To Munich via train

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Munich, Bavaria, Germany

I woke up to a lovely video chat with Marlo who was just finishing off her dinner. She seems to still know who we are — I hope that will still be the case after another 4 weeks! Michael returned from his run just in time to join my chat with Alisha and Marlo, and then it was off to the lounge for breakfast.

We took our time this morning, knowing that we really didn’t have time to fit in any activity before setting off for the station. It was about 11am when we checked out, dragging our bags along the footpath along the route we had taken last night. We attempted to make the walk a little more interesting by going through the nearby Botanical Gardens, but it quickly became clear that our wheeled trolley bags were not suitable for dragging along the gravel paths! We turned back and stuck to the bitumen footpaths.

The lounge provided basic food and beverages, and was a nice place to wait for about half an hour. We then found the platform from which our train was to depart and tried to work out where we should be standing. We were somewhat confused until another train appeared on the same track — it eventually linked up with the first train that was waiting there, and later uncoupled from this section. It is critical to get on the right section of the train so that you don’t find yourself hurtling towards Switzerland, rather than Germany!

Our seats were not reserved, and so we both chose window seats in a first class carriage. Access to free wifi on board was so helpful — it meant I could finally catch up on my blog, including uploading photos.

Colourful buildings, Vienna

As we passed through Salzburg, I managed to snap a photo of the old town with the fortress in the background, sending live updates to family via Messenger.

Two hours into our journey, the sunshine disappeared, heavy clouds covered the sky, and it began to rain. But the skies soon cleared and by the time we arrived in Munich it was again sunny — and hot.

It took about 20 minutes to walk to our hotel — Michael chose it due to its quality (5 star) and price, rather than location (it’s in the opposite direction to the city centre from the station). As he is a member of the hotel chain by default (thanks to his Amex card for which we pay a hefty annual fee!), we were upgraded to a very flash room — so flash, it’s hard to work out how the lights work!

After settling in, we set off to explore the city. Although it was after 6pm, I had applied some sunscreen, just in case. But when we stepped outside, rather than being greeted by bright sunshine, it was now spitting with rain! The doorman lent us a large umbrella which we used for a short time, but the clouds soon blew away and the sun came out again.

Although I have been to Munich before (in 1978 and 1994), I only recognised the Marienplatz — the square in front of the city hall. There are many spectacular old buildings and a large shopping mall.

We wandered around looking for something inexpensive to eat for dinner, finally finding some cheap kebabs for €4.50 each in the underground station area, as well as some sweet pastries. We then headed back to the hotel with our meals (mine leaked through the bag on to my T-shirt — time to do some washing in the bathroom sink!). For some reason, my hip was hurting, and so walking was difficult — I was certainly glad when we arrived back at our room. Hopefully, a good night’s sleep will solve the problem.