I may steal breakfast foods, but I am not a thief!

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Geo: 48.1207, 11.3626

Lousy sleep. Bunk mates were quite loud when they returned last night. Fred and Sammy - younger guys that are also going to Prague. Maybe I will see them at the next hostel as they asked where I was staying. Or perhaps this was just an effort to avoid where I would be! Just because I haven't showered since I landed in Europe doesn't mean that they should discriminate!

Breakfast - kind of crappy but it didn't stop me from making a small lunch with the cheese and meat! Much more substantial breakfasts are found in Austria versus France and Italy. Got detained at the hostel - something was stolen on my floor so the cops wanted to search everyone's bags. Lame because someone from another floor could've stolen it too ... no key is needed to access each floor, only each room (or set of rooms). Most likely it was the bunk mates or those in the adjacent room.

The girl at reception was not much help. She knew that I had to catch a train but i wasn't the first one searched. And then .... after it got sorted out a bunch of us just sat in the lounge waiting for much longer than necessary. They could've at least told us that everything was fine. But at least she was nice ... she suggested that I get a rail pass. I asked her if there was an age limit and told her that I was 28. Her reply: "Oh, that's really old!". Thanks!

Off to Munich. Chatted with Sandy from the Netherlands. It is possible that she was hitting on me but as usual, I can never tell. Just out of the blue I was asked "Do you know what the weather in France is like right now?" If only she asked if she could move the beds apart ... then I would've known for sure!

Anyway, she was nice ... a speech therapist from Amsterdam debating whether or not to return home from her vacation now or keep going. I suggested San Sebastian or Nice. Got to Munich where she decided to go home and sleep on things. Obviously, if she was hitting on me I didn't make a very good impression! Perhaps it's that whole not showering thing .... I did ask if she wanted to see some of Munich (scenes from "Before Sunrise" flashed through my head!) but she said she was going to get some food.

Dumped my luggage at a locker and had a bratwurst. Lacking in flavour but it was a quick lunch. Walked to Marienplatz - very lively and enjoyable. I was actually surprised as I was approached by a Mormon missionary. Unexpected! Saw a booth selling lovely sliced veggies ... then I realized they were only selling the mandolin slicers, not the veggies.

Went to a big market ... great! Lots of produce, bakeries, cheese shops, delis ... though I just ate a bratwurst and the sandwich that I had made during breakfast at the hostel, I couldn't resist some caprese salad. Too much cheese and too little tomatoes, but still good. Amazing cherry tomatoes can be found in Europe. Plump, juicy, sweet ...

They have some amazing cafeterias in Austria and Germany. Looks like it's restaurant quality with an amazing variety. I have to try it later tonight. Had an incredible pastry (nusszopf???). Flaky, light pastry ... a chunky nut paste (almond?) .. nice light glaze, not too sweet ... it rivaled any pastry I've had in Paris.

Saw the Neues Rathaus ... very interesting architecture. Amazing medieval style. Hellig Geist Kirche (church) - I lit a candle for some reason ... not sure why, as I've only done it once before. Guess it's for all the suffering in the world right now. It had a Baroque style, with beautiful frescoed ceilings. Saw another giant glockenspiel ... these are everywhere!

National Theatre ... took some nice pics from the square in front of it. One complaint about Munich - a lack of public benches. Went to the Residenz ... liked some parts very much but a little too much info was provided. Overload! Residenz is worthwhile just for the Antiquarium ... reminiscent of Valle de Los Caidos or the Musee D'Orsay in Paris with its long symmetrical hall.

Loving Munich. Energetic and vibrant! Walked some more but it started to rain. I wanted to see the Eisbach artificial river in the Englischter Park - people surf it. Nobody was doing it by the time I got there. I had to hide from the rain in front of the "Haus der Kunst". Raining very hard ... why didn't i bring an umbrella???

However, life is good ... rain is annoying but have you ever just sat there and enjoyed it? Who has the time? I am becoming philosophical like Confucius. It got very cold so I went inside.

The Haus used to be a nationalistic Nazi type museum. Picasso's "Guernica" once was exhibited there. How would Picasso feel, knowing that? "Guernica' was his response to Germany's relentless and unnecessary bombing of Guernica. To be housed in a former Nazi museum? Poetic justice I suppose because in the end, "Guernica" the painting triumphed.

I thought that I might not make it back to the cafeteria in time ... nooooooooo!!!! But I did - sadly, it was the end of the day and the food had been sitting for a while. Mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers, baked on a fried fish fillet - if only it was fresh. Fried potatoes were good with tartar sauce.

Off to the internet cafe to kill time before the Prague night train. Korean guy there refused to pay a 1 euro minimum charge because there wasn't a Korean language option. He wasn't made aware of this beforehand. I guess I see his point ... but still it was dumb in a way.

Off to the train station ... funny because every single food venue there serves the exact same thing. Couldn't resist getting a meat loaf type sandwich ... the bratwurst would've been a better option.

Couchette on the train ... tight and impossible to get comfy. Better than a seat? I'm not too sure about that. Annoying Korean girl in the compartment ... wanted me to move by bag off the floor. To where? There was no room up top ... retarded! I guess I was supposed to throw it off the train. Perhaps throwing HER off the train would've been a better option for everybody.

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Photos

a
Pretty lame fountain - basically it's just spraying all over the place. It's like how I am when I take a whiz in the morning.

b
Cool architecture.

c
c

d
The German language continues to make me chuckle.

e
Neues Rathaus

f
f

g
I found the architecture in Germany and Austria to be quite interesting. Different from other places I've been.

h
Saftladen, another relative of Osama's!

i
Nymphenburg! Sounds like a great place for a single guy to visit.

j
Delicious looking cafeteria .....

m
There was a big gay and lesbian festival when I was in town.

n
Placebo again! It's like I'm a groupie following them around Europe, but never being in the right place at the right time to see them.
At least this photo confirms that the lead singer is a man. I've never been sure because of his androgynous appearance.

o
The Residenz

p
Tiny little dog. It fit perfectly inside a hot dog bun and tasted wonderful with a little spicy ketchup!

q
National Theatre

r
There was a pretty big lineup for tickets to the Residenz. Unexpected, as Munich doesn't seem to be a big tourist city.

s
The horns ... the creepy/clueless expression ... it's a dead ringer for George Bush!

t
Very intricate design ... almost like sea shells. Haven't seen something like that before.

u
Inside of the antiquarium in the Residenz.

v
Somebody managed to knock this statue off its pedestal. A pretentious modern artist immediately took credit for it and claimed that it was an iconoclastic rebellion against the classical schools of art.

w
Why would you keep people's braids? Why not their toenails as well? Sickos.

x
These paintings were almost like comic books. I actually liked them.

y
Really neat bench, where I hid from the rain.

z
Rapids of the artificial Eisbach river.

za
Me lying in my cramped couchette. Needless to say, I did not get a good night's sleep.