The first thing we saw was the city hall building which was more akin to a giant gothic cathedral rather than a government building. It was magnificent, reaching high into the drizzly skies the peaks and spires seemed as if they would tear the sky open.

Decorated in flags and red flowers this building was a worthy monument to stand as the center of attention for the entire city. The large clock tower it its grandeur also has a somewhat childish side and is basically a giant cuckoo clock. Within the green part of the tower are all manner of figurines that upon every hour come to life as the towers ring and music plays and dance and twirl for all to see. Among a rather massive crowd we watched these figures twirl about as the rain started to fall very softly. We went into a cafe right across from the clock tower, high above where we were almost level with the dancing figures. There we had cake. Along with silence, the German people really seem to enjoy their cake. In Germany, it felt like all we ate was cake. For breakfast there was cake, and of course yogurt with cereal on top, for lunch there was more cake, and for dinner there was even more cake. Do not get me wrong, the cake was delicious and there is nothing wrong with massive quantities of cake, I just thought it was an interesting observation to share. In this cafe we had some extremely traditionally German cakes; a warm apple strudel (which technically isn’t cake but i think it still counts) and an interesting fruit cake that is basically a yellow sponge cake with fruit like raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries on top coated in a jello like substance. It was very good and really nice to try some authentically German cuisine because as my friend tells me the rest of German cuisine mainly consists of meat and potatoes, which I also found to be very true. However they are very good meat and potatoes.

I seem to always wind up talking about food, even when there is a beautiful city that still desires attention. Walking through the streets of Munich we passed numerous shop windows filled with tinker toys and tons of little knick-knacks of every kind.

Besides these funny little shops, the architecture is quite amazing. There seem to be clock towers and church spires all around us. Everywhere I look I see some beautiful building in the distance or right next to me.

In a city square of sorts we came upon a structure that at one point was the stand for one of Hitler’s very first speeches to the German people.

It seems like everywhere I go there is so much history hiding in the cracks of the sidewalk and behind building walls. This city is full of life that we barely scratched the surface of in our very short time in the city. With our short ime we were able to go inside one church. It was one of the first things I spotted in Munich, the tall watch tower with the teal dome resting on the top caught my eye from quite a while away from the city’s center.

Nestled within the city streets, this giant resides as if it does not stand tall above all the other buildings. If the towers were not magnificent enough, the inside was astounding as well. With a ceiling framed with window crosshatching, this church had the most amazing ceilings I have ever seen.

In such a large cathedral t is hard not to feel small and insignificant in this house of God. It really was beautiful though, with high arching ceilings, and giant stain glass windows the silence of Germany seemed to be filled with a different sound.

Munich feels full of life that thrives in a contemplative and silent manner. It was amazing to feel the splendor of this city as the first of many amazing cities to come that are all astoundingly different. This place though has the feeling of an antique portrait of a time where life was grand and the people are kind, if not a little strange.

Notice the man in the bottom left hand corner and you will know what I mean.

Silence is not something we today hear a lot of in our lives. How many times can you just stop everything you are doing and listen. And when you listen, the only answer is silence. In Yellowstone this is a luxury I indulged in quite often. You could be walking around and just stop in the middle of nowhere. All there would be is silence.

I would hold my breath and look around, all you could hear was the sound of falling snow and the world breathing around you. It is something very special to experience. I never really was aware of just how noisy and bustling life was until I escaped to the wilderness for that week. It was actually really hard to come back to Santa Cruz, especially school because there was so much noise that it was almost suffocating.

I miss the silent moments, where it was just me and the living wilderness talking in utter silence. Many people ask if silence can speak and I can answer this for you; yes, it most definitely can. But what is it saying is the real question. When the world falls silent, what will you hear the wind whisper in your ear? Or will you even remember how to listen at that point.

It is important to remember the voice that nature holds, and to never forget how to listen to it. When it speaks, listen because it will tell you the secrets of the world. And that is not something you want to miss, believe me.

They look for hope out of desperation
So tell me tell me
Why you cry so loud at night
Help me see

Each song is different
Filled with woe and pain
You fall down on your knees begging
Please release these chains

Some whisper some scream
Needing to rid themselves of their misery
To spill their taint
And give them some company

To share a burden
To pass on their shame
They need someone
To always remember their name

They come in flocks with trudging feet
Heavy souls to weak to weep
Seeking out a listener to her their cry
To help them fill in a hole they dug to deep

We listeners are burdened
Not with ourselves but others
We open our hearts for the people
Saying yes sir I’ll help you brother

We cannot deny those who seek help
No matter the tale or the stories told
We must wait and listen this is our curse
That we will suffer until we are past the years of old

We may look like children, or maybe the old
We are always different with the same design
It is our misfortune to be born
To forever listen to other’s crime

We must grow old in silence
Because it isn’t our place to talk
We are the ones who listen
we must travel this alone the long last walk

we cannot love another for we must suffer alone
we share our hearts with the world
we cannot claim it for ourselves
so our hearts wither never unfurled

Listeners never die because they cannot forget
Their message must never go unheard
When their time comes and they are to old to listen
And teach another the silent words

This is a part of s strange poem I wrote. I think I have an idea branching off of this for an actual story. I will continue to work on it. Tell me what you think….

Whenever words are needed
They have failed me
The power of that word
Falling swiftly, heavily
From an uncouth mouth
Can change the world
In a movement too fast
For the eye to register

The pregnant silence
Grows between you and I
Like a deep festering wound
Something that will
Leave a big nasty scar
For the whole world
To bear witness to
In horror and disgust

Like a canary in a cage
My words are sealed away
With a lock and key
Far too advanced
For such a petty thief as I
The mystery of this labyrinth
Is too complex for me
So I will suffer
In my silence alone

An ocean’s expanse
Stretches far and long
Above, between, and below
My feet that stand
On ground built only
From the promise of words
Yet to surface and be heard
In the deep eddies of the water

Truth is that words
Are a terror, a horror
All in themselves
Their own maze of nothing
Leading to nowhere
So silence is safety
From a world full of words
That I do just fine without

Where every word
Is a potential knife
Awaiting a new victim
A new heart to ruin
Rip open and bear forth
The fruit of an innocent
Of ignorance in truth
And within this deadly flower
Lies life’s only truth
We are all monsters

I think I am going to do a piece of art based off of this poem in my IB art class, it has potential…