Day Nine: Munich

Day nine started with a train ride.

We caught an early express train in Verona, destined for Munich, and settled in for the five hour journey northbound. I've decided that train rides everywhere look pretty much the same. Sweeping countrysides, looming mountains, and rivers criss crossing through farmlands and towns. Here are some of the views we were privy to:

Leaving the train station in Verona

Somewhere in the Italian countryside

Crossing Austria

This train ride came with a special addition: one of my best friends, Christina, and her brother, Joe, joined us part-way on our journey. Finally, people we could speak English to!

Christina and I on the train!

Joe passed much of the train journey in Dave's usual fashion: asleep.

Joe passed out on the train

While Christina and I enjoyed some beverages, and caught up on our respective trips so far.

A couple of radlers on the train to pass the time

Dave took some time to explore the possible advantages of the 1st class train car we accidentally-on-purpose snuck our way onto. Turns out, the fancy seats fold down into a vertical, bed like position. Pretty cool!

Dave testing out his first class seat

Five hours later, we arrived in Munich and enjoyed a lunch of (gasp!) McDonald's, before checking into our Airbnb in the east end of the city.

Dave rated German McDonald's a 7.5/10

Our Airbnb host, Carsten, was awesome! He was at the apartment when we arrived, and gave us lots of tips about things to do and see during our short stay in Munich. He also helped Christina and Joe figure out how to get to the airport at the end of their stay, and gave us tips about street parking and local transit.

And then came Sofie!

Sofie is one of my best friends: until April she was living in Toronto, but she has since returned to her hometown of Vienna, Austria. When she heard we were planning a meet-up in Munich, Sofie and her boyfriend Chris, made the four hour drive to join us.

Christina, Sofie, and I: best friends reunited!

Sofie and Chris also brought a bunch of Bavarian beer for us to try, so we set up our own mini tasting session and went to town.

Bavarian beer tasting.

Dave's head for scale. Note: Dave has a very big head

For dinner we went to Wirtshaus an der Au, a traditional beer garden and restaurant near our Airbnb that our host recommended. It was a funky, pub-like place, with a warm and homey feel. The waitresses wore long traditional garb, and I spent most of the evening expecting them to break out into The Schuhplattler (a traditional Bavarian dance) at any moment.

Cheers at Wirtshaus an der Au

I had delicious vegetarian dumplings for dinner

Dinner consisted of sausages, dumplings, and more beer to go around. We put Sofie and Chris to work all night, asking them to translate and describe menu items before ordering, but in the end their hard work payed off as everything tasted great!

Today, we will enjoy another day exploring Munich and taking advantage of the washer/dryer in our Airbnb: the laundry situation has gotten a bit desperate on Dave and I's end.

If anyone has any must-dos in Munich, please leave them in the comments.

Cheers,
Heather