The much needed, imperfect Paris trip

Last time out on the blog I wrote about my daytrip in October 2016 to Liege. Following my time in Belgium (Liege) and Germany (Köln) I had just enough time to squeeze in one more trip in 2016 before the end of the year – a trip to Paris!

Visiting Paris had long been a must visit city for me, something about the romance of it had always really appealed to me. Call it cliché if you wish but it was always somewhere that in my head I saw as a special place and romantic place to visit.
For that reason it was also, for a long time, a place I put off visiting. I always wanted to wait to visit with the right person and didn’t see myself enjoying it solo. I’ve been to countless other places solo but Paris was different.

However 2016 was a tough year, early-ish in the year my relationship ended and as much as I’d love to say it was easy moving on it’d be a lie. It was heart-breaking for me and took me a long time to get over. After a few months of feeling sorry for myself I decided something had to change, I couldn’t continue moping about so I booked a trip to Paris.

I’m sure there are better ways to get over a relationship and I can’t say it entirely worked, you can’t just switch those feelings on and off but it certainly helped and the timing of the trip made it feel a little symbolic for me.

It was the end of the year! December 30th 2016 to January 1st 2017. It meant leaving thoughts of past relationships behind me and treating myself to some adventure. It also meant not going another year without visiting Paris solely due to a lack of company. I was determined to end 2016 and start 2017 right.

At this point I’d never really spent any significant time in France. By significant I mean in the sense that I could actually tell you where I’d been. My parents took me and my sister on daytrips when we were kids, I’d also gone on a coach trip with school to Spain which meant driving through the entirety of France but I couldn’t tell you where I’d gone or stopped beyond Calais – mostly service stations in truth.
This felt like my first proper French experience and I no longer had to feel dubious about adding France to the list of countries that I’d visited.

As much as I romanticised Paris, I had mixed feelings about visiting. Whilst most people are complimentary about Paris, it certainly isn’t without its critics. Perhaps moreso in England because I think it’s ingrained in to our society to automatically and irrationally dislike the French. Ask any Brit and I’m sure they’d tell you they’ve heard something derogatory about the French at some time, which is rather bizarre and a little sad when you think about it.

I was hoping to be proven wrong and that Paris would live up to expectations. With just two days in the city I was keen to try and see most of the touristy stuff: The Eiffel Tower, River Seine, Sacre Couer, Arc de Triomph, Notre Dame, Louvre and more. Paris is home to so many well-known landmarks and I now had the chance to see them myself. Sort of.

Going anywhere in Europe in December/January you have to be prepared for cold weather and grey skies. As an Englishman it wasn’t going to faze me, it’s always cold right?

Anyway, I left England on the 29th and by the time I’d arrived it was around midnight so all I really had time to do was check in and sleep. The following morning I wrapped up warm; departing my hostel I found grey skies and there was definitely a chill in the air but I was excited to get exploring the city at last.

I hopped on the metro ready to make my first stop of the day – the Sacre Couer! I wanted to see the building itself but I’d also heard it had some of the best views in Paris so it seemed like a great place to start my trip.

I was pleasantly surprised to get off the metro and find it wasn’t too busy. I’d made a bit of an early start (by my standards) but not terribly early, consequently I had expected a few more tourists in the area.

As I approached the Sacre Couer it became abundantly clear why it was so quiet. They say a lot about first impressions and mine wasn’t the greatest, as I stared up at the Sacre Couer my very first thought was “where did this fog come from?!”. All I could see was the faint outline of a building hidden behind a cloud of fog. My first viewing of the Sacre Couer was a blurred one, I could barely see it. The famous views from the Sacre Couer? Non-existent. I couldn’t see more than a few feet in front of me.

The simply stunning Sacre Couer! 

It really set the tone for the rest of the trip. There were two directions I could have taken – let the fog/weather spoil the trip or just go with the flow. I did the latter and laughed it off. I started taking selfies “with” the Sacre Couer and all you can see behind me is a layer of fog. I thought it was hysterical that my first stop of the day had been such a poor pick.

