We arrived at Munchen Hauptbahnhof station at 8:25 PM, which
meant we didn’t have much else to do but go to the hostel. We found out that
Grobenzell was actually not within Munich, so we took a cab instead of the
train. It took about twenty minutes to reach Hostel Nanina. Despite it being
far from Munich, I liked this hostel for its clean, industrial structure. It
reminded me so much of Japan for its modern look. We were incredibly sleepy
after the long hours of traveling, so we opted to just pay the 116 euro-stay
for two nights at the Double Bed Ensuite room.
The next morning we had breakfast at the hostel common room.
There was free toast, jam, butter, coffee and tea.
We wanted to go to the
Andechs monastery but the weather was not cooperating that day, so we just
decided to tour Munich instead. We rode the train to Munich (13.60 euros per way) and walked towards
the Marienplatz, where we saw the town halls and St. Peter’s Church.
I bought the traditional costume, complete with the drindle,
blouse and apron, for 68.85 euros, which I would later use in Hong Kong for Halloween.
We had lunch at the Ratskeller, drinking our first mugs of
German beer and my first bite of wollwurst, all for 25 euros.
After lunch, we walked around the city, passing the Residenz and the wide expanse of the Englischer Garten. It was nice how they were able to preserve such a sanctuary in the middle of the city. The beautiful colors of autumn - deep red and purple juxtaposed with bright yellow and green, provided the perfect setting for our afternoon stroll.
We walked some more, seeing the BMW
headquarters and the Olympiapark.
The weather was getting worse, so we decided to head back to Grobenzell before we got
stranded. I needed to go to Aldi supermarket to look for the chocolates of my
childhood which my mom used to buy for us when she used to go to Germany.
Luckily, there was one in Grobenzell so after leaving our things in the hostel,
we went to Aldi. Unfortunately, I could not find the exact same chocolates from
my childhood; I could still distinctly remember its packaging. Of course, that
was more than fifteen years ago, so I surmised the packaging has changed. I
taste-tested the chocolates there but still they didn’t seem the same as the
ones from before. I ended up buying packs of chocolate to take home anyway,
since German chocolate still tasted great.
After Aldi, we went to Restaurant El Greco for dinner (18.20
euros total). The weather was chilly so I ordered beer to go with my meal to
warm me up.
The next day we checked out of the hostel and left our bags
at the locker in Hauptbahnhof station. We still had half a day left and we
decided to spend it in the Viktualienmarkt, their version of mercato. They sold a smorgasbord of
items from fresh juice to handicrafts. It was not hard for us to kill time
there.
We then had lunch at one biergarten near the area. I loved how cozy it felt that strangers could sit beside each other at the picnic tables, happily chomping on bratwurst sandwiches and drinking beer. I never felt more at home! It was then that I vowed to myself to return to Munich to experience my most favorite time of the year – Oktoberfest.
From Westbahnhof, we took the subway to Reumannplatz, then a short walk to Leibnizgasse, and we reached A&T Holiday Hostel. We were glad to see that the receptionist was a kababayan, checking us in easily and giving us tips on Vienna. We got the Deluxe Double Bed Private Room for a total of 110 Euros for our 2 nights stay.
After leaving our things in the room, we decided to walk
around the area to grab a bite. We found a family-run Turkish diner a few
blocks away from our hostel. Though it wasn’t Viennese fare, we ate here anyway
since we were already hungry and a glass of yogurt shake was so tempting. I got
a doner sandwich and my friend got a vegetarian one, spending 10.30 Euros for
our total meal.
We spent the rest of the night in the hostel common room, me
booking our bus ride to Prague the day after next, while my companion arranged
for a money transfer to my bank account with her family. She made a mistake of
not having her ATM card activated for international access while in Manila so
she couldn’t withdraw money. I made sure to do this for my ATM and credit card
before our trip because banks are stricter now and they have security measures
to ensure your card is not being used by anyone else here or abroad. It’s
actually not a hassle at all; you just call the bank and give them the dates
and destinations. I was a little pissed at my companion for this because I had
already advised her and she didn’t do it because she thought it wouldn’t be a
problem since she was able to withdraw money the last time she went on a trip
to Bangkok. Again, even if this was the case, just do it to be sure. You don’t
want to be in a foreign country with no money, especially after you’ve spent a
lot on shopping. She was running out of money by this time, since this was our
third to the last destination. I still had about 1,000 Euros left but I still
wanted to make sure I could withdraw just in case. We were going to separate in
Amsterdam as I ended my trip there to go to Hong Kong while she stayed to meet
some friends, that’s why she needed the money. The problem now was the maximum
daily withdrawal limit of 500 Euros. It was not enough for both of us if she
wanted to withdraw 2,000 Euros and we only had 3 days left to do it. Anyway,
her money was deposited in my bank account by the time we were in Prague, so I
was able to withdraw there for her. We maxed out the limit and she just had to exchange
the left over Czech koruna to Euros when we went to Amsterdam.
The next day we took the train to Stephansplatz and prayed
at the Stephen’s Cathedral.
Then we had a heavy brunch at one of the
restaurants in the area. I got a schnitzel, just to try Viennese fare, and
their version of flavored beer, which was yummy, by the way. Our total bill
came out 25.50 Euros.
We then walked towards the Rathaus or the New City Hall. There
were free guided tours at 1PM every Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and we
were hoping to catch one since it was a Friday, but there was an announcement
that they cancelled that day’s tour so we just roamed around by ourselves.
We took the train to Schonbrunn for a grand tour of the
palace. We spent 14.50 Euros for this, only covering 40 interiors. For only 4 Euros
more, we could have seen the maze, the Crown Prince Garden and gloriette, but
it was too cold outside, so we opted for just the indoor tour. No photos were
allowed inside.
After our tour, we went to the shop/restaurant to try out
their famous apple strudel. I thought it wasn’t anything special, considering
that they held classes there to make them.
We rode the train back to the Ringstrasse, this time in
Karlsplatz, taking photos around the area like at the State Opera House.
We checked out the free screenings at the Film Center, to
warm us up indoors, then went back home to our hostel.
The next day we checked-out of the hotel and left our stuff
at the lockers in Praterstern station where we would come back later for our
bus to Prague. We ate breakfast at one of the coffee shops in the station. I
got a wurstsemmel and hot chocolate for 3.50 Euros.
Because Vienna is basically THE world of museums (they
have a whole MuseumsQuartier), I thought we had to at least go to one before we
left. My companion was not much of a museum fan; I had been to the Louvre by
myself so I thought maybe somewhere smaller and less time-consuming for both of
us. I have always been fascinated by clocks and watches (which is actually the
category I handled in one of my jobs) so I was happy to see that there was a
clock museum in Vienna. And lucky I chose the uhrenmuseum because it was their
anniversary that day and the entrance was free. It would have been 6 Euros
otherwise.
After our museum fix, we went to the Naschmarkt or Vienna
market, located between Karlsplatz and Kettenbruckengasse. Here we saw all
kinds of stuff being sold from vintage jewelry, to vinyl records, and even old
bicycles.
I was scared to buy bags or jewelry, though I really wanted
to, lest there be some spirit trapped within, ha-ha. So I just settled for
vintage beer coasters, with stains of the kind of spirit that I wasn’t afraid
of.
We headed back to Praterstern to grab food from the
supermarket (2.23 Euros) and waited for our bus to Prague. The Student Agency
bus to Prague cost us only 36 Euros for two persons. I purchased this online
and had the hostel receptionist print the email confirmation for free. Departure
was at 3:40 PM and arrival at 8:30 PM at Praha, UAN Florenc.
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