Bambi, Ice Cream and a Whole Lot of Eating: An Impromptu Trip To Munich

So what happens when you combine wanderlust and a 5 day weekend? One of the most hastily planned trips to Munich you could imagine.

So as I may have previously mentioned (see every previous blog post) Germany can be a little crazy at times. Add the fact that one has the potential to have their weekend begin at 2pm on a Tuesday afternoon due to one of the 4 bank holidays during the month of May and you being to feel guilty if you don't go a bit crazy yourself. Now considering that the idea to go on a trip to anywhere was conceived at lunchtime on Tuesday and completely booked by 6 pm that very evening I think we did that justice, and a pretty awesome time was had.

So what to do in Munich? Well if the weather is sunny quite a lot. Having dumped our various items we decided to embrace all the cultural wonders Munich had to offer.....from a Biergarten. Don't judge me. I'm only a person. A person in the beer capital of Germany. After our much needed pit-stop we had a wonderful stroll in the evening sun beginning in Marienplatz. We even got the joy of seeing the famous Glockenspiel in action. Unfortunately having not gotten there almighty early what we could do was limited before the shops closed, so we had to go drink more beer. Damn. Life can be really hard sometimes.

The following morning once every member of our party were finally awake we decided to wander a bit further afield, taking in the Olympic Park and BMW Welt. The day was rounded up by a lovely evening in Hofbrau Haus, which if you're not lucky enough to get to Oktoberfest is the next best thing, and a mad dash to get a Canadian with timekeeping issues to his bus on time. We got there. Barely.

The weather the following day was, shall we say, less than stellar. Nevertheless we braved the elements and ended up in the Allianz Area. Which was pretty awesome. We also attempted to do at least one thing of an academic nature and visit the Bavarian Landtag. Upon reaching the security barrier conversation went as follows:
Us: Hallo
Security Guard: Grüß Gott
Us: Können wir besuchen?
Security Guard: Nein
Still it was the though that counts right?

Unfortunately if you're not prepared for the elements you could be lacking for things to do after 5pm bar spending your evening in a pub or in our case ending up back in Hofbrau Haus. Which was by no means a bad thing.

Of course it wouldn't be me if I didn't round up with a few nuggets of useless information:

•   You cannot go to Munich and not spend the entire time gorging on all things German.
• When looking for a seat in a Hofbrau Haus-esque situation pick carefully. Your choice of bench-buddy may lead to a free Maß and some interesting conversation.
• Similarly, beware, you may get pinned into a corner by walking stereotypes. Which can only be unfortunate.
• I missed my calling to be a professional Footballer.
• I cannot go to Munich without stealing a Maß glass.
• Before going anywhere check opening times.
• If the majority are walking in the opposite direction to you they probably know something you don't.

This was most definitely the most rushed and hastily planned trip I've ever been on and was definitely up there as one of the most enjoyable. What did I learn from it? If you want to go somewhere, go. Time is short and you won't have the opportunity forever. Planning is for losers.