Selfies with the Sacre Couer!

On the plus side the inside of the Sacre Couer was beautiful and the lack of tourists meant it wasn’t overly crowded as I expect it is on a clearer day. I continued my exploration by strolling through the beautiful Montmarte area, which really does live up to the hype by the way, and then jumped back on the metro.

Next aim of the day? Walk the Champs Elysee from end to end. From the Arc de Triomph down to the Louvre or vice versa, I decided I’d do the former and possibly pop in the Louvre after if it wasn’t too busy. Typically I got off at the wrong stop and ended up somewhere in the middle, probably for the best because it was freezing and walking all of it might have resulted in my fingers and toes falling off.

So in the end I only walked half of it up towards the Arc de Triomph, rather than down to the Louvre. I felt I picked wisely because I’d soon stumbled upon Paris’ Christmas markets, they were beautiful and to add to the magical feel it suddenly started to snow whilst I was passing by. It was only light snow, not enough to set but certainly made it feel a little more Christmas-y on my walk along the Champs Elysee.

Christmas markets along the Champs Elysee

The Arc de Triomph itself is cool. I liked it but I don’t think it’s a landmark I’d see myself going back to time and time again. It feels a bit out of the way, not particularly near anything, sat on its own in the centre of a busy road and I’m pretty content having seen it the once. The view from the top is apparently good though which might be the only thing to tempt me back.

Afterwards I grabbed some lunch before making my way to Paris’ “must-see” – the Eiffel Tower! Unfortunately the cursed fog struck again – my first viewing of the Eiffel Tower didn’t include the top of it, left hidden somewhere among the fog. I still haven’t seen it! Who goes to Paris and only sees a percentage of the Eiffel Tower?!

“I went to Paris and saw (most of) the Eiffel Tower!”

For what it’s worth I still loved the remaining 80-90% of it that I could see. In contrast to the Arc de Triomph I don’t think I’d ever tire of looking at Paris’ best known landmark. It’s stunning and (almost) lived up to all of my expectations – it still would have been nice to see all of it though! Next time!

After that I didn’t do too much, I had a little wander before finding a spot for dinner and then gave some thought to my plans for the evening. The hostel I was staying at had a rooftop bar and had advertised a New Years Eve (NYE) celebration/party in to the night up on the roof! It sounded perfect!

A perk to staying in hostels is it can be easy meeting people and NYE meant everyone was in high spirits. Some Australian guy made conversation with me which meant the rest of my 2016 was spent with good company and a few beers.

Sadly we’d chosen a particularly poor spot to stand and chat. As the clocks struck midnight the hostel staff hopped up on to the bar and started spraying champagne. Sadly we were both in the prime “splash zone” so I was soon drenched in it! A very enjoyable night though and a great way to end 2016 and start the New Year – so much so that I’ve tried to make it a New Years tradition to be out of the country. I went to Edinburgh’s famous Hogmanay the following year!

Anyway.. Sunday morning rolled round, fortunately hangover-free and I decided I had to find a café for breakfast. Crepes and tea in a Paris café seemed the best possible start to the year and it didn’t disappoint. Paris’ café culture is understandably very different in the winter given the contrast in temperatures, however it was still enjoyable to just sit and relax for a while before starting another day of exploring.

The first stop of my final day in Paris was to be the Notre Dame. Fortunately the fog had disappeared today, the disappointing first-impressions remained in place though. I think your first impression of this is going to be a complete contrast depending which angle you’re seeing it at. I came from the entrance-facing direction and genuinely my first impression was “is that it?” – once you get closer to it and see the detail it truly is stunning but from a distance it looked remarkably small and I was left underwhelmed. I want to add a photo for context because it sounds particularly harsh but this is what I first saw. I’m convinced it’s not that impressive but feel free to argue otherwise!

