Making Each Day Count

The first time I’ve discovered the perks of riding a bicycle to get to explore as much as I can was during a very short stint in Munich, Germany. We were coming from Prague en route to Vienna by train, and decided to spend a night halfway through. Because we didn’t have much time then, we raced around by foot as soon as we dropped off our bags at the Hotel Deutsches Theater.

Those days it was easy to detect tourists like us – we were walking around with maps. Our destinations for that afternoon were the historical square Odeonsplatz, the Marienplatz at the Old Town, the Munich Residenz and the Theatine Church. It was Oktoberfest at the time, and I remember I was mesmerized when I saw a horse drawn beer wagon in the street! I’m not much of a beer drinker, but in the spirit of Oktoberfest, we capped the night with Bavarian beer.

The next day we stopped by the Cathedral of Our Dear Lady, the Frauenkirche, a Gothic Church where the legendary “Devil’s footprint” can be found. It was a black mark resembling a footprint located near the church doors. At this viewpoint, one won’t see any windows.

After breakfast, we rented bicycles to ride around the English Garden, an extensive urban park. Now my memory isn’t serving me right, and I don’t remember exactly where in the English Garden it was, but we saw some surfers riding the waves in a stream. It looked really cool! In the English Garden we treated ourselves with a pretzel, and again a beer. Time flew by as we cycled, and next thing I knew we were running late for checking out of our hotel! I’d say cycling around Munich was the highlight of that overnight trip – it would be the start of my cycling activities whenever we visit a new destination.

That summarizes my whirlwind of a trip in Munich, a beautiful city in Bavaria, Germany. We couldn’t get enough of Germany, hence a few years later we flew back for a longer, memorable vacation.