Not your typical morning run...

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I had to do a couple double takes on my run through Englisher Garten this morning, )which is by the way one of the biggest if not the biggest urban garden in Europe=. I got in to Munich last night from Prague, which is just a short 5 hour train ride-its closer than it seems. This morning I woke up and went for a run, one of my favorite ways to explore a new place for the first time, especially when you go in the morning and there are no tourists out yet and you feel like you have the city to yourself.

Double take numero uno- SURFERS. No you are not crazy do not worry, you are right Munich is not on the coast and does not have access to any ocean--all the more reason to be a bit confused at the sight of surfers in full wetsuits toting their boards down a garden pathway. My curiosity would not allow me to let this go, so I took a quick turn, careful not to appear to be a stalker and followed those surfers to find out where they were going. Turns out, there is a small part of the Eisbach river that is rushing fast enough to create some pretty powerful rapids which hardcore surfers turn out to ride...really quite funny to see...its just below a main bridge in the city and people gather around to watch these guys catch a wave on the river.

Double take numero dos--NAKED MEN IN PUBLIC. Continuing on after watching the surfers for a bit, I found myself running next to a huge grassy meadow...the sun was shining and for about 8 in the morning, it was pretty warm outside...I spotted a couple of men laying in the grass...pretty normal---that is until I looked just a bit closer and after blinking hard a couple of times realized the guys were BUTT NAKED. Meanwhile, mothers with their children and other runners, passed by as if this was nothing out of the ordinary.

When I returned to my hostel, I did a little investigating to figure out what the deal was...turns out, there is one field in the Englischer Garten that is devoted to nude sunbathing...so it truly was nothing out of the norm--at least for native Muncheners.

So basically, if you cannot tell already, Munich is a very unique city. From exploring a bit today, it seems to be a mix of river surfers, nude sunbathers, BIKE LOVERS--so many people bikes--all kinds too, women in their designer shoes, men in their business suits, pregnant mothers, college students etc, BEER LOVERS--lots of great bavarian beerhauses--I hit up the Hirschgarten today, which is the biggest beer garten in Munich...there are hundrends of green picnic tables filled with people drinking Steins of German beer and eating brautwurst beneath big green trees in the middle of Englischer Garten. ITs pretty cute, some of the older men and women bring their own table cloths and lay them out on the picnic tables and play cards.

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Photos

As close as I could respectfully get...
Look carefully and you may find a surprise!