That was the overwhelming feeling I got when I started walking around Munich. Even though I'm told Munich is not a big city, it felt like one compared to all of the small towns I had been in thus far. I mean, this place has a legit subway!
It was 6pm and my plan was to do some sightseeing before the sun went down, but first I needed dinner. Since I was in a city, I figured I had more food options. I needed a break from all of the milk, cheese, and eggs that seem to be a staple of every German meal. Using the hostel wireless and happycow.com (thanks Robin) I was able to find a nearby vegan restaurant. I google-mapped it and took a picture of the map on my phone. Should be easy enough without GPS, right?
I took the subway to Marienplatz, the city center of Munich. It was ornate and beautiful, but I didn't really care at the moment because I was hungry. I only cared about finding my very much needed vegan meal. My map said I needed to find the road "Viktualienmarkt." (Why do Germans think they can just mash words together?) To me, the name looked like "virtual alien market" and I decided to call it that henceforth.
I was having trouble orienting myself, so I consulted my google map. It was then I realized there was no way to determine the scale of it of what I was looking at. And most of the streets weren't labeled. And there were only like 3 landmarks on it. And the maps around the city aren't helpful. Oh, and it's not a grid like LA. Crap.
I decided just to walk in the general direction of the vegan place until I found "virtual alien market." Easier said then done after walking for 20 minutes and ending back at Marienplatz. Did I mention Munich is not a grid?
Luckily, I am not easily deterred and I set out yet again for my vegan delights. I knew I could probably just ask someone for directions, but I'm stubborn and what was I supposed to say, "Can you please direct me to the Virtual Alien Market?" No one is going to understand me and the name of the vegan place was equally hard to pronounce.
Just as I was about to give up or find a coffee shop for wireless, I found a "virtual alien market" sign. Yes!!!!
I went back outside and tried to go by the street numbers. All of the places were numbered "2." What the heck!? I considered caving, but all of the nearby places were either sausage fests or cheese. Ew. I was about to give up for the third time when suddenly I recognized one of the landmarks on my horribly insufficient map. I followed that to the next landmark. And that to the next. And then.. and then... I was back at the spot where "virtual alien market" ended and became a new road. AHHHHHH!
My last bastion of hope was to walk down the new road for a few blocks. I walked down "not virtual alien market" until I came to a small indoor foodcourt, and yes, can it be!?? There it was, my vegan restaurant!!!!
I was so happy I could cry because it was now an hour later and I was starving. I was greeted at the counter by a skinny vegan-version of Johnny Depp and I asked him what I should get. He was kind enough to let me try a little bit of everything. I was so happy.
A few minutes later he brought my hard-fought vegan meal out to my table and it was.... meh. Yeah, it was just "okay." So the lesson here kids: Don't waste your time trying to find vegan food in Germany.
I decided to top off my mediocre meal with some mediocre coffee. I walked to Sendlinger Tor and found a cafe. The internet told me this was Munich's gayborhood and I thought maybe I could find a cool bar. No such luck, so I played a new game: Pick something in the distance that looks cool and walk towards it. Tall building? Cool. Big church? Cool. Bright lights? Cool. Most of these landmarks connected with metro lines too, so I always knew where I was.
I jumped on a U train to Karlplatz and continued my game. Fountain? Cool. Park? Cool. In the park, a drunk guy even walked up to me and gave me a pretty red flower. No catcall. No cheesy pickup line. No expectation. Just "a flower for you" and a smile. It was both sweet and refreshing. I thanked him.
It was dark now, so I played a new game. Pick something that "sounds" cool and walk towards it. I followed the sound of music into a small park. There was a weird/random Michael Jackson tribute in the middle of it.
There was also a piano with that simply said this on it:
And some Germans were doing just that. Two guys were taking turns and playing songs to a small group. Some songs were in German, some were in English. I leaned up against a tree to watch as the music just hung in the air. Another guy walked up and started to play "I will follow you into the dark" and "Dreamer" by Ozzy. Everyone in the small group, including me, joined in singing when he started playing "Hey Jude." Wow, this trip is really making me realize how much of a uniting factor music can be. After about 45 minutes of this I walked back to Marienplatz to catch the train back to my hostel.
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