First glimpse of the Notre Dame

I’ve joked since about the “hunchback of Peterborough” because I’m still adamant now that if you put the two buildings side by side, most would favour Peterborough’s cathedral viewed from the front. I’m expecting a Disney movie about it any day now.

Peterborough cathedral – Disney worthy?

I frequently question how harsh my first impression was but then started picking up postcards to take home and every postcard had the Notre Dame from a side-view from across the river. Had that been my first sight of the Notre Dame I would have had a very different first impression but sadly you only get one first impression and this was mine.

As I hurdled among the crowd to see it up close and walked around the building I started to see what all the fuss was about. It really is a stunning piece of architecture and I can only imagine how incredible it would have looked inside. I’ve seen a handful of photos but didn’t get the chance to enter myself. The queue was a mile long (exaggeration..) and it probably didn’t help it was also a Sunday. I figured this was something I could see next time, it wasn’t a regret I had at the time but this year’s tragic fire adds a little regret that I didn’t see it in all of its glory. Hopefully restoration works bring some of that glory back and I’ll see it at some point in the future.

Content I’d admired it from all angles I went and picked up some souvenirs before heading off in search of food. I was keen to cross off another Hard Rock Café (HRC) visit and jumped on the Metro in that direction. The nearest stop was a little walk away. As I strolled along I thought to myself that this was a really nice part of Paris.

Literally seconds later a couple of officers came around the corner with massive guns on their shoulders which seemed like comical timing for me to have thought how nice the area was. I then approached the entrance to the Hard Rock Café where the DOORMAN did a quick search before letting me in which suddenly blew that theory out of the water.

To his credit I survived lunch so he did his job well, I left without a scratch on me! Seriously though, I’ve never been to a HRC where they’ve required a doorman for security.

The rest of my afternoon was just relaxed, I just wandered through the streets peering my head in to little cafes and shops. By this point I’d accepted I’d be coming back to Paris with clearer views and hopefully warmer climates. I’d built up this little fantasy in my head of what Paris was going to be like and it didn’t really tick any of the boxes. My first impressions of the sights seemed to be met with a twinge of disappointment, the famous café culture was non-existent because it was too cold for outside dining, the love of my life was nowhere to be seen and to top it off the French were worryingly friendly and welcoming.

I’d heard so much about how unfriendly the French are towards English-speaking tourists and not even that lived up to expectation. It had me thinking back to a Bill Bryson quote in his book “Neither here Nor there”.

It took me two or three days to notice it, but the people of Paris have become polite over the last twenty years. They don’t exactly rush up and embrace you and thank you for winning the war for them, but they have certainly become more patient and accommodating. The cab drivers are still complete jerks, but everyone else – shopkeepers, waiters, the police – seemed almost friendly. I even saw a waiter smile once. And somebody held open a door for me instead of letting it bang in my face. It began to unsettle me.

Paris was imperfect in so many ways. However rather than enjoy it for all the things I thought I would, instead I found small pleasures in other places and I think that made me even fonder of Paris. The fact I’d enjoyed it despite nothing going to plan was a strong reminder as to why I fell in love with travel to begin with. It isn’t just about the gloss and the glamour but just as much about the atmosphere and people of the city. Paris still had this irresistible charm and romance in the air, the people were nice and even in the fog it remains a beautiful city.

I sat at some restaurant eating dinner before catching the train back to England and pondered how highly I rated Paris. I don’t think I’d put Paris up there with the best places I’ve visited. I’d still favour cities such as London, New York City, Madrid, Sydney but on a personal note it was exactly the trip I needed at that moment in my life. It was a good lesson that sometimes things don’t work out how you thought they would but it’s still going to be alright.

Anyway, that wraps up this trip. Have you ever been to Paris? Give me some recommendations on what to see next time! I’ll be returning to the city very soon but more on that to come in my next blog post!

Stay tuned!

Jason

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Liege – Oct 2016

So there I was stood in Liege..

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, back up a minute! How did you get to Liege? Why were you in Liege? Where even is Liege? Where’s your usual introduction Jason?”

