Munich

It might have been a short trip, but it was just what I needed.  The temperature was chilly so I got to wear a scarf and a jacket for warmth, not just to cover up.  I visited the green trees in the Bavarian forest and even saw some running streams along the way (something I didn’t even get to see back in LA).  At Oktoberfest I made friends from France, Uruguay, Germany, and the U.S and we drank BEER, sang songs, rode the rides.  Before catching my flight home I even had a bacon, egg and cheese sandwhich at McDonalds (not that I even really enjoy bacon, but my not being able to get it in Kuwait makes it a little more special).

Before I get into the meat of the trip (pun), here are some pictures of Qatar’s brand new airport.

“Teddy Bear Lamp” greets arriving visitors in Qatar

I took some time to appreciated the Lego tree and fancy toys at this airport toy store.

This is one of two artsy playgrounds in the airport.

A great place to enjoy a nap during my 7 hour layover.

The start of the trip wasn’t so enjoyable and easy.  I had planned to stay with an LA friend’s sister who lives in Munich.  After 12 hours of traveling I arrived at my the appartment and there was no answer.  We had communicated before and we knew that the timing might not work out.  The plan was to leave a key for me at a nearby bakery.  The problem was, that day was a holiday in Germany and NOTHING was open at 8 in the morning when I was stranded outside, including the bakery.

No one is out at 9 am and I needed help!

To make things worse my phone wasn’t working in Germany so I had to find wifi to be able to communicate.  As I walked around Munich for an hour with my suitcase, searching for wifi I started to question why my decision to travel alone.  It’s never my first choice to take a trip by myself, but when no one else can join me I hate to pass up opportunities.  Anyway…there I was alone for two hours trying to figure out how to get in and drop my bags off.  I finally found a hotel that was nice enough to let me connect to their wifi.  As soon as I connected I recieved a message with directions to a different bakery, retreived the keys, and finally got in to wash up and get ready for the day.

I took the afternoon to go get a taste of Oktoberfest.  This was a day of patience and my patience was truly tested as I waited for two hours for my first beer at the Hofbrauhaus tent.  I shared a table with a group of people from France and answered a lot of questions about living in Kuwait.

Day 2 I ventured out of Munich to Baumwipfelfad.  I found it in one of those magazines in the airplane seatpocket on my way to Munich.  My host helped me get to Central Station where I got directions for my 4 hour journey.  It was a complicated route that invovled 3 trains and a bus.  When I missed one of the trains and had to wait an extra hour in Zweissel I again questioned why I do this alone.

As you can see there’s a lot to do with an hour in Zweissel.

Finally I arrived and enjoyed a nice walk through the treetops.  The egg-shaped structure was definitely the highlight.  It’s quite a unique view to see the trees up close from the top.

Colorful glass in the bridge to the entrance.

 

There are optional side tracks with obstacles so of course, I did all of them!

It was interesting to see pinecones at the top, from the top!

        Day 3 + all my leftover Euro = A great day at Oktoberfest .  I arrived at about 10 AM and on the way in saw a group of guys speaking English.  12 hours and a few beers later I was still with them.  It sure is nice to have travel buddies.  I put together my pictures and some GoPro footage from the day.