austria: saalbach-hinterglemm

It didn't take long for us to get from Zell am See, Austria to the town where Bo is currently living, Saalbach-Hinterglemm. The drive was only 15 kilometers or so, basically driving along the bottom of a valley.

The twin towns of Saalbach and Hinterglemm are joined officially I think, but there is a slight distance between the two. I looked online, and the population of the two of them together is only about 3000, so we're definitely talking small towns.
They're mostly ski towns, but in summer people come for hiking and biking. 

We arrived right around the time Bo would be eating dinner if he had to work that night. He normally eats the staff dinner, and the hotel makes it so that guests of employees can eat staff dinner for a small fee. Bo checked what the food was that night and decided for me that it wouldn't be very good.

Instead of eating straightaway we went for a walk. He lives more in Hinterglemm, at the end of the valley. There are a few roads in town, but not many. There are a few walking paths as well, and hiking trails going every which way all over the mountains. The scenery every which way I looked was amazing.

Eventually I got hungry enough to pick a place to eat. The food was okay, and we went home. I slept 9 hours straight without moving, so I guess I was pretty tired. (From what, I don't know.)

Before arriving, I figured I would be eating the employee meal with Bo most of the time. What I didn't know is that he didn't like that idea much, and wanted me to have the same good food the guests have. Somehow he made a deal with his boss that I could eat like a guest. Lets just say that I felt like a princess when he told me.

Breakfast was a buffet, so of course I ate way too much. Hard boiled eggs, and rolls, and yogurt with meusli, and fruit, and cheese slices, and bacon. Tea and juice as well.

Since Bo had to work most of that day, I went for a hike. I picked the top of a mountain, and generally aimed in that direction. Every time the path split I randomly chose a direction and it usually went where I wanted it to go: up. A few times I had to double back and go the other way.

I found a man made pond with a sign that specifically said no swimming. I found heaps of fields of wildflowers. I got to look across at plenty of other mountain tops. I figured out really fast that there are plenty more trails I want to hike in this area. Is there ever enough time to hike all the beautiful trails? 

After a few hours I made it to the top of the Zweiferkogel, at 1984 meters. I took my photo with the cross on top to show I'd been there, of course. There is a bahn up there, but it wasn't running, so I had to hike back down, though I'm pretty sure I would've done so anywho. I felt great, and wanted to be as active as possible in the good weather.

I got back to the hotel after Bo had already started his evening work shift. I hopped in the shower and put on nice clothes to go to dinner.

And what a dinner it was. Five courses, all plated beautifully, and served in perfect time.

I could explain all of them, but what they were wasn't as important to me as the feeling of the whole thing in general. Amazing. I know I said princess earlier, but I really did feel that way. Each course was beautifully plated, and everything tasted good. The waiter paid attention so I never had to look around for a plate to be taken away or the next to arrive. What a way to end a day!

The next morning Bo had to work in the morning, and go figure, it was raining. The clouds were hanging really low, so low you couldn't even tell there were mountains. I took my time eating breakfast, then lounged around.

By the time it had stopped raining Bo had finished his work shift, so it was perfect. I borrowed a bike from the hotel, and he grabbed his bike. We pedalled into town, then onto a path that goes next to the river running through the area.

As we rode along we realized there were little exercise areas every so often, so we stopped at several of them. They all looked easy, but most of them weren't as easy as they looked. I have no balance, so any of them involving balance had me tipping every which way. It was fun even so.

After not too long we went across the main road and into Saalbach. The first thing Bo showed me was an entire hotel complex named after me!! There was a place to put your skis, a bar, an alm, a hotel, and a spa. Yahoo!!

We parked the bikes and walked around Saalbach. Like Hinterglemm, it isn't big, and the walking didn't take long. It consists mostly of hotels, apartments, cafes, and shops. Everything geared toward tourists coming for sport activities.
One of the towns had a church, the size of which surprised me quite a bit. It was sortof hidden behind several buildings, it wasn't an immediately obvious place to see. 

