// JSpot //

At the Gunold residence, I have made myself at home.

The morning came. Ted awoke first and made for the train station - he flew out at 09:00.

Brian and I made our morning a bit more leisurely as we woke, packed, and boarded a 09:15 train to München (Munich). The ride would take us through some fantastic snow fields. The country side of Switzerland and Germany under snow is a sight to behold. Sadly, it was a bit too difficult to photograph from the train.

Once we arrived, we set out looking for Jessy’s apartment. This was an interesting task because it was certainly not in a tourist area. We purchased a three-day transit pass and headed east to Max-Weber Platz, where from it was another six blocks walk. Uphill. In the snow. With no shoes.

After schlepping our bags up the five flights of stairs to Jessy’s, we went back out to explore the neighborhood - Jessy would not be home from work for several hours, and we were hungry, thirsty, and in need of an ATM. We found a kiosk a few blocks away and helped ourselves to some Lëberkasen. We then took the U-Bahn to Marien Platz to see the Weihnachtsmarkt. Though I didn’t know it at the time, over the next three days we would become very familiar with this area of town. We had been here before in 2005 - the Hofbrauhaus is here - but the Christkindlmarkt made everything different. The streets were packed, even in the early afternoon! This was a sight to be seen. And then, it started snowing!

With the snow and the cold bearing down, Brian and I found some Glühwein and candied walnuts for warmth and sustenance and continued wandering around the immense market, investigating what wares the merchants had to offer. We even made a short break in Bayerischer Donisl - our old favorite bar for beer and schnitzel.

GPX Log from Zürich to München

We went out last night, and we went all out. We started the evening with a few drinks in the apartment, but as Ted learned, it’s okay to bring your pre-game with you (pay attention to what’s going on in the background):

http://www.jcuga.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/mvi_0141.flv

So we did. But before we went, Brian explains a little bit about the local beverage selection:

http://www.jcuga.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/mvi_0142.flv

Later, we left Big Ben’s and strolled down the street, looking for another place to continue our evening. We stumbled into a place called Forecast Bar. The bartenders here were a bit different. Not that we didn’t have a good experience, but it was expensive. The barman refused to serve Ted almost immediately, saying he was too completely hammered to handle anymore. Of course, that might have been true.

Eventually, we decided it was time to end the evening and stumble home. Brian and Nicole split without hesitation, and Ted and I, staggeringly intoxicated, raced to keep up. “Warten Sie auf!” we shouted. But Brian’s navigational intuitions could not be slowed.

We got to the hotel, and it was only minutes before everyone was collapsed in a bed. Except me. Where was my camera? What had I done with my new camera? I had been so careful to keep it tucked in my pocket all night - it had to be in the apartment! I reasoned that I had perhaps left it at the last bar, so I reluctantly donned my coat and headed back out for a search and rescue. Interestingly, the entire time I was gone, I spoke only German. I walked back into the bar, right up to some people, and asked them if they had seen a camera. No, they hadn’t. Or maybe I was drunk and they thought I was crazy. Either way, I went home, depressed. And then I realized that I did in fact have my camera. I don’t know where I came up with it, but I did. So that’s good.

I returned to the apartment to climb in bed and discovered Ted had completely covered the futon, sprawled out and conked out. I decided not to bother him and spread my hostel bag - for which I am infinitely grateful I brought - on the floor and passed out.

Read the rest of this entry »

My two special friends Bess and Moe.

I snapped this photo with my new Canon SD990IS digital camera. I love it.