While studying abroad in Spain, we only had one three day weekend to travel outside the country. Many students in my class chose to go to Morocco, Amsterdam, and Italy. My friends who decided to go to Morocco were pelted with safety warnings due to the     current climate of today's world (isis). Ironically, that would not be the case.

Anyways, me and five of my close friends went to Munich, Germany. Upon arriving, all of us thought the city was breathtaking. we went along with our day, enjoying all the scenery and architecture. Around 6:30pm, Elicia and I were in Marienplatz just waiting on our other four friends so we could go to dinner at a famous brewery. it was gloomy and raining and everyone was annoyed because we were all wearing summer clothes and flip flops. Out of nowhere, we hear hundreds of people on the west side of Marienplatz screaming for their lives. We looked over to where the screaming was coming from, only to see everyone sprinting towards us at full speed. We had no time to react or panic and we started running with the masses. People were tripping, falling, leaving umbrellas and even shopping bags behind. After what seemed like an eternity, we finally got a block or two away and started asking if anyone spoke English, all without luck.

We disabled airplane mode on our phones and started calling our study abroad director, parents, and classmates for help. We kept running, panicked, and came across this tiny upscale stake house and the employees all spoke English. They had no idea what was going on, but they watched a plethora of helicopters rush by overhead with us. They hurried us inside the restaurant and told us to stay calm. a few minutes later we Googled "Munich" and found that there was currently a gunman on the loose, and he was at large. I ended up staying in that restaurant for roughly four hours due to the city being put on an official government issued lockdown. No subway, no taxi's, nothing. At roughly 11:30pm we finally arrived back at our hotel, miles south from Marienplatz and the crime scene. We were so relieved that we were safe, we all immediately fell asleep. We still had one more full day in Munich, but a few of my friends opted to stay in the hotel all day for their own safety. Me and three of my other friends decided to take on the city once and for all because life is short and you cannot live in constant fear. I explored the entire city of Munich in one day and it was incredible. The people were some of the friendliest people in the world and i would love to go back to Germany any day for take two. 

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Munich, Germany: July 2016

Time: 2 Days

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Where ever your hotel is, I recommend taking the subway to Marienplatz. My hotel was very far from the city, but starting in Marienplatz gives you close proximity to all major attractions. There is so much to do nearby. Endless museums, parks, and architecture to find all within walking distance. After my crazy first day in Munich, my favorite thing to do was simply getting a pretzel and a beer. 

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