My time in Munich

I've been in Munich now for almost a week, excluding my side day trips. It's quite a nice city - totally walkable, cobblestone streets and grand churches, an open air farmers market area, huge parklands with little rivers through them (and one you can surf on!), and of course, Oktoberfest.





The friend I'm staying with here, MJ, has had a myriad of people in and out over the course of the last couple weeks for Oktoberfest, so we've all had fun at Hostel Jelen! Great views from his porch!


Today, MJ and I hopped on city bikes and went for a ride up to the Olympic Park built when Munich hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics. From the top of the hill there, you can look out over the whole city and see the mountains in the background!



Back to the bikes. These bikes are operated by the city transportation system (which is phenomenal by the way, and runs basically on the honor system!). You call in the number on the bike and it gives you a code you have to punch in and the bike lock unlocks and you're on your way! When you are done, just leave it where you're done using it and call the number again to get the code to lock it. Rentals are 3 cents a minute. It's fantastic!


Other things I like about Munich - proximity to lots of cool outdoorsy places including the Alps, public transportation system as mentioned above, variety of affordable restaurants, the pork, the beer, the comfortableness of the city. All in all a great visit and a big thanks to my host!