Hi guys. Last time I blogged, I was still in Europe, writing my Clarisonic post from the comfort of my hotel room in Amsterdam… the withdrawals are real! Here I am now back in Chicago, back to that old life, going to work, coming back home, making dinner plans with friends. Not too bad, I suppose. But far from traveling around Europe with friends!

My trip was awesome. I’m finally getting the chance to tell you guys about it, after having to adapt back to real life/work and having to write my final paper for this class. As I mentioned in this blog post, the trip to Europe I just took was, in fact, a Study Abroad trip. I traveled with a bunch of students from DePaul University, both undergrad and graduate students, all from the public relations and advertising program. We spent a bit longer than three weeks in Munich, Cannes, and Amsterdam. While we were there, we had class, homework, “city challenges” (aka campaigns to create), and cultural activities to attend. But nothing could stop us from exploring!

The first city we got to explore was Munich. We spent about six days there, so we really got to see lots of sights and eat lots of food (food post to come!) I had been to Munich as a kid, but did not remember much of it. It was really lovely to spend some time here and experience Germany, a culture that I’m not in contact with very often. So here are all the things I explored – and loved – about Munich:

Marienplatz

I consider Marienplatz the symbol of Munich: the square has in fact been Munich’s central square since 1158. Our hotel was about a 20 minute walk from Marienplatz, so getting there was the perfect stroll; it was one of the first places we visited in Munich. If you come around Christmastime, Marienplatz is where the Christkindlmarkt takes place! We have one in Chicago too – I talked about it here – but this one is the OG. We were obviously there in the summer, but I wouldn’t mind coming back here one day to get that magical Christmas market experience.

That big building that dominates the square is the Neues Rathaus, a gothic style city hall. Other than being absolutely beautiful, what makes this city hall famous is its glockenspiel, aka the clock tower. Every day, at 11 AM and 5 PM, little puppets on the tower reenact German stories from the 16^th century. In all of my days there, I never got the chance to see that “show”, which was upsetting. If you get the chance to visit Munich, this is something you should do!

Other than Marienplatz itself, the pedestrian zone between Karlsplatz and Marienplatz is also awesome, full of shops and restaurants and like five different H&Ms – not kidding!

 

St. Peter’s

The Church of St. Peter, known as Alter Peter (Old Peter), was definitely my favorite attraction of the city. Well, along with the Englischer Garten, but I’ll talk about that later. This church, dating back to the 11^th century, has been rebuild and embellished many times. Today, you can find beautiful frescoes and lots of gold throughout its gorgeous interiors.

If you’re up for it, there’s a tower that you can climb up for only 2 euros, to get the absolute best view of the entire city. We’re talking about 299 steps, 14 floors I believe, but it’s all so worth it! Here is a snippet of what you’ll get to see:

 

Englischer Garten

The Englischer Garten, aka English Garden, a big park inside of Munich, made me literally want to live in the city. Not only it looked beautiful – many parks around the world do; on top of that, the people hanging out there just seemed to have so much fun, to be enjoying themselves so much. The overall vibe there was amazing, something I can’t put into words.

There’s a fast river inside of the park. So fast that I’ve been told people surf on it. Isn’t that crazy? I didn’t see anybody do it, but I wouldn’t mind giving it a try myself!

There’s also a biergarten inside of the park. Biergartens are a fabulous, fabulous invention. They are outdoor restaurant where you’re served meaty German food along with liters of beer. It’s fantastic. I’ll write more about it in my blog post about food, but until then, just know that the night I spent with all of my classmates at the biergarten in the English Garden was one of my favorite memory from the trip.

 

Cultural Experience: Dachau

Another cultural landmark we visited on this trip was Dachau, the first Nazi concentration camp opened in Germany. I do not want to say much about it, simply because there are no words to describe the horror, and I definitely do not have the expertise I would need to guide you through a visit of that place.

However, I do want to say that, while going through the visit was hard, it was definitely worth it. If you’re ever in Munich and are undecided on whether or not to see Dachau, I suggest that you do and pay homage to the victims.

 

Avantgarde

Okay, let me go on a nerdy tangent here: while we were in Munich, our class got the chance to visit the headquarters of a renowned international marketing and advertising agency, Avantgarde.

Avantgarde specializes in brand experience, a growing field in marketing/advertising that I would love to be part of. Plus, their office was awesome. They had a rooftop with a literal sheep on it. And a little pool area.

 

Going Out

Lastly, let’s talk about the clubs I’ve experienced while in Munich.

Although our nights mainly consisted of drinking beer at previously mentioned biergartens, our group did go out on a couple of nights. One night, we went to Pacha: Pacha is actually a group of 10 nightclubs around the world, all under the same name. The most famous one is the one in Ibiza. The one in Munich was pretty fun, there were multiple rooms that played different kinds of music, which was cool!

The other club we went to on a different night had a very different vibe. It was called Milla Club, and it was definitely more of an underground spot. People there were for sure wondering what a group of American girls was doing in there. A pretty weird place, not gonna lie! But a fun one nonetheless.

 

What I Didn’t See (and Wish I Did)

Allianz Arena

I am extremely pissed. I missed my chance to see beautiful Allianz Arena while the Germans were still the reigning world champions. (Congrats France… I guess).

Residenz München

I mean, look at this picture my friend Alice took! The Residenz looks so majestic and I did not have the time to see it! Seriously upset about this missed chance too.

 

 

One last tip before we part ways: this did not really fit under any category, but I feel like the world should know. Take the S Bahn train to get to the city from the airport. It’s only about 12 euros and takes you to the city center for a fraction of the price you’d spend on an Uber/taxi. Figuring out where to go was a bit confusing at first, but if two foreign students like Jessica and I could figure it out, I’m sure most of my readers can as well!

That is all my good friends! I have been writing like crazy so that I can keep giving you all that good content that you like. Therefore, it won’t be long until I see you again here on Milano To Chicago! Tchüss!