I am finally back from the days of being internet-less!
This Europe trip felt really different from the previous one but it was just as good if not better.
It was a rather last-minute decision because it was actually A’s company retreat getaway trip.
They were going to Munich and she thought it would be great if we could tag along,
and leave Munich on our own to finish off what we missed out from our previous Europe trip.

We came back about a week in advance from our previous trip there because of my grandmother’s demise.
And it felt like we have came one full circle after we finally finished up what we set out to do in the first place.

We visited Munich, Austria (for a day), Paris and Barcelona this time round.
I must say I am very proud that we managed to spend very little on this trip (muahaha!).
I am really poor now. REALLY POOR! Need to start working my ass off again!

Nuff of whining! 😀
Here are some pictures we took in Munich!

We were with a tour group for the Munich trip so everything was pretty planned out for us.
I love and hate going on tours because everything is so pre-planned. I love and hate it for the same reason.
I don’t know much about Germany before I went there.
The few things I knew about Germany was pork knuckles, beer and Adolf Hitler.
Gladly, during the short span of 4 days in Germany, I learnt more about the three mentioned above,
and a little bit more about what this cool country has to offer.

Everything was pretty much a blur when we first got there.
A and I were suffering from SERIOUS lack of sleep because we spent the last couple days rushing out tons of tiramisu orders.
The long flight didn’t make it any better.
And to top it off, I had an eye stye in my right eye.
So you won’t be seeing much pictures of me in this post because I don’t want to scare you away.

The pictures of the stadium you see above is supposedly one of their big and pretty stadiums where they hold soccer games.
I’m not a big fan of soccer and my only knowledge about German footballers is about a certain Michael Ballack and
one of their goalkeepers called Kahn because his name sounds like C*** and is too funky.

Then we headed over to the second “photo stop” – some castle, of some sort.

The main stars at this photo stop were actually the swans there.
The Germans seem to like their swans a lot.
It was pretty nice because the suagu me have actually never seen a swan so upclose before.
(Don’t ask me why I didn’t go Jurong Bird Park)

Look at the swan’s ugly kids in the background :p
So glad swans are not one of those superficial animals who would kill their kids because they are ugly.
(Please forgive me for talking gibberish.
It’s 6.15am and my body doesn’t know whether it’s on Europe time or Singapore time now)

Strangely, the hotels in Munich only check their guests in at 4pm so we had a lot of time to kill before we could settle down.
So the guides brought the whole bunch of tired, jetlag tourists to the main shopping city centre.
I have to admit the sight of beer gardens everywhere thrilled me tremendously.

Snapped while A was singing halfway. Hahaha.

MarienPlatz. And this clock tower with really adorable clockwork is one of the main attraction of the city.

Our tour guide is called Barbara.
A and I changed the “Banana” in that Despicable Me minions banana/potato song to “Barbara”,
and we kept singing it.
I cannot believe we are so childish sometimes.
Her face is not shown to protect her identity and for you to imagine how she looks like.

Lunch was at this restaurant called Ratskeller just next to the main square at MarienPlatz.
Food was really good and the decor of the place was very pretty!
Best thing is, there was free wifi! *YES*

And of course, BEER!

AND PORK KNUCKLE!

The first mouthful of pork knuckle + beer was heavenly!

And then more touring around the city!

I am really amazed by how there can be so many Germans all over the place drinking beer. At any hour!
Don’t they have day jobs?

We went by this market area where there were food, flowers and other small handicrafts on sale too.
Quite cute!

Botox shots anyone?

Barbara also brought us to this BEAUTIFUL beer house!
I cannot believe their beer houses are so damn gorgeous!
Some of the patrons here even have lockers where they can keep their personal beer steins.
And these lockers are not things that money can buy – they have to be super regulars to even stand a chance to own one.
And when one wants to give up the locker, he/she gets to pick who is the next person to take over the locker.
Interesting uh!

After checking in at the hotel (FINALLY!), we got change and went for a welcome dinner at BMW Welt.
I never knew Germany is such a superpower country when it comes to manufacturing of luxury cars.

BMW Welt (which means BMW World) is a beautiful place!
This is the damn showroom.
Apparently, after you’ve purchased your car, you can drive it out from the showroom directly!

A and I were both dressed in blue for the dinner.

My white top (which I absolutely love) and A’s blue blazer were both from Runway Bandits!
I freaking love their clothes!!!

xxx

The following day, we visited the Neuschwanstein Castle (I had to google to get the spelling right).
It is almost a tongue twister to pronounce the name of this place accurately.
I know you are trying to pronounce now. Give it up already. Haha.

It looks like a really pretty place from the postcards we see all over the place.

According to our guide, the outlook of this castle was so charming that its design is actually the basis for most of the designs of castles Disney has!
We were really excited about it but it was really foggy when we got up there so this is what we saw.

The little “tourist town” where the castle was situated at was really pretty though.

Even the horsies got manes Thor might be envious of.

Our local guide for the day was wearing the traditional Bavarian costume.
I cannot remember what it is called already. But it’s really cool and the male’s costume is so much nicer than the female’s.
(In my opinion at least)
You can check out the costumes here.
Maybe some of you might be wondering about the same thing I did – how do we wash these leather pants?
Apparently, the pants in the male’s costume is made of leather and the pants is never ever washed.
The dirtier and more worn it gets, the “cooler” it is.

Pictures of A and me (and the stupid eye stye) *sad*

It is a long way up into the castle!
The uphill walk took us about 15 to 20 mins, and we had to avoid horse poo along the way.
It was quite funny.

We bought this super yummy vanilla pops ice cream thing during one of the snack stops!
It’s SO GOOD! I wish they have these in Singapore!

And finally at the castle!

“Why so crowded…”

We alo brought our best friend, Sir Antonio out on this trip with us.
We have been working hard together on the tiramisu and Sir Antonio needs a good break too!

Sir Antonio likes this door.

The best thing is, Sir Antonio didn’t need a ticket! Hahaha.

Say HELLO to A’s colleagues!

Oh yes! I also want you to see our bus driver’s super cool beard!

Sir Antonio complained about how he didn’t get to see the city centre so we brought him out again. :p

Me (trying to) look like a kid.

Thank you because you are still willing to come back and read my blog after my 2 weeks disappearance!
Will be back with more updates!
Promise I’ll squeeze time to try to blog every single day!

Peace xx
(OMG TIME TO SLEEP!)