Belgium Photos

Photos of our three day trip to Belgium are finally online.

Below is a little preview, check it out here for all the photos of Brussels and Bruges: http://www.flickr.com/photos/meurer/sets/72157617261173017/

 

MUC – LHR

Another gorgeous day in Munich. I wake up early and leave by myself to explore the city one more time. It’s 7:30 a.m. on Easter Monday and the city is very quiet. The Englischer Gartens, where just two days ago thousands of people were enjoying the sun in the park is now virtually deserted bar a handful of more athletic types going for a run or walking their dogs, or both.

Even at Marienplatz, Munich’s tourist hub, only a few earlybird tourists venture out for some photos and are rewarded by beautiful light as the sun comes up over the Residenz. It’s just after 9 a.m. when the first café opens. Unfortunately it’s time to go now.

Our last meal is at Munich Airport, but not before I load my backpack with €20 worth of German chocolate. As for lunch, we’re spoilt for choice, really. Aside from the standard food courts, there is an open square between terminals 1 and 2 with shops, bars, and restaurants. We go for traditional German food (thankfully, for the last time – there’s just so much sausage and sauerkraut one can handle over a couple of days) I just realised that we waited for our flight for about three hours but time just flew by! I certainly didn’t mind spending time at the Munich Airport. As far as airports go, this is a good one to hang out at. Plus, things are so effortless and organised. Kudos to the Germans.

Landing in London in about two hours. Home sweet home.

Crazy man’s castle

Today we went southwest to Neuschwanstein to see one of the world most famous castles. Certainly Germany’s most famous one. I’ve wanted to come here for a very long time, even before I set off on my travels five years ago.

Neuschwanstein. Now there’s a mouthful. Why to Germans have to make it so damn hard? I spent the best part of our two hour train ride too Füssen trying to get the pronunciation just right and failed miserably. I mean, I sort of get it: neu… schwan… stein. I just can’t say it all in one go. But I digress.

As far as castles go, this one is actually quite new. It was built in the late 19th century by the king Ludwig II of Bavaria. Well not really. It was in fact built by a bunch of slaves whose names sadly never made into history. It is a homage to Wagner, the king’s favourite composer, who ended up never setting foot in the palace.

The matter of fact is that the castle is simply fantastic. It sits high on the top of a mountain with breathtaking views from all of its windows. It is apparently the most photographed building in Germany but it’s the interior, where photography is prohibited, that makes it truly worth the visit. The architecture and decoration of the few rooms that were actually completed before the king died are so fairytale-like and ridiculously over the top that they could only be the work of a narcissistic lunatic. Gold plated walls, meticulously painted ceilings, furniture sculpted from solid wood, columns in the shape of palm trees, and swans, lots of swans. Ludwig was in fact declared insane and died under very suspicious circumstances before most rooms in the palace could be completed.

Great day trip. Could have been much shorter though, had we known thousands of people around Bavaria would have the same idea. We ended up queuing for tickets, and having to wait around for the best part of the day before it was our turn to start the tour.

LHR – MUC

I’m crossing international borders for the second time in less than a month. But it’s the longest weekend of the year and we had to go somewhere! And I’m glad I did. As it turned out, the weather in the UK turned to custard over the weekend and we were greeted by gorgeous sunshine and temperature in the late teens as soon as we set foot in Germany.

Very good first impressions of Munich. Very clean and tidy, everything is organised to the extreme, and people are very polite. That is, unless you get caught walking on the bicycle lanes in which case you will get yelled at for being a bad pedestrian, even if you are clearly a tourist who is completely lost and was obviously not raised in a country where people use bikes for getting around and not only exercising.

We just dropped our bags at the hotel and went off to explore the city. Marienplatz was the obvious first stop, and surprisingly pleasant (subtler, less crowded, and and not as touristy as Brussels’s Grand Place) We stopped at a restaurant and sat outside to have some bratwurst and sauerkraut in the sun.

After that we were walking aimlessly around Munich but ended up finding all the good spots by pure chance: Residenz which was undergoing restorations for the most part but is still an impressive palace. Just a short walk away were the Englischer Gartens, an awesome park where half the population of Munich was enjoying the sunshine. Families, couples, groups of teenagers, people playing sports, naked guys, etc. Yes, you heard me: middle-aged men sunbathing in the park as they came into the world -- just in case I wasn’t sure I was really in Germany.

I’ve seen way too much for one day. Time to get back to the hotel and get some sleep.