Insert Witty Title About Munich Here

Now that I'm no longer in the land of expensive mishaps  (otherwise known as Switzerland), I finally found time to write about Munich! Better late than never, right?

I arrived in Munich early in the afternoon, in the middle of a downpour. Luckily, my hostel was only two blocks from the Hauptbahnhof, so I was in the lobby by 1:15pm. It was then that I learned that check-in didn't start until 3:00pm. I wasn't thrilled about the idea of hauling my luggage around in the rain while I explored my new city, so I curled up with a book in the cozy greenhouse-like area of the lobby until 3:00.

When I was finally able to get into my room, I didn't spend long there. Pausing just long enough to put down my bags and smile at my new roommates, I headed back out into the rain.

I quickly found Marienplatz at the center of the old town, and took a break from the rain by ducking into a few of the many churches in the surrounding area. Now, I don't have a specific interest in churches as such, but European churches and cathedrals tend to be some of the most beautiful buildings from their various times, even if you know nothing about either churches or architecture. Plus, the appeal of the dry warmth within was irresistible.

Of the few produce stands open in the square on this rainy Tuesday evening, on had the reddest, most mouth-watering strawberries that I had ever seen. So I had to buy a half-kilo of them, which I promptly polished off. That tided me over while I did some more serious grocery shopping at the Aldi around the corner from my hostel. In the interest of saving money on food, I invested in some peanut butter, Nutella, and sandwich bread. Lunch for the next few days: check.

I grabbed a döner sandwich for dinner from one of the many kebap places in the neighborhood of my hostel, then hit the hay, hoping for better weather the next day.

Wednesday marked my official 1-month travel-versary, which kicked off with breakfast in the hostel. I had some time to kill before the 10:45 walking tour, so I headed out into the city in search of a drugstore, so I could replenish my supply of teeny-tiny toiletries. I walked for about 20 minutes without coming across one, so I broke out my navigation app, which told me there was a DM (the German equivalent of CVS) right around the corner. Well, I rounded the corner, my GPS chirping that I had arrived at my destination, and saw before me....a block of apartments. Just as I had come to the conclusion that I would need to bust out my German and ask a local, a set of escalators caught my eye. I hopped on the downward bound one, and, sure enough, there was a whole shopping center down there.

Mini-shampoo in hand, I returned to the hostel just in time for the walking tour, during which I had a bratwurst from the Viktualienmarkt, saw the devil's footprint in the Frauenkirche, and heard a lot about the kings of Bavaria: Maximilian I, Ludwig I, Maximilian II, and Ludwig II. (Not very creative, those Wittelsbachs.)

Our guide also took us through the Hofbräuhaus, and showed us the lockers where the regulars can store their steins (an honor that is literally passed down from generation to generation).

I also met a girl from Pittsburgh, which was the closest to home that I'd met so far (aside from the family friend in Iceland on my first day, of course). After the tour, we grabbed a cappucino and decided to check out the tower of Peter's Church, which gave us a pretty spectacular view of the city (which was fortunately not covered by clouds at that point).

We also caught the 5 o'clock show of the Glockenspiel at Marienplatz on our way to the Augustiner Bräustuben for dinner (which our guide had recommended). We treated ourselves to drafts of the best beer in Munich (according to the locals) and Prost!-ed with our tablemates.

Thursday was once again rainy, so I broke up my strolls through the Royal Botanical Gardens and the English Gardens with a trip to Munich's toy museum, which was four floors of the history of playthings, featuring toys up through the 1980s. Did you know that modern teddy bears (the kind that can move their heads, arms, and legs) were invented in the 1800s by a German?

After the toy museum, I wandered back through the English Gardens, where I leisurely strolled along the river, coming to a dead halt when I saw someone in it. It took me longer than it probably should have to realize that he was surfing. But then again, it was a rainy day with a temperature just above freezing, and we were a couple hundred miles from the nearest coast. But apparently river surfing is a thing in Munich, because once that guy wiped out, I noticed four others waiting their turn.

When I finally got too cold to keep watching the surfers, I wandered on in search of a hot coffee. I didn't have to wander far, because Fräulein Grüneis café was just a few paces from the river. I warmed my hands on a cappucino (I'm getting to be a pretty big fan of those) and splurged on an extra-large brownie before plunging back into the rain.

After about another hour out in the rain, I wasn't feeling so hot, so I headed back to my room to take a nap so I could rally for the rest of the evening.

Well, the nap happened, but the rallying didn't. Four hours later, I was still in bed, a pile of tissues beside me, bemoaning the germs from four different countries that, it seemed, had finally caught up with me. Half an hour later, I dragged myself to the grocery store for sustenance: two fresh pretzels and a bag of clementines (gotta get that Vitamin C from somewhere).

