sober in munich

so we are now in munich. also i am writing this on a german kezboard which appears to mostlz be the same but not quite. i have just a short time before we leave for a tour of a concentration camp. its a rainz cold daz here (as in fortz degrees or so) so it seemed like as good a daz as anz to go to a concentration camp. we left the rome after an amaying ok it looks like z and y are switched. got it. ok anywaz we left rome and headed to venice. it was perfect weather and venice was just great. it was so confusing walking around though. there are so many little winding paths and tall old italian buildings, each of which i investigated the tiniest of details like door knobs and shutters and what have you. we toured the not so touristy areas and happened upon a deserted area where there was a boys school who were singing on the second floor, just up enough we could only see their heads. as we listened we met a cute little kitty that i named jo (thats the name i give cats if i canät think of one for them) so we just sat in the deserted alley and watched the sun set over the water and listened to an amazing boys choir. it was just fabulous, like having a soundtrack to a really surreal moment in time. the next morning we left for austria. the train ride was gorgeous. as we traveled into the alps and the hills became mountains, the sheep became mountain goats and everything became a rich green that i always thought was just color enhanced in the movies. the sun slid behind clouds and we were brought back into a familiar gray. we found our cool old hotel and walked around downtown innsbruck to a full on band playing in the main square. they played a song from sound of music to draw in the crowd and then went on to their more familiar oomp pah pah stuff. we stood and listened but we could tell it was moments away from raining so we hurried so see as much as we could before it hit. late the next morning we left for munich. compared to colorful italy, munich feels very similar to the borne film interpretation of the town. we can see our breath outside and people wear black and walk fast. we went to a beerhouse that a local recommended. if you want to get a strange look ask for water in a beerhouse. if you want to get a strange look from us, set down a dish in front of us that we apparently ordered. i got meat patties and dill pickle mash and my husband got half a chicken, literally a chicken with all its glory cut in half and cooked. they have a blueberry pancake for desert so we ordered it. turns out german pancakes are the size of my torso. the locals all watched us with glee as we tried to put down even more food. eventually we ended up putting food in napkins and sticking them in our pockets for later. they donät do take awaz and we were paying for it so we might as well get it all. listening to german in a beerhouse drinking carbonated water and sticking chicken in napkins in my husbandäs pockets, i really felt like i was in a foreign country. we do the concentration camp today, and then salzburg and castles in the next day or so. i have loved this experience but i am getting anxious to get home. i miss ice and normal towels and mac and cheese and people not hating me because i am american. i wasnät prepared to have to work so hard every place we went to get people to not disdain us just because of where we are from. anywaz i will write again before we head home.