We were suppose to have a full day and half in Munich learning about the Third Reich or taking a bike tour of the city. But after our 5 hour train ride turned into 10 hours followed by a 3 hour dinner with some new friends, we settled on a free walking tour. After the free walking tour cancelled, we settled on a tower climb and a day swimming in the river. So no history report on Munich. I know as much about Munich now as I did before I arrived with the exception of how genuine the city feels.
So you might be asking what happened with the train? Europe trains are known for their punctuality.
We were no more than 30 minutes outside of Salzburg on the way to Munich when our train came to a completely stop. Right before we stopped, the train whistle blew three times. Someone had committed suicide by throwing themselves in front of our train. The Germany lady next to us said very matter of factly “it happens”. Brooke told me that it is a common method of suicide in Australia as well.
Just like the states when there is a fatality, we had to await the police. Since we were on a train, the police arrived by driving up through a field. It took the police a hour or so to document everything and remove the body. At this point, we were told that the train needed to be removed from service for a complete service and that we would all be dropped off at the next station. A little town just outside Salzburg. No further instructions. Huh?
We were sitting next to a family from Ohio. We quickly agreed to stick together. There was a gentlemen on the train that spoke both Czech and English who was also heading for Munich. Our small group quickly agreed to follow him.
We got off our 1st class, air conditioned rail car and followed our newly appointed translator across the train station to another platform. We quickly realized it was already over 85 degrees and only 10:30.
Our translator informed his small group of minions (we were not the only people attached to his hip) that a new train was coming for us. Tom, the father of the family from Ohio and owner of a HR recruiting, commented to me on how fast us Type A personalities are willing to give up control when we don’t understand the language. No kidding.
Our new train came. The air conditioning was broken, there were not enough seats, but we were happy to be under way again. Then our translator informed us that our new train would be dropping us at another larger city where we would wait for the next scheduled train to Munich. We all went crazy with questions “How long was the delay?” “Would we have seats?” Some how we all assumed he now knew everything.
Upon arrival at our next station, Plenz, we found the new train on the reader board. It would be another 2 hours. Tom and I agreed that lunch was in order and Paula, his wife, and I decided it was time for a beer. Over the next 2 hours, the five of us became long lost friends.
Megan is studying Finance and Ethics in Florida. Tom and Paula own a very successful company with offices in Ohio and Florida. Derek and I felt like we were having lunch with my family.
Our new train came. It was already scheduled for Munich so surprise, there were not enough seats and the air conditioning was having problems. Tom quickly opened a tab in the bar car and grabbed us one of the tables. They would let us stay as long as we were ordering things.
The table was very comfortable, more of a circle than a rectangle, so everyone got to see outside. The air conditioning was working great. We settled in for the ride.
Tom started by buying us drinks on his tab, not letting me pay for anything. Soon he was buying drinks for other strangers. The train car was alive. It was like traveling with my dad, or my sister.
We arrived in Munich, 5 hours late. Everyone applauded. The 3 hours of drinking didn’t hurt. Tom and Paula were staying in Munich one more night before flying home and want to show us their favorite restaurant. We ended up spending 2-½ hours at the restaurant. We probably would have stayed longer but all the other customers had already left.
We exchanged information and thanked Tom profusely. Somehow today had turned out to be a win after starting as such a tragedy.
Derek and I agreed on a late morning. Our Hostel was offering a free walking tour at 10:45. Sounded perfect.
After breakfast, we headed to the walking tour to find it was cancelled. It was too late to join another one. Huh? What to do?
After a few minutes with one of the girls at the hostel, we decided to walk the main mall, climb the tower at St Peter’s, and then visit the English Gardens, Munich’s #1 must see. She recommended we bring our swimsuits.
The mall was beautiful.
St. Peter’s tower climb did not disappoint.
The view was perfect.
Now off to the English Gardens. My friend, Bob, recommended a restaurant which over looked the gardens and surfers. Yes, Munich has surfing.
After a lunch, we went off to find the surfers. There is a canal that flows into the English Gardens. Where it enters, the water is very fast. There is a couple of drops which produces surfing waves. This is all right in downtown Munich, next to the main art museum.
The canal attracts all sorts of people looking to cool off on hot days. The canal is about 4 feet deep with a concrete bottom. 300 feet further into the Gardens, the canal splits in two creating 2 meandering rivers for people to splash off in.
The local kids prefer to jump into the first part of the rushing canal. The water grabs them and sends them flying down stream. The current is so fast, they just bob along. We had to try this.
Derek started with the rope swing.
After scrapping the crap out of his arm trying to grab onto the cement walls and climb out, Derek decided we needed to follow the canal downstream and see how the locals are getting out.
There was a small cement wall a foot under the water down stream where the river split. Looked doable. If you miss that, the canal sends you down to another bridge. If you miss that, there is a rope across the river. We never saw what happened if you missed that.
As we got ready to jump in, I became aware that I was the oldest person by about 30 years. Not to mention, I was the only female not in a complete bikini (We have not seen a one piece bathing suit since we left London). I decided to play the ignorant American and jump in anyway. Actually, it was so much fun, we did it twice.
We finished our time in Munich walking around the gardens. I did find out the Gardens were originally built as a military training facility then converted into a park. The military never trained there.
We did miss learning about Munich’s history but mostly we missed finding out about the weird things in the city. like what is the story behind this palm tree in the middle of old town Munich. Anyone know?
