Munich day 2 - Neuschwanstein castle, cold hard hustla and Drinking with Germans

For my second day in Munich I checked out the famous Neuschwanstein castle with my new friends. Because we were 5 we got the discount rate and it was only 8 euro for round trip!  Of course that was because of me,  I gelled everyone together! We took the early train at 9 and it was completely packed with tourists going to the castle. By now our contingent had expanded from the original 6 of yesterday. We were joined by an Aussie who lives in London - Adam.  He is hilarious and full of funny stories.  So we bonded over our travel experiences.  He told me about drop bears and so now I know not to be susceptible to these Aussie tricksters haha. 

Anyways we arrived at the castle and my friends had to line up in the long ticket line while I took the reserved route which was a breeze.  I had researched up beforehand and knew about the logistics situation and so planned ahead (for once lols).  While at the ticket counter I worked my magic and actually was able to buy tickets for my friends as well so they didn't have to wait in line.  Of course that's what happens when you roll with me - certain perks should be expected ☺

I really should have gotten more tickets than I needed to be honest cause the line was so long I don't think I would have had trouble scalping then for double the price!  But a las friends before money reigned supreme for the day. 

We toured the castle which was magnificent,  built by the recluse King Ludwig who never married.  Most suspected he was a homosexual and had such a relationship with his composer friend Richard Wagner the musician. 

After the tour we went to the famous bridge where the most famous photos of the castle are taken.  Adam myself,  Megan and Nick took the harrowing climb up the snowed and sloshed in back mountains for a better vantage point free from tourists.  It was definitely not for the feint of hearts.  The roads were slippery from the recent snow melt and every couple of minutes snow from the nearby trees would fall down to or near us with a thundering roar or sometimes with a small whimper.  It doesn't hurt when it hits you but in the pristine landscape it really gives you a jolt.  The most dangerous part of the climb is probably the lack of railings,  a few steps to the left and you will be tumbling down hundreds of feet below to the canyon gorge where even the rescue persons cannot get to you due to the foliage. 

But of course everything is fine and we took some amazing photos and hangout at the vantage point just chilling and relaxing. 

Me and Adam. Topless photos - we were totally sober lols 

I call this pondering

Nick being a boss haha

After we got back to the hostel around 8pm I chilled out in the bar with some new people. I met so many people to name and had great conversations and general schnanagins. I actually met a bunch of UK and Ireland people so now I don't need to find couchsurfers when I visit at the end of April :D Score!

Finally we went back to Jean's again for the second night and this time as he was hosting a party with his German roomates. I invited Sascha as well and was challenged to a drinking game with the German. To find out the result watch below. 

I forget everyone's names but my host Sascha is the one winking to my left and Stella is looking like a creep in the back far right lols

To top off the night the Germans were heading to a club but it was already 12am and I needed to get up tomorrow to catch the bus at 8am. So I bid them farewell and headed back with Sascha. But sleeping was not in the cards for me. I stayed up and talked to Sascha and his roomates until 5am. And woke up at 6:30am.

Peace from Munich.

Munich day 1: walking tour, river surfing and Party Munich style.

I saw the craziest thing today in Munich. River surfing! Ok but before that let me tell you about the rest of my day. 

So to start off the day I wanted to check to see if there are free walking tours offered.  So as usual I walked towards my hostel as they usually have information on this type of stuff.  I headed out around 8am and the streets were deserted -  probably because today is a national holiday on account of Easter.  Munich as a whole has a very clean and rich feel to it.  The buildings look brand new but are built in a pre 21st century style.  The reason is that during the war the Germans were losing and the base of Nazism started in Munich actually.  So they knew their city was not going to survive at the end of the war.  So they actually took arrival photographs of all the buildings and after the bombing they rebuilt what they could to have it look exactly the same as before.

I passed by Wombats hostel on the way to mine.  And my previous experience with Wombats in Vienna was amazing so I thought I try my luck.  And it was another home run for Wombats.  I cannot say enough good things about this chain hostel.  The staff was super friendly and gave me tips about where I should go even though she knew I didn't stay at the hostel.  So the walking tour started later and I checked out a palace by myself on her recommendation.

The palace was huge including the garden.  I didn't go inside as I didn't have enough time and barely explored 10% of the grounds. 

After the palace I went back to the hostel and started the walking tour.  I met up with Phillip,  Megan,  Pierre,  Valérie and we decided to check out the famous Hofbrahaus beer Hall in the evening together.  This beer Hall is famous for their role in WWII as the place where Hitler wrote many of his speeches and conducted his meetings.  Today it is known for its Bavarian food and amazing beer. 

