The View From My Beer
Two countries, two beers…. At Rome Airport I enjoyed an Neopolitan pizza and a glass of Peronni for lunch. On my arrival in Munich I went on a short walk and found a Five Guys that sold beer. Even though it was American beer, I decided to go with the stubbie of Brooklyn Lager just so I could say I had a beer at my favorite burger joint, Five Guys.
Munich
I was travelling to Munich to attend the opening day of Octoberfest tomorrow. This was part of a break from cruising the Mediterranean to attend my nice, Brandi’s wedding in Perth. I was just in the process of booking my Mediterranean cruises when Brandi contacted me about her wedding plans, so I was able to adjust my plans to fit in a return to Australia.
Munich is the capital of Bavaria and is known for being the home of the world’s largest beer festival, Octoberfest. It is also well-known for being the home of BMW. This was my third visit to Munich. I first visited Munich in 1988 to attend my first Octoberfest. I returned briefly in 2012 to take delivery of Michelle’s first BMW (another long story). Other claims to fame include being where Play-Doh was invented, the birthplace of the Nazi Party, and apparently also the home of river surfing.
My Day
I don’t usually blog about travel days, as I consider them largely uninteresting. But they can be interesting… Trains, planes, and automobiles have become a such a common part of our lives. I still remember some of my first flights and the excitement of seeing what clouds looked like from above. The anticipation of landing with a small bump. And the exhilaration of being in another place.
Flying To Munich
Having been in and out of a few times this year, I was beginning to know my way around. A bus from the Civitavecchia cruise terminal to the Civitavecchia train station. A train from Civitavecchia to Trastevere. Then change trains to Rome Airport. I disembarked around 9am and was checked in for my floght by 11am. This gave me plenty of time to grab some lunch before my Lufthansa flight to Munich departed at 13:50.
I was fascinated with this teenager who was playing with a distinctly Italian toy. It was (I assume) a rubber/plastic pizza base that she was practicing doing all the moves you sometimes see in a pizza store. She could spin it on her fingers, toss it in the air and catch it again etc. This was the only time I saw this, and I have been unable to find it on the Internet. And as we all know, if it aint on the internet, its not real!
Airports have changed a lot over the years. In most cases for the better. The airports at both Rome and Munich were quite good. Very large, with flights all over the world. I often like to look at the departure boards to see the unique set of destinations that each airport has. It is commonplace now to be able to take a train to/from the airport (unless you live in Melbourne!). For some reason I am not a big fan of taxis. I like taking public transport, especially trains between my hotels and the airport.
Munich
I arrived at my hotel fairly late. Despite this being my third visit to Munich, I don’t know the city that well. I knew I would be spending most, if not all, of tomorrow at Octoberfest, so i decided it might be a good idea to take a walk through the city centre to see what I could find.
I had booked a hotel in central Munich, knowing I was likely to be staggering home from Octoberfest at some stage. That worked out great as I was able to quikcly escape from my hotel and enjoy and hour or two walking the streets of Munich bfore getting sleep for my big day tomorrow. The city was very lively. I assume this was partially due to a lrage group of tourists like me also getting ready for Octoberfest. There was lots to see. It was German. Almost everything was old, strong, and rigid (the Bavarian/German influence). There was also elements of innovation (The Northern Europe influence). It was great to be in an environment with lots of younger people. The energy levels were much higher than most of my cruises.
