Olympiastadion Berlin

The good thing about blogging about trips you took two and a half years ago means it doesn't matter if you write the post a week later than you'd planned to. How's that for a silver lining? :)

After having such a great time at Munich's Olympic Park, I was beyond excited to see Olympic Stadium in Berlin. It certainly didn't hurt that the Berlin 1936 Olympic Games are kind of a big deal -- Jesse Owens? Louis Zamperini? Pretty historic, yes?

We went right after taking a bike tour around the city. That tour was NOT good to me, and my pelvis was bruised to the point where it hurt to bend at the waist. And if I remember correctly, the U-bahn line we needed was closed that day, which made for a little bit of concern about getting lost. But the stadium did NOT disappoint! It's beautifully classic on the outside and a giant, imposing structure on the inside; it's been renovated in recent years, but it still very much looks like a Nazi creation. We spent a good chunk of time in the stadium before walking around the complex (the grounds are free for exploring, but the stadium costs several euros to enter). You can peek into the open-air aquatic center, and there's a whole walkway of memorial statues for each Olympic Games, and those giant Olympic rings? It's such an incredibly cool place! There's also a little museum space/gift shop, where I bought a little bag of rubber shavings from the track. Because WHY NOT?

Sigh, I loved Berlin. Give me currywurst and a few hours to run around in this stadium and I'd be happy as a clam! (But seriously.)

Olympiapark München

It's really hard to come up with travel posts when you can't really remember the last time you traveled for a reason other than work. But you know what's strange? In all of the blogging I've done about Eurotrip 2012, I've never done posts dedicated solely to the Olympic stadiums I visited. That's... pretty absurd, considering how many pictures I took at each of them. And considering this is me we're talking about. So I am going to rectify the situation! Travel Tuesday, I'm so happy to see you again!

First stop: Munich.

Munich was put on the trip itinerary mostly because Amanda wanted to live out some literary fantasies there, and we went without much of an agenda. But I told everyone that I was going to see the Dachau concentration camp and Munich's Olympic Park; they could come or not come, but that was what I would be doing, no questions asked. Luckily I traveled with some awesome friends, and while Jen split off to go to the BMW museum nearby, Amanda accompanied me to Olympic Stadium.

Entrance to the park is free, and it's such a cool area. It's a great example of Olympic legacy done right; there are restaurants and tons of green space and a pond, and you can pop into the aquatic center (where Mark Spitz won a whole bunch of gold medals, no big deal). You do have to pay a handful of euros to get into the stadium, but once you're inside... well, have you ever had free reign to run around in an empty stadium before? Because it's wonderful. And Munich's Olympic Stadium happens to have some of the coolest architecture I've ever seen in my life.

I'm pretty obsessed. I wish the day was less gray and drizzly, and I wish the field looked a little prettier when we were there, but beggars can't be choosers! It's just the absolute coolest place. If you go to Munich and don't visit Olympic Park, you really missed the boat!