Like a King with 12 Crown

Hello there!
I've found myself in front of a computer less and less these days, time is precious over here. Right now I am sitting down at an internet cafe in Berlin which is more like an internet mini mart. Good for me, they sell beers from a cooler instead of coffee! I went with the Warsteiner Premium Verum. Ah German beer, how do I love thee... So I guess you may be wondering how I got here. Where did I leave off...

Ah yes, I had just gotten into Munich and had a good meal, then took the day to rest... well, not so much. I signed off the blog and went to the hostel bar for a night cap. The hostel I was staying in is called Wombats. A right proper hostel (I've been spending a lot of time with brits). They did a really good job with the place and they had a nice bar there, clean with cheap beers and good music. I grabbed a half liter of Augustiner Helles and sat down at a table and struck up a conversation with a few guys from Bristol. It turned out that it was their last night of travelling and they were headed out so they invited me to tag along. We found a really really cool bar in the city, low lit with vitage couches and a just a taste of that run down feeling. After a few we headed to another club and eventually ended up back at Wombats where one of the guys Simon and I held the pool table for a while (I had a really mean cut on the 8 my first game that impressed and boosted my confidence). I ended up crashing sometime in the wee hours and woke up just in time to stumble downstairs for the free walking tour that the hostel offered at 11. The tour was actually impressively good.

Munich is a rather odd city when you first see it. Everything is very clean and new but is designed like it is old. It turns out that there were only four buildings in the entire city that were left standing after the second war. However, before the war started someone had the idea that it might be smart to document the city very thouroughly, so when it was rebuilt after, they recreated it almost to a T. So nearly the entire city is under 60 years old, but it has the history of a much older time. For instance, the Hofbrau Haus was first built in the 1500's and has since been the staple beer hall in all of bavaria. Today it is the largest beer hall in the world, at capacity it holds 3500 leiderhosen sporting beer drinkers (and yes the still wear them today. I saw plenty on people and I even saw one of those fashion posing mannequins in a store window sporting a pair). So naturally I went for sausages and beer after the tour. Sausages, kraut, and mashed potatoes. Oh yea, and a Hofbrau Dunkle maß (liter). It really makes you appreciate getting your veggies, eating in bavaria.

On the tour I met a girl named Ruth who was heading out that night with some people and she invited me to tag along. We gathered the group that night and walked all the bloody way across the city to find a small blues club. We had tall dunkelweiss' served by a woman who looked like Bridgette Nielsen in Rocky IV and listened to some New Orleans style jams. Afterwords we found another beerhall before finding some doner kebab and calling it quits. (Doner Kebab is what they use to refer to middle eastern gyros style joints which you can find all across europe at really cheap prices.)

My last day in Munich I went to the Englisher Garten, the largest urban park in the world (twice the size of central park) and saw the local some local nudists (a few of which were playing soccer... interesting) and got a liter with Hendle (half a chicken) and a pretzle (about the size of a small child). I also made it to the BMW museum which was incredible. I have some killer pictures that will do it better justice. I also spent a lot of time staring longingly at some intricate custom steins that I oh so desired to buy and bring back to my favorite bar in Seattle, the Prost. Unfortunately the liter size steins started at about 125 € and the one I wanted was 150 €... so I exercised restraint. I also did some clothes shopping as I lost a shirt in Florence I think brining me down to 3. I only made it out with one shirt (I'm somewhat of a picky shopper) but it is a good mesh nike athletic shirt that was meant to take some abuse and will wash and dry easily. At night, guess what I did! Yup, went to the Augustiner Beirgarten and back to the Hofbrau Haus for more liters, met some crazy french (Bon Jour!), and crashed late.

The next day I booked it to Prague. The train through the countryside was so beautiful, so bohemian... oh yea, I was in Bohemia! I had two nights in Prague, which I think turned out to be just enough. I stayed in a ultra chic hostel called the Czech Inn and toured the city with a couple I met from Glasgow. Having been conditioned to drink beers with lunch, I grabbed a beer and a sandwich while the people I was with opted for water. The Czech Crown (or koruna) converts to about 23 per us dollar. The waters went for 25 crown; a half liter of the local pilz- 12 crown. Oh the joy. Not only that, but pilsners taste so different in Czech. I really feel now that you haven't had a proper pilsner until you get one there. In the states, they take on a sour and metallic note which was blissfully absent from every one that I had while I was there. Pretty much all the beer I had there was fantastic including the original, and aggresively unrelated, Budweiser and Budvar dark. The sights were decent in the city, but they had all been sandwiched into small areas by newer and uglier buildings.

Which brings me to today. I hopped a train to Berlin and found my way to my hostel (stopping at the world sand carving competition along the way... not as exciting as it sounds, but impressive nonetheless. I checked in and wandered around for a bit before finding a good looking bar. I met some nice german fellows who bought me a beer and we talked about genetics, but there was a book reading there in German, so as it began I made my goodbyes before wandering across the street to where I am now.

So, I have three days in Berlin which I am really excited about before moving on to Amsterdam. I think I have the rest of my trip planned out, I just have to cement down the dates and then book everything out; I think I've got some great stuff ahead of me so stay tuned and I'll keep ya up to date. Thanks for reading everyone, much love.


Here's another small sampler of pictures, enjoy!
http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2310005&l=a58e7&id=10700716


Trav: So for the rest of the trip, I am thinking a day trip in Cologne, 3 days for Amsterdam, 2 days for Marsielle, 3 days for Barcelona, 3 for Paris, 3 for Edinburgh, and 3 for London. Then 3 in D.C. before bouncing home. I may have to juggle the order a bit according to travel costs, etc., but I think I can make it work.