Munich in the Spring

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So we got back from Turkey and got a chance to go and work and live in Germany. The eight months that followed involved preparing, moving, adjusting and settling. Now that we have reached the latter part we can now refocus on doing what we like the most. Experiencing the world. The eight months previous are not really for here but basically…… Moved to Essen, Germany, got an apartment, plus a dog, singed endless amounts of paperwork (they do love it here in Germany), tried to learn some German, tried to learn some more German and still trying to learn German, ate my weight in Bratwursts and showed plenty of visiting friends and family around the area. This brings me to today, or at least to the 8^thof April, where we finally got to get away for a few days and have some Darren and Michelle time. The last few months have been tough, but tough in a good way. (What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and all that hype).

Munich

“So Sir, we would like to offer you a free upgrade to comfort class on your bedroom. Is this ok with you?”

Me: “Ya, that would be cool thanks”.

Me in my head: “Woooo Hooooo, UPGRADE. U.P.G.R.A.D.E. UPGRADE.”

I’ve heard about these. I was thinking Jacuzzi, fresh bowls of fruit, turndown service, extra soft slippers and bathrobes. I have heard people talking of this thing called Upgrade, but it has never happened to me…. Until today. Meanwhile I turned around and Michelle was doing cartwheels through the lobby of the hotel. At least that’s what I could read from her face. You see, Michelle in her head had extra reason to be jubilant but I’ll get to that in a little while. In fact things were so good it was too good to be true. We were also given free tickets for local transport during our stay, free Wi-Fi (a rarity in Europe) and two free Easter eggs.

Me in my head: “Officially best hotel ever.”

As we made our way to room 534, which incidentally felt like it was half way back to home, you could feel the excitement in the air. I had already made up a new song in my head about Upgrades and was picturing a champagne bottle inside the door to greet us. The key card goes in the door. It opens. Silence. Then the last thing you want to hear and the official “f**k this s*!t” code........

Michelle: “Sure at least it’s clean”

Me: “ …………………………….. “ (More Silence).

In fact about 10 minutes of silence. Basically we must have been upgraded from the equivalent of the prison hole to the prison jail cell, but sure “at least it was clean”. The silence was compounded even more by Michelle’s silence. You see a few days previous when I told her of the surprise trip she asked me what hotel. Not clearly thinking fully, I pointed to what I thought was the hotel, in the guide book. Michelle being a girl googled the hotel and it said it had a gym, pool, spa and wellness centre. The “complimentary upgrade” only added fuel to the fire. Unfortunalely I had pointed out the wrong hotel and even though they were near each other I can only presume that was where the similarities ended judging by Michelle's face. A Wellness Centre was definitely alien to this hotels concepts. Then some more over used clichés came out of our mouths, (mainly mine to try and fend off any forthcoming attack).

Me: “Sure we didn’t come to Munich to see the bedroom”

Me: “Sure the room is only for sleeping in”

Me: “Sure its size only makes it cosy”

Start a sentence with “sure” and you’re definitely trying to defend yourself. I stopped suring.



We made our way back to the hotel lobby (allowing time for distance) so we could go into the city centre for the afternoon. What followed was our own self deserved upgrade. We stumbled across Asado, a Munich based Argentinean steak house. Here we tucked into a 500g steak with a few side salads for minor distraction. Of course Argentinean steak must be eaten with Argentinean red wine, so a bottle was added to our bill. Time passed by as we relaxed and chatted the next hour or more away. Needing to relax for the day we spent the rest of the evening moving from brew house to brew house, sampling the homemade beer and trying out a new dish in each place. In between all this we came across a Hunters Museum on one of Munichs main shopping streets. Its location made it a very random museum and the best thing about the place was the heat it provided us from the cold outside. 9pm came and it was time to retreat to our Comfort Class room. It had been a long day. We were wrecked.



Song of the Blog: Upgrade by Wanderly Wagon

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Photos

Penny
Our new Dog

Comments

[deleted_49612]

HaHa! Great blog!
That Easter Sunday weather was pretty weird. We were surprised to wake up to a snow blizzard, that prevented our Easter garden celebrations. I presume, the photo title 'snow entering Munich' was taken on Easter Sunday, as all the other days of March and April had no snow at all as far as I remember. :)

[Wanderly Wagon]

It was Easter Sunday. couldn't believe it. I think by the Tuesday it was 17c. Crazy weather!