We had a snack at a bakery (I was surprised it was still open that late – 1600 – and on a Sunday no less,) and walked a bit more. Then I realized I needed real food. We found a place that listed decent food, and I was happy. I appreciate pretty food, but don't need it. 

From there we rode back to Hinterglemm, which wasn't so easy for me. Riding a bicycle is something you don't forget how to do, but it had been a while since I'd ridden, so even this short ride was tough. Or maybe it was tough because there was some up and down in the path. I was thrilled we'd done it, but I was also very happy to get off the bike back at the hotel.

The next morning I had the buffet breakfast again, and got lucky with the weather. I hiked up the other side of the valley, though I can't for the life of me remember what the peak was called. Rotter something or another.

This trail was a lot steeper, and slightly shorter, and did't follow a road much at all. I went through fields and trees quite a bit. I saw wildflowers, and I saw another man made pond. I stared at the natural beauty all around and reminded myself how lucky I am to have seen it.

The views at the top were even better than what I'd seen the day before. The mountains off in the distance were higher and steeper, and still had some snow on the peaks.

To get down, I went down the back of this peak a bit, then circled around to the front and went down a different path from the one I'd used to come up. Since the trail was steeper my legs were pretty well wrecked by the time I got back to the hotel, but it was totally worth it. I'd also managed to get a pretty good sunburn in the two days of hiking. Ooops.

I took a shower and packed up my bag, since I had to leave just after dinner. Dinner was another fabulous event, though 'only' four courses this time. Even so, I still loved the experience. Maybe there is something to staying in 4/5 star hotels, hee hee.

After I finished eating I said goodbye to Bo, grabbed my bag, and walked down the street to the bus stop. The bus came a few minutes late, but got me to Zell am See in plenty of time to catch the train I needed to another small town.

As long as Bo is there, I would be more than happy to come back to Saalbach-Hinterglemm. It's gorgeous and I want to hike all the trails.

austria: zell am see

Most of the time when Bo and I travel together we meet up somewhere. This time I wanted to visit him where he was living at the moment.
I took my first train from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which left at 0630. (Again leaving me questioning my sanity in choosing such an early departure time.) I had plenty of time to make my on time connection in Innsbruck, that was easy.
I don't know how, but this train arrived 15 minutes late at my next destination. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal, but this was an Austrian train, and I always expect those to be on time.
No matter though, Bo was waiting for me at the train station in Zell am See, Austria. It's a small town, in a skiing area of the country. This wasn't where Bo lives, but it was the closest train stop.

I could've done this part of the trip entirely by bus, but it would've taken heaps longer, and sometimes there is value in paying more to be faster.
Bo had the day off, and we were already there, so we decided to explore Zell am See for a while. As I said earlier, it is a small town, so we knew exploring wouldn't last long. I dropped my bags in his car, we found a proper place to park, and off we walked.
First we walked through the city center. It's super small and cute. There was a tiny market in a platz near the church, as well as multiple cafes with chairs outside. All the buildings were kept up well, everything was pretty.
We stepped into the church, which was bigger inside and more decorated than I'd expected. In my head I tend to equate a small town with a small church. This wasn't big, but it definitely wasn't small.

It sounds crazy, but at this point we felt as if we'd seen most of the town. People who come here in winter come for skiing, not the town itself. In summer, they come generally for the outdoors as well. 
We decided to grab food from the supermarket, and have a picnic next to the lake. After eating we decided to walk along the lake front as far as the path would take us.
The walk was quite pretty, and really peaceful. Judging by the number of boats (rowboats and canoes and such,) tied up to mini docks, boating is a big thing here.
The lake next to which the town is located is really pretty, and on a calm day the mountains surrounding it reflect beautifully in the water. The day we were there it was not calm, it was actually really windy. 

