Closer to Home

1st-6th July 2016

From the Japanese to the European Alps

It was time to take that long haul flight from the Eastern Hemisphere to a time zone more familiar to me. But not home. I had one final addition to my trip which was a month in Europe. After exploring Australia, New Zealand and Asia quite thoroughly it seemed wrong that I didn’t know Europe that well. So, along with my old mate Dave, we would have an epic roadtrip around Europe. Well, at least that was the plan.

Huge tent with 100 beds

Not wanting to delve too deep in Western prices again I found the cheapest hostel in Munich. This was a 100 bed tent out of the city centre. It had good reviews but I was a little apprehensive. It turned out to be one of my absolute favourite hostels I’ve ever stayed in. The tent was a little chilly at night but you can have as many blankets as you want. I managed to find a spot right in the corner which kept the noise to a minimum. Because it was outside, there was a ambient noise anyway so I found it really easy to sleep. Plus I could use the extra blankets as curtains.

Social fire pit

The bar was really good with cheap steins. The people here were really cool. So many Australians! I instantly made friends. It felt more like being back in SE Asia. Japan had been a little less social. The best part about this place was the fire every night. People will hang out there with a beer and there’s always someone with a guitar. It was awesome place to chill. I had a couple of days before Dave arrived so I had time to kill and there was nowhere better.

Nymphenburg Palace

Its spitting!

I wasn’t completely lazy though. Just around the corner from the hostel (tent) was Nymphenburg Palace. I've no idea who lived here or if it was a famous place but it had some nice gardens to walk around which I did whilst dodging the odd shower.

The gardens

Inside

I wasn't keen on paying the entrance fee. Especially to a place I'd never heard of so I took a picture through the window instead, it looked nice.

From the back door

Very old church

Interesting decor

Very arty

As I was wandering around the gardens I came across a really old church that some epic wall art. There was a security guard checking tickets but he just waved me on in a FML type way.

Tiny frog

The Welsh contigent

Back at the bar that night most people were watching the football. The Welsh supporters were outside whilst a few Belgians were inside watching a different TV. There was quite a lot of people supporting Wales although mostly English. In fact, when I shouted out "Is anyone actually Welsh?" there was no reply.

Making friends

I had a good night in the bar making friends and beating an ever increasingly frustrated Australia at chess. He thought he was good, bless.

Nice looking building

The next day I spent walking around the centre of Munich. I didn't really know what there was to see so I was mainly just wandering around. I popped into a couple of big churches, one of which had a service going on so I crept back out again.

Old city gate

Busy

When in Rome

Of course I had to try a Pretzel. I had never had one but they were very nice. I had quite a few while in Munich and in other places.

Marienplatz

This most overrated attraction in Munich. That's what one man had to say about the Town Hall clock. Hundreds of people gather in the Marienplatz to watch the performance of the Rathaus-Glockenspiel. Basically a fancy coo-coo clock, there's three separate sections that tell the story of old Bavaria. I suppose it was quite clever but I stood near a guide who was openly mocking it. To be fair he was quite funny and he still explained what the story was about.

Centre of Munich

I paid to go up that tower with the clock to get a view of the city. I loved the orange roofs and the style of terrace housing. Very traditional.

More churches

Central Munich

Not fooling me

Inside another church

Punch and Judy!

I had no idea Punch and Judy was still a thing! This is ancient! I stumbled open it whilst wandering around. In Germany its Kasper and Grete! Who knew!

Munich Residence

I spent most of the afternoon at the Munich Residence, the home of the old Bavarian monarchs. This place is huge. So many rooms. All very grand and fancy. A suitable home for any King or Queen

Old oldest English crown

I first went to the treasury where there is the oldest English crown in existence. I thought that would be in a museum in London but here it is in southern Germany. There were loads of very expensive things in here.

Dunno what this is

Looks pricey

Looks Squashed

The most impressive corridor

A rebuilt church

This old church used to have a famous artwork on the roof but it was destroyed in World War 2. They plan to restore the roof at some point.

The old roof before and after

Some royal rooms

Excessive decorations

Perhaps the ball room

Ready for guests

Who would want this!

The last room was a complete surprise. I don't remember why but there's a collection of bones in fancy vases or cabinets. In the middle was a glass coffin with a child's skeleton inside. It was all very odd.

Erm dead body anyone?

Fancy corridor

Another fancy corridor

The Royal Theatre

DAVE!

That evening I went to the airport to meet my companion for the remainder of the trip. My good friend Dave from home joined me for my month around Europe. He managed to get all the way to Germany by himself which some might find surprising!

We had a couple of beers that night and had a catch up. He mocked my hair, I mocked his packing skills!

The next morning we had arranged to hire a car for an epic roadtrip around Europe. When we went to pick up the car, however, we found that the actual cost to hire it would be double what was quoted. This left us in a bit of a pickle.

Luckily we found a Plan B. You can buy interrail ticket from any major train station and so that is what we did. I had a bit of a cash situation at that point. Turns out I had none. I was hoping for my tax back from Australia which was going to pay for the time in Europe but it hadn't gone into my account yet. Dave kindly offered to bail me out until the money went in. It was quite a stressful morning really.

Dave's awkward tourist pose

After we had solved that drama we spent the rest of the day exploring Munich. I'd seen most of it but Dave hadn't so I did some stuff again. We climbed a different tower in the city centre to get a slightly different view. This staircase was really cramped.

Squeeze up

The Marianplatz

A beer garden

This place is famous for its beer garden so, having had enough of being a tourist, we headed went in search of one.

Steins!

These places are awesome. The beer was cheaper than I thought it would be and there's food stands everywhere. It isn't a tourist trap either. Most of the conversations we could here were auf deutsch. There was such a positive atmosphere. Munich became my favourite destination in Europe after this.

Cheers

It was nice to have a familiar face to hang with. Travel buddies come and go but it was nice to reminisce with Dave about things that happened years and years ago.
 

Karratha friends

That doesn't mean to say I don't love meeting up with a few travel buddies if the chance presents itself. I had many reunions in Europe, the first of which was with Ats and Shelly who I had known from Karratha. They were on there own travel adventure through Europe. It had been several months since I left the Tambrey Tavern but the anger and frustration were still there as we talked about who had done what since I had left. I'd kinda hoped it had shut down!

Awesome pic!

It was a nice evening eating and drinking in a beer garden. The next morning we botched together a last minute travel route through Europe, packed up our stuff and headed for the train station. Next stop, Vienna, the first of many cities.