Bayern is my favorite and my best.

I stole my title from an episode of Charlie and Lola. Hope you don't mind.

In case you couldn't figure it out, I went back to Holzkirchen for a few days this week! It was amazing as always, and I got to experience all the temperatures associated with German summer within 4 days.

My wall of stuff on my wardrobe, final version.

For the first leg of the journey, I nabbed a seat by myself in the mini compartment that used to be 1st class but got demoted to second for some reason. It was sweet!

My two favorite things are early morning train rides and the weird coffee-hot chocolate from Backwerk.

The next part of the trip was excellent as well! Of course, it couldn't last forever, and around Hof it all went to hell. I had to switch to one of the trains run by a company called Alex. The trains looks very similar to the ones in Eastern Europe for starters. Since it was Sunday afternoon by this point, the train was very full. It was also about 80 outside, and with so many people and intermittent air conditioning, it was uncomfortably warm on the train. However, it was all over eventually, and I found myself in one of my top ten favorite places of all time: the Munich train station! The entire journey took about 8 hours by the time I got to Holzkirchen, but it only cost 23 Euros, so I think I was the winner there!

I had to take the S-Bahn to Holzkirchen which takes 45 minutes but feels much longer...this couple sat across from me in an otherwise empty car and proceeded to snog. After I got to Holzkirchen, Antonia met me at the station and I started talking and did not stop until I went to bed. I finally have enough German skills to stage a monologue all the way through dinner like I always do with my family at home!! Huzzah! (The Hartls grilled and it was delicious.)

My old host family has another exchange student, so I was in the basement. Here are some basement pics! It was a finished basement, so it was pretty nice - the worst part was that it was a bit chilly!

View out of my window in the morning! So crisp & fresh!

On Monday everyone else had work or school so I went into Munich. The first place I went was Marienplatz - I don't think I'd ever noticed the super famous building in Marienplatz before. I'm maybe not the most observant person in the world.

Oh look, Americans! (I assume? All the tourists appeared to be from America.)

I climbed the stairs up to the top of the Alter Peter, which is a tower with a great view of the middle of the city. The stairs were super narrow, and they weren't one-way, so you might meet people going the other way. Luckily, most people were considerate and waited on the landings for others to pass.

I didn't mean to be at the top right at noon, but I was. It was really cool to hear all the church bells ringing.

After I left Marienplatz, I headed to see Allianz Arena, home of FC Bayern Muenchen. Since there was work on one of the S-Bahn stops, it was quite the adventure. I took the S-Bahn as far as possible, then a rail replacement bus drove us to the next station, then I rode 2 stops further to the stadium!

FC Selfie Muenchen. I looked for Mueller, but he wasn't there. Something about a tournament in South America...

It's so pretty!! I didn't want to pay for the tour, so I just looked around a bit before heading out. I saw some people all decked out in OSU clothing, so I kinda stalked them for a bit before ascertaining that they were the kind of people who would say nasty things about me as soon as I walked away if I tried talking to them.

By this point it was almost 2 and I was starving, so I headed to the Mexican place by the train station! These tacos weren't excellent, but they did the trick! (They charged extra for cheese...and actually, they didn't even ask me if I wanted cheese.)

After Antonia and Erika got done with work and school, they met me and we went to Tollwood (the same festival I went to in December, but the summer edition) together. It poured rain on us as we walked through the Olympic Park, and I felt bad since there was a better way to get there. We just walked through the park since I had said that I wanted to visit it!

Pretty graffiti at Tollwood.

The next morning I went to the school for a bit to sit in on the classes and see Opa Keel and Werner again. It was interesting to meet the new Holzkircheners - there were only 10 of them this year!

I stopped at Edeka because I absolutely love the Edeka in Holzkirchen. It's a beautiful, beautiful grocery store, although it's a bit pricey. They have a lot of international products now, including Griffin's pancake syrup!! (And 6 Euros for a bottle that size is a steal in Germany. Usually the bottles are much smaller and cost the same price. All their maple syrup has to be imported from North America so it's all expensive.)

Pretty garden! Apparently it was under threat from some renegade slugs that emerge at night to feast.

On Tuesday night I watched the Germany vs. Brazil game with my family. It was crazy!! I felt like I was dreaming the entire thing. FINALEEEEEE! I can't wait until Sunday!!! Ever since then, German TV has been half gloating German fans and half footage of crying Brazilians. (Also, in true German fashion, my host family was concerned that the Brazilians might mount a comeback until it was 6-0 since Sweden actually did that to them in World Cup Qualifying to the tune of a 4-4 draw.)

When I opened the windows to close the shutters before going to bed, I could hear people driving around while honking and yelling. This was in quite little Holzkirchen while it was pouring rain. It must be ridiculous in large cities!!

Breakfast there is always top-notch.

I headed back home on Wednesday morning and got home around 8 pm. Before I left, I got a picture of the train to Rosenheim since I love the song "New York, Rio, Rosenheim." (When I went to Salzburg 2 years ago we switched trains in Rosenheim, so I've actually been there.)

"No words!"

I stopped to buy a copy of the Bild in Nuremberg since I really loved the cover. (The Bild is pretty tacky, so I was a bit ashamed to do this, but the front page is so pretty!)

My trip home was pretty bad - I'm talking 60 3rd graders on a small train bad - but it's over now and I won't be taking any more long trips with the regional trains. It's all fast trains for me from here on out!!