Eurotrip 2011 – Munich

Rome > Siena > Florence > Venice > Munich > Brussels > Amsterdam

Still 21 March. We make it to our night train to Munich at the station in Venice. Because we had Eurail passes and are over the age of 27, the passes had to be first class, no choice. I’d never traveled via train in first class, so this was a wholly new experience. The cabin we booked for the night train was in first class and had a private bathroom and shower. A conductor came in and offered us sparkling wine, let us know the wake-up procedure that included breakfast to go, and took our passports so that he could process them as we skipped across the borders. We finished our wine and both of us slept soundly. 22 March. We arrived in Munich at 6:30am. Our hotel, the Wombats hostel, was just a block or two from the station and super easy to find. We were VERY early for check in, but there happened to be a room empty and ready, so we were allowed to check in. We ended up taking an hour or two nap and then got up to see the Glockenspiel, photo to the right (it’s a must-see even if it is totally silly and a big old tourist trap).

After the little ditty finished playing we hunted down the Mike’s Bike Tour office. I’d done the bike tour years ago while studying abroad, but the tour guides are always hilarious, and it’s a great way to see an overview of Munich in a short amount of time. Perfect. We reserve our spot and then wander to the market where Doug finds a sausage vendor. His belly full, it’s time to go meet up the bike tour. Our guide was Matt from Vancouver and he was absolutely hilarious. The group was small, just six of us, but it worked out nicely. Matt even took us mullet hunting but we only found one along the ride. Lunch was at the Chinesischer Turm (Chinese Tower) in the Englischer Garten (English Garden). Doug proudly displays his lunch in the photo at the right. We stopped back at the hotel at the end of the bike tour and then went out for dinner at the infamous Hofbrauhaus. The seating is all at open tables, so you’re likely to be seated next to people you don’t know which really, is half the fun. Our initally empty table filled in with Germans, locals, who had all sorts of questions for us in what limited English they knew – Doug got quizzed about Mormons (What’s wrong with them?!) and I think I got a speech about Americans and how they’re so fat, amongst other things. We toasted a bunch of times, enjoyed the band, and left as the place was closing. Going there is always an experience, and this trip was no exception!

23 March. We were thinking about going to Neuschwanstein, but off-season, it’s hard to get to without a tour group and they only seem to run during peak tourist season. Oh well, we slept in a little and ended up going to the Olympic Stadium, photo at the right. We were chased by some swans, and took a nice stroll around the grounds. The BMW World experience is right next door, so we checked that out too – it’s basically one big BMW advertisement with a bunch of interactive games/exhibits about the cars. We then took the U Bahn and tram to get to the Hirschgarten for lunch. The Hirschgarten is the largest constantly operating beer garden in the world, so we couldn’t miss a chance to check it out and dine on still more sausage and more beer. We then hopped the tram to the Schloss Nymphenburg and strolled around the grounds and botanical gardens.

For dinner that evening, we ended up at the Augustiner restaurant, enjoying their Maximator and an incredible dinner. The atmosphere was entirely different and Doug enjoyed it more than the Hofbrauhaus. Photo to the right is of us at dinner, enjoying dessert. Back to the hotel and we packed for an early departure to Brussels!