Saaga

After a hectic time in Berlin, we caught the Overnight train to Munich. This in itself was an experience. The train was meant to leave Berlin at 00:32, but was about 15 minutes late, so we were pretty damn tired by the time we got on board. The four of us were sharing a sleeping compartment, which was good as we didn’t have to share with strangers. The compartment was very cosy, so I can’t imagine what it would have been like sharing with strangers, as every time you wanted to move you basically had to make sure that everyone else was in bed, or they would get in the way. The beds were quite narrow and a bit hard, and of course, for Steve, a bit short. All in all though, it was better than sitting up all the way to Munich, but it wasn’t the best night’s sleep that I’ve ever had.

We arrived in Munich and after checking into our hotel, went for a wander into the tourist heart of the city at Marien Platz. We luckily (?) arrived just before 11am, so were in time to hear and see the famous Glockenspiel play. I’ve got to say that, after the Mannekin de Pis in Brussels, the Glockenspiel is probably one of the most over-rated tourist attractions I’ve seen. For the rest of the day we wandered around, continuing our never-ending quest to find shoes for Steve… well, we also looked around Munich and visited a few pubs, including the Australian Pub, “Ned Kelly’s” (a bit tacky, if you ask me, but you could buy VB there for about €3.60 per stubby).

Our second day in Munich was much better as we started with a walking tour of all the Third Reich sites of interest, which really helped us feel that Munich had some history (as after Berlin, everything tends to pale in comparison). The guide on the walking tour was very informative and interesting, so it was a worthwhile way of spending 2 and a half hours and €10. Also, it’s such a small world that one of Steve’s former colleagues from Sydney was also on the tour! After the tour we headed off to the English Gardens with her and her boyfriend for lunch. The English Gardens is a very big area just to the north-east of the city centre. They are somewhat like the Botanical Gardens in Sydney or Central Park in New York. In the middle of the park is a big Chinese tower (left over from a world expo, I think) and a big beer garden and self-service restaurant. It’s a great place to spend the afternoon, relaxing in the sun and, on the weekends, listening to the oompah-band which plays from the first elevated level of the tower.

After spending a few hours in the beer garden, it was decided that to make the most of the beautiful weather, we should go out to the 1972 Olympic site and go up the TV tower to have a look at the view. We did so, and the view was very nice, although it was quite hazy so we couldn’t see the Alps, which was a shame.

On Friday, Steve and I decided to have a day-trip out to Salzburg and Berchtesgaden. Kurt and Michelle went to Rothenburg ab der Tauber instead. I’ve been to Salzburg and Berchtesgaden before, but I enjoyed them so much, that I wanted to take Steve there too! It took about an hour and a half plus delays to get from Munich to Salzburg, so we ate lunch pretty much as soon as we got their (pizza). Then we wandered around the altstadt a little bit before heading up to the Festung (Fortress). Steve had a great time exploring the fortress, which is like a small fortified town at the top of a very steep cliff. There were also a few interesting exhibits on Austrian military history, which Steve was very excited about. After about an hour and half at the Festung, it was time to head back to the train station and head on to Berchtesgaden.

It took about an hour to get to Berchtesgaden and then about 20 minutes to walk down to the salt mine, which was our main destination. I knew that it closed at 5pm, so I was quite worried that we were going to miss it and have basically have made the trip for nothing (although Berchtesgaden is very picturesque, surrounded by jagged peaks). Luckily we got to the mine around 4.30pm and discovered that the last tour was scheduled for 5pm, so there was plenty of time. The tour of the mine is very fun (so fun, that this was actually my third visit! I went when I was about 5 years old and then again in 2001) consisting of information about the mysterious world of salt (not so mysterious anymore!) and rides on a mini train, two giant slippery slides and a ride on a boat across an underground salt-lake - all very exciting when I was 5 and still exciting the third time around at 27.

The next day was our last day in Munich, so we decided to spend it relaxing and taking advantage of the availability of large quantities of beer. First we stopped off at the original Löwenbräu Keller and had a weiß beer. It is quite funny to note that the standard size for beer in Munich is 1 litre and if you ask for a small one, you get 500mls. In Düsseldorf, the standard size is 200mls and a big one is 400mls! After the Löwenbräu, we headed back to the English Gardens and ate our lunch and drank more beer. Slowly, our time in Munich was drawing to a close and we needed to head back to the main train station.

The train trip from Munich to Düsseldorf took 5 hours and was pretty uneventful. We got back to our apartment at 11pm and went straight to bed. It was a good trip, but now I feel like I need a holiday to rest up a bit!