Germany
Munich at Christmas: Markets, Surfers, and a Quiet Heaviness
I arrive in Munich by train, rolling in from Linz, and the first thing I feel is the shift. The city is crisp, winter cold, and somehow ancient even when it is buzzing. This is my second time in Germany, but it hits different because it is not a solo trip. It is family, kids, strollers, meeting points, and that particular holiday energy where everyone is arriving from somewhere else.
We check into the hotel and that is where the trip really starts. We meet up with family and cousins. Manolo, Tatiana, and the three kids. The whole vibe becomes Christmas logistics mixed with Christmas magic. Mom and Andres come in separately by flight, and once everyone is finally in one place, Munich turns into a shared stage.
First Walks Through Munich
We move the way you move in a big European city with family. Slower, in bursts, between warm indoor stops. We head into the English Garden, and I make it a point to see the famous river surfing spot. The standing wave where surfers do something that makes no sense until you are watching it in person. There is something wild about seeing inland surfers ripping a wave in a freezing city. It is one of those only Munich moments.
We keep drifting through the center, and the city feels medieval, like the streets were designed before anyone could imagine cars. Every turn looks like it has been there forever.
Christmas Markets and the Oktoberfest Grounds
The Christmas markets are the heartbeat. We weave through stalls and lights and people packed shoulder to shoulder. I drink mulled wine with my hands wrapped around the cup, and the whole place feels like a moving postcard.
At one point we are at the Oktoberfest grounds, where the massive tents become a different kind of holiday world. Bigger, louder, brighter. And that is where the trip does something unexpected. I run into two friends from Wofford, Baird and Quinn, completely randomly. It is the kind of coincidence that makes a city feel small in the best way. We catch up right there inside this giant Christmas atmosphere. A perfect collision of worlds.
The LEGO Store and Small Family Moments
There is a stop at the LEGO Store because Augustine wants it, and it becomes one of those little moments that anchors the whole trip. Kids being kids, adults trying to keep everyone warm, everyone moving as a unit.
And then Christmas itself lands quietly. Not in a house, not in a familiar routine, but in a hotel. We do a big dinner together. We open presents with the kids. It feels different in a good way. Everyone has traveled. Everyone has arrived. Now we are here.
The Tavern That Feels Like Lord of the Rings
One night we eat in the old town at a restaurant that feels like stepping into a hobbit tunnel. Low, warm, tavern like. The kind of place where it would not be shocking if a medieval band started playing in the corner. We order classic comfort food. Dumplings, schnitzel, beer. Munich leans fully into its old world vibe.
Dachau
Then comes Dachau.
I go with Mom and Andres. We walk the grounds and move through the buildings, reading, looking, absorbing. The crematorium is closed, but we still walk all the way to it. The distance alone feels like part of the story. The place carries a weight that does not need narration. For me, it is powerful to stand somewhere that I have only ever seen in photographs and textbooks. To realize it is not a concept. It is a location. Real ground.
We leave quieter than we arrived.
Munich, Looking Back
When I think of Germany on this trip, I do not think of one big dramatic moment. I think of the mix. The surfers in the freezing river. The glow of markets. The accidental reunion with old friends. The warmth of Christmas dinner. The heaviness of Dachau.
It is a chill trip on paper, but in memory, it is layered.