Fun fact: basically everything in Munich shut down at 4pm on New Years Eve and then didn’t open back up until the 2nd. Honestly? Good for them. Enjoy your holidays!
It did make it rather hard to find something to do on New Years Day. Luckily for us, Kristian is a resourceful man.
We took the train out to Starnberg, a popular destination for spending time outdoors. Our plan was to get lunch and walk along the lake. Unfortunately, almost all of the restaurants were observing New Years Day, which is how we ended up back in Boston.
Well, the Boston restaurant.
There’s something so cozy about sitting in a warm pub on a cold day. Especially if it’s full of people enjoying a leisurely day off with friends and family. One of the reasons we wanted to move to Europe is because of the pub/restaurant culture. You can sit and enjoy your conversation and they (generally) don’t hustle you out.
We played the game “Essence.” Each of us takes turns picking someone we all know. Then everyone else asks questions about their essence. If they were an ice cream, what would they be? If they were a pizza, what toppings would be on them? If they were a book, what would they be? It’s amazing how you can figure someone out after just five or so questions.
After lunch, we went for a walk along the lake. It was pretty windy, but we’d dressed for the weather. There were a ton of families out and about. We stopped to let Lilian play in this pretty awesome playground. I’m still working on my video editing skills, but here’s a little video I made.
German playgrounds really do go hard. Not a rounded edge in site. It looked like it’s an absolute blast.
We took the train back to our Airbnb as it was getting dark out.
For our last full meal in Germany, we went to another beer hall, the Augustiner-Keller. This one is a lot more open, with long tables and communal seating. It serves traditional Bavarian dishes. Kristian looks unimpressed in this photo, but that’s more about me making him pose for me and less about the food.
We got up early the next day to take the train back home to Lyon. It ended up being a little bit too much of an adventure. Our train out of Munich was cancelled, so we ended up on a later train. The only way to get a TGV connection was to pay for an upgrade to First Class (allegedly, we’re getting a refund on this). We ended up with a two-hour layover in Mannheim (where we enjoyed hot drinks and played Qwirkle).
Then, the kids sitting across from us on the TGV ran absolutely wild. I’m talking, running around barefoot, climbing on top of each other, banging their table open and shut, swinging from the luggage racks level of wild. Thank all that is good and beautiful for noise cancelling headphones. I try not to judge other parents, but eesh.
How were your holidays?