Meanwhile before the dinner Pierre, Megan and I checked out the English garden where we saw Germans surfing on the river drain duct system!  It was too amazing to describe in words so I am just going to link you to the video

And the explanation of why this thing occurs and the nuances are explained here.  I goggled it cause it was really interesting.  Yea I am pretty much the coolest guy you will ever meet ☺

http://moreintelligentlife.com/content/places/noah-lederman/munich-surfing

For dinner Stella, Pierre, Val, Megan, Phillip, Jean, Nick and I headed out to Hofbrahhaus - the famous beer hall in Munich. We all stuffed our faces with coma inducing German fare. I got the knuckle of lamb it was such a big portion and so meaty! Of course the big draw of the place is the beer and it is true what they say German beer really is the best! I usually don't like beer but their local brew had no bitter taste and was actually kind of sweet. We each chugged 0.8L mugs. And the long tables of the hall ensured us great conversation with strangers around us who quickly became new friends. I met a Lebanon couple, 3 Israel girls and a German at my table and we all got along smashingly - even the Arab vs Israle history didn't stop the common language of beer and good times!

Stella (Australian), Phillip (English), Pierre & Val (Montreal Canada), Megan (USA), Nick (Korean) and me!

Me and Jean (French)

Nick & Phil 

Preparing to high 5

Beer hall, upper flow used for concerts in the evening and drinking 

After the Hofbrauhaus, Jean who lives in Munich invited us to his place for more partying. He had these Game of Thrones type of chairs in his common room and we all took turns posing around on them getting more smashed on the delicious German brew and teaching each other drinking games form our own countries.

Finally I headed back to Sascha's place around 3am.

Great first day in Munich!

Peace from Munich. 

Munich: blablacar and couchsurfing

Last night I arrived in Munich with my blablacar. From the transportation  to finding my couchsurfer -  everything went off without a hitch.

My Ride share was amazing. David a 71 year old drove me a French and a Guatemalan guy.  We had great conversations in the car sharing stories and just life philosophies in general.  This was by far the best share ride I have had so far. 

When we arrived in Munich the French guy I was sharing a ride with offered me his couch if it didn't work out with my couchsurfer. Luckily I found my couchsurfer without problem and he was so happy cause I brought him a big present. 

So as I was walking towards his place I noticed a pair of perfectly his skis by the side of the road with a note on it. After consulting with my smart phone it turned out it was free. Of course I couldn't pass up on that offer so I walked a couple of blocks carrying my new found trophy. When I met Sacha my couchsurfer he was so surprised and couldn't believe his luck! Haha.  Of course I also brought his some wine ontop of that from Alsace cause you can't always count on finding gifts on the side of the road!

I exchanged stories with Sacha and his roommate Sarah. They are both studying Physics in Munich. Sacha has lived and studied in Kyoto Japan for a year so we bonded over that sharing stories about the peculiarities and wonderful culture that is Japan. 

Sascha and I with the skis I gave to him!

Jean the blablacar French guy who offer to let me stay at his place if it didnt work out with Sascha :D 

Great start to my in Munich!

Peace from Munich!

First couchsurfer in Alsace!

I hosted my first couchsurfer here in Alsace. Gera is from Russia and she has been studying in Hungary for the past three month.

To be honest I was so surprised when she sent me a message on CS. My roommate and I talked about it and we agreed she must have made a mistake! Who wants to come to visit Guebwiller? Anyways turns out it was no mistake, she prefers the country life so she is on her way couchsurfing through three countries.

Right off the bat we hit it off talking about everything from politics to relationships until 3am! I was going to Munich today so I cooked for us and emptied my fridge :D while Gera taught me some useful Russian phrases about showering lols

It's really interesting hearing her opinions on the situation in Donetsk Ukraine and Russia. Actually she herself lives just on the board to Ukraine so she has intimate knowledge about the situation there.

Anyways it was a good first experience with my first and probably last couchsurfer for the year here since I am leaving soon.

Peace from Guebwiller.

Ecomusee: The Alsace village

This week this Easter holidays here in France or Pacque as they call it. So yesterday Alexia and I checked out a local museum called Ecomusee.

Ecomusee is an open air museum reconstructed with old Alsacian houses. It shows you what life was like in Alsace from the middle ages to the Industrial revolution. It was interesting to walk through the old houses (all of which have been deconstructed from their old sites and reconstructed at this new place). But the most interesting part of the museum was the presentations about animals, machines etc.

Because we had our teacher cards we got to go into the museum for free!

Peace from Guebwiller.