Day eleven: Munich, Germany

If you ever thought that being nosy is a bad thing, don't. Well I guess it depends on the context but that's besides the point. We've thoroughly enjoyed eavesdropping on everyone's conversations this trip. This hobbie has resulted into some of the most fun we've had. 

It's is how we found out about Tollwood Festival. We noticed that a ton of people were checking into our hostel for this festival. It has been happening for the last twenty five years, it goes on for an entire month every summer. Hippy and artsy with great food on every corner and lots of bars, there were great vibes all around. We wish we would have known about it sooner, we could have bought tickets to the night events. Apparently some really good artists were performing and the shows were already sold out. Oh well, this just means we have to come back ;)

Best frozen yogurt, ever.

This is our awesome new roommate, Sam. 

Must have a hammock. 

Tollwood was a ton of fun. We refrained from buying anything other than food and drinks, but in reality we wanted it all. It was now time for some great Biergarten (beer garden) action. Augustiner-Keller Biergarten is a very popular spot here in Munich. No way we could miss that.

This had a cafeteria-like set up. you pick up what you want then pay. We shared a few plates of food (giant pretzel not shown).

Place was packed, wish I would have gotten a panoramic of this. Tables packed and people having a great time. 

Munich was definitely a challenge when we first arrived, but overall, it ended up being a great city. We did a lot, still took a lot of time to rest, and met some awesome people whom we'll definitely keep in touch with.

Cheers!

Day ten: Munich, Germany

We had a pretty uneventful first day in Munich, as you could tell from of last blog post. One of the many things we failed to plan for were rest days. You have no idea when you're going to be exhausted from either waking an entire city, a late night out, or because you stayed up until crazy hours in the night talking to your super awesome new roommate. Sometimes you just have to decide to do a little less for the sake of your sanity (and your travel partner's sanity!). Both of us girls get quite cranky on little sleep and swollen feet, with that being said, we have made Munich our rest city. (I know, weird choice). 

Waking through the streets we noticed a lot of people drinking these iced coffees with ice cream in them. Obviously we had to get some. Best idea ever.

We also learned that if a meal is around 10€, there's a good possibility that it's enough food to share. We ended up getting two of these pasta plates. Not such a good idea, so much food.

Since we were too exhausted to give you all a proper post last time, I'll take a minute to vent about Munich's underground system. After having dealt with underground systems in Chicago, New York, London, and a few others, Munich's system is extremely confusing and it basically sucks. We thought that our exhaustion was the culprit, but no. End rant. 

First stop, BMW Welt. 

We pretty much decided we belong in a BMW. We just look too darn good in them.

Mini Coopers as well.

Never been this close to a Rolls Royce before. Love at first sight? 

We weren't able to do the welt tour because reservations are required. Instead, we headed across the street to the BMW museum. 

They had a Rolls Royce exhibit set up upstairs. The picture above is of the Rolls Royce designed for Queen Elizabeth when she was still a princess. Only eight of these were ever made!

Next stop, Olympiapark. This is where the 1972 Summer Olympics were held. We found hamster balls in the lake (hamsters, children, same thing).

There was some sort of rowing competition going on so we took a few minutes to sit and enjoy the fun. 

These were the ticket booths outside of Olympiastadium. Amazing to think that these now deserted booths were once packed with thousands of spectators.

We designated this day as laundry day so we decided to head back to our hostel to start a load. We grabbed a couple drinks at the bar in the lobby and met some weird people while our stuff dried. Once we realized that the driers at the hostel were terrible, we decided to head up to our room to hang up our wet clothing in hopes that they will air dry by he morning (they didn't). We stayed up for a couple more hours hanging out and making plans for the following day with our fun new roommate.

This was the first night all trip that we had AC in our room. It was pretty much the most amazing thing that has happened in ten days (just a little exaggeration, but felt like it at the moment). 

Prost!

Day nine: Munich, Germany

Today, we missed our 5:03 a.m. train to the airport (public transport doesnt mess around here). We caught the next train and we were still able to make our 6:20 a.m. flight.

We arrived in Munich, walked through the English gardens, watched some surfers (weird right?), walked through a nudist meadow (don't ask), then took our typical two hour park nap. 

We are tired. 

Cheers.

Day eight: Cologne, Germany

Hohenzollernbrücke bridge in Cologne, Germany. Here, thousands of "love locks" have been hung by happy couples from around the world. The keys are then thrown into the Rhine river to symbolize their everlasting love. Aw.

Obviously, we skipped the lock part to go eat some ice cream. 

Waiting for our Rhine river cruise to arrive. 

This was an hour long ride along the Rhine. It had tour narration in German and English so we were able to give Dominick's  voice a break and still got to learn some interesting stuff. 

Shot of the Cologne Cathedral from the Rhine.

Apparently, people pay 8,000€ per sq. meter to buy one of these luxurious apartments along the Rhine. Crazy! 

The cologne cathedral is majestic! There is something about that gothic style that will give you chills. Definitely our favorite cathedral thus far.

Where the Three Kings' remains lie. 

We decided to split off for a little while since we both wanted to do different things and we were running out of time.

Naturally, Kara ended up at the Chocolate Museum...

Claudia decided to climb up 533ft up to the top of one of the towers of Cologne Cathedral. Challenge accepted.

This is what a sweaty break at around 300ft looks like.

475 steps later, this striking picture is proof that someone made it to the top!

The way down was a bit frightening. As you can see the stair way was very narrow and people were coming up and going down the same way. 

Stopped by this fruit stand to grab some post workout carbs. 

Time for more food! 

Dominik tricked us into getting too much food. I guess this is what happens when you can't read the menu. German portions are ridiculous!

This is how the server kept count of our drinks. We learned that here, the servers just keep refilling you by coming around with a caddy full of fresh beer. you have to put a coaster on top of your glass in order for them to stop bringing you more beer. Don't worry, beers are a lot smaller here. They do this so they stay cold and crisp. Brilliant. 

Oh, and don't expect a to-go box. You'll get a piece of aluminum foil.

“Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content with a sedentary life, that I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere.” 

― Isabelle Eberhardt, The Nomad: The Diaries of Isabelle Eberhardt

Cheers.