St. James Senior Boys School

St. James Senior Boys School

Wednesday 5 November 2014

Checking Countries Off the List...

The first thing that popped into my head when I was asked to chaperone the St. James student trip to Berlin was this goofy German kid I had become best friends with last year in St. Louis. I informed that kid -- Max -- that I was going to be in Germany for a few days and he told me to come to Munich (where he is currently attending college) for the week I had off from school.

So after sending the St. James crew back to London, I boarded a train. And after six hours, three trains, and one of the most claustrophobic experiences in my short life I arrived in Freising, a town in greater Munich where the science department of the University of Munich is located. Max was waiting for me on the platform. It was 6:15 a.m. and both of us were pretty groggy, so it was decided that we would sleep for a couple hours and do some sightseeing later on.

We woke up around 9:30 a.m. and took the train into central Munich. Max is actually pretty green to the city -- he has only been here a couple months and has been spending most of his time in Freising "studying" -- so we saw the few sights he knew and then wandered for a bit, giving us ample time to catch up and reminisce about the year he spent at Chaminade.

One of the first places we visited was an old church. We didn't know the name nor the history of it, but it had a high bell tower which allowed visitors to get some amazing views of the city. We climbed the many stairs and got a few pictures from high above Munich ...



The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. A lot of walking, a lot of talking, but I managed to stop and get some cool shots of the fascinating old architecture in downtown Munich ...



We returned to Freising around 7 p.m., completely famished. Max had already planned for us to go to one of his favorite spots in town: Weihenstephan Brewery. A little background on this place before I get into the amazing meal: It is considered the oldest continuous brewery in the world, established in 1040. Sort of gives you the feeling they're doing something right. Max also told me about how the University of Munich has a brewing program. I was skeptical about how someone could get a degree in brewing beer, but he explained to me that 95 percent of the graduates from this program acquire a job in their field within a year of graduation. The school works in cooperation with the brewery and students get hands-on experience there.

After attaining all of this information, I was getting even more thirsty. Although we were both primarily feeling hungry, we agreed trying a few beers would probably be a good idea. So we ordered the sampler, which provided us with three different beers in "tasting" glasses ...


The beer on the left is the Hefeweissbier, or wheat beer. The middle is the Hefeweissbier Dunkel, a dark wheat beer. The last is the standard pilsner, a staple in most German bars I'm told.

Then we feasted.

I'm just going to throw this out there ... the meal I consumed at this establishment is quite possibly the best meal I have ever eaten. Max recommended a dish filled with assorted meats including ox cheek, lamb, potatoes, and other fixings. Here it is in all its glory ...


After our bellies were full and we had "tasted" a few more beers we trekked back to Max's apartment for some more well-needed rest. The following days were a bit hectic for Max school-wise, so I did a lot of sleeping. He brought me to his physics study group one night and it was great to meet some of his friends from college, but, word to the wise: do not try to keep up with the Germans when drinking beer. It was quite nice to sleep in some of those mornings. I felt bad for Max, who had 8 a.m. classes, but I always seem to remember the saying my dad liked to use when I complained about early-morning wrestling practices: "If you want to hoot with the owls at night, you've gotta soar with the eagles in the morning." Thanks for that one, dad.

On Wednesday, Max asked me if I wanted to visit Vienna, Austria over the weekend. I kind of laughed it off with a "sure, dude" but he began to make actual arrangements for us to stay there. I thought he was joking. I still didn't really believe I was going to Vienna until I boarded the train early Friday morning and shortly thereafter saw the Bavarian countryside followed by the west Austrian Alps, which had just received their first batch of snow. The view from the train ...


The beauty of Vienna was apparent on arrival in the city. The place is just majestic. We were set to stay at Max's sister's apartment. I took a picture of an amazing church on our way to Lisa's ...


Lisa knows the city well, so she showed us the sights on our first day. We walked to the district where most of the tourist attractions are. Here is the Vienna City Hall...


And the Parliament building ...


Next we went to the historic Cathedral of St. Stephen, which is an incredible building to look at because it is an extremely old piece of architecture that flows into a more modern surrounding. Here it is ...


After all that, it was time for dinner. There is this place Max had been telling me about for a couple days that serves an oversized pork schnitzel and I was pretty excited that we were going to be able to dine there. It did not disappoint ...


Lisa was busy with work the next day, but we still had some amazing stuff planned. Shortly after we arrived on Friday, I met one of Max's childhood friends Samuel. He was great, and Saturday the three of us boys took in some sights together.

We started with a superb breakfast. I went with the bacon and eggs with some french toast. It seemed more like a work of art than a plate of food to me ...


Our first stop after that hearty meal was the Belvedere Palace. I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking here, but a brief history first: Prince Eugene of Savoy built this place in 1723 to serve as the capital building for the city of Vienna.

Below I am standing in the garden of the palace with the estate in the background ...


All three of us in front of the estate (you can click on these photos to enlarge them) ...


Max and I lounging on the steps of the mansion as if we run the friggin' place ...


We then proceeded to the palace's central cafe for some lunch. It was a beautiful building from both the outside and inside, as you can see ...


We then moved to the Schönbrunn Palace. This place is truly incredible -- the pictures I took really don't do it justice. Maximilian II purchased the land in 1569 to build himself a mansion and hunting grounds. The grounds and mansion changed hands many times over the following centuries and underwent many renovations. It became what it is today under Franz Joseph, the longest-reigning Austrian emperor. After his death in 1916, it became property of the state.

This is what you see upon arrival at the palace, the main residence on the enormous plot ...


Max and I behind the structure you just saw and in front of the vast gardens of the palace ...


The incredible vista we were able to take in (at the top of the structure in the previous photo) ... 


And of course a shot of the boys above this beautiful place ...


The gang was pretty exhausted after Schönbrunn, so we proceeded back into the city to find a place to eat dinner. We settled on a steak house and were not disappointed. The kitchen was about to close, so we just told the waiter "steak for four" (Lisa had joined us for dinner). This is what they brought ...


After dinner us lads decided to take in the Austrian nightlife and hit up a club ...


The next morning Max and I said goodbye to Lisa and Samuel and returned to Munich so I could catch my flight back to London later that day. We made sure to stop to get a picture with one of the Bavarian bears. Seemed wall-worthy, Aunt Mimi.


It was a great week. I have to say thank you to Max, Lisa, and Samuel for showing me around. It was amazing to see all of these sights. I will also be thanking Mr. and Mrs. Duennebacke for sponsoring our trip to Vienna.

It's funny ... if you told me I would be seeing Austria a year or two ago I would've thought you were crazy. It's been an amazing experience. I put together a little slide show for you guys ...