I have finally got some time to sit down and write on my blog..... I am in Munich now, having spent the last 4 days here, and am off to Venice tomorrow.

Vienna was stunning. Everyone else around me didn't like it so much but I thought it was gorgeous. I met an Auckland girl called Olivia, so we hung out and explored together which was cool. First day there, we went into the main centre of Vienna and saw the enormous St Stephens Dom. Gorgeous. Still not finished though... after all these years. Then we saw the main palace in the centre of town and wandered, got ourselves lost in the city. Such a good time. In the afternoon we took a tram out to a HUGE cemetery- 2.5 million people there. We saw the graves of some famous composers- Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss, Brahms and Schubert. Really pretty place. The next day was a late start due to the late night.. we made our way to Schonbrunn palace- which amazingly was the Royals Summer Palace, even though it was a 5 minute tram ride out of the city. This is an amazing spot. There is a zoo out there, saw some crazy animals... hippos, porcupines, polar bears, pandas. was a fun day.

St Stephens Dom

Mozarts Grave at the cemetery

The Beautiful Schonbrunn Palace with Vienna behind.

And now to Munich... The Home of Bier, sausage and Lederhosen. I am actually quite surprised at the number of men in the city just casually wearing their leather shorts. And they are not flattering in the slightest!! My first day here I went down to Neuschwannstein, the castle which is set down near Fussen, about 2 hours south of Munich. It was really pretty. I did an organised tour, which set off at 8.20 in the morning and our guide was a really arrogant South African called Brad. After the castle, we did a hike (yea, I know) through the other side of the Castle to what they called an Alpine Slide- was basically the Luge in Queenstown but a lot less fun!! and then we did a bike ride through the countryside to a really scenic lake, about 20 minutes away. I don't think I have rode a bike since the bus stop days at the farm, so it was good fun.

The next day I hung out with Heather, one of my roomates, and we went into the Marienplatz, and watched the Glockenspiel do it's thing. Then we walked around the city and saw the various sights. We had to go to the Hofbrauhaus, and try out a Stein of the local brew. Took me awhile, but I got through all 1000ml of it!!! Very Proud. Then we went to the Virkualianmarkt, which is basically a food court but outside under some chestnut trees. All the food was sausages, or schnitzel or beer. They class beer as a food group in this city.

The next day I went to Dachau, the First Ever Concentration Camp in the 2nd World War. It was such an amazing day, opened my eyes to a lot of what happened, making me want to learn a whole lot more. I did a tour with a guide who was really passionate, which you don't seem to find in tour guides, and he wasa textbook full of information. Just cannot put the words together of who to explain how mind altering it was!!

Today is my last day in Munich. It's raining, cold and I am not going to do anything. I have been going pretty hard and fast since Prague so it is really nice to have a lazy day. Plus, it's Sunday. nothing is open. Except the kebab place, gonna get one for lunch!!!

Neuschwannstein Castle

Glockenspiel

Me, with my beer and enormous pretzel at the Hofbrauhaus.

Cremation ovens at Dachau. There were 5 like this in the room.

The main gate at Dachau- up until 2001, no one was allowed to walk through this gate. Arbeit macht frei- literal meaning, working sets you free... A Complete Lie to fool the higher powers.