5.21.13

Though I am not fascinated by cars I was fascinated by BMW today! I thought that this media visit would be filled with car talk and lingo that I did not understand but it turned out they were ready for us media nerds to enter their mecca. We sat down to a lecture on advertising and communications strategies for one of the coolest, most futuristic car that I have ever seen in real life. Manual Satting explained to us the Project i and all that goes into it. He also explained to us how they market and make different cars for different countries and areas of the world. I left the lecture for a new fascination of electric cars.

After the lecture we were treated to a delicious lunch in the BMW Café! During this lunch Martin, the very nice intern, and Stefan, our contact who is part of the Planning and Steering International Media Department, joined us. These two gentlemen allowed us to ask tons of questions about BMW, Munich and themselves.

We then headed to BMW Welt where Stefan gave us collectors edition miniature cars before turning us over to our tour guide for the rest of the day. The guide, who was originally from the United States, took

us the BMW Welt and the BMW museum. We then headed back to the hotel in the rain. This was not a light rain like we experienced most days but an intense down pour that had us running for the underground.

After that we had the evening to ourselves, we utilized this time to do some last minute shopping. Then we had dinner at the Hofbrauhaus. Here we began to celebrate my birthday, even though it isn’t until tomorrow, with liters, yes liters, of beer.

Now we are back at the hotel preparing to go out for one last night on the town. I believe we are heading to an Irish pub that has American karaoke!

Guten Nacht!

5.20.13

Today we took another excursion outside of Munich for that last day of the holiday. We journeyed to the Neuschwanstein Castle, which sits on the mountainside about a small village called Hohenschwangau near Füssen. As we set out we hoped for a less rainy day than the last. We groggily headed for the train and as usual I quickly fell asleep as the rumbling of the train lulled me into slumber.

When we arrived in Füssen we got off the train and onto a bus that would take us to the bottom of the hillside that the castle sits on. As we get off the bus we notice the clouds rolling in and realize that it will be another rainy day. We set off to explore the restaurants and souvenir shops for the tourists before heading up the mountain for our tour.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Sadly, we were not able to take pictures or video while inside the castle and I don’t think that I could accurately describe the beauty and genius of the castle even within a thousand words. I can tell you though that almost every room was decorated with murals and the walls that depicted and individual story. Every room has a different theme and every room had incredible detail in the architecture and woodwork. Imagine royalty, wealth and extravagance and you may be close to what castle looked like.

We learned from the tour guide that seven unknown student artists painted the murals through out the castle and that professionals would not work with King Ludwig II. The king who inhabited the unfinished castle for 172 days before his mysterious death was said to be hard to work with because he wanted what he had in his mind to be portrayed in his castle. He wanted the painting and the carvings to be from his ideas and not those of the artist.

We then made the trek back down the mountain, back onto the bus, train and then finally back here to the hotel. Now we prepare for more media visits after a short hiatus from them.

Guten Nacht!

5.19.13

A rainy yet gorgeous day has come to a close. As we traveled to Salzburg today we got our first look at the alps. We rode a train through the countryside. This journey gave us two hours of beautiful scenery to watch pass by.

When we got to Salzburg, Arnoud, our faithful tour guide introduced us to a guide more familiar with the town. Ursula, our guide for the day, began by taking us through the gardens where scenes from the sound of music were filmed.

It was really interesting to see the town where the Trapp family actually lived and where scenes from the movie were filmed. It was fun to here the contrast between the real story and the one produced for the American Film.

Another famous person grew up in Salzburg, this person was considered a genius from a very young age and will be remembered for many years. This would be Mozart. He was born in an apartment on one of the main streets in the old sections of Salzburg and then moved across the river when he was a little older.

Salzburg has many attractions on top of being home to these famous people. It is home to a large fortress in the Alps, which houses a museum. There is an incline from the town to the fortress where patrons can experience a magnificent view of the town and learn about its history.

The Alps surrounding Salzburg are also home to salt mines which is what gives the town it’s name. These minerals give the water a beautiful bluish green color. One of the bridges that goes across this picturesque river is home to love locks. These locks symbolize the bond between a couple who has come to the town, put their name or initials on the lock, close it onto the bridge and then throw away the key,

Despite the rain we had a very enjoyable evening ending with a group dinner and the train ride back to Munich, The weather cleared up for the ride back allowing for man pictures of the Alps to be taken.  As we get back to the hotel we don’t hesitate long before getting ready for bed. Tomorrow will be another long day outside of the city.

Guten Nacht!