During our walk we found a sign telling us about a visit by an Empress Elisabeth (sometimes known as Sisi,) of Austria, and how the hotel where she stayed still exists. Apparently she was quite the walker/hiker/trekker.
After walking for a while we turned back and decided we were ready to move on. We hopped in the car, and drove to where Bo lives, 15 kilometers down the road.
I'm not sure I would return to Zell am See specifically, but I would definitely come back to the region.

germany: garmisch-partenkirchen

Instead of taking the train, I took a bus from Munich to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The bus was only 6 euros, whch is hard to beat. Since it was leaving early in the morning I hoped that meant it would depart on time. It left about 10 minutes late, but that wasn't a big deal.

A little over an hour and a half later I arrived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. I lived there from 2001-2004, and while it has changed in many ways there is something about the place that I'll always love. I will always want to return, as long as I know people still living there.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is one of the few places in the world where I would be willing to buy property if I could afford it. It really is that beautiful, and means that much to me. 

I was picked up at the train station, and taken to where I was staying for the next 6 days. My host had to go to work, so I laid down to relax for a bit. (An overnight bus, plus an early morning bus basically meant I hadn't had much sleep in the past two nights.) I ended up falling asleep and staying that way until almost noon, and I have to admit it felt amazing. Plus the weather outside wasn't great, so I didn't care.

My host works for the military resort in town, so I had access to some American goodies I hadn't seen in a while.
Corn Chex and other cereals in particular. I also got to watch a couple news channels, including CNN and BBC. I'm used to hearing news through podcasts, and reading it online, so this was nice. At the same time, it was odd to see commercials, as those aren't put into episodes you stream later on. 

I didn't do anything useful for the rest of the day. My host came home from work and found me just where I had been hours earlier, dozing on the couch. Eventually I got cleaned up and we went out for dinner with a stop for ice cream on the way home.

The next morning I'd arranged to meet up with a friend for a hike, so I had to get moving. We met up at 0815 (I was supposed to be there at 0800, whoops,) because I much prefer to hike earlier in the day. The hike we'd chosen was through the Hollentalklamm (Hollental Gorge in English) and into the valley behind the gorge.

If we'd been so inclined there was a 15 kilometer long trail, but I was hesitant to commit to an eight hour (or more) hike.

The entire hike was gorgeous. The trailhead starts next to a little chapel, and goes through woods. The trail is next to a river coming off a glacier, so the water is a beautiful gray blue sort of colour. I was taking heaps of photos right from the start.

Of course I wanted to take a few photos of the two of us, which Tom was okay with doing. The first one was good; the second one would've been good too, except that I didn't set up the tripod in a stable place. As I was getting to my spot, the camera tipped over and went into the water.

Big oooops. I raced over and plucked it out of the water, knowing it was probably the end of the camera. I tried turning it off and on again, but it didn't work. I was pretty sure the camera was dead, but I still had hope for the photos already on the memory card, so I pulled that out, along with the battery.

I was disappointed to lose the camera, but in the back of my mind I knew I had a newer, better camera waiting for me when I got to the States. Plus the lens on this one had a couple scratches that sometimes showed up as light spots in my photos, which already drove me nuts. I had my iphone too, so it wasn't as if I would've been without a camera for the rest of the month.

The rest of the hike was awesome. Even though I've gone through the gorge previously, I still loved every minute, and more than once asked myself why I'd left Garmisch-Partenkirchen. There is so much natural beauty in the area.
Going through the gorge was rather chilly, as we got dripped on a fair amount. The trail through the gorge itself was carved through the mountain, and of course there is drippage.

Coming out of the gorge was amazing. The rock walls slowly widen up into the bowl at the end of a valley. I got to see rushing glacier water too. As we followed the trail we saw the last bit of snow left in the valley, which had somehow survived all the way until the middle of June!

I figured out a way to prop up my phone to have a picture of us with the snow too.

Toward the end of the valley we saw a small altar/chapel, which seems totally normal to me in a German speaking country. Plenty of people would argue that God created all the beauty we can see. 

