Frankfurt & Munich with Jen & Steven

26 April - 1 May

After Prague, Brian had to go to Munich for work, but Jen and Steven stayed with me in Frankfurt for the week! I loved having them here. They would explore around Frankfurt during the day, and then we'd hang out all together at night. It was so much fun to have my best friend and her hubby ready to hang out after work every day!

On our first night in Frankfurt, I took Jen and Steven to the commissary (US military grocery store that has US products) in Wiesbaden so that they could stock up on their favorite US groceries that they were missing after traveling for a few months. Unfortunately, I didn't know the rules (I'm only allowed to sign in one person), so Steven had to wait outside the grocery store while Jen and I did some damage inside. That night, we came back to our apartment and Jen cooked her favorite chicken recipe for us. Oh yes - that was another added bonus of having them stay with me - Jen really missed cooking, so she cooked every night and made me and Steven all of their favorites. They were all so delish, and it was fun to learn her recipes!

On Wednesday night, we hung out at our apartment, and Jenny made her favorite pork tacos. Wow, they were really amazing! Jen and Steven had also come to love Clerico (a variation of white sangria) in Argentina, so they made some of that, too. They said it wasn't quite right, but I thought it was delicious :) Jen also introduced me to one of my new favorite things that I have to be VERY careful around - Oreo Balls. Holy moly, those things are so dangerously amazing. It was obviously a great night of food, and we had so much fun hanging out all together and just relaxing.

We went out on Thursday night with some of my friends from the consulate. We ate outside at a restaurant in downtown Frankfurt and then walked to an old German bar for apple wine and beer. The bar was in the only building in the Romer Platz that was not demolished in WWII. While we were there, we met a couple of Australians who had invented a tool used in fishing and were traveling around the world to promote it. Very interesting chaps, they were!

On Friday, Jen, Seven, and I took another road trip to Munich to meet up with Bri for the weekend. Can't go wrong with a weekend in Munich! We cut right to the chase on the first night - dinner and beers at the Hofbrauhuas!

There are no small beers in Bavaria...1 liter for everyone!

Last time we were at HB, we lost a camera to a beer. Not again!!

While we got ready the next day, we watched recaps of the royal wedding that happened the day before. So much commentary on all of the hats! Then we stopped by a grocery store near our hotel where we bought a few things to snack on for breakfast. We made our way downtown, and there was a festival going on in the main square. It was a gorgeous day, a band was playing - it couldn't have been better.

We continued wandering and found this French market.

And then we found another market plaza with tons of tables full of people eating, drinking, and having a good ol' time. So we plopped down next to a group of Germans and joined in the fun. Our new friends introduced us to this creamy, cheesy, herb-y dip that you eat with big soft pretzels and onions - it's now one of my favorite German appetizers! Apparently you're also supposed to eat pickles with it, because one of the German guys disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a giant pickle, which he proceded to force us to eat with the dip. It was hilarious!

This guy sat down at the table next to us, so we HAD to get our picture made with him. Check out his get-up!

So that night, there was a huge soccer game going on in Munich, so we scoped out a good bar where we could watch the game. The first half was quite exciting and fun to watch with all of the Germans in the bar, but we decided to leave for the second half.

Next on the schedule - the "big spring festival" that was going on at the Oktoberfest grounds. Everyone at the consulate where Brian was working had told him about it and how they "had reservations at a tent". So we expected a spring, smaller version of Oktoberfest. It was definitely smaller and mostly just a carnival. So Brian and I picked one ride - the one we thought looked scariest/most thrilling - and we rode that.

On the ride with the German carnie who checked our seatbelts. Cheese!

On Sunday, the four of us went to the Dachau concentration camp. I had not visited a concentration camp yet, so I was not sure what to expect, but I knew it would be an experience I'll never forget. We took the audio tour of the camp, which had tons of facts about the grounds, the history of the town of Dachau, WWII timeline information, and actual accounts from camp survivors. The cold, rainy day set the mood as the four of us walked mostly in silence for hours as we listened. Below are pictures we took at the camp.

The gate to the camp with the words, "Arbeit Macht Frei" meaning "Work makes you free", a false promise to those entering the gates.

Outer perimeter of the camp

Purely by accident, we visited on the 66th anniversary ceremony of the liberation of Dachau, which occurred on 29 April 1945. These wreathes had sashes across them, displaying names of the countries presenting them for the anniversary ceremony.

On the main camp road. When the camp was used, barracks lined both sides of this road.

The Mortal Agony of Christ Chapel (monument)

The Jewish Memorial

Inside the Jewish Memorial

The Protestant Church of Reconciliation

Inside the Protestant memorial

The Crematorium - the first ovens built, but they were not big enough

Station at Barrack X (new crematorium)

Gas chamber at Barrack X

Crematorium in Barrack X

Barrack X

Memorial path leading to Barrack X

Wreathes in front of a memorial, which shows figures of emaciated people trying to escape through barbed wire

Barbed wire lining the camp

This experience was so moving, educational, shocking, upsetting, frustrating - it was emotionally draining. It was so interesting to discuss all of our different perspectives on what we saw and heard. And it definitely made us all so thankful for what we have, for living in the USA, and for all that the military did during WWII.

After Dachau, we said bye to Brian as he headed back to Munich, and we drove back to Frankfurt for a relaxing evening at our apartment.

Monday night was my last night with Jen and Steven. We walked over to a local restaurant, sat outside, and enjoyed one last German meal together. I so loved having them in Frankfurt, and I was sad that they had to leave! But I'm extremely thankful for the time we got to spend together and for everything that we experienced!