Aaaah, my head kind of wants to explode.
So back to Germany, stop number two. We arrived in München sometime after midnight, and met our host, Sven. This guy was so nice as to agree to host us just the day before. Munich was quite difficult to get a host, we sent tons of messages, from Poland and then again from Cologne, but everyone was busy. I guess we were entering the high season finally, plus going to destinations that a lot of travelers go to. But in any case, Sven was generous enough to host us on such short notice and despite having some issues with one of his 2 flatmates (bit awkward, that).
The next day we went on a free bike tour around the city (Lenny’s free bike tours, free advert) which was most excellent. Designed for student and budget travelers, these tours run on tips alone, and still give a sufficient amount of history and detail along the way. Of course, the bikes were all identical beach cruisers, and the backpedaling brake is a concept that was entirely foreign to me. Despite my misgivings, you’ll be glad to know that I did not shame myself and managed to stay upright the entire time, with only one near collision that I successfully avoided. Afterwards, we visited the Olympic Village and the BMW Welt, so combined with the sights from earlier (a biergarten (the Chinese Tower), a nude beach, a river wave with crazy surfers, oh and some historic buildings), it was a very active and full day.
Surfing the one wave in the Englischer Garten
The Chinese Tower biergarten in the Englischer Garten
Olympic Village, not so eye-candy
BMW, igen igen!
Back at Sven’s, we proceeded to engage in more Bavarian beer tasting along with his friends. I now know the proper way to pour a Weissbier, and don’t worry Sven, we all really love Augustiner! Of course, at something like 2 am, he thought it was a brilliant idea to go out to a bar, and being his guests, we were obliged to join though we wanted nothing more than sleep at this point (I know, lame-o, but we haven’t slept much). Apparently smoking has been abolished indoors in everywhere but ‘private clubs’ so Barschwein requires the patrons to ‘sign up for the club,’ at which point we were presented with a worthless and shiny red plastic membership card, in order to enter the most claustrophobic and uncomfortable ‘closet’ of a room. Ick.
The following day, after a deep but short sleep, we visited the Deutsches Museum which is a paradise to be explored for ours on end for the science-minded, but not quite so idyllic for those craving a soft mattress. We also stumbled upon some kind of seafood festival, so Courtney and I got loads of herring and smoked fish for dinner to take to the biergarten (we went to the Augustiner Keller, because the Hopfbrauhaus was just ridiculously packed with tourists coming in from the rain). Euro2008, herring salad and mugs of beer almost too heavy to lift with one hand, that’s the life. It’s quite cool that biergartens allow patrons to bring their own food, like the reverse of the BYOB rule.
Herring Feast
That night we were staying in the Tent, a hostel that is basically mats on the ground in a huge tent (although they have another large tent with bunk beds). It was very nice to just chill to ourselves and not be obligated to socialize. That is a sort of dilemma with CS…on one hand we do it so that we meet people in all these cities, but on the other hand, sometimes you just want some time to yourself and not feel obligated to socialize every day. But usually CS is a good balance, no complaints, trust me. I sketched out a temporary itinerary for the Baltics, and Steve decided to stay behind in Munich and work at the Tent, as it had become evident that our plans for traveling together were based on some outdated beliefs and that reality wasn’t quite to either of our tastes.
Of course, this left me going to bed with loads on my mind: should I stick to the plan and see the Baltics, which I really want to, even if it means doing it alone? Or should I change plans, go visit some Erasmus buds in France or somewhere else? What will my parents say? Will I be tremendously bored and uncomfortable traveling alone or will I be fine? (i won't keep it a mystery from you...i am fine :-P)
Let’s just say that these past few months have had some serious ‘lessons in life.’ Expectations don’t always match reality, and events don’t always go according to plan. And I tend to have as big a hand in my own downfall as anything else I could blame. After all, it usually boils down to one's own negligence and believing what is convenient while disregarding what isn't. Simple platitudes you could say, but for some reason they never really stuck until I experienced them firsthand.
But not to end this on a terribly gloomy note that had nothing to do with the time in Munich. I actually really loved that city, in a way that wasn't just appreciative and adoring. It felt like I place I could actually live and work in, and not just enjoy while on holiday. I loved the beauty, the green spaces (so many parks!), the tons of bike riders throughout the city, and the modernity as well. I definitely hope to return and spend some more time there someday.
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