I'm sure we could've found a trail leading up the 'walls' at the end of the valley, but I wasn't that keen. Or maybe I was 'satisfied' with everything I'd seen already. I did see a few people up higher, I wonder how far they were going.

We circled around and came to a stop for a break at the Hollentalangerhutte. Tom told me it was pretty new, having only been there a couple years or so, but they were doing plenty of business.
We hadn't seen all those people on the trail (thank goodness,) so maybe they came through the gorge, ate, and went back.

Lunch was good, the portions were bigger than I expected, and we were both happy.

Going back was just as awesome. The sun was coming from the other direction now, so we could see the gorge itself a bit better. Since we were both hot from hiking the cold water dripping on us in the gorge felt pretty good.

Everything was fantastic until about 100 meters from the end of the trail when I slipped and fell for no good reason. There was nothing for me to trip over, I just lost my footing and fell. I landed on my hands, and I knew immediately it would hurt and that it would be one of those bruises that didn't show. Go figure.

After we got back to the trailhead Tom called my host who came to pick me up. When I got back to the house I got cleaned up and relaxed for a while, before we went out to an Indian place for dinner. I'm pretty sure this restaurant didn't exist when I lived in GaP, but I wish it had. The food was properly spicy, and had the right flavour.

The next morning I eventually got up and went out into town. It was good weather again so I had no excuses to stay inside. My first 'sight' was the Marientplatz area of town. Garmish-Partenkirchen is absolutely beautiful, no matter where you are in town. Well, that's not quite true, some of the new developments aren't so good looking, but that's not where I was walking around.

I walked along a pedestrian street, taking more than a few moments to enjoy the beauty of the place. I window shopped a bit, some of those stores haven't changed in decades. I seriously considered how early was too early for ice cream, hee hee.

Eventually I made my way to a river that runs through one side of town, the Loisach river. Since it starts at a glacier on the mountain, it is the same gray blue color I'd seen the day before. Absolutely gorgeous. Since there had been enough rain recently, the river was high enough to be seen. When the spring and summer are dry, it ends up looking more like a creek with lots of rocks.

I took a few photos near a covered bridge everyone always finds rather picturesque.

From there I walked back into the center of town, and followed a street out to another edge of town. The town area of GaP (the letters used on the license plates registered locally,) really isn't very big, and the town population is only 30,000 or so. I think. It is sortof shaped like a flat triangle, and the only time you're in town for longer is when you go from one specfic corner of the triangle to the other, and that doesn't happen often.

This next edge of town is also a bunch of farmers' fields. We all loved the little hay shacks you see throughout the fields as well as the rolls of hay. At this time of year there aren't so many rolls of hay, but the background of the mountains behind the hay shacks is pretty much the definition of beautiful.
There are amazing sunsets in this area as well, but I have yet to do a sunset hike to capture the light properly.

I would my way along paths through the fields to my next sight, the Partnachklamm. (Partnach Gorge, in English.) Way back when I lived in GaP (2001-2004) this was the very first 'sight' I got to see. There is a cafe/biergarden near the entrance, but I don't think I've ever stopped there. The entry fee is now 5 euros, which strikes me as a lot, but oh well.

Just like the Hollentalklamm there is a pathway built into the gorge for tourists, and you occasionally feel water dripping on you. Sometimes the pathway gets rather wet, depending on all sorts of things. In other words, don't show up in high heels or clothes that need to stay dry.

This gorge is just as narrow, at times you almost feel as though you can reach out and touch the other side. (You can't, don't try.) The water running through the gorge is just as beautiful, and is rather cold.

After coming out of the other side of the klamm I kept following the river for a while. Not too far from the klamm there is a spot on the river bank where people have set up a bunch of stone cairns, or at least mini piles of stones. As this is an area full of hiking, it was easy to follow a trail for a while, and turn around when I needed to do so. I wanted to keep going, but I realized I didn't have enough water with me, considering the heat and sun and how much I was sweating.