Nooo, can’t we just go with it!? I’m tired of telling variants of this same story so surely you’re tired of reading it by now? You don’t need an introduction. I was just magically there in Liege, no questions asked!

Alright, fine! My beloved Tottenham were playing in Germany and..

“WHAT? Again!?”

See! Don’t say I didn’t warn you! If you hadn’t already picked up on it in this post, this one but perhaps best put in this one – Tottenham can’t avoid playing in Germany. So for about the hundredth time of course I was going to experience it. It was October 2016 and Tottenham were playing in a tiny town called Leverkusen on the outskirts of none other than Köln (Cologne).

Bayer Leverkusen v Tottenham Hotspur

Köln again! I’d been here as recently as sodding March and that was my second trip to the city. I sulked a bit after the schedule was released. As if another football trip to Germany wasn’t bad enough, it was the same region and not even a little bit away from Köln. For me to have stayed anywhere else would have been purely out of spite so reluctantly I booked my third trip to Köln and cried about it to anyone who’d listen.

“I can’t believe my luck, Germany again, poor me!”

Shockingly sympathisers seemed to be in short supply. Even the most supportive of people seemed to get swept up in the minor details such as it being my “thousandth trip of the year” and muttering phrases like  “you’re always out of the country” as if that was supposed to be some sort of consolation.

By the time the trip actually rolled around I’d perked up a bit and stopped wallowing in self-pity, Football, German beer, friends and best of all? No work. It almost sounded like it might be a fun trip. Who would have thought?

Nevertheless, even with a bit of a reality check I still had the dilemma that I was going back to Köln. It was a city I’d done to death and I knew I’d have to take a daytrip somewhere to freshen things up. One of the perks to Köln is it’s in a good location and its transport links are pretty fantastic. Day-trips to Western Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Eastern France, Luxembourg and Switzerland are all feasible so I had a good variety of destinations to pick from.

I fancied getting out of the country for the day and was keen to try and visit somewhere new which ruled out Brussels and Amsterdam as perhaps two of the most convenient destinations to get to from Köln. I’d been to Luxembourg last time I was in Köln so on this occasion I opted to go to a Belgian city called Liege. It wasn’t too far from Köln, I could get a direct train and the tickets weren’t too expensive so off I went. I hopped on the next train and soon enough I’d arrived at Liege’s main train station.

So there I was stood in Liege (“ooo, de-ja-vu!”). I’d successfully navigated my way across the border and could tick off another city in Belgium having previously been to Brussels, Bruges and Gent.

Assuming you take the train and don’t magically find yourself in Liege, your first impression of the city is going to be in its train station and wow! The station itself is a spectacular piece of architecture. It reminded me of Kings Cross a little with its roof and then the open and welcoming space as you come out of the main entrance. It’d make a great meeting point, unlike Brussels which gives off a bit of a sketchier vibe in parts close to its main station.

Liege’s train station

Of course I hadn’t come to Liege to drool over the train station, I was here to explore and see what Liege had to offer. I’d come here as a last minute decision so had no real expectation of the city. Unfortunately it meant I was also woefully unprepared and Belgium don’t seem fond of signposting things to help you get around. I mentioned this in my post on Gent too (another Belgian city) where I got hopelessly lost.

Things took a similar pattern here. Given I had no plans I was in no particular rush so getting lost wasn’t necessarily a problem but it’d be helpful if the Belgians gave you a helping hand in finding the centre of a city when the main station is a little further out. In the end I just walked, hoped for the best and inevitably had no idea where I was, the main upside being that at least I was seeing a bit more of the city.

Eventually I got on track but by this point it was close to lunchtime and all that walking had worked up an appetite. One of the very few things I’d read up on Liege before visiting was that one of its local speciality dishes was the boulet-frites (meatballs with fries). An odd combination but when in Liege..

I managed to find a restaurant / bar that looked like it had this particular dish on the menu so walked in and took a seat. A few moments later a waitress walked over offering a “bonjour..”

“Oh no! French? Take me back to Germany!”

