Munich, Deutschland. Wednesday, 8th May, 2019
Sleep broke at around 04:00. Dozed off again and woke up at 05:00. Got out bed at leisure and finished the morning ablutions. Made a trip to the restaurant on the ground floor to fetch a few tea bags and sugar sachets. Plan to visit the Siegestor (Victory gate) and Ludwigstrasse, which runs from the Siegestor to Odeonsplatz.
Left after a good breakfast, at 09:40. Caught bus no. 190 bang outside the hotel, under a cloudy sky reluctantly releasing one raindrop every two minutes or so. We were exposed to the residential areas of the city and the housing colonies instantly reminded us of the Slovakian capital, visited two years ago. Beautiful, uniformly constructed residential buildings, many with balconies decorated with pretty flowers, white half-curtains imparting a peaceful look to the windows, the entrance guarded by strong doors that open only on keying in a code, the approach to each building passing through extremely green lawns. Simply beautiful!
The bus dropped us at Ostbahnhof (East railway station) on the Friedenstrasse and we crossed through the station, unsuccessfully looking for a hair band for Urmila; down a steep escalator into the bowels of the earth, to the platform for the U5 metro line, our destination being Odeonsplatz. The train had an old, charming look to it, with a wooden decor and berth-like seats. I was reminded of trains seen in old Hollywood westerns.
Just before the train reached the station of Lehel, we felt the need to return to the hotel. Alighted at Lehel, retraced our route. Reached our hotel Holiday Inn by 11:15 or so and by the time we resumed the morning's truncated journey, it was past 13:00.
Alighted at Odeonsplatz and came up to the surface, on Ludwigstrasse. This is a straight boulevard, flanked on either side by stately old constructions boasting aesthetic architecture. Passed the Ludwig Maximillian University building - a huge structure in sublime white, spread out on either side of Ludwigstrasse. Though the beautiful edifice had no name displayed on it, it was easy to conclude that it was a seat of learning, by the crowds of youngsters swarming its immediate surroundings. At the end of Ludwigstrasse stands the Siegestor, a three-arched triumphal construction crowned with the statue of Bavaria with a lion quadriga. The setting was simply serene!
After taking our time soaking in the ambience, we boarded a U5 at the U-Bahn station of Universitat (aptly named!) and enjoyed the city views till Marienplatz. After giving a couple of restaurants a look over, we decided again on Haufbrauhaus. I tried Radler (beer with lemonade), which was superb! This was to the accompaniment of Fried chicken with tomato and mixed vegetables. Urmila had cappuccino. The place is simply amazing - a veritable institution - huge and always crowded. Lunch done, we strolled slowly in the direction of a market that seemed similar to the one at Trovihsko at Bratislava, Slovakia.
We were doubly rewarded - Urmila finally found a hair band and I, cherries. Needless to add, the latter were delicious! The vendor claimed that they were from Italy.
As the sky was still cloudy and the climate had turned colder, we decided to skip the river. Instead, we walked to the shop Galeria Kaufhof, the six-storeyed mall where we had purchased Ritter Sport yesterday; to purchase the elusive Lindt Tiramisu. Got it, along with Lindt Pista, Urmila's choice. Returned from Marienplatz to Hotel Holiday Inn by a combination of the Stadtbahn train s4 and bus no. 190. A familiar route now !
Sent the photo of the Lindts on display, to students back home; and received "OMG"s in response! Though the day was cold and mostly cloudy, we had basked in the warmth of Bavarian Deutschland!
To Nuremberg tomorrow - the Black Forest beckons!!
