FC Bayern Munchen Wins!

In response to Helen’s post that mentioned Munich’s recent win in the Champions League Finals, I just want to paint a quick picture of the celebration scene.

I watched the game in apartment with about 15 people, on ZDF, and although the broadcast was in German, the excitement of scoring a goal is definitely universal. It was a nail biter, and the room was tense as we sat eating freshly made crepes with Nutella and drinking beer for the first half of the game as the ball bounced from end to end without ever passing a goal post. But when Bayern scored the first goal, the spirits immediately lifted as high fives and cheers filled the room. A penalty kick tied the game and in the final few minutes, Bayern’s Robben used some fancy footwork to put the ball into the net. The teams’ celebration was so adorable to watch! They were laughing and crying and dancing and hugging and throwing their coach in the air. We watched the post-game from our seats, still pretty calm in relation to my Mom when the Steelers win.

Just when I started to think, “Wow, this may not be as crazy as when we win the Super Bowl,” we headed out to the streets… One of Lara’s friends made a pretty convincing replica cup out of foil and held it above his head through the entire crowd, not only spurring dozens of chants and cheers, but also giving me a point of reference for where I could locate him, because I was overwhelmingly one of the shortest people celebrating. They shut down a main street and it was flooded with bright red jerseys and scarves, “Super Bayern” chants and a lot of alcohol:  no open container laws here! People were climbing atop traffic lights and scaling bus stop stations and the police were standing by, but I didn’t see any interaction with them. Above, there were fireworks and waving Bavarian flags of all sizes and below there was a mosaic of broken beer bottles lining the streets. We only stayed out until about 1:30 a.m., but noise and the level of  excitement told me the streets were lively ’til sunrise.

You win, Europe. I’m a converted soccer fan.

 

 

Day 9 – Salzburg Day Trip

bridge

Salzburg, Austria was on the agenda for today and I had no idea what to expect because I haven’t even seen The Sound of Music, which is apparently sacrilegious. We started off our walking tour at Mirabell Palace and gardens, where everything was gorgeous except for one half naked gypsy man wading through the fountain for spare change.

We then crossed the river on a bridge with a chain-link fence covered in the infamous “love locks,” just like we have at Schenley Park in Pittsburgh, but in a much higher volume.

We ate dinner at Restaurant zum Eulenspiegel and had some of the best apple strudel that has ever graced my taste buds with its presence.

Day 8 – Dachau

barracks

The rock beds represent the former barracks that have been destroyed.

We took a train to Dachau to visit the museum of the first concentration camp today, and I will preface this post by saying it’s going to be very hard to describe. The weather was absolutely beautiful, which almost made it even more sickening. The sky was a vibrant blue and the sun was bright and warm. But there was still a chill in the air. We entered through a gate with the wrought iron promise of “arbeit macht frei” which translates to “work makes free.”

Our guide, Arnoud, said a question that he gets from a lot of groups is “Am I allowed to take pictures?” “No,” he answered. “ You have to take pictures. You have to show the world what happened.”

The original barracks had been dismantled and a mock one was rebuilt to exact replica for viewing, but everything else was authentic. Including the Krematorium. We entered through the disinfecting rooms where they surrenders all of their personal possesions and their human dignity. From there we went into the holding room, where they were told they we’re going to be able to shower.

There was a museum with stories of survivors and of those who weren’t so lucky. I found a man from Poland who shared my last name who died in 1940, Thomas Szypulski. I’ll have to ask my grandfather about it.

 

Jewish Memorial

Jewish Memorial

Day Six: Wilkommen to Munchen!

uOkPFoVb0q39Ll2J0OoecFcTXWh5xLm1Q_G2oBuJSwURemember when I thought 5:30 was bad? Well, today’s wake up call blared into my ear at 4:30 a.m. As in, it was still yesterday in America when I started today. We ate our final breakfast at the Suite Novotel in Berlin and headed to the airport and on to Munich! I was surprised that some of the streets looked quite familiar from last year’s visit. After a brief struggle of elevators vs. luggage, we headed out for a walking tour from our hotel by the main train station (the Hauptbanhof)  toward Marienplatz, learning as much about churches and historical significance as one can on an empty stomach. We saw the tallest church in Munich, which towers above everything, not just unintentionally, but by law. Munich was actually founded by monks, and the religious significance is honored in this way. Then, we were unleashed for a quick lunch where I tried spatzle, kind of like a cheesy potato pasta, and it was excellent!

