Munich
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a city is more appealing in the sunshine. Upon emerging from the U-Bhan, underground station in Munich it is this very truth, as well as a sleep deprivation educed state of euphoria which immediately enchanted me and my friend Zoe. One cannot be unhappy on a warm day in Munich, and the more we discovered, the more we fell in love with the pastel neighbourhood buildings, smell of pretzels and the captivating city. After eventually finding the apartment of my kind friend who let us stay at her place, her roommate gave us a walking tour of the best places in Munich. Frozen yoghurt in hand, Zoe and I soon forgot about the fact that we hadn’t slept in the last thirty hours as we headed to the Englisher Garten. This huge public park, bigger than New York’s Central Park, is a core of outdoor activities and al fresco bliss. Within the Englischer garten there is a huge Chinese tower which is near one of the park’s two beergartens, the Eisbach river and rolling hills scattered with students and people absorbing the spring sunshine. My favourite part of this green haven was watching surfers practice on a perpetual wave created by the river; it’s a little slice of the beach in the middle of Munich, and a beer held in your hand while enjoying this delight is compulsory- if you don’t like beer, pretend, no one will know. Munich is the perfect coalesce of nature and city, and has to be one of the neatest, cleanest cities I have visited yet.
There is a myriad of things to do, and an activity I most encourage is eating. For authentic Bavarian cuisine, eat at the Viktualienmarkt. The food there is guaranteed to turn even the most dedicated of herbivores, carnivorous with the hearty portions of Bavarian meaty dishes, washed down with yet another beer, or with a Spezi, a surprisingly delicious mixture of coke and Fanta orange. Despite my eating an obscene amount of pretzels (they are just so cheap and delicious), I took full advantage of eating the filling German food, much akin to generous South African cuisine. What Germans scrimp on delicateness, they make up for with flavour and portion size. Do not be wary of the extra weight expected to appear after indulging in the enticing cuisine, because the best way to see the city of Munich is by foot.
Despite preconceived notions of what Germans are like, they are neither rude nor unwelcoming but friendly and helpful. Their adherence to rules and their respect for law and order is admirable and at times alarming for a South African, coming from a country where people abide by rules less strictly. No- one stands on the left of an escalator, you have to make way for fast paced escalator climbers, time is money, so move to the right. There is to be no speaking loudly on a train in Munich, speak at a respectable moderate tone and you will blend in. Do not act gregariously or laugh flamboyantly, this is a train for goodness sake, not market place. After witnessing a woman publicly shush a man speaking on the phone slightly loudly on the train, and seeing how orderly everyone is, I had strange impulses to make loud noises and yell anarchy. I did not do this, and nor should any traveler to Munich do this, Germans are nice people, they just seem to like order.
This breath-taking city is best seen at the top of the city centre’s clock tower, and a panoramic view of the beautiful Munich will take your breath away and help burn off the pretzel you just ate. I wish I could have spent more time in Munich, as I felt like becoming an ordered good looking Bavarian, living in a city which seems to emulate calmness.
