Scored an aisle seat in the middle row first seat in the economy section. Nice leg room and vacant seat next to me to enjoy The Last Song, Mr. Wright, and Shrek 2. Arrived Monday morning of the 16th to Munich airport and started following signs. Having a good impression of Germany so far, everything is so logical. I like the way they think. The streets are very quiet as I travel in the S-Bahn towards the city. It is about a 20 minute walk to the hotel where my dad was staying (he arrived on the 16th), but I make it without getting lost and freshen up to get the airplane stink away. I hate the smell of an airplane cabin. It was nice to see my dad again. Last time we met was December, in my Asia trip where we spent time with family in Taiwan, adventured in Hong Kong, and hung out in Shenzhen.
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| Marienplatz |
We took the U-Bahn to the city center to drop off our bags at the Euro Youth Hostel, our first hostel. My dad had already explored downtown the day before, and had remembered seeing a row of hotels and guided us in the right direction. Downtown is definitely city-like. The Germany parts I've seen near the airport were pretty quiet but the city is busy, noisy, and crowded. We saw Karlsplatz, walked down the streets full of shops, and found Marienplatz, a nice castle looking structure that pops out of nowhere. I suppose that is the old town part of Munich? Haufbrauhaus is a famous beer hall that attracts numerous tourists every day and I definitely thought it was worth checking it out... except once we got there my dad suggested that we would be waiting very long for our food because they are incredibly busy. The pubs are cafeteria-style where you sit next to anyone--there's no 'one-table-per-party' rule. I waited for a bit and realized he was right and we found a pub right across the street, Augustiner. Much more mellow with the best beer in the world and incredibly delicious Bavarian cuisine. I ordered the daily chili special (I forgot what it was called) and the Bavarian pork roast. It came with mashed potatoes that had the texture of mochi-- my dad loved it. The pork roast was my favorite dish in my whole entire Europe trip. It was that good. While dining we ended up becoming friends with Ben, who was sitting next to us. We chatted about Europe, our trip plans, customs. The beer at Augustiner is their own beer and they tap it out of a wooden keg. Every hour they tap a new one out by taking the tap and hammering it into the wooden keg. Ben says a strong guy who's good at it can get it in 1,2 hits. It is a lot harder than it seems. It was so fun to drink great beer out of a 1.5 liter stein. German-licious! Ben was there chilling out and having beers long before we got there and was still there when we left. So chill!
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| 1.5L stein at Augustiner |
During this trip, I sharpened my skills in map reading (pedestrian and freeway maps). I think I was a pretty awesome map reader and navigator. I got lost, sure, but I was always able to find my way back. And if not, I did this a lot, "Hey stranger, 'vo is [insert place name]'?" I love speaking foreign languages. It's so much fun to me.
We checked out St Peter's church after and made the hike up to the top to get a view of Marienplatz and surroundings. I flashed my USC ID and got a 0.50EUR discount :) The climb wasn't too bad, but as far as climbing to see top views, I think one climb per trip is enough.
After a day long of walking and sightseeing, we returned to the hostel. We were spent from day 1 and my dad suggested we go to the happy hour I scheduled in the itinerary I made. Despite it being a youth hostel, you could find more mature clientele in every 1 in 15. I was surprised/excited that my dad was down for getting happy hour beer at the hostel bar. For 1.50EUR a beer how can you not be down for it, right? We drank and chatted, and I enjoyed going online before bed for one of the few times I had internet access in Europe.
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| View from atop St Peter's Church (2EUR) |
Munich photos
here.
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