When I came back, I chatted with my roommate an optometrist from Malaysia (!). We ended up having a pretty interesting discussion about the differences between the values in our respective home countries, and how that affects who we become as people. #intellectual

It distracted from my misery for a little while, but I still called it quits early that night so I would be up for adventures again the next day.

Well, I wasn't up early the next day, but at least I was up. I braved public transportation to get to Olympiapark with only the bare minimum of mishaps. And by "bare minimum," I mean "took the wrong train, and then got off at the wrong stop once I was on the right train." Sigh.

For those of you who don't know, Munich's Olympiapark is where the 1972 Olympic Games were held; it's still in use today as a fitness park, convention center, and concert venue. (And, of course, as a tourist attraction.) I visited each of the stadiums, and the aquatic center, and debated paying €7 to go up in the TV tower (since it was cloudy, I decided against it). I also checked out the Walk of Fame along the lake, which has sidewalk squares--a lá Hollywood--featuring the handprints of the artists who have performed at the park.

Around 2:30, I headed toward the U-bahn station, stopping at BMW World on my way. I scoped out all the shiny new models, any of which I would have been happy to take home if they'd had automatic transmission. I also tested out a couple of the motorcycles that they had on display, and broke out my limited German to ask a grandfatherly-looking fellow to take my picture.

I then hopped on the U-bahn back into town, and managed to go one stop too far--oops--which meant that I saw a new part of the city--yay! I stopped in a café for--you guessed it--coffee and cake. This is one German custom that I will definitely be taking home with me.

I popped into a post office to mail a few postcards as I meandered back to the hostel, where I met up with my Pittsburgh friend. We went off in search of dinner at a schnitzel restaurant that the front desk staff had assured us would have both the fries that I was craving and the spätzle that my friend wanted to try on her last night in Germany. With a little help from public transportation, Google Maps, and a friendly local, we made it to the restaurant at about 8:00, as the dinner rush was winding down.

In an attempt to masquerade as locals, I helped my friend to place her order auf Deutsch, and then proceeded to eat my own currywurst and pommes frites German-style (using my fork for the fries, and keeping said fork in my left hand). Of course, I seriously doubt we fooled anyone into thinking we were native München-ers, since we spoke English to each other the entire time and high-fived after placing our orders. Americans will be Americans.

For my last full day in Munich, I had signed up for a tour of the famous Neuschwanstein castle (you may know it better as the "original Disney castle").

The castle was commissioned by Ludwig II, the "mad king" of Bavaria, who essentially sent the kingdom into bankruptcy by building yet another opulent palace, which he commanded should be destroyed after his death. Naturally, that wish was ignored, and Bavaria more than made back the money spent building Neuschwanstein in the first 11 years that it was open to tourists. "Mad king," or "forward-thinking?"

On the train rides to and from the palace (2 hours one-way), my tour group had plenty of time to get to know each other. We were mostly all American, with a couple of Australians, Argentinians (Argentines?), and a German mixed in.

Now, remember how I said that Pittsburgh was the closest to home that I'd met so far? Well, hold onto your hats for this next part.

Three of the Americans were from Madison, Wisconsin, and it turns out that they all work for the same company where my cousin just got hired.

Three of the other Americans were on leave from the Navy. One of them mentioned that he had attended Virginia Military Institute. As a shot in the dark, I asked whether he knew my friend, whose mom was our Girl Scout troop leader way back when. Not only did he know her, he was in charge of her group of first-years.

It's a small world after all, folks.

By the end of the train ride home, almost the entire group had decided to go to the Hofbräuhaus together for dinner. Well, by the time we got there, it was 8:30 on a Saturday night, and there was no table for our group of ten. So we went a few blocks away to a Paulaner beer hall, and got our Fassbiers and food. I ordered käsespätzle in a somewhat successful attempt to satisfy my craving for mac and cheese.

The next day dawned cold but clear; naturally it would be sunny now that I was leaving Munich. I chatted with my Canadian roommate while I packed up, and made myself a couple of PB&Ns for the road. (That's Peanut Butter and Nutella, in case you weren't sure.)

I ended up at the Hauptbahnhof 40 minutes early for my train to Zurich. I can never seem to remember that train stations aren't like airports. You don't need to get there super early to go through security; rolling up five minutes before the train leaves is A-OK. My train arrived 20 minutes later, and I boarded, full of optimism for my time in Switzerland.

Well, if you've been keeping up with my latest posts, you've gotten a sneak peek at how things went for me in Switzerland, but keep your eyes peeled for a recap post (with oodles of pictures of the Alps!) in the next couple of days.