munich Archives | WUGO

Munich: Land of Rain and Baguette Sandwiches

(Rain: please stop!)

Oh Munich, how I wished I 1) could see more of you and 2) had really good protective rain gear for myself and my camera gear. Shortly after arriving in Munich I realized two things:

It’s much cooler here than Prague. (Apparently nobody told Prague we had transitioned to fall temps.)
It had rained and the dark clouds “hinted” at more rain to come.

At one point, I thought I’d give it a go and trek outside, only to be quickly caught in rain I didn’t want to walk around in. So I came back to hostel (3 minutes away from the train station BTW) to do some stuff online and read. I ventured again last night, sans camera gear hoping maybe the rain would hold out for a little walk. I made it about as far as Marionplatz when I found myself frustrated with getting wet, also without umbrella and knowledge that the rain would go away or come down harder. The rest of my night was spent reading a book and writing (in that super secret journal.)

I woke up today to the sound of moderately heavy rain – and some incredibly loud snoring, which also greeted me throughout the night. The joys of hostels and room sharing, right? Hopes dashed for the walking tour, I did some more reading and went out for a couple hours this afternoon. Though still greeted by some rain, it was mostly of the drizzle variety. Part of it came while I walked through the English Gardens. It’s huge, twice as big as Central Park according to them. I’m sure I only saw a sliver of the whole thing, but what I saw was beautiful and well kept.

Appetite is there, only because the headaches tell me I need to eat 🙂 Not knowing yet if anything will reignite the events of early last week, I’m keeping diet to things I can quickly recognize. It’s a good thing I like bread/preztels and sandwiches, because that’s what I’ve been having for meals in Munich. They satisfy well enough aren’t making me ill anyway.

Tomorrow early afternoon I hit the trains for Zurich, where I’ll spend one night, then likely another on my way back to Munich. I’d be happy for better weather, but Sunday and Monday aren’t looking good, if we’re to believe weather.com.

From Prague to Munich and Beyond

My time in Prague is winding down as I wait for this illness to fully subside. My diet of crackers, bread, and pretzels the last day and a half has been nothing short of dry and a little salty. Admittedly, being told to hold back on certain food and drinks is one way to stretch the old budget, I guess. Yet I feel as though I’m being held back from the cultural experiences of a location when you can’t sample food.

Tomorrow morning I leave for Munich, where I will spend 2 nights before heading off to Switzerland for 5 nights, then back to Munich for a night before coming back to Prague for the final days of my sabbatical. I certainly hope there are enough English speaking people where I’m going because my German is pretty much non-existent! While I still know amazingly little about the Czech language, I’ve grown accustomed to reading the signs for public transit and hearing certain words here and there. It’s a comfortable lack of knowledge I now have.

I know many of you are hoping for more pictures and I continue to be lazy in picking some good ones out for you. I blame it on being sick, so there. Don’t worry, there’s stuff to share and you’ll get to see them.

I’m halfway through this trip. Two weeks ago today I was finalizing my packing and heading to the airport to embark on this journey. It’s too early to say whether or not I’ve changed. As I’ve been reflecting in my super-secret for my eyes only journal, I’m not sure that I’ll know how I’ve changed or what I’ve learned until long after I’m back. And that’s OK by me. In a world that demands instant in-depth analysis of everything that happens, taking time to figure myself and my experiences out is something I’m completely fine with doing. Take that, world.

The next hostel in Munich promises to be amazing and is listed as the cleanest place in the world. (Perhaps this is an exaggeration.) Oh, and for those curious where I’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time this past week, It’s a place called the Czech Inn. No, the pun was not lost on me. I’ll post again from Germany, possibly with photos from the train, assuming I have a window seat.