Although Liege is within Belgium, the city has a heavy French influence and French is the main language spoken in Liege rather than the typical Flemish/Dutch across the rest of Belgium. Not that I’d have found that any easier but having woken up in Germany it took me by surprise a bit and quickly made me realise how unprepared I was for a day in Liege.

I’m often critical of how good my German is but I don’t think twice about picking up a menu or walking in to a restaurant in Germany. It’s nice having that reminder that my German isn’t so bad and I could comfortably go back to Köln that evening and get by, however in the meantime I had to muddle my way through ordering and my brain was scrambling for any French words I could remember from school.

Fortunately “je voudrais” (I would like) seems to be one of the very few French phrases I can remember so I managed to stumble together enough French words to place an order. Feeling pretty smug I handed my menu back to the waitress with a friendly “dankeschon” and immediately cursed my inability to switch the German off.

I didn’t bloody mean to say that, I knew how to say thank you in French, why didn’t I say merci beaucoup? I only seem to have an English mode and non-English mode which instinctively reverts to German regardless of what country I’m in. It obviously goes down a treat in Germany but the other Europeans just look at you weird when you’re muttering German at them.

Anyway, shortly after my moment of embarrassment I was being presented with a Liege speciality I was intrigued to try.

Liege’s speciality

I have to say it tasted better than it looked. I’m not sure two large brown lumps are ever going to look particularly appetising but they tasted good at least. I’m not sure it’s a combination that’s going to take off in England any time soon but I had little cause for complaint. I like meatballs, I like chips and the Belgian beer accompanied the combination perfectly haha.

With a full stomach I was ready to explore and see what Liege had to offer. First impressions were good, it was a city I liked. It’s not my favourite Belgian city by any means but it still had that typical European charm to it. Old buildings, cobbled streets, pretty churches and the usual things you come to expect of anywhere in Europe.

The standout for me was the palace which was quite simply stunning, it felt a bit out of place situated on such a busy road but I couldn’t help but admire the building itself. It’s beautiful and was probably the thing that sticks with me most from Liege. I ended up taking quite a few pictures whilst admiring it from every angle I could.

I spent the rest of the afternoon just aimlessly wandering, like most European cities it’s pretty walkable and nice to just dart through various streets and small alleyways hoping to discover a gem or two along the way. After a couple of hours of looking around I decided I’d round off my day with my preferred Belgian delicacy – the beer! I hopped in to this little bar which I thought looked quite nice and enjoyed a beer or two.

Happy I’d spent enough time in the city I made my way back to Liege’s train station, not getting so lost on this occasion and quickly boarded the train I needed to take me back to Köln.

As some of you know, I have a habit of falling asleep on trains which is bad enough at home but even more risky when in another country! I have a habit of feeling sleepy on trains and something else that makes me sleepy is beer. Having had a few Belgian beers earlier on made for a deadly combination, it seemed almost inevitable I’d doze off!

I woke up with somebody asking if the empty seat next to me was free. I indicated it was and couldn’t help but notice we were departing a train station. I was still a little drowsy plus a little panicked (“have I missed my stop?”) and kindly asked my new neighbour where we were.

“München”

“WHAT!!!?”

I can’t remember what I actually said but my panicked face said it all. Munich’s on the other side of bloody Germany! I’m miles away from Köln. What am I going to do now?

I’m not sure what occurred first. The wry smile on my neighbour’s face or myself realising the train wasn’t even going to Munich. The last stop of the journey was Frankfurt – still not ideal but less worrying. It was quickly apparent we hadn’t reached Köln yet which I managed to see the funny side of after the initial shock, although unsurprisingly I made sure to stay awake after that.

Shortly afterwards we’d arrived in Köln and I made my way to meet up with a couple of friends also in Köln for the football. We went and grabbed a few drinks before calling it a night, all taking amusement in my story of the German prankster.

Who says Germans have no humour?

