Munchin' in München

A very cool "map of Munich" for the blind - allowing them to
experience the city in 3D

Following the very 'business-like' city of Frankfurt, I moved on to the hustle and bustle of Munich. Once again I found myself in a hotel smack bang in the middle of the red light district - but the location really was convenient (for touring, not prostitution!)

Munich's maypole

Definitely a more exciting and lively city, Munich has a lot of character, is a great city to walk around, and has plenty of things to keep one entertained. My first day was really a 'walking and exploring' day, though prior to this, I got my first pleasant surprise....

Despite the concept of the EU, commodities and services can vary so significantly in price within the zone. My gold chain required a new clip - a tiny pice of 14 carat gold. In Denmark, this was going to cost DKK 650 (~EUR 85). The chain itself probably cost slightly less than that around 10 years ago. The argument presented to me by the jeweller was the increase in the price of gold over that period. The same component in Munich, EUR 25. Holy cow! So, there I was, off to a good start already with EUR 60 in my pocket...

Hitler Would Turn Over In His Grave (aka Frankfurt Has Left a Sour Taste in My Mouth)

Up until a couple of hours ago, I didn't have much but good things to say about Frankfurt. But having just been ripped off in broad daylight in such a way that I wouldn't expect anywhere apart from when I would be an obvious tourist in a third world country (or perhaps when taking a taxi in Sweden...), I now think differently.

Frankfurt has its very own Maggi Noodles restaurant!

Rockin' Roskilde

OK, so I'm not exactly a heavy metal junkie, nor am I a total music nut. In fact, I don't know many other people (besides the friend I went with) who would quite happily book a ticket to a music festival without actually knowing who is playing on the day you're there. Then, once the schedule comes out, only recognising two of the bands (giving a total of no more than 5 familiar songs). No matter, the purpose of our one day expedition to the four day (plus a few pre-days) Roskilde festival was to enjoy ourselves, experience the Danish festival culture, chill out with some nice music, and hear some bands live that I would otherwise never hear. It didn't fail on any account.

Roskilde, home of the famous Viking Museum, is a small town in Zealand, which once a year hosts a multi-day music festival. Approximately 60,000 guests descend on the camp-grounds for up to a week. Another 15,000 or so day-trippers show up each day. I was one of the latter group.

The Spanish Revolution

My first real taste of Spain was all I had hoped it would be. I think I got a bit of a whiff of the culture during my travels in South America, and getting to know some Spaniards quite well during my time in Copenhagen imparted nothing but positive impressions, so I was eager to visit. Well, I most certainly was not disappointed. My good friend Carlos invited me and his house-mate Nico, to join him on a trip to his home town, Madrid. We had 4 full days there and did not waste a moment...
Within a couple of hours of arriving in town we were off to the city centre to watch a flamenco show and eat our first of many tapas meals. Amazing! The music and dancing was fantastic, and although put on for the tourists, I can't complain because it was a great introduction to the dancing and the music - definitely lively, definitely entertaining, and put together with quality food and beer, the night was perfect.

A really crap or really good hot chocolate?

This afternoon I decided to find a local cafe`, and sit down with a hot chocolate and my book. I ordered a 'mixed' hot chocolate (since that one had dark and light chocolate), sat down, and started drinking the frothy mixture. I was a bit puzzled as to why there were 2 swizzle sticks in the drink, but figured the person behind the counter had just mistakenly put 2 in instead of one. I can't say I was overly impressed with the drink - it was indeed hot, but barely had any flavour to it. It was just like hot milk. I thought this was going to be my first disappointing culinary experience in Copenhagen... However, I was quickly proven wrong. Upon withdrawing one of the swizzle sticks from the drink, I noticed a blob of solid chocolate attached to the end. Ahhh - so that's how it works! Obviously I have had too many crappy hot chocolates made with powder and I'm just not used to the real thing.

After melting and stirring the dark and milk chocolate in (with only 3/4 of the milk left), I had a fantastic, super chocolatey hot drink. Yumm!