5.18.13

On this day we took a trip to a place of sadness, death and hope. We visited Dachau, a concentration camp outside of Munich. We stood at the site of which we have learned about for many years going through school. We walked through reconstructed bunkhouses that resembled those that prisoners lived in during the time the camp was opened. This reconstruction showed us how the numbers increased during these years and how the bunkhouses became more and more crammed.

It’s awful to think of all those people living in such a way but it is even more awful to think of the people who died in such circumstances. This trip to Dachau was quite emotional for all of us to experience the stark realness that all of this happened not that long ago.

While at Dachau two things struck me the most. The first was when we walked to the crematorium. Our tour guide explained the process of disinfection showers, the gas chambers and the incinerators as we walked through the rooms designated for these cruelties. We walked the same pattern as those suffering such a horrible tragedy. It was very solemn and eerie as we traced their footsteps.

The second thing that struck me the most, was something that I almost missed. As I was walking out of the museum. I looked around for fellow group members and noticed a large leather bound book on a stand. This book listed all the prisoners of Dachau through out it’s years as a camp.

It is hard to see all of those names recorded for all of time. At least by reading these names the memory of these people will live on forever. They will be remembered for their bravery and for living through the awful treatment done to them by other humans.

As we parted from Dachau the sun was shining and the sky was blue. The perfect weather for a happy mood and a smile on all of our faces. It was difficult to enjoy the day while the memories of all of the prisoners were so recently impressed upon us. The further we got from Dachau our moods lightened and chatter began to stir about the evening ahead. We discussed plans for shopping, dinner and going out to explore the Munich.

After gobbling down a quick bite to eat we headed for shopping at the major tourist region on Munich, Marion Platz. The shopping trip was a huge success for most of us! Though I regret spending so much money it was an opportunity to get products not sold in the United States. I have to remark about the purse I treated myself to. It’s a large black leather purse decorated with zippers. To make the purse even more interesting and practical it has two straps that can be worn at the same time. One on the shoulder of the same side that the purse is on and one that goes across the chest to the opposite shoulder. This allows for the weight to be evenly distributed.

This long day will be the first of three traveling days to excursions throughout Austria and Bavaria. As I get ready for sleep I am preparing my new purse for the travels ahead.

Guten Nacht!

5.17.13 Munchen

As our journey through German Media continues, our location changes. We find ourselves leaving Berlin bright and early, around 5:30 am to catch our 8:30 departure on Berlin Air to Munich. We sadly say goodbye to our wonderful and spicy tour guide Lorena. She instilled us with much knowledge of the vast city and was very patient with our group. Once in Munich we met our new tour guide. Arnod, which is pronounced like Arnold without the “L” and with the German pronunciation of “D” which makes a “t” sound.

We quickly check into our new home away from home, Europascher Hof. Then it was off to a walking tour through the center of Munich’s tourist area, by our new guide. This area features shopping, both traditional Bavarian, Modern European and tourist shops. The middle of the walkway is lined with stands selling fresh produce and other products.

Sadly we did not have time to do any shopping today but we did get the chance to eat at a lovely restaurant where I finally got potato pancakes, something that I have been looking forward to the entire trip.

After a quick bite to eat, we were off the Munich Tourism Office to hear about their Public Relations. As we arrived a young woman who didn’t look much older than us greeted us. She ushered us into a conference room with a long table lined with Munich Press Kits. Isabella Schopp the young women who greeted us, then introduced herself and described the packets we were given and what her job was at the tourism agency. One of the first and what I think is the most interesting thing that we learned about Munich, during this lecture, was that if we wanted to film or photograph in the city and then use those photos for our website and or portfolios we needed a permit. This wonderful young lady secured these permits for us before we arrived so we needed not to worry.

Isabella informed us about the city as it is today and of its past while describing how the tourism agency sets up Press trips for journalists. Journalists arrive at their hotels to find press kits similar to the ones we received already in their rooms. The agency then gives the journalists tours and helps them with anything else they may need like the permits we received.

After the media visit we had a short break to go to the hotel and freshen up before dinner. For the second time today we went to a traditional Bavarian restaurant. Here we were fed sour krout, pretzels, German potato salad and a variety of meets including white sausage and something that happened to look like spam. The braver of us students tried a little bit of everything but I think the consensus was that we all enjoyed the pretzels the most.  Of course these interesting flavors were washed down with various types of beer, which seems to cost about the same price as water here in Munich.

Now the majority of us are off to bed as we are still tired from the early morning and flight from Berlin

Guten Nacht!