Munich 2011

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Munich started with a trip to the grocery store near Eva's where the sausage counter caught my attention. I had never had blood sausage thus far and upon some encouragement from Eva and her husband Johannes, I bought some. It was… ok. It may take some time to acquire a taste for the, er, blood taste! My buddy Daniel, classmate from UK, was to arrive that evening. Emmylou, also from PLD was to visit from Netherlands 2 days later (she was on her way to Paris for a weekend of champagne shopping along with a bridal party!). Eva’s sister Sophie was also going to join for a couple of days making us a party of 6 at full house.

That evening took us to Marian Platz and then onto Haufbrauhaus, perhaps the most popular beer garden for tourists and locals alike. The neighborhood felt European with cobblestone paths and street vendors selling paintings etc. I have to say the beauty of the neighborhood was rather marred by a Planet Hollywood right next door, why they would allow a place like that to open there is beyond me!

The idea of a beer garden is that there is a large outdoor seating and you can bring your own food and order something (most likely beer) from the restaurant. Beer was served in these massive mugs (should I call it a jug?) and I needed both hands to lift it. I barely finished half of the beer while Johannes gulped down two of those. Earlier in the evening I was introduced to Aperol which quickly became my favorite drink while on this trip. With a lovely orange color, it’s an Italian aperitif, less bitter than Campari and served as a spritz.

The next day Eva, Johannes, Daniel and I made a trip to Neuschwanstein Castle, inspiration for Disney’s magic kingdom, built by Ludwig the second back in the late 1800s. It was beautiful, perched amidst the hills, all by itself. It took about an hour to tour the unfinished castle. I bought some merchandise, chocolate and souvenirs. After the castle we drove a couple of miles to a pizza place from where we had a picture perfect view of the castle far away nestling in the hills. It looked like a drawing!

We went into the Olympic stadium, took the cable car up and meandered our way through the alps. We stopped by a flowing river and built cairns. All very leisurely. Dinner that night was at a Greek restaurant near Eva’s. The owner was rather generous with free uzo shots and food was great and plentiful!

Emmylou joined us the next day, she and Daniel had been put up at the same hotel close to where Eva lives. I felt rather privileged on being given Eva’s studio office as my independent apartment, rather luxurious! I like to believe I am special (and so lucky!).

I had promised to make Indian dinner for all and luckily met a woman in a bus who pointed me to an Indian grocery restaurant near Marian Platz. After a lazy morning doing our own thing, we all met up there in the afternoon, I tried the curry-wurst, sausage with curry powder sprinkled (unoriginal, but rather tasty). Munich was getting ready for the 2018 olympics decision and there was a huge stage ready to celebrate, we walked around to take it all in.

We went shopping in the market and the quest for chicken cut up in small pieces suitable for Indian curry began. Eva took us to a butcher where I took great pains to explain how small I wanted the pieces. Somehow he was not getting it and finally allowed me into the sanctum sanctorum (butcher table) to point out how I wanted pieces made. The only word spoken for a few minutes was ‘cut’, he did as I asked and we were both happy (at least I was)! Eva and the gang were, needless to say, amused. But rather pleased with the dinner when it was all done, I am told!

The next day was going to be another busy day with a trip to Tegernsee. Daniel was leaving us in the morning and it was going to be Eva, Emmylou, Sophie, Johannes and I. The train ride was about 2 hours and the lake was amazingly beautiful. It was very quite and serene, I was a little surprised to not see it over crowded like American beach towns tend to be in summer. Not that I was complaining! We took another boat tour and went into random shops to look at things.

My favorite part of the day was a trip up the hill to a restaurant known for its views. I forget the name of the place, but indeed it was breathtaking to look over the lake and town. Max Planck’s Schloss Ringberg (castle) was somewhere out there. We had meant to hike up, have a quick drink and come right back down, but landed up staying several hours. There was a wedding up there and several ladies were dressed in their best wedding Bavarian dresses! Johannes is a camera professional and had been giving me a few tips on how to take good pics, I experimented a little up there and rather like the results!

It was one of the most tiring but fulfilling days. I had one day left and somehow the thought of going to nearby Salzburg had been growing in my mind. So off I went the next day to the home of Mozart and location of Sound of Music.