Saturday marked a year since coming to Canada, so it was quite fitting that we’d mark the day by going somewhere else. At 11:30am we went to Smith on Church St for brunch with Pete and Royden and Nathan, their friend from Vancouver.
It was Royden’s 50th birthday so it was a nice way to spend the middle of the day. Unfortunately, he was a little late as he got stopped on his motorbike by a cop for crossing a line or something. Luckily, he didn’t get a ticket or anything (even with not having his license on him).
I ordered my usual (poached eggs, toast and bacon on the side for Glen to eat). There’s not really much else on the menu that I can order, if I don’t want waffles and crepes. Everything else has pork of some variety in it. Still, we sat on the patio, the sun rose over the top and warmed me up.
After breakfast we went into Out on the Street, the clothing shop on the corner. Glen wanted to buy a t-shirt. He couldn’t find one. I did. I bought it. Glen also found a wedding ring. There was one there I thought was ok but Glen’s attempt at being funny put me off it.
Soon after getting home, we left for the airport. We only took one piece of carry-on luggage each so we didn’t have to bother to check any luggage. We boarded our flight to Zurich a little after six and were delayed for a little while. I think we left about 20 minutes late which didn’t bother us but you could hear a lot of huffing going on. I don’t know how flight attendants put up with all the whinging.
We were fed (I’d forgotten I’d requested a vegetarian meal so was pleasantly surprised to receive it before everyone was given their food), I took a sleeping pill, watched Muppets Most Wanted (and can barely remember any of it except that I know I watched it all the way through) and then went to sleep. I think I got a few hours, which wasn’t really enough.
We landed in Zurich at 9:30am (or probably a bit after because of the delays) on Sunday, then wandered through the airport to our gate for our flight to Munich. The plane was probably only about half full and the flight took less than an hour.
From Munich Airport we caught a train into the city, expecting that the train we were on would stop at the train station we needed. Instead it went from East Munich to West Munich, skipping central station. We got off, along with another traveller, in West Munich and luckily there was another train on the opposite side of the platform going to where we needed to go.
From the Hauptbahnhof we walked to the hotel, which was pretty close. Even though it was only about 12:30 or so, I was absolutely dead on me feet and starting to feel ill. It was 4am or so in Toronto so coupled with that and the limited sleep, I wasn’t in a good mood when we arrived. But, praise be to God, our room was ready when we checked in at Treff Hotel.
We then committed the cardinal sin of travelling. We went to bed in the middle of the day. Jet lag be damned. Sleep never felt so good. We woke up about three hours later, somewhat refreshed and hungry. One of the joys of summertime in Europe is that it stays light so late and we were able to enjoy a lot of the city.
Glen had downloaded walking tours on his phone and set our course. I can’t remember the names of all the places but we saw a lot of churches, some fountains, some gates (tors), a garden (where there was a rotunda with people dancing), a few markets with musicians and more dancing, and the famous Hofbrauhaus brewery.
Neither Glen or I are beer drinkers but, when in Germany… The place was packed with people, loud Bavarian folk music being played inside and lots of smokers in the otherwise lovely beer garden. We sat, we ordered beer (only half a litre each instead of the standard 1L) and food (we made a go of the German menu but eventually asked for an English one). Three other people came and joined our table as space was at a premium. One was German, while the other two were a retired couple from the US. We chatted to them about their travels and where they’re from. Was pleasant.
After a bit more walking around Munich streets, and seeing the Glockenspiel at the Town Hall (which we would return to on Monday), I was ready for bed again. At 8pm. Glen couldn’t quite believe it. I did feel a sense of failure, that I should have pushed on longer, but then I thought, bugger it. I need sleep. We returned and I was asleep by 9pm. It was heaven.
Two Travelling Aussies 