I went back through the klamm, getting dripped on all over again.

My next sight was the ski stadium. It was originally built for the 1936 winter Olympics, and is still in use today. You can see all the way to the top of the ski jumps (one for women, one for men) and they look pretty good. Since I was there in June the ground in the stadium was being used for football (soccer) practice. The stadium isn't huge, it's basically a horseshoe shape at the bottom of the hill. As always, I liked the big, Germanic style statues. Sometimes I'm amazed they are still there, given the history of the time in which they were built.

I eventually went home, completely covered in sweat. Since I'd been in Europe for two or three weeks already I was used to the heat, but it was still rough. I had only brought a liter of water with me, I'd drunk all of it. June in GaP isn't usually this hot, so I wasn't the only one suffering. As hot as it was, I'll take this weather over rainy/cold/cloudy any day. (Plus it was just like the weather I'd already had for the first half of the month in other cities.)

We had dinner that night at a cafe near the Kurpark in town. It was fun to hear the stories of what the place used to be like, as it had changed drastically even before I got to town, and has continued to change since then.

The next day it took me a while to get moving again, oh well. I started my day with a bowl of Corn Chex, then stopped at a bakery in town to pick up snacks for the day. I headed toward the building where I used to live, as the trailhead I wanted is behind that building.

The Kramer is pretty much directly behind where I used to live. When I lived in that building the trailhead was a five minute walk from the gate! I've only climbed the full mountain once, but the bottom half of the hike is something I've done several times and always enjoyed. It is another of my first memories from living in town.

Getting to what we called the halfway house (which is really called St Martin's Hutte,) doesn't take long, only about 45 minutes. Back in the days when I could/did drink, it was the perfect place to have a bier and look out at the city.

Just past the hutte, (or is it just before?) is the war memorial. The memorial is in a small field on the mountain, almost on the edge. There are little plaques memorializing those who lost their lives in battle all around the building, and is hauntingly beautiful. There area always flowers around, and the view of the valley is breathtaking.

From there I went back down the trail a bit, until I caught the turnoff to another trail. I followed this one across the mountain, it's a flat trail until I got to the Pflegersee, a lake. It's a tiny little lake, with a cafe built on one side. Really picturesque, with another, steeper mountain behind it.

I didn't go up the mountain, but instead followed the road going behind the cafe. It led to more trails, which I followed for a little while. I found a couple man made waterfalls, which were still beautiful despite being man made.

I know I hadn't been out all that long at this point, but I turned around anywho, because clouds were rolling in fast. I walked back down the hill following various trails until I got to town, and walked home. During this bit of the walk it started to rain, but it wasn't all that bad. I found out later that the other side of town had been drenched.

When I got home I showered, then went back out to meet up with someone. A few months previously someone had posted online that they wanted to work on taking photos of people (I guess they're called 'lifestyle' photos, or something along those lines,) so I volunteered. I was thrilled when I figured out this woman lived in Garmisch, so we set up a date for the photos.

Since I had to walk about 30 minutes about an hour after the rain ended, it was like walking through a sauna, but the photos were totally worth it. The lighting was great, as was the background. Heck, with that background I would have been willing to take those photos out in the rain.

As we were leaving the area I saw a friend of mine in a car, which was perfect. I've known Jill since I worked in GaP, and though we'd wanted to meet up while I was in town we had yet to set a date. This was perfect. I went with her to another area of town where she picked up her dog. While we were there (it was at the softball fields on base,) I got to say hello to a couple more people I know. GaP is a small town, you'll probably run into people you know while you visit, as long as people you know still live there.

Jill drove me home, and we agreed to meet for dinner about 30 minutes later. It was perfect. My host joined us, and I spent the next couple hours laughing. They've both been in town for a long time, and have heaps of stories to tell. There have been a lot of characters in GaP, and I think these two have known and remembered them all.

