"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
- Mark Twain

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Munich: celebrating 5 new years

On the 31st we woke up early to head to the central train station. Sadly the first train to Munich was cancelled. We grabbed some lunch for on the train and headed were able to catch the next train. As it turned out we had 1st class tickets (not sure that happened) but it made for a seamless ride without interruption other than people coming to offer us free candy. 

We spent the majority of our time playing cards, and I have to say I have missed playing cards with my brother. It felt like a typical Friday night or Saturday afternoon. I also fell even more in love with Germany. I kept commenting to Daryn that "I could live here" every time we passed a small village or an area that would be perfect for camping. I couldn't believe how gorgeous the countryside was, especially considering it was grey and winter-like. It makes me desperate to go back in the summer to see the green grass and trees. I can honestly say that I left my heart in Germany, so I'm going to have to go back to retrieve it at some point.

When we arrived in Munich I called the man we were surfing with (on a pay phone) and got train directions to the stop byt his house. I figured from there I'd be able to use the map on my iPod from their. We needed to exchange some money, but unfortunately the banks were already closed given it was new years eve. I figured I could just take some Euro out of my account in Albania. So I put in my card and upon trying my pin 3 times I found out that my card wasn't excepted there. Unfortunately the machine took my card, so I guess along with my heart I left my bank card. We figured we'd just have to live off of the 20 Euros we had, as I was unwilling to sacrifice my other credit card. 
Couch surfers from Russia and Taiwan: celebrating Russian New Year

Eventually we got on the correct train (we were originally going the wrong way) and got off at the appropriate stop. But then when I tried to turn on my ipod it was dead. We had no idea where we were going, other than the address of the man. So we walked around looking for the right street. Eventually we decided we were lost enough to ask a guy. He took us back to his house and looked up the address on his GPS. After looking at it he thought it was impossible to walk, so he offered us a ride. People are so nice in Europe. As it turn out it was about a 5 minute drive, but we were still quite grateful. Our host opened the door and immediately offered us a coffee from his espresso machine. Oliver was down to earth and had very good taste in music. I enjoyed being offered a bit of sarcasm (no one in Albania understands, so I've quit using mine.) He informed us that he had 9 other people staying there that evening, 4 from Brazil, 3 from Taiwan, and 2 from Russian. It was going to be a full house. We were lucky to be offered dinner cooked by the girls from Brazil and Taiwan. It was delicious, and soon afterwards we celebrated the Russian new year with some Champagne (their time zone was different.) All in all we decided we would be able to celebrate a total of 5 new years, however 1 had already happened and 2 would happen in the early hours of the morning. 
We found a dessert open mall.
We opted to head into the city to wander around with the russian friends. The others were heading to a party with a cover and we didn't really feel like being trapped in one building with a large crowd, when there were things to see. The Russians met some of their other friends in the center and we quickly downed a bit of vodka and were happy that though their friends wanted to go into the Hard Rock cafe, they didn't. I was able to find a place that wasn't out of beer, so we purchased 4 and walked around with them discovering the constant drone of fireworks as we went. After we counted down the new year me and Daryn found a corner to pee in again. One of the Russians desired some hot wine, so we went back to the location where we had originally seen it, but they were all out. The man working at the counter was nice enough to offer us, instead, some free Champagne, which we drank quite quickly before heading home. 
I tried to take a picture of the fireworks, but it didn't work :(

I found a spot on the floor and rolled out my sleeping bag. Everyone arrived home pretty quickly, and we shared our adventures of the night while drifting off to sleep. I was not ready to leave Munich the next morning. 

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