We reconvened for a visit to Munich’s tourism office, where we met with Isabella Schopp, a member of the PR department for a quick look into what they do to market the city of the biergarten and the weiswurstl. I was surprised to learn that she is only one year older than I am and already in such a high-influence position. We got a little bit of background on Munich and what makes it such a draw for tourists, namely Oktoberfest; surprising, no? But they do host quite a few other festivals throughout the year, as well, one called Music All Night, which I would love to attend. She also told us that 80% of the locals in Munich have bikes and use them as their main mode of transportation, which is visually represented in the hundreds of bikes that are chained up along the windowstreets. Some decorated, most with baskets. They also chose to market Young Munich as a main point for this year’s strategy. Although it is a town steeped in tradition, it is home to about 104,000 students and the nightlife is a big draw, as well.

We all met again for dinner at the Cafe im Marienplatz, where I tried a platter of meats that I would never have expected myself to. Also, the décor was intriguing in that the stained glass windows on the walls all depicted scenes of prostitution, so that was interesting. I also tried a Rus’n, which is the wheat bier mixed with lemonade and is DELICIOUS.

As you can imagine, by that point, we were completely exhausted and went straight to bed…

Day Four

3M6i6EsItmTr3lanaZdjh3f_8yVIpkaEU8LXhZggEvEUsually when my alarm is set for 5 a.m., I know something exciting is going to happen. Today’s agenda definitely didn’t let me down. The early rise led us to ZDF, Germany’s public broadcasting network, for their morning talk show: Morgen Magazin. We actually got to sit in the audience on the set of a live broadcast! It was laid out like a cafe, which was a really versatile set and offered such a casual and personal atmosphere for interaction on screen. Speaking of casual, the female anchor was in jeans and tennis shoes! It started off with a music segment featuring the artist Alina Süggeler of Frida Gold. I loved her sound and actually got a copy of their album to check out. The show topics included Angelina Jolie’s double mastectomy, commentary on The Great Gatsby and a “prank” type segment on men’s pole dancing becoming a future Olympic sport. My kind of program, even though, apparently, the audience watching at 9 a.m. has an average age of 59.

After the show, we met with the male anchor Wulf Schmiese, who was absolutely wonderful and painted a detailed picture of ZDF’s role in Germany’s media platform: to inform the people and keep them interested in important topics. Even though the ones I described in the examples above don’t seem all that crucial to a functioning democracy, he explained why they are important as well with what I thought was quite a beautiful metaphor. He compared ZDF’s morning broadcast to a salad. The meat is the talk about politics and interviews with politicians, but it has to have a little bit of color, carrots and papers, to add that extra flavor.

I was very pleased to hear that he chose journalism for the same reason I did, a vast array of interests. He was really into politics, but didn’t want to be a politician. Really loves sports, but didn’t want to be a professional athlete. Interested in movies, but don’t want to become an actor. Journalism is perfect in that you can talk about what you love and never be bored. He also made a joke about journalists and their “arrogance,” saying that they take one shower and they are an expert on water, which I thought was not only hilarious, but so true! The advice he had for us was to “be critical in a good mood,” which is an excellent perspective for journalism and life in general. Be curious. Doubt. Ask questions. But never be rude about it.

 

Richelle’s Bio

Hallo! I’m Richelle Szypulski, a recent grad of Point Park with degrees in Multimedia and Mass Communications. And I’m still not used to saying that. I went on the trip to Italy last May and it was such a life changing experience that I knew I had to sign up for round two. Last year, I stayed an extra week with a friend that lives in Munich and I’m really looking forward to returning and experiencing Berlin, as well.

The visits I’m most excited for are Freie Universitat and Axel Springer, because I would really like to study abroad for my Masters Degree and would definitely consider Germany as an option. Culturally, I can’t wait to see the art on the Berlin Wall and the East Side Gallery and the architecture in Berlin, which seems super contemporary, but without skyscrapers.