838. Munich Part 2 | Hofbrauhaus

Here is the second part of our short Munich trip. Hofbrauhaus is a popular beer hall/tavern/restaurant for both tourists and locals. It was built in 1589 (as a brewery) and remains as one of Munich's main attractions. There is a lot of history in the place - it was where the Nazi Party held their first meeting/where Hitler made his first speech.

I really love it there. It's huge and the main hall is under these gorgeous ceilings. All the tables in this part are the long wooden ones that you share with other people. Patrons are usually a mix of tourists, locals and the "Regulars". They dress in traditional Bavarian clothing and have their usual tables and personal beer steins. According to the website, there's about 100 groups of active Regulars and the oldest table has been held for 70 years. I would love to experience Oktoberfest here someday. The place is usually very busy and it's not unusual to see a line outside. We came during a quieter time of day, though it was still quite busy. I think they also lowered the capacity a bit due to COVID.

The standard size of beer here is 1L. I got a Radler (beer + lemonade). I usually don't like beer or the taste of alcohol in general but I looove radler. They make it the best here. I've tried radler in other places (like in Toronto) and they taste like a completely different drink.

The schnitzel was very good

The sausages were disappointing. I was expecting something like bratwurst but instead we got these ones which taste exactly like ones you get at a supermarket.

When I asked our server to take a photo of us he thought I meant to have him in the photo lol

Then we cleared it up..

Love how they have live music!

A little souvenir..

One of these days I will start a nutcracker collection



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837. Munich Part 1 | Around Old Town & COVID Tests

We are currently in Tallinn as I make this post. A lot has happened these past weeks that I still need to update about. After we left Spain (about 2 weeks ago), we took a whirlwind trip through Munich, Strasbourg and Luxembourg. We only stayed 2 nights at each place which seemed super rushed to me (after this year of "slow" travel where we would stay at least a month per city). I now wish we had at least 3 days in each place. We chose these destinations due to a few reasons. Main reason being..we had to reach Luxembourg since I wanted to visit a friend of mine who lives there. I also needed to stop in France for the vaccine.

From Spain, the best airport to fly out of was Madrid. Due to COVID there are less flight routes so many routes required layovers. Madrid to Munich was a convenient flight as it was short and didn't include any layovers. From Munich it was also convenient to get to Luxembourg. So we decided to go there, and I also had to do a stop in France as I wanted to finally get my COVID vaccine. Out of a countless number of countries I've checked with, France is currently the only country that allows non-residents to take the vaccine. I was only a tourist for 2 days yet I was allowed to register and receive it free of charge. Next month I would have to go back to somewhere in France for the 2nd dose though (I'm thinking Paris!!)

Strasbourg was the most convenient city located in France with proximity to Munich and Luxembourg so that's why we chose it. Also, it's a beautiful place and I've always wanted to visit! Travelling during this time has been a really exciting and interesting experience, because we've been choosing our next destinations as we go along. We never have anything planned more than a few weeks ahead as we always need to follow COVID entry requirements and priorities of the time (for example the vaccine in France, and also our stay in Croatia a couple months ago was because I needed to stay in a non-Schengen country for awhile). So it makes us visit places we otherwise would probably not have.

Anyways, we are now in Tallinn for at least a month. We are really enjoying it so far. I would have never thought to visit Estonia before. Let's see if I'm able to catch up on my blog a bit during these weeks. I've organized my photos and everything now and I am at least 27 blog posts behind (!!!)...I still have posts from Thailand, Croatia, Bosnia, etc to post lol. Plus the ones from this recent trip and then the Tallinn posts. I'm likely going to still be doing travel posts well after we are back in Toronto..

I've visited Munich once back in 2012 so this was my second time visiting the city. Munich feels like a quintessential German town to me. I really love it there, especially the food and style of buildings.

The reality of travelling during COVID. Every country we've been to since Spain (Germany, France, Luxembourg and Estonia) have the requirement of presenting a COVID document in order to enter restaurants, cafes or public events. This can be proof of vaccination, recovery from COVID or a negative COVID test. For me it would be the negative test as I don't have either of the first two yet. If I was not travelling, I wouldn't mind this requirement but since we are travelling..going out to places is a big part of the experience. In Munich they had a LOT of testing stations and it was all free of charge.

I got one done here in Munich, in Strasbourg (that cost me 25 euros though), and in Luxembourg (that was also free). Each test is only valid for 48 hours. I've honestly lost count of how many times I did it since we first embarked on this big trip...however I think it's close to 20 times now lol. I've done it twice so far in Tallinn. On the first day to enter a restaurant, I didn't even think of this requirement. So I had to buy a self test from a pharmacy and do it outside the restaurant, then show them the result. I don't really mind these rules as it is a trade off for travelling during the pandemic and all.

I am not strongly for or against the vaccine. But it would make travelling a lot easier. In about a month I will have my 2nd dose.

My favourite type of restaurants. It was so cozy and the food was delicious. Our server was super friendly as well. I ordered a spaetzle which is one of my favourite German dishes.

I also LOVE pretzels!



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836. Spain Part 3 | A few days in Madrid

A few weeks ago we visited Madrid for several days. This was my second time there. The first time was in winter 2018 when I was quite sick (with a cold) so this time I was able to enjoy it more. I really love the city now. The architecture is very beautiful and there is a lot to do. It's also a very walkable city with lots of cozy streets.

Now our time in Spain is coming to an end. Next week we will go back to Madrid for a day before quick stops in Munich, Strasbourg and Luxembourg. I'm excited but not with the thought of dragging around 4 suitcases (plus carry-ons) on the trains lol. After this year of "slow travel"/staying at least a month in each place, having only a couple days each at the upcoming cities seems so rushed to me.

Madrid has a lot of these old restaurants. I really love them. In fact, the oldest continuously running restaurant in the world is located here in the city but we didn't get a chance to go. We did to go this one called Casa Alberto which opened in 1827. It was located right beside our hotel. It's cool to think about all the people that used to come here (including some well-known figures).

Entrance of our beautiful hotel - Room Mate Alba



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