Day 2

Eight AM didn't hit hard at all this morning, thank you to the weirdness that is jet lag. We started today with a walking tour of the city, which was pretty brief. We just saw some of the historical sights along the main street to Marienplatz, where we've been hanging out. It marked the beginning of our academics; notes were taken and my nerding out officially commenced. 

Then we were given a few hours for lunch, so we took the opportunity to photograph plants:

and appreciate some awesome architecture: 

After lunch, we went to the München History Museum, which obviously covers all of Munich's history. However, the exhibit on the Third Reich and National Socialism in Munich was not attached to this main museum, disturbingly. It was also only opened in 2008. Munich, a very traditional and conservative city, very obviously still struggles with acknowledging this point in its history. Progress has been made, however, and the museum had a fantastic exhibit that didn't mince facts or spare details, at least based on our tour guide's English translation. The hours we spent there really helped to fill in the gaps in the background knowledge on the subject that I'm bringing into this trip. 

After the museum, we were done for the day. Erin, Jameson and I explored some new neighborhoods. We kind of just stumbled upon Odeonsplatz, where Hitler used to give a lot of speeches. It was pretty crazy to see it. I think it helps to see things, it kind of puts that entire period into the context of a city, an actual physical place with so much more to it than that. 

On a lighter note, we found the Poet's Garden too. It was gorgeous and a perfect way to end our day. 

Erin broke out the selfie stick, much to my dismay. Kind of going to give in on that though, the pictures can be kind of fun.

Jameson got artsy:

And also taught us how to make flower crowns, leading to some brief confusion: Indio or Munich? 

It's really nice to be in the group, but also really nice to get out on our own and find things for ourselves. The gardens are beautiful and I'm sure we'll be back over that way.