Cup Fever

Munich. Need I say more? The hub (aside from Berlin) of all football fever. And yes, it's as crazy as it sounds. Funnily enough, I'd read that the Town Hall was a beautiful building, so I went off on the trek to find it, check it out and get some pics. Do you think I could find it? Nooo... I think I walked the couple of blocks about 3 times before I realised that the reason I couldn't find it was because they had a massive stage and screen set up in front of it for the cup. *sigh* Reminded me of the massive football (bigger than a house) mounted behind the Brandenberg Gate in Berlin. Charming. Like to see that on a postcard!

Now this is where my journey takes a little twist. For the first time on my trip I am not sleeping on a bunk, sharing with at least 3 other people and living on pringles for breakfast. :D It's alright, it's not a secret - my mum knows about that little vice I picked up. While I am in Munich I am staying with Andrea - ah, the lovely Andrea! Now, Andrea is a cousin to one of the girls I work "with"...or "for" if you wish to be politically correct. Andrea's english was *excellent*, she met me at the hostel where I was dropped off, cooked me dinner, and did my washing. I was considering adopting her as my mother but then figured that Matthias would have had a few words to say about it. :D Andrea's stellar performance peaked when she whipped out a guidebook and some maps that she'd found for me.

Today I went to Dachau (a WWII concentration camp) - they had a documentary which they show in the main hall which was very moving. Lots of visual displays as well, but I was pushed for time so I was very disappointed that I didn't get to read very much. The impact I felt was a little different to what I'd expected - most of the buildings have been destroyed and all that are left are the foundations - they've reconstructed a couple of sets of barracks so that you get the idea, but it's difficult to imagine the enormity of it all if it's just looks like a bare kind of space, instead of row after row of building - I think I counted about 30 rows of barracks? Something like that. And the "Work will make you free" sign was on the front gate, as always.

On a lighter note, tonight is the beginning of the World Cup. I'm spending the evening with a bunch of Andrea's friends at a BBQ - don't ask me what they eat or do at a German BBQ...