To start off, I had a large breakfast. I needed it because the jet lag and differences in food and drink have been making my stomach feel bad. I’ve found that here in Germany portions tend to be smaller, especially with breakfast, coffee, and desserts. Most people I’ve observed only have one cup of coffee and some lunch meat on rye for breakfast. It’s uncommon to see someone drinking a Venti coffee and hound down a whole plate of pancakes. This brings up another interesting difference in culture: lunch meat for breakfast?! I remember my high school german teacher explaining how Germans tend to put more importance on larger lunch and dinner meals rather than breakfast. I tend to do that as well, since I often cannot eat high quantities of food early in the morning. However, I never think to eat some ham and cheese on rye for breakfast! Also, I need much more caffeine than what is in a single cup of coffee; I’m missing our big cups in the USA.
Our first stop was at the FC Bayern München arena. Soccer (Füßball) is Germany’s number one sport, while we have many popular sports in the States. They are all very passionate about soccer, which I love! It makes me excited to see people take pride in their local town’s sports teams; it shows how we can be United as humans who love a common thing: sports. This is something that we share in the USA, people all over our country become friends simply because they root for the same NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, MLS, etc. team. I think it is really interesting that this same concept is cross-cultural.
After the tour or the arena, we were set free until dinner. At the FC, I had some Fanta and macaroons; they were fantastic! A group of us then walked through many parks and found a beer garden to have lunch at. On the way there, we had to be on watch for the many cyclists zooming past. Here in Europe, many people bike, walk, and take public transport to work and school. I am not used to this, as I have always driven to where I need to go (until I can to Purdue where now I walk everywhere). This must contribute to how healthy everybody is here. Everyone seems to eat okay health wise, but have very active lifestyles. I love the outdoors, so I have been enjoying all of the walking. Also, it serves as a great way to observe the scenery!
We ended the night with a nice German dinner, excited to go to Prague tomorrow!