Anyway, that wraps things up on my daytrip to Liege. A couple of months later I was rounding off 2016 with a trip to Paris which will likely be next up on the blog.

Stay tuned!

Jason

A return to Augsburg and München – Sep 2016

So recently I’ve had a little unintentional blogging hiatus and then last week I deviated from the travel stuff to share something a little more personal. As a result of that you’d be forgiven for forgetting all about my last travel specific post – the introduction to my Bavaria trip in September 2016. You can read that here but for those who haven’t read it I’ll catch you up very quickly..

I’d foolishly decided to go to Bavaria, unaware that it was opening weekend of Oktoberfest (who named that?). So in an effort to save some money I ended up flying to Memmingen and booking a hotel in Augsburg rather than pay fortunes for a trip to Munich.

After a surprisingly enjoyable morning in the charming town of Memmingen I was catching the train and heading to Augsburg. Or returning should I say, some of the long term readers might recall that I’d been to Augsburg and Munich in August 2015 so it was my second time visiting both cities. Here’s what I got up to!

Augsburg’s town hall and belltower

Friday
The reason I was in Germany was to see a gig in Munich on Friday night with a friend. It was a good excuse to catch up with Nicole plus enjoy a weekend away in Munich. However upon discovering how much staying in Munich was going to cost me I knew I couldn’t justify staying in the city, the next best option was staying in Nicole’s hometown and just traveling for the gig.

The last time I’d been to Augsburg it had been close to 40c so although it was familiar returning to the city, it felt very different to be going back with grey skies and rain falling from the sky. Given I’d been here before I didn’t really do anything after arriving mid-afternoon. I went and checked in to my hotel and then just chilled in my room for a bit to pass the time until Nicole was done with work.

I grabbed a quick bite to eat on my way to meet Nicole and then we hopped on the next train to Munich (fortunately they run regularly). Nicole had kindly taken it upon herself to gift me my ticket as a late birthday present which was a nice and unexpected surprise. We had a good catch up as the train whizzed through Bavaria and not much later arrived at Munich’s Hauptbahnhof.

Unsurprisingly Munich was full of tourists, lederhosen and fancy dress as party mode began early in the city, which made for some interesting people-watching on our way to the U-Bahn (metro / subway / tube). After a quick journey we were jumping off the U-Bahn and walking up to Munich’s venue called ‘Strom’.

Moose Blood at Strom – 16.09.16

I hate being late so was a bit concerned we’d left Augsburg so ‘late’ but Nicole had assured me we’d not miss any of the gig and so it proved. We were in good time ahead of the 10pm time for the opening of the doors. You read that right, TEN PM! I went to watch this same band in London three weeks later and the doors were at 6 (why so early!!?) so it blew my mind a little bit. I think there were four bands on the lineup too so how late was the main act going to be on?

In the end I think it ended up being around 11:30 which is crazy, curfew is usually around 11pm in England irrespective of the act or occasion. It created a very different type of atmosphere, probably helped by the fact it was a Friday night and many would be done with work for the week. Another factor would have been that there was an age restriction meaning the gig was 18+ so no youngsters in the venue.

I quite liked the venue and something else that pleased me was the lack of queue at the bar. I walked up and took a look at the options. Decent beer on tap – that’s a good start and to my shock priced at only 4 euros. At a gig? Prices on par with the rest of the city? What’s that about?

Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice in some respects but also just left me a bit resentful in much the same way German football does. Can we stop with the cheap ticket prices, luxury of watching the game with a beer in your hand and better atmospheres? At some point I have to go back to England and reality. Overpriced tickets, morgue-like stadiums and a terrible fan experience.

This was much the same. Sure, I would love decent German beer at a decent price but in three weeks I’ll be back to drinking bottles of piss and paying £5 upwards for the privilege. The cynical side of me couldn’t help feel they’d missed a trick in not charging more – “you could charge an extra euro or two..”