The next morning another friend, Christoph picked me up mid morning. When I lived in Garmisch he was my next door neighbor. He has a new baby, only 6 weeks old! Christoph drove us to the Pflegersee, we had a nice drink at the cafe on the lake. The baby slept through the whole thing, but it was still neat to see Christoph as a dad.

Christoph drove me to a cafe in town, one all of us gappers know and love: Mukkefuck. (Both Us are pronounced with the long U sound.) It has always been known for big salads and sandwiches, and has a lovely biergarden out back. I met my friend Donna there, she was also one of the first people I met in Garmisch. We had a great lunch, and catch up. I only wish we'd had more time.

After lunch I found the bus stop in the middle of town, and got lucky with my timing. I only had to wait about 15 minutes for the bus to arrive. It only runs once an hour to where I was going, and if I'd just missed it I think I would've changed my mind.

I was on the bus for about an hour, getting off at the end of the route, the Eibsee. This is the lake at the bottom of the tallest mountain in Germany. It's deep in the middle, and the water is clear. There are beaches all around the lake, but they're very rocky. It's a great place to hang out with friends, rent rowboats and paddleboats, etc... There are a couple hotels on the lake, though of course I've never stayed in one.

I walked around to one of the beaches, stripped down to my bikini and laid out for the next 90 minutes. It was quiet, the scenery was great, and life was good.

I took the bus back to the center of Garmisch, and walked home, stopping to buy postcards and a magnet on the way.

That night I'd made arrangements for dinner with more friends, at another old haunt of any ex-gapper: Zirbel. Jamie and Helmut are both people I knew from almost the very beginning of moving to Garmisch, it was great to hang out with them again. Jamie arrived not too long after I did, so between her and Helmut and my host, they could've told stories all night long.

The next morning I was awake early again, but didn't get moving until lunchtime. I had my breakfast of Corn Chex, and stopped at another bakery to get snacks again. This time I wanted to do a hike I'd never done before: going up the Wank, another major mountain in town.

There are numerous trails to get up the mountain, and I was never entirely sure where I was on the mountain.

Some of the trails are really challenging, others are more like an uphill walk. But basically if you just aim up, you'll get there. The trails are mostly exposed, which I could feel almost from the start. (The entire time I was kicking myself for not having gotten started early in the morning, which I much prefer anywho.)

I got to see cows grazing, and heaps of views of the city and valley. I also witnessed something I've never seen before: a mountain rescue of sorts. As I was going up the trail I saw a lady sitting and holding her ankle, I assume she'd falled and/or twisted something.

I could hear a helicopter but didn't think much of it at first. Then I realized the helicopter was hovering, and that a couple people were descending a rope from the helicopter. This was the mountain health service, the people you call when you get hurt on the mountain! From the way they behaved, it wasn't a major injury, but I was glad to see her being taken care of.

I kept going, slowly but surely to the top.

As with many mountains in the area, there is a cafe/hut at the top, it would be a great place to have a drink or snack. I was happy with the snacks I'd bought at the bakery before hiking up.

Also, as with many mountains in the area, there is a cross marking the top of the mountain. This cross happened to have Jesus on there, so I only took a picture of it, not with it.

Normally I would've hiked right back down the mountain, but the sun and heat had gotten to me, and I wasn't feeling so good anymore. Thankfully, there was a cable car, which felt amazing at that point. A lot of visitors take the ride up and down, but that seemed like cheating to me.

When I got back home I wasn't feeling good at all. Even though I'd eaten while hiking, and drunk plenty of water, I had sweated out all the nutrients my body needed. I should've brought more food with me on the hike.

My host gave me some Pedialyte, which tasted awful. I also got some snacks with salt and protein. Between the two of them I was able to think normally again. (When I get that way my head hurts to think and it is hard to answer questions, even the easy ones.)

That was my last night in town, we had dinner at another random restaurant. Side note: there are something like 250 restaurants in Garmisch, a town of 30,000 people. There is always a new place to try, or an old haunt to go back to.

