Regis Breaks Free: Much Munich

Munich was never high on my priority list. It was intended to be a convenient stop between Italy and the Czech Republic, that happened to be near a few points of interest. Oh foolish, foolish me.

St Peter's Church

Munich, and Germany in general, surprised and delighted me. My first impression came in the form of a well-dressed businessman who noticed Brit and I standing on the street corner outside the train station staring confusedly at our map. Without hesitating he approached us and spoke to us in German. When we shamefacedly shrugged our shoulders and said, "Sorry, we only speak English" he smiled and said, in perfect English, "Can I help you?", and proceeded to direct us to our hostel. We thanked him, and with another polite smile he was on his way. I was thoroughly impressed with this show of thoughtfulness, not to mention his flawless bilingualism.

Enjoying a local beverage at the Augustiner Beer Hall & Restaurant

Our reception at The Easy Palace Hotel was equally friendly and professional, and I began to warm to Munich. We were grateful for the transit system, which lived up to the fabled efficiency of the German people. Despite visiting several destinations varying from across the city to a few hours away, we had little-to-no trouble getting where we needed to go (with the exception of trying to find Hirschgarten).

While our experience at the Augustiner was less-than-satisfactory,
we had plenty of positive experiences in Munich to make up for it.

There is plenty to see in Munich, which was surprising to me for some reason. There are some pretty neat historical buildings, as well as more modern attractions like the BMW Museum, the Olympic Stadium, and Hirschgarten (which you will see in future posts). We even got to see some of our old favorites: the construction facades that were such a memorable part of our visit to Paris.

Isn't it beautiful??

Another great thing about Munich was my reunion with my favorite cereal of all time: Kelloggs Crunchy Nut. I ate it daily when I lived in Ireland for 9 months, and was quite desolated when I got home to discover that it is not sold in Canada (at least not that I can find). Needless to say, when I discovered it while grocery shopping in Munich, I snatched it up and force-fed Brittany and our hostel roommates with the passion of one who wishes to convert all others to love the sweet peanuty goodness.