Mario and Carina (God bless their hearts) drove me for the six am departure to a nearby station where we said our goodbyes, and even at goodbye Carina was overwhelming sweet. Constantly needing to borrow lotion with my persistently dry hands and only carrying a terrible bottle that I bought in Budapest, she gave me her favorite lotion. In addition, she gave me one of her amazing almond-fig raw chocolate bars.
The driver ended up being a really nice guy. He also works in IT consulting for a company whose name I didn't recognize. While he had heard of Accenture, he didn't have the best feelings towards it unfortunately. Upon maybe the fourth piece of fruit that I ate I'm the front seat beside him, he commented that I must really like fruit. I did him that this fact was obvious, but that I was also vegan. I was shocked when he said that he had actually tried being vegan and would like to be! He had tried for a week, but found the options uninteresting at his works cafe, where he usually had to settle for a salad. We talked about it for a bit and I gave him assume advice as to what works for me. What helps most, I told him, was to prepare in advance by packing snacks and looking up restaurants and their menus beforehand. When most of your meals become tasty, it isn't as bad when you have to settle for a plain salad once in a while.
I stopped my luggage at the train station and quickly began touring the city. Climbing the stairs out of the underground train, I was immediately standing in Marienplatz, the main town square. Directly next to the square, virtualkienmarkt is an open market where fresh fruit, nuts, spices, souvenirs, and many different traditional German foods are sold. Frauenkirsch, just another few steps in the opposite direction, is one of Munich's most famous churches. The two towers rise high in the air, enabling citizens to see the church from a great distance. Yet just a few more steps away, the residence palace and it's accompanying theatre were my next stop. Having been to countless museums and buildings in my trip thus far, I was starting to become exhausted from viewing them. I was very nervous about deciding to go in and immediately betting noted, but quite the contrary was true. The interior of the building was spectacular. The large.time with high ceilings were painted with murals, lined with magnificent paintings, and filled with age-old sculptures. My favorite room had the walls and center piece covered with sea shells; although in need of restoration, I can only imagine how splendid the room must have looked in its hey day.
Schloss Nymphenburg, a palace for the royalty centuries ago, was a U-bahn and a tram ride away. The palace was huge. I did not enter the building but instead opted to run through the gardens. Although beautiful, I think the palace in Vienna was more impressive for its extensive gardens, fountains, and statues.
The day was nearly over, so I met up with someone I met at a hostel in Kyoto, who was going to introduce me to her friend, Leni. Leni met us at a burger king after her work, where we stopped at a bar, then headed back to her place.
Having run but one the entire trip, I wine you the next morning earlier than usual and ran from her place to the English Gardens. I always love thinking, but have to admit that the run could have been better if it weren't rainy and dreary. I was a bit frustrated and upset, because my trip was planned around visiting Tobi and he planned very poorly, seeming to disregard me despite having owned months before. This caused me to have to shift everything, but I'll focus on the happier moments in Europe. Around eleven, Tobi came over and we took the train to Regensburg, a town about a half an hour away from the city. Unbeknownst to me, Regensburg is a UNESCO site, and many parts are hundreds of years old. I forget the exact age of the cobbled paths and bridge now, but they were erected nearly a thousand years prior. Perhaps it was the poor weather, but I don't find Munich to be a beautiful city like the other European cities I visited; by contrast, just a small town, Regensburg seemed to have a quaint, special character about it.
To keep on schedule with the trains, we inky stayed for an hour or so before heading to an even smaller town nearby to see a famous Hundertvasser tower. Built as part of a brewery, it maintains the same characteristic and quirky details that other hundertwasser creations always display. This town was cute as well, but I could live in neither add they are quite tiny and distant from anything else. We headed back to Munich and hung out at Tobi's flat before returning to Leni's.
The following morning, I took a quick trip to the Munich Olympic stadium. The second Olympic stadium I have seen (Beijing was the other), it didn't seem spectacular, but rather a lot of open space. I made a quick stop at the nearby BMW museum which showcased all of their new models, then headed to the English Gardens. I heard the gardens were beautiful, which is why I made a point to see them, but I was also disappointed with them. But a park, they lacked anything unique, and it's 'Chinese pagoda' was a colorless, lifeless brown tower. I didn't stay long and headed to C&A to find a dirndl.
Although C&A is a large chain,the store that I went to was just passed Marienplatz. I got to enjoy some live music and random entertainment on the walk there. I found the dirndl section easily as it was the middle of Oktoberfest, and lucky enough, the smallest size fit! I paid 64 euros for it, but figured every girl probably needs one. (Also the easiest Halloween costume ever.)
I met up with Tobi again, quickly changed at his flat and then headed off to the fest. If you plan ahead, people reserve tables, where for 30 euros, you get half a chicken and two large beers (I believe a liter). (This was another source of disappointment for me as Tobi invited me to the table, but when I arrived in Munich, there was no space and I had to meet up with him several hours after he and his friends arrived.) Arriving at the end of Tobi's table reservation, the group headed out of the beer tent to go on some of the many carnival rides at the fest.
Although I was aware of the beer drinking aspect of Oktoberfest, I had no idea it was also a small amusement park. Honestly, when drinking, I haven't the slightest interest in something that will spin me around; similarly, while rides excited me when I was younger, I no longer had the desire to go on them. Needless to say, I was surprised that so many older people found such amusement in them. The merry-go-round was quite interesting, however. Positively the slowest moving carousel I've ever ridden, the center of the structure was not a music house but instead a bar. As I don't drink beer, I ordered a half beer-half lemonade drink. These half beer drinks are quite popular in Germany, which also surprised me. Perhaps it's my American way of thinking, but it seems to emasculate and/or bastardize the whole concept of a good beer. While I don't enjoy beer, I respect that many fine beers can be had.
We left to join another beer tent, but despite paying an entrance fee, could not enter the tent. We left and headed to a restaurant where I could unfortunately only sit and watch other people eat. The tone of this blog is perhaps not the happiest, but to be honest, it wasn't. Traveling always comes with unexpected challenges, but it was upsetting that the reason for planning my trip around these dates so that I could visit my friend ended up being the least planned and enjoyable and most stressful of the entire trip. While my opinion is probably highly refuted by many, I didn't find Oktoberfest to be the ultimate beer drinking extravaganza as its paraded to be and think it's safe to say that the USA can darty harder.
I woke up far too early the next day to pack and leave for Berlin the next day, but I was excited to catch up with a high school friend and see another side of Germany.
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