The next morning I was awake early because I had to be. My host drove me to the train station, where I boarded my train at 0630. I will definitely come back to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. 

germany: munich

I hadn't orignally planned to spend any time in Munich, but when bus schedules forced me to spend a day there, I didn't mind. I used to live a little over an hour away, so I'd visited before. Howeva, those were the days before smart phones, social media and the like.

My bus arrived on time, though I don't remember exactly what time it was. The bus station was right next to an S-bahn station, which basically guaranteed there would be a bakery somewhere around. I found the bakery quickly, picked up snacks, and kept walking. (This is Germany, I'd have been able to find a bakery pretty much anywhere in any city.)

An hour later I got to my hostel. I think I read the map wrong on this one, because I'd originally thought it was a lot closer to the area from which the bus would depart the next morning. Oh well. It was definitely too early for me to check in, but I was able to relax in the common area for a while. I probably dozed off for a bit as well, though the chairs weren't exactly comfortable.

I was able to use a bathroom to change, but I had to pay for a locker to store my bag, argh. I much prefer hostels with free luggage storage. Side note, this hostel also wanted you to rent sheets, which is also an annoying extra charge.

Just put sheets on everyone's bed, and add a euro to the price of the bed. People don't travel with their own sheets anymore, so I saw this as just a way of adding money to their prices. Plus this was not clearly stated when I booked my bed. Argh.

Eventually I started walking. Since I'd seen Munich before, and was pretty sure the city center hadn't changed too much, I aimed for a place I hadn't seen previously. In this case, the location of my hostel turned out to be a good thing, as my walk was only about 25 minutes long.

I walked to Schloss Nymphenburg, known in English as Nymphenburg Palace. As I got to the grounds of the palace I felt a great breeze, which felt really good. After basically baking in the sun in both Berlin and Prague I was really happy to feel wind. Schloss Nymphenburg is actually a complex of buildings, lived in by ................ The entire area was planned out before building, so everything is very specific and deliberate.

There are several bodies of water on the land, with geese in some of them. I generally love this kind of water, and clearly they'd figured out how to keep it moving so it didn't look yucky from lack of circulation.

The main palace is quite long and stretched out., not very wide at any point. The ticket area is on the first floor (Americans would call this the ground floor.) I chose to get the ticket that covered everything on the grounds, though there were cheaper options. I figured if I was coming out here I wanted to see the whole thing.

My first stop was the carriage museum. It took me a while to find the entrance, (which is nowhere near the main palace entrance, though it is technically in the same building.) which ended up being toward the end of the long main building.

The carriages on display are those that were used by the royal family in various circumstances. I never thought about it previously, but apparently you need a much fancier coach in a royal procession than you do in daily moving around. Some of those on display were covered in gold, or at least appeared that way to me. I'm still guessing they weren't all that comfortable.

Also on display were some of the sleds used by the royal family back in the day. I've always thought of sleds as winter toys, and some of these were definitely just that, but others were meant only to bring someone from point A to point B.

I went back to the main entry point, and found the staircase (not terribly big, and I couldn't see that it was very well marked, or maybe I just missed the signage,) leading upstairs to the main part of the palace.

This part of the museum definitely starts you off on the high note, as the first room you enter is the Great Room. It's beautiful. At least two stories tall, with windows on both sides that let in a lot of light. The walls and ceiling were painted, so it all comes across as grand and colourful. I reeeally wished I could've had a couple minutes alone in there to take better photos, but even then I'm not sure I could've captured the feeling of the room.

From there you could go off to each branch of the palace. One room led to another which led to another, etc... The people who lived here must've spent a lot of time going through various rooms to get somewhere else. There were halls in a way as well, but only in sections.

One of the rooms was green, and the sign said the bed was where King Ludwig (the crazy one,) was born. Another room was called the Hall of Beauties, and had paintings of so called beautiful women.

