From Day 1 : Easter and the Alps (cultural differences)

Beer garden in Germany!

This weekend was a little extra long because of Easter and so we ended up in Munich (Germany) and Salzburg (Austria). Friday and Monday are national holidays here in Europe, and when they say that everything is closed on Monday in Munich, they weren't kidding. Even big chain stores (such as H&M) were closed. This left the four of us in a position to wander around and see what we could find. We did really well for just aimlessly walking around and ended up at a beer garden with beautiful weather that called for sunglasses! Thus far, we have been fitting in with the Europeans and having a drink with lunch or early afternoon. It will be kind of strange to be back in the states where "day drinking" is frowned upon.
Let me back up just a little bit. To start off our trip, we spent Friday in Munich at the Neuschwanstein Castle, after an 8 hour overnight bus ride arriving at 7:25 am. Our tour guide for the castle (Patty) is originally from Chicago so we instantly clicked with her thanks to being a smile familiar with the Midwest. :) The castle was beautiful and took 17 years to build but was still unfinished. Fun fact, only 30 people died working on the castle during this duration. This castle involved blowing up a mountain so you can imagine that it was quite dangerous. However, King Ludwig II would make sure and support the family if their family member died working on the castle, to ensure that they would be okay financially. Ludwig was also very advanced with the new available technology in the 1860's. This castle (that he built simply because he could) had running water, plumbing, a telephone, and even color changing lights. An interesting fact though, is that it was the only telephone in the area, which meant he could only call the post office to see if he had any mail.
Because we were at one of the most visited attractions, we fit right in with all the tourists. We also ended up hearing a lot of English which caught me off guard. Usually you automatically assume that no one around you speaks English, especially in the Czech and so it takes a minute to register that you are hearing English. It was refreshing to say that you spoke English and have the person you were talking to instantly start to speak English to you instead of German. We also did not have any problems with language when we were in Salzburg. It is almost like you wear a sign on your back that says you only speak English. for better or worse. One other thing of mention about Munich, is that there were many more homeless people, in particular those with physical disabilities sitting on the streets. In central Nebraska, particularly in Kearney, the homeless population is slim to none and so it was a little more difficult. Yes, I have seen homeless people before especially in places like St. Louis, but thus far in Central Europe, I haven't noticed too much.
We also went to Salzburg during the weekend. Salzburg is probably the place that I felt the most at peace. The Alps are breathtakingly beautiful and radiate much more beauty than the Rocky Mountains do, or in our case, cornfields. There are more rolling hills and greener grass in the Alps, but even the snow caps were a nice touch. I really needed a break from the city life and was ready to be back in nature. I dreaded leaving Salzburg and the beautiful mountains, which means that I will return someday!
While the culture was different and at some points caught me off guard, I am so happy to have spent Easter weekend with such great friends in two amazing places. Side note: it is really strange to think about how we can just go to another country for the weekend and experience their culture over the holidays.