Auf Wiedersehen, Munich. Hola, Los Angeles.

I was resigned to believe that four years of high school German was a waste, but finally, it's come of some use. Lucky me!

I wandered all over Munich yesterday, but the two highlights of the day were:

Deutsches Museum
The Deutsches Museum is the most brilliant museum—ever. It chronicles and explains the development of all things related to technology and industrialism. From hydraulics and typography to pharmacy and computers, you see the amazing interplay of form and function in various fields. It's absolutely amazing. You could literally spend a week in the museum. If you've ever been to the San Jose Tech Museum, think 100 times larger and infinitely cooler. So sexy!

Dachau
Dachau is a small picturesque town on the outskirts of Munich that holds a haunting history always to be remembered. It was home to the parent concentration camp of the Third Reich. Labeled as the "Academy of Terror," Dachau was the role model for all camps that spread throughout Europe. Learning and imaging the unspeakable brutality and evil was one of the most powerful and moving experiences of my life. I didn't realize it until I left, but I spent 5 hours there. It's that gripping.

Today, I make my way back to good old Southern California. I've had the time of my life seeing the world, meeting people, and experiencing new things. I don't want to sound trite, but it's really been broadening. I'm coming home with new and different perspectives of life and people.

One perspective I'll be coming home deals with work and life. I've always thought that Europeans were lazy. Actually, I still think they are. But most Europeans seem to smell the roses and enjoy life. America is the land of opportunities, but too many of us get engrossed in work and money. We live to amass things and status rather than experience and live life itself.

And at the end of the day, I know more than ever that I want to enjoy life rather than overwork and validate my self-worth with a nice car. Honda Civics are forever.

See you all in a bit. Off to America!

Pictures of Munich.