Day 2

Guten tag,

We have arrived in München (Munich). The weather is very sunny and very warm.

Our hotel room wasn’t ready when we arrived from the airport at 6:30am in the morning. So we left our bags at reception and went for a long walk around the city.

The city is what we’ve come to expect from German cities. A mix of old and new buildings, all beautifully maintained, lots of traffic and always construction going on as things are improved. And bikes everywhere. We’re in more danger of being run over by a cyclist than by a car.

The cycle ways in Germany are all part fo the very wide footpaths. Unlike New Zealand, where the cycle path is part of the road. We have to make sure we stay off the cycle way as we are walking.

The first shop we discovered was the Apple Store. Of course, Koro was drawn to this, but it was not open at 7:30am in the morning as we strolled past.

There is not much to report really, we just walked around a bunch of old buildings and churches. One of the most interesting things we discovered was how popular surfing is in Munich, a land locked city. We had seen people carrying surf boards, and couldn’t think why. Then as we walked through the park we found the reason. The city has used a fast flowing stream to create a standing wave in a small river in the park. Lined up on both banks were guys who took turns to drop in from the bank and surf the wave until they fell off. Then they’d drift downstream, climb out, and line up for another go.

We walked for a way along the banks of the Isar river, which is a

beautiful river. There was some litter lying at the bottom of the river, but the water is far clearer than the dirty green old Waikato river. We saw lots of fat and happy trout, and even an angler fishing (he was catching then releasing).

We strolled back to Marienplatz in the centre of town to watch the glockenspiel clock chime at 12:00pm. To be honest it was pretty boring.

So it was around the corner for a quick walk through the Apple Store. Same old products as you’ll see in any Apple Store really. The staircase was very impressive. It was a floating spiral staircase made entirely of glass.

Then, just down the road, very exciting, was an office supplies store.

Five levels. No furniture, lots of luggage and back packs, greeting cards, as well as office supplies. No food items. Quite a different product mix to Office Products Depot, but many of the same products. Paper was €2.99 per ream. Some very beautiful quality products, such as proper leather bound ledger books that were €75 each.

It was interesting how many beautifully made German products were for sale at very reasonable prices. Leitz leverarch files are the standard, and they come in so many colours! Stabilo pens, Faber Castell pens. I guess that is because Germany has such a strong manufacturing base and because they are made here there is no cost of freight to the other side of the world.

By 1:00pm we were so tired. We stopped for a beer, then back to the hotel where our room was ready. And so were we, for a shower and a big sleep.

Auf Wiedersehen.