks. On our way back, we stumbled upon this magnificent white building, which we later found out was Altare della Patria. Every day kind of runs together in terms of food, but I believe this is the day I had black truffle risotto for dinner. It was by far the greatest meal of the trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On day 3, we went to Vatican City to tour the Vatican Museum (3rd largest museum in the world!), the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica. We took a guided tour, which was excellent, since this museum would take weeks to go through otherwise. There was just room upon room of sculptures, paintings, tapestries and anything else you can imagine. I’ve never seen so much marble in my life! We learned that all of the pieces of art included backgrounds of the cities they were made in. For example, the Roman art included the Pantheon in the background, which was never in Jerusalem. Meanwhile. the tapestries that were made in Brussels featured Gothic architecture. Next up was the Sistine Chapel… I can’t even describe it to you but if you ever get the chance to go to Rome, you need to see it. It’s incredible! Finally, we ended the tour in St. Peter’s Basilica. It is MASSIVE!! It’s home to Pietà, Michelangelo’s most famous sculpture. There were little chapels in every corner of the place! Some had tombs of royalty who were persecuted for their religion, some had mummified popes (which you could see through glass and that was actually pretty creepy). There were no paintings in the buildings, only very large mosaics, so you could photograph everything!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

During our metro ride home, a couple of very small kids (probably between 7 and 12) abruptly got on the train and pushed a lot of us around. My initial thought was, wow, that was rude but I had no idea what was going on. At the next stop, the kids got off the train and a young man kicked something off the train as he was getting off. He picked it up and turned back to the train asking many times, “Is this anyone’s wallet?” At first I thought it was Christopher’s, but his wallet was in my mom’s purse. At the last second before the doors closed, a man finally recognized it and took it back. He looked baffled and an Italian woman kept saying, “control it, control it” (still don’t know what that means) and the man opened his wallet to find all of the cash stolen. When we got off the train, we were all discussing what had happened. Apparently, one of the kids put their hand on Christopher’s arm and starting moving their hand down towards his pocket. Luckily, his had was holding onto his phone and when he gave them the evil eye, they moved on. I had heard about the gypsies and pick pockets in Rome, (that’s why you’ll see me sporting my “Just try and rob me” pose in every picture with my bag in front of me and my hand securely on it) but it was crazy to actually witness it.

On our final day in Rome, we toured the Roman Forum, Palantine Hill and the Colosseum. Our guide explained that modern Rome was built up around these ruins and we had to go to deeper “layers, like a lasagna” to see what archaeologists had discovered. Once Christianity took hold and the Roman Empire fell, basically anything pagan related was destroyed and the parts were reused by ordinary people to build their homes or sell to rich families. The only Roman Empire era buildings to survive were later designated as churches and could therefore not be harmed (this is why the Pantheon is still standing today). Next we went to Palantine Hill, where the emperors built their palaces. Each new emperor would either add on to the previous one’s palace or built an entirely new one. One emperor in particular built himself a huge palace with three swimming pools and his own private stadium where he would watch gladiators fight. Our last major landmark was the Colosseum. The building is an architectural feat and the it’s size just takes your breath away. We learned that people had their favorite gladiators and would bet on them, so often times gladiators would be taken from the arena so they wouldn’t die in front of the audience. There was a complex network of rooms and corridors underneath the stage (which is now exposed) which is where animals and gladiators were kept, taken care of by doctors, and generally died from infections from their injuries. Crazy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had such an awesome time in Rome! I’d  be lying if I said I didn’t miss the sites, the food, and most of all, the company. Next stop- Munich!