Jet Lagged Gianna

I was able to sleep so much better on the night bus thanks to the vacant seat next to me. I arrived in Munich early in the morning, but I felt less zombie like than I had in Krakow.

My hostel, the Euro Youth Hostel, was close to the bus station. They let me drop my bags off and shower before my 2 pm check in time. I paid $5 for the breakfast buffet which consisted of cereal, fruit, toast, pastries, and pretzels.

“May I sit with you?” a girl asked.

“Sure!” I said, “I’m Gianna.”

“I’m Gina,” she said. We laughed at the similarities in our names. Gina was from Brazil. She’d just spent a month in Paris learning French, and was spending a few more weeks traveling Europe before returning home.

When we finished breakfast, we headed to the lobby to wait for the free walking tour. An enthusiastic American guy picked us up and brought us to Marienplatz (the main square in Munich). We were divided into groups based on what language we spoke, and then the tour began.

Munich is a pretty small city, but it’s packed with history. Not long ago, Munich was part of a totally different country called Bavaria. It officially became a German state in 1949, but many people from that area still consider themselves Bavarian and not German.

My favorite part of the tour was when our tour guide told us the story about the maypole. Apparently, every city makes a new maypole every year and if someone steals the pole, the owner has to bargain to get it back. Apparently a few years ago, some kids stole Munich’s maypole and the government had to bargain for it. The kids demanded beer in exchange and the government had to agree. Or at least that’s how I remember the story.

After we’d walked a trillion steps, we tipped the guide and set out to find some lunch. Gina and I had befriended an Australian guy named Riley during the tour. We made our way to Victuals Market, a giant outdoor market with tons of inexpensive traditional food options. Gina and Riley got German food that consisted of some sort of meat and I got a massive plate of falafel. We also ordered beer because we were in Germany and, well, duh.

We ate in the sun on a picnic bench surrounded by 300 of our closest friends. The market was super busy, but the food was great and not very expensive (at least for German standards), so I could totally see why. When’d we’d stuffed ourselves full I said goodbye to my new friends, promising to meet up with them at the hostel bar later. It was time to see an old friend.

Talia and I found each other in Marienplatz. I hadn’t seen her since I’d been in Cordoba, and it felt so good to see a familiar face.

We walked through a park and stopped to watch some surfers. There’s a river running through the park that was engineered to make a giant wave that people can surf on. It looks extremely difficult and apparently the water is freezing. I was impressed by how long these people were able to stay on their boards.

Next, we walked to the beer garden at the Chinese Tower. I ordered a Lemon Radler. The guy behind the counter laughed.

“You order lady beer,” he said.

Talia and I split a pretzel and caught each other up on all of our travels. The sun was setting, so we made our way back to the main town, stopping to do a little shopping here and there. I was mainly looking for bug spray and sunscreen for my next destination. Talia just loves shopping.

As we hugged goodbye, I told Talia she would always have a place to stay if she wanted to visit America.

Back at my hostel, I made instant ramen for dinner in the microwave. I found Gina and Riley from earlier at the bar and chose a seat with them. Eventually, a big group of us had formed and we decided to check out Hofbräuhaus, one of the most popular indoor beer gardens in the city.

I ordered a liter of beer and it was literally bigger than my face. I’m not a beer fan, but I powered through because I was in Germany and I wanted to drink like a local. Our table also shared some massive pretzels.

I sat across a Irish guy named John. He had some hilarious stories to tell about the differences between Ireland and America. Did you know they call crossing guards lollipop ladies in Ireland??

The group wanted to go clubbing, but Gina, John, and I headed back to the hostel. It was late, and I was exhausted from the overnight bus. We said goodnight in the hostel lobby and I fell asleep right away.

The next morning, John and I met up to do some sight-seeing of our own. Our first course of action was to climb the tower at St. Peter’s Church for a beautiful view of Munich. The stairway up was extremely tight and hot and tiring (in a totally fun and non-complainy way). Ten sweaty minutes later we were huffing and puffing at the top of the tower, but enjoying the view none the less.

Next, we visited Saint Munditia, The Patron Saint of Spinsters. She can be found inside St. Peter’s Church. Her body is literally mummified in a glass case and she’s covered in jewels. I think Munditia is my favorite saint. Maybe even my favorite human.

When it was time for lunch, I convinced John to try a vegan restaurant called SIGGIS. Much to my surprise and happiness, he liked the food! I ordered a soup and sandwich and he got the lasagna. All were delicious.

When we were filled with vegan goodness, we spent some time in the Munich Residenz, a former palace of the Wittelsbach monarchs of Bavaria (or something like that). It was grand and beautiful, and it felt like it went on forever. That place was huge. We spent hours walking around the palace and probably could have spent a few more.

The heat and walking around got the better of us and we headed back to the hostel. I needed a nap. Unfortunately, my intended 45 minute power nap turned into 3 hours of deep sleep. I woke up and it was dark (the curse of the overnight bus).

I hung out with Riley, John, and some others from our hostel at the bar that night. There was a guy with us that looked exactly like a young version of Tom Hanks and that’s pretty much all I remember from that night (oops).

My final day in Munich, I decided to take a trip to another concentration camp. Dacchau Concentration was the first camp opened by the Nazis in 1933. I didn’t book a tour this time, because the camp is small and the museum has tons of information on the walls. I took a train and then a bus. It was easy to figure out, I just followed the tourists.

I recommend visiting this camp as well. Entry is free, and the museum is extremely informative. It was crazy to see where everything started. And horribly sad.

I got back on the train to Munich. Finding dinner was a bit difficult. Munich was one of the hardest places to eat vegan. Vegan restaurants were few and far between, and most other restaurants simply didn’t offer any options. I found a place in the underground bus station where you could create your own bowl. I got a veggie curry dish that was decent, but not worth $13.

When I got back to the hostel, a girl dressed in a wonderfully traditional Bavarian dirndl dress with an apron was advertising a beer garden tour that night. I signed up immediately. Munich made me realize how much I love beer gardens. Even though I don’t love beer. Sitting outside on those long wooden benches socializing and enjoying a drink is probably one of my favorite pastimes.

The most important thing I learned on the beer tour was that if you don’t look someone in the eyes while your cheersing them in Germany, in means you’ll have 7 years of bad sex. Needless to say, lots of eye contact was made that night.

The tour was filled with big beers and bigger pretzels. We went to 3 or 4 different beer gardens, and eventually found ourselves back at the hostel bar drunkenly arguing about politics and religion and everything else under the sun. It was a blast.

I had to get up early the next morning. My bus back to Berlin was leaving at 9 am. I had an eight hour ride to look forward to.

I stopped at a cafe called Coffee Fellows for an avocado bagel and some coffee. Next, I hit a grocery store and bought a salad with balsamic dressing and some snacks for the ride.

Unfortunately, it started pouring rain on my way to the bus station and the brown paper bag holding all of my food disintegrated in my hands. The dressing and salad fell to the ground, spilling everywhere. The only thing that survived was the German version of Funyuns that I’d bought. I didn’t have enough time to go back to the store. It’s a good thing I love funyuns, because they were all I had to eat for the next 8 hours.

Up Next –> Back to Berlin: the end of my solo travel journey

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