I don't think I agreed with them being beauties, but I guess beauty is subjective, and is in the eye of the beholder. There were plenty of other rooms as well, though none of them stuck out in my mind.
I exited the main palace into the gardens in back, which were even more extensive than those in front. I followed a smaller path to the building that interested me most in the entire complex, called Amalienburg. It was built as a hunting lodge, though after going through it I would never have guessed that. The entry room is pretty small, though the wall decoration was really nice.

Then you're in another small room, this one very yellow. And then, you're in the best room, the silver and mirror room. This sort of room does not 'belong' in a hunting lodge. Or maybe I don't have a royal mind for decorating. The entire room was decorated with silver or mirrors, excluding the windows of course. The light coming in the windows only added to the effect. The powers that be have roped off most of the room, visitors only get to walk a red carpet that goes straight through the room. There weren't many visitors, so it was easy for me to set up my tripod and take a photo.

There were two more rooms on the other side, one of which was the kitchen. The kitchen was decorated with Chinese tiles! It felt like it was more for show, but I'm assuming the kitchen was actually used, so who knows.

I continued walking along the path, going by a small 'village' (because of course a palace complex like this needed it's own village on the grounds,) which included a few homes and a water wheel.

The next building was called Badenburg, and was a bathing pavillion. What exactly that means, I don't know. I can't imagine the royal folks walking this far to a completely separate building to wash themselves.

The decoration in here was Chinese decorated wallpaper, which was really nice looking. Visitors don't get to go in every room, so the powers that be have been able to 'save' the wallpaper by putting it in a place visitors can't touch. There were quite a few windows in this building, so I don't know how the bathing part of things worked.

I followed the path around the end of the whole area, which involved a fountain with cascading water on several levels. A great place for a picnic if you just happened to live here. Bigger areas of water are on this side of the property.

More walking took me to my second favourite building, the Pagodenburg. It is shaped octagonally, with two stories. The bottom is completely decorated in Delft tile, so it comes across as blue and light. The second floor is all Chinoiserie (their word, not mine,) which really isn't my thing but still looked nice. The brochure told me this was a 'mainson de plaisance,' a house of pleasure. Hmmmmmm. I'm hoping that just means they came here to relax.

The last building I visited was built specifically to look like a ruin. (Why?) It was built as a religious retreat area, so there is an altar. It was built with stone, and to me just looked odd. But hey, who am I to judge the royals?

At this point I was sortof 'palaced out' so I'm glad I'd seen everything. I left the property, and walked into the center of Munich. It had been years since I'd been to the city center, so I was keen to see what I remembered. The walk wasn't short, but that was fine.

I walked past the hauptbahnhof, which doesn't look as big from the outside as I remember it being on the inside. I walked through Karlsplatz, and kept going on the pedestrian zone leading to the Marienplatz. I remembered a lot of the shops that were there, as well as finding a church I don't recall having seen previously.

The Marienplatz is usually one of the first place visitors to the city come, as it is where you'll find the Rathaus with the world famous Glockenspiel. I remember the Marienplatz as a fairly wide open area, but this time they were setting up for some kind of concert or festival, so it felt much more crowded and closed in. It was really crowded, definitely not a feeling I enjoy. 

By that point it was evening, and I was ready to go somewhere and sit. I found an entrance to an S-bahn station and hopped on a train. It took me to another station only a few minutes from my hostel. Yay for public transport! I retreived my pack from the storage locker, and checked in. My evening after that was nothing exciting, I just looked at my various social media accounts until it was time to go to bed.

The next morning I was up early, and was grateful I'd packed everything the night before. I hate the people who decide to go through everything, including rustling plastic bags early in the morning, I didn't want to be one of those people. I checked out, and hustled back to the S-bahn station. I hopped on a train that took me to the bus station, where I was about 10 minutes early for my bus.

I like Munich, though I don't remember it being this expensive previously. I'll always be happy to come back to anywhere in Germany.