I started out the day in Augsburgh. The hotel, which was very local German and not a chain, had a breakfast buffet included. Checkout was noon, so the only rush I was in was to get to the buffet before they shut it down. I made it with plenty of time to spare. The hotel was right next door to the Rathshouse (city hall) and I saw this bit of graffiti out the window as I was eating.
No idea if it's the real deal, but it's still pretty cool
I finished eating, went back to my room and gathered up my belongings well before check out time. I decided to head to the train station early so that I could take my time. Still got a cramp in my leg though.
Temperatures had taken a drastic turn for the colder, so the train station was FREEZING. I tried to stay on the platform, but gave up after about 20 minutes. I did find a seat in the station, but it wasn't much warmer.
The train ended up being about 10 minutes late, mostly because the trains ahead of it were late. I got on the train to find someone already in my reserved seat. I would have booted her out, but there was a seat across the aisle available, so it wasn't worth it. Still, it was clearly a reserved seat, I could see it on the sign.
Anyway, got to Munich, got to the hotel, got checked back in. The lady at the desk recognized me from the day before and gave me a nicer room. I'm up on the 4th floor overlooking the street...still construction, so no real view...but I've got a bigger room with a bigger window.
Got my bag from storage and decided to do laundry. It was an adventure as I thought I didn't understand the instructions and got someone to help. It ended up that the power was switched off and the machine was full of money. It wouldn't take mine as it was full of coins. Finally got it sorted and sat around for 2 hours as I washed and dried. Cost me 6 Euro to do 1 load.
Anyway, I was kind of hungry so I thought I'd check out another Christmas Market. I decided on the BIG one that happens at the same place that Oktoberfest takes place...Tollwood Christmas Market. I set out and found it is actually closer than Marienplatz.
This market was very different than any others I'd been to. It wasn't your traditional little matching booth market with mostly Christmas themed stalls. This one was more modern and had indoor areas as well. It had more of a county fair atmosphere...with gluhwein.
I stumbled upon this ice sculpture of an owl...that was pretty melted.
This was funny. You could pay to peddle a bicycle that powered a record player and listen to your favorite song. This guy had picked some Rolling Stones...
One of the MANY gluhwein stalls. I actually bought gluhwein here and forfeited the deposit on the mug. It isn't Christmassy at all, It's cobalt blue in the shape of a mini beer stein with that logo. Very few stalls had actual "collectible" mugs.
One of the two big trees...this one made of disco balls.
This is another stall selling adult beverages.
Some lanterns hanging over the crowd
There were 4 indoor areas that I remember seeing. Two were full of merchandise stalls from all over the world. The other two were full of food stalls. The Pad Thai looked so good, I had to opt for non-German food. And it was tasty. I actually found a place at a table to eat. It was all long tables with benches that you shared.
Guess what this stall was selling...
This is a disco pegasus-unicorn. I don't know why...but it was shiny.
I had two mugs of gluhwein, this is the first one and it was red. When I went to the other place, I decided to go with white for a change. It was sweeter and not as spiced. I like red better.
A German "Pizzahutt" that sells gluhwein.
Back at the disco ball tree
And the lanterns from the other side...
I'd had enough gluhwein and my back was starting to hurt, so it was time to head back. The scene behind me as I was leaving...
One of the tents where the indoor stuff was. There were projections on all of the tent tops. There is an upcoming election here.
Walked past this on the way back, and had to take a picture.
I'm going to try to hit two more markets tomorrow...the Medieval one and the Pink Market (LGBTQ), as well as try to record the Glockenspeil and buy a cuckoo clock. We'll see....
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