1st-6th July 2016
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Nymphenburg Palace |
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| 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.
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| The gardens |
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| 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.
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| From the back door |
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| Very old church |
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| Interesting decor |
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| 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.
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| Tiny frog |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Old city gate |
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| Busy |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| More churches |
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| Central Munich |
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| Not fooling me |
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| Inside another church |
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| 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!
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| 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
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| 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.
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| Dunno what this is |
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| Looks pricey |
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| Looks Squashed |
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| The most impressive corridor |
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| 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.
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| The old roof before and after |
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| Some royal rooms |
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| Excessive decorations |
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| Perhaps the ball room |
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| Ready for guests |
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| 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.
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| Erm dead body anyone? |
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| Fancy corridor |
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| Another fancy corridor |
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| The Royal Theatre |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Squeeze up |
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| The Marianplatz |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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!
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| 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.
