So, we rolled into Munich, Germany, bright and early at 5:55 am, landing in Terminal 2, Franz Josef Strauss. The sky was still pitch dark, and only a handful of shops had their shutters up. Since we weren't in any mad rush to hit our next destination, we decided to take a leisurely stroll around the airport.
Right outside Terminal 2, in the connecting plaza, there's a McDonald's. We have our breakfast at around 7am. KJ dove into something resembling the big breakfast from back home in Singapore—bacon, eggs, and bread. According to him, it beat the Singapore version hands down. The cost of the breakfast was €11,33 (SGD16.44).
As for me, I settled for a croissant and chugged down a bottle of apple juice. Why apple juice? Well, the self-ordering machine wasn't spitting out any tea vibes. But let me tell you, that McDonald's croissant was a game-changer. KJ and I strutted out of there with dreams of devouring croissants all over Germany.
Post-McDonald's feast, we played detective to locate the AirportPLUS-Ticket spot, the golden ticket to whisk us from the airport to the heart of Munich. Picked up a group ticket for €27.50, a steal that allowed us to roam around Munich for the day. Fun fact: a group ticket for two is cheaper than snagging two individual tickets.
Now, between the airport (München Flughafen) and downtown, there are two lines, S1 (blue) and S8 (yellow). Munich Hauptbahnhof is the final stop, but they take different routes. S1 hits up the northern and western parts of the city, while S8 caters to the east.
Forget entry gates or barriers; they're not a thing for U-Bahns, S-Bahns, or trams in Germany. Ticket controllers might pop up out of nowhere, so don't get caught without a valid ticket. Remember to validate that bad boy at the blue machines.
Armed with our AirportPLUS-Ticket, we hatched a plan to hit up all the spots beyond walking distance from our hotel on the same day. Our checklist included BMW Welt, Olympiapark, and the outskirts of Nymphenburg Castle.
To reach Olympiazentrum, we hopped on the S-Bahnhof to Moosach, then made a switcheroo at the U-Bahnhof. BMW Welt was conveniently parked next to Olympiapark. We visited the free zone of BMW Welt, which turned out to be a pretty vast area to explore.
So, after checking out the BMW Welt museum, we decided to take a stroll in Olympiapark. But, wouldn't you know it, our luck—the first day in Munich, and it's raining cats and dogs. Poor KJ, it's his first taste of winter, and it's all cold and wet. To make matters worse, he forgot his fancy new gloves, and I had to hand over mine. Thank goodness I had the foresight to snag some heat pads from Decathlon before the flight. Those babies, along with the gloves, were KJ's winter survival kit.
The garden outside Nymphenburg Castle was stunning, even in the gloomy weather. But, let's be real, we weren't feeling up for venturing into the castle itself. Blame it on the bone-chilling wind and the fact that we had to juggle umbrellas while attempting to take some shots. KJ, the trooper, was even trying to swap lenses mid-shoot, and at one point, his umbrella decided to pull a Houdini act and flew away, leaving him soaking wet. Our bags and my jacket were definitely not waterproof. Cold and wet, we threw in the towel halfway. Fingers crossed for better weather tomorrow.
Post-Nymphenburg Castle, we hit up our hotel in a&o Munich Hackerbrucke. I have paid approximate €121,62 (SGD177.61) for 2 nights stay in this hotel. Now, this place was undergoing renovation, but luckily, they had some rooms ready for us. Our room looked spiffy new, except for the door. Weirdly, no kettle, no cups, no spoon, no mug for teeth brushing, and no phone in the room. KJ shrugged it off, saying it's a hostel, not a hotel, and that's why the basics were missing. To add to the charm, our room heater was not working. The maintenance folks gave it a shot, but no dice. They apologized, and our solution was to crank up the heat in the bathroom, hoping it would migrate to the bedroom and keep us warm. Sleeping in thermal wear and a beanie did the trick, though. Jet lag hit us hard, and we conked out around 6 pm. I woke up at 4 am to some distant party tunes. Sounds like there's a shindig happening somewhere.
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