Day 15: Munich- Wiener Schnitzel and Beer Gardens

I had a delightful 7 hour train ride from Prague to Munich (seriously, it wasnt bad!). Pretty uneventful except for when the conductor came to check my ticket and I pulled it out of my purse, but instead of my ticket, it was my Europe train map. Crap. They're the exact same size and look really similar so I must have grabbed the wrong one. Which meant the real ticket was packed somewhere deep in my bag. So the nice conductor man stood there and waited for me while I searched, but of course when someone is waiting on you it makes you do stupid things like look in places that you obviously would not put it. Anyway, I found it, which was a huge relief because it's my ticket for all train rides I take on this trip. After that little hiccup though, I arrived in Munich unscathed and got to my hostel right away. I'm in an all-female 6 bed dorm in the "Pink Wing," aka girls only.








Not bad eh? I hung out for while and got settled in, then went exploring. It was so nice and sunny out!












Oh, and look at what I just happened to stumble upon? And by "stumble upon" I mean I specifically looked it up on my map before I even left my hostel...


Hooray for German beer halls! I popped inside and had a seat in the garden. Of course I had no idea what I was reading on the menu, but I had my little phrasebook out and was determined to figure it out without asking for an English menu. Two old German dudes at my table asked if I needed help, and I told them to order dinner for me- whatever they would have, I'd have. So they ordered me a half liter of beer and some wiener schnitzel... I had no idea what that was, but for some crazy reason I trusted their judgment. And it was delicious! I mean, obviously... Because usually I manage to take a photo BEFORE I eat two thirds of the meal...











It's pretty much breaded veal... With scalloped potatoes that have sort of a sauerkraut flavor. Not too shabby, thanks German guys! They also wrote down the name of another restaurant and what I should order there. Very helpful! After I left Hofbrauhaus I walked back to the hostel and took note of the awesome German girl outfits (dirndls) for sale everywhere.














I also saw a ton of Schultuetes, which are cone shaped packages that parents fill with treats and goodies to give to kids on their first day of school.





Oh and here's a funny story: on my way to Hofbrauhaus I had the hardest time finding the crosswalks at this really busy intersection, so I sorta just went for it. Then on the way back I realize that you cross underground. There's like an entire shopping mall right under the intersection. Welp, that explains the lack of crosswalks. I DIDN'T KNOW! Al the signs were in German!


When I got back to the hostel I met three guys from Seattle: Brad, Logan, and Suveer. They were headed to a beer garden and they let me tag along. I got a little too excited and distracted, and totally forgot to take any photos. But it was really fun, and the beers and pretzels were super!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad