Off the Map

Treasure Troves and Super Bowls

I'd like to take a moment to thank the Human Body for being able to kick in a hearty dose of adrenalin during times of sleep deprivation.

That said, my 24 Hour day yesterday was amazing! After dragging myself out of bed to catch the bus, I met up with 2 friends of mine (1 Ami guy, 1 Polish girl), with whom I caught the Sunday morning train to Munich. "Munich, again?" you ask? Of course!

But today was different. Sundays are 1 Euro museum entry in Munich. Not too shabby. Although that quickly equates to a steal when you learn how much is really available in the troves of Munich. Art to rival La Louvre and treasures to rival Greece abounds(admittedly a bit of an exaggeration)! With only 1 break to snag Lasagna at a scrumptious Italian cafe, we spent the whole day pouring thru exhibits - everything from Peter Paul Rubens to Raphel to Leonardo Da Vinci to El Greco to Rembrandt to Sandro Botticelli in the Alte Pinakothek. The Glyptothek contained an impressive array of sculpture direct out of the ancient Greek and Roman civilizations, such as the Fallen Warrior or the original bust of Homer.

Given the opportunity, I couldn't recommend the viewing of such masterpieces more highly - it helps to put all those history and art classes into context, leaving in the process a much greater appreciation and impression of the works than cynics would have you believe.

After parting ways with 2 Fulbright students living in Munich, with whom the 3 of us from Regensburg spent the day, we enjoyed our own train cabin back home, where we eventually pawned off the ticket for 1/2 price (a common tactic for the youth here, as the 1-day tickets don't hold a name or a trip limit). Without returning home the Ami and I caught another train to Neumarkt, a small Bavarian town 45 min North of Regensburg (free passage with Student ID).

Whats in a 40,000 person town at 12AM on a Sunday night? Super Bowl!!! We spent the evening (12AM-5AM) watching the Super Bowl live with a German American-Style Football team! Spirits were high (partly due to the all you can eat/drink policy), companionship was strong, and the Americans in the crowd were by far the rowdiest and loudest. The military base in the area supplies perhaps 4 of the team members. The common experience of watching an American tradition from abroad bonded us from the get-go, making for an exciting evening (all the Americans stood up and sang the National Anthem while the Germans looked on in wonder). It must be said, however, that the German commentary is terrible! One of the 3 commentators had the personality of a cardboard box, and I swear he almost fell asleep anytime he wasn't engaged in conversation! We also did not have any current advertisements, but rather clips from previous years - perhaps 10 all-together over the whole show.

Even though I didn't get into bed until 7AM, I had to get up a couple hours later to buy new speakers (w/a subwoofer) from a floormate who moved out today to study abroad in Spain. Needless to say, with my new found power (this is an upgrade of the 5 year old $5 P.O.S. speakers I've had all semester) I've been waking up the neighbors and making small children cry...

posted by Jason @ 10:55 pm