Tarrah and I arrived in Munich mid-afternoon fresh faced and ready to get our stein and pretzel on. I was so happy to see that the train station I had been in two years ago was still the best in all of Europe and hadn't changed a bit. That being said, I wish I could say the same thing for what was outside the train station.
Munich was definitely not my favorite place of my 2014 trip, I wouldn't even say it was top 5 - but it was definitely what I expected - super German, clean, fun, and full of good beer and the type of hearty delicious food that makes you wish you'd splurged on a private room with an ensuite.
After exiting the train station, I was startled to see how quickly in just 2 years Munich had changed. Tarrah and I stayed at the same hostel Natalie and I had stayed 2 years prior which was just a quick few blocks from the train station and a short walk to the famous beautiful Marienplatz (yes the same famous beautiful Marientplatz where there was the unfortunate shooting a few weeks prior). On our 3 block walk to the hostel, we were surprised to see how starkly the streets of Munich contrasted with our other stops on our voyage (there was trash, liter, graffiti, and people on the ground nearly everywhere you looked.)
After checking in at our hostel where I had regretfully booked us another shared room, this time with two non-English speaking Chinese high school students who just giggled every time they looked at us (Tarrah was going to murder me), we hit the streets towards the Marientplatz and beyond in search of the infamous hofbrauhaus (the world famous bavarian beer house which dates back to the 16th century.)
Our walk to hofbrauhaus was less than ideal. There were multiple homeless amputees begging for money throughout the streets (nothing says uncomfortable like a man without legs dragging his torso down the street and scaring the living bejesus out of you when he taps you on the leg from the sidewalk and asks you for money). Also, I just wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that 1 out of every 5 people I passed was a woman in full hijab with what looked like a zoro mask tied across it to cover up her eyes (because she apparently wasn't covered up enough just with the usual burka and normal hijab).
Nevertheless, we made our way to the fun cuckoo clocks and eventually to hofbrauhaus for our official Bavarian meal where we got down on some big beers, some sort of delicious cheese appetizer, and a pork knuckle (apparently a Munich specialty).
Munich was definitely not my favorite place of my 2014 trip, I wouldn't even say it was top 5 - but it was definitely what I expected - super German, clean, fun, and full of good beer and the type of hearty delicious food that makes you wish you'd splurged on a private room with an ensuite.
After exiting the train station, I was startled to see how quickly in just 2 years Munich had changed. Tarrah and I stayed at the same hostel Natalie and I had stayed 2 years prior which was just a quick few blocks from the train station and a short walk to the famous beautiful Marienplatz (yes the same famous beautiful Marientplatz where there was the unfortunate shooting a few weeks prior). On our 3 block walk to the hostel, we were surprised to see how starkly the streets of Munich contrasted with our other stops on our voyage (there was trash, liter, graffiti, and people on the ground nearly everywhere you looked.)
After checking in at our hostel where I had regretfully booked us another shared room, this time with two non-English speaking Chinese high school students who just giggled every time they looked at us (Tarrah was going to murder me), we hit the streets towards the Marientplatz and beyond in search of the infamous hofbrauhaus (the world famous bavarian beer house which dates back to the 16th century.)
Our walk to hofbrauhaus was less than ideal. There were multiple homeless amputees begging for money throughout the streets (nothing says uncomfortable like a man without legs dragging his torso down the street and scaring the living bejesus out of you when he taps you on the leg from the sidewalk and asks you for money). Also, I just wasn't sure how to feel about the fact that 1 out of every 5 people I passed was a woman in full hijab with what looked like a zoro mask tied across it to cover up her eyes (because she apparently wasn't covered up enough just with the usual burka and normal hijab).
Nevertheless, we made our way to the fun cuckoo clocks and eventually to hofbrauhaus for our official Bavarian meal where we got down on some big beers, some sort of delicious cheese appetizer, and a pork knuckle (apparently a Munich specialty).
(Marienplatz )
(Our hofbrauhaus grub - including the "pork knuckle"...never again)
As the sun began to set, our walk back to the hostel made us increasingly more nervous due to the nature of the streets and the hostile looks we were getting so we decided to take a nap and re-evaluate later if we would be willing to take on the streets after dark.
With the sounds of police sirens and giggles interrupting our nap, we decided it would be best to leave the room, but not the hostel. Luckily for us, we weren't the only tourists nervous about venturing out after dark and the hostel bar was pretty hopping with a lot of fun people from all around the world and we enjoyed downing some baby Guinnesses and beers while getting down to Toto and sharing travel stories with the other travelers.
(Here's me making attractive new friends during our hostel night in. His name is Craig and he's from Zimbabwe...as in Africa.)
Our flight from Munich back to Dublin didn't leave until 8pm, but luckily for us the next day was beautiful and we were able to spend it doing exactly what every American girl dreams of...staring at beautiful well dressed European men and drinking champagne (well Prosecco).
That being said, with all the incredible places to go in Europe, I don't think I'll be adding Munich to my next travel plans. But, never say never...
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