Anyway, it was good beer and the gig was decent too if not a bit weird. The main act were a band from England. You’ve got this little packed out room full of what I would largely presume were German locals, inbetween each song / break you’ve got this muttering of friendly German chit-chat and then the music kicks in and you’ve got a room full of Germans singing back at you in English. It’s bloody cool but weird at the same time. Overall though I left with the feeling that I need to go to more overseas gigs.

With time quickly moving on and the gig coming to a close we made our way back to Munich’s Hauptbahnhof (main station) and caught a late train back to Augsburg.

Saturday
I didn’t really know what I was planning to do on Saturday. Nicole sadly had to work so I was left to entertain myself for the day. My initial hope had been to visit the famous Neuschwanstein Schloss – a castle further South. It’s a popular castle which is often referred to as the “Disney castle” as I think it went some way to inspiring the castle in Disney’s themeparks. It’s also a popular daytrip from Munich.

Sadly it’s a little further from Augsburg and the weather forecast was also pretty poor. I didn’t really fancy spending hours on trains to hike up to a castle in the rain so I decided a visit to the area would have to wait until another visit.

I was contemplating whether I go to Munich, stay in Augsburg or visit somewhere else nearby. In the end I decided I’d go back to Munich and just see a few bits I hadn’t last time. After spending a chunk of the morning in bed I eventually dragged myself out and returned to the train station to go back to Munich for a few hours.

My first stop was Marienplatz, it’s one of the prettier squares in Munich and home to the old and new town halls (Rathaus). I thought I’d anticipated my arrival time well. There’s a little show which attracts huge numbers each day and I thought this was purely at 11am, I didn’t realise there was another an hour later so I walked out of the U-Bahn into a really busy square despite the rain. On the plus side I got to snap a cool little photo before escaping.

Everyone looking up at the belltower safely under their umbrella

I figured I’d walk over to one of my favourite spots from the previous summer – the bustling Viktualienmarkt. They had loads of food stalls and a little place to grab beer with a massive beer garden which was perfect given the glorious sunshine on my previous visit.

It seems when it’s pissing it down it isn’t quite as thriving, it was a bit of a disappointment this time around so I continued my search for lunch elsewhere. Eventually settling on eating at some pub before deciding what to do next. The disappointing weather didn’t really make wandering outdoors too appealing so I decided I’d go and visit the Deutsch Museum which Nicole had said was worth a visit.

It’s huge! I don’t know how you’d see all of it in a day but it was a great way to pass some time and some of the exhibits were interesting to pass through. After a couple of hours of wandering through various rooms I called it a day. I pondered whether I should do something else but I was also conscious of not getting back to Augsburg too late so I could catch up with Nicole in the evening.

As it was she got stuck working late far later than anticipated so my evening was a bit of a bust. By the time it was clear our plans were out of the window I didn’t really fancy going out so I just spent the evening chilling in the hotel, ready to explore a bit more on Sunday before heading home.

Sunday
No work on Sunday! Hurrah! After a bit of a lay in me and Nicole arranged to meet up for what ended up closer to being brunch I suppose. We met up with her friend Alex, who I’d met the previous summer, and then Alex’s partner.

It was a good opportunity for me to practice my German, even if it was just my listening skills haha. They asked if I wanted them to speak English but I was insistent they stuck to German. So I offered little value to the conversation but it was nice to try and follow along and put my German to the test a bit more – every so often pulling words out of the conversation that I was familiar with haha.

From brunch we went exploring. Kicking things off at Augsburg’s town hall which had a few interesting pieces on Augsburg. The roof of the main room was littered in gold and looked pretty spectacular. After wandering for a bit we headed back out and moved on to Augsburg’s cathedral.

The cathedral was pretty, as many religious buildings tend to be. I always enjoy wandering through them, just outside was this little gardened area with loads of cool little gnomes which I was pretty fond of too. Nobody was around either so it was really peaceful.

Sadly time was quickly getting away from me and I knew I’d have to say goodbye to Augsburg and make my way back to Munich’s airport. I probably left earlier than I needed to but it meant I avoided any potential delays, particularly with some of the stops on route being loaded with Oktoberfest attendees. Back at the airport I had just enough time for a stein of beer (or two) before catching my flight home and bidding farewell to Germany once again.

All in all it had been a fairly relaxed weekend, not too eventful but nice to go to a gig in Munich and particularly nice catching up with my favourite German. Augsburg had been a good base once again and I maintained my fondness of it, even if I hadn’t spent huge amounts of the weekend there.

I’m sure trip number three to Bavaria won’t be too far in to the future but for now it’s time to wrap this up.

Next up on the blog? Liege!

Stay tuned!

Jason

A dose of reality from social-media-boy

Hello my loyal readers! Some of you might be wondering where I’ve been, alternatively some of you following other social media platforms might be wondering where I haven’t been given my recent travels.

Whichever bracket you fall under, the biggest reason for my disappearance is that I’ve been exhausted.

I’ve been pretty busy of late – particularly as far as traveling goes and I have been a bit overwhelmed at how busy I’ve been. It has been enjoyable but as someone who’s an introvert I crave that space to refresh and re-energise and my little free time hasn’t afforded me that luxury of late. Consequently I’ve embraced those small windows where I’ve had a bit of free time and I’ve sacrificed blogging. I just haven’t had the energy for it once travel, football, social plans, work and everything else has been over with.

The good news is I’m hopeful that I’ll be a bit more regular on the blog again, however before jumping back in to it with a travel inspired post I thought I’d focus on something a little more mental-health focused given that it is apparently mental health awareness week.

The personal posts talking of “superheroes” such as Sickboy or Weetabix boy have gone down pretty well on the blog in the past so I thought I’d speak of Social-media-boy today.

One of the big causes of the growth in mental health issues is in the “importance” of social media and how much of a detriment it is having towards people’s health. I’m quite fortunate in that the pros of an online environment or experience outweigh the cons for me. However it appears to be a growing trend that the cons are doing more damage than the pros for many other people.

People, particularly young people, suffer from comparing themselves to other people’s “perfect lives” or suffer from those “FOMO” (Fear Of Missing Out) moments that look incredibly more attractive than our own circumstances. Happy families, loved up couples, business-folk driving around in Ferrari’s, non-stop travelers such as myself. Everyone has it better than you, right?

Wrong!

I try to make this point every so often because I’m quite conscious that I’m living the perfect lifestyle online. I enjoy sharing my travel photos, I enjoy sharing my ‘highlights’ but this idea that my life is enviable is one I struggle with. We all have our insecurities and shortcomings in life and I certainly have my own.

So in the spirit of being a bit more transparent and vulnerable, here’s a dose of reality from social media boy.

I’ve somewhat covered mental health topics on the blog before but the biggest and most over-whelming response I had to any blog post was Sickboy’s tale of anxiety. Sharing that was nerve-wrecking but the response overwhelmingly supportive. I couldn’t believe how many people read it or had mentioned it over the family-weekend-get-together which fell on the weekend I posted it.

One of the big points made in that post was how daunting solo travel was and how getting past those fears helped rid me of the worst of my anxiety. I’ve traveled solo many times since and I’m commended for my ‘bravery’ which I can understand, I stand by the reality that your first solo trip is incredibly nerve-wrecking but the reality is once the first solo trip was out of the way I’ve found it incredibly easy.

The bigger fear or insecurity for me is probably the opposite – putting yourself out there to find company to travel with. I’m not opposed to sociable activity but I’m actually a bit of a recluse and somewhat of an outcast.

Do I travel solo through choice or do I ask someone to join me and end up going solo anyway because they can’t make it. Rejection! (HA!)

“Did you not know they hate you? Idiot!”
“but there’s hundreds of entirely plausible reasons they said no..”
“The most likely being they hate you!”

Don’t get me wrong, I know that I have friends and loved ones and everything else but there’s always been that nagging insecurity that I don’t fit in. Be it school, college, work, social groups, family get-togethers or whatever – I’m the oddity of the group. The