Dreaming of a White Christmas - Day 2

 The Destination

The destination promised Christmas Markets and the possibility of snow – it has delivered both already, the latter in larger than expected quantities.

For our first evening in Munich, after we had showered and rested, shaking off the lingering jet lag, we walked down Bayerstrasse to the Christkindlmarkt Munchen, held in nearby Marienplatz.

We all managed to negotiate walking on the snowy pavements without accident, but it was definitely a challenge. From Bayerstrasse we went through the underpass below Sonnenstrasse and popped up in the  magical world of the Christmas market.

Here, people milled around cute little stalls some of which displayed and sold a unique and impressive range of Christmas decorations, while others sold pretzels and other delicacies, and still others, their unique blend of gluhwein, or as we Aussie’s know it - mulled wine. It would have been rude not to try the gluhwein, so we did, some enjoying it more than others.

We spent  time soaking up the atmosphere before deciding we had enjoyed tramping around in the still-falling snow long enough, and we sought somewhere warm and dry to eat dinner. We found Schnitzelwirt hidden away in the keller or basement, of an old brewery, waited a while before a table became available, and then had a leisurely dinner before returning to Flemings Hotel, where we collapsed into our beds and caught up on some of the hours of sleep we had missed.

We reconvened for breakfast in the downstairs hotel restaurant, and planned our day. First stop was the railway station to confirm our tickets to Passau where we are to board our first river cruise tomorrow. Bedlam was the order of the day at the station however, as trains were postponed, and I quote:

‘Due to the onset of winter in southern Germany, there will be restrictions on rail services in southern Germany on 02.12.2023 and 03.12.2023.

DB long-distance services are currently suspended in the greater Munich area and on the following routes… We recommend postponing travel to and from Munich.’

Botheration! It seems we are not the only ones surprised by the amount of snow so early in the season. Postponing travel is not an option if we are to connect with our cruise, however as the queue for the information counter stretched the entire width of the station, we decided to leave this quest until later in the day when we naively believed it would be less busy and headed for the tourist information centre instead. However, this was not open, due again to the early onset of winter in Southern Germany, it seemed. The big, red city tour double decker buses were not operating either.

We headed instead for the shops, as Phil still has no luggage and therefore felt the need for some warm clothes to be going on with. Along the way we became separated and Kim, Lyn, Wallsy and I spied the Munich Hop-on, Hop-off buses around the corner. We were pleasantly surprised to find that they were operating, and it seemed a reasonable way to spend a snowy Munich day, so we purchased tickets for the ‘Grand Tour’, taking in three routes around the city. It was with some trepidation that we jumped on board the 11 am service, after watching the first bus slipping and sliding its way out onto the road.

We had an extensive tour of the city, taking in sights such as the Nymphenburg Palace, Olympiapark, Friedens-Engel, Sendlinger Tor and Isartor (the old city gates), a frozen canal and many large, historic and very impressive buildings. It took approximately 2 ½ hours to complete the tour, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

We finally disembarked and made our way back through the Christkindlmarkt where some purchases were made, and we then decided to try the Wagner Salons Restaurant – a huge beer hall type venue with an endless array of rooms in the Augustiner building on Marienplatz. We had passed by here last night, but the venue was full, and we were unable to get a table.

Today we were in luck. The menu offered a range of traditional German fare. Kim and Lyn ordered a  sausage salad, which wasn’t at all what they expected – it seemed to be slices of cold strassbourg sausage accompanied by onion, a little tomato and a slice of cucumber, all swimming in vinegar. I stuck to the safe option with a cheese platter and Wallsy had meatloaf (and that’s all he got – a chunk of meatloaf – no accompaniments!)

After lunch, we again braved the railway station and as all trains had been cancelled for the day, found lengthy queues still in place. We joined one and waited, progressing slowly towards the information kiosk. However, as we reached the door we were informed they could not confirm or provide ticketing and we should go instead to the DB Travel Centre which would re-open Monday morning!

Cold and depleted, we returned to our hotel, met up for dinner in the restaurant downstairs and mulled over possible solutions to our predicament – much depends on whether or not the trains are running tomorrow – so the question remains as to how and when we reach our next destination.

Schloss Nymphenburg

Frozen Canal - but no ice skaters today

Revolving restaurant tower at Olympiapark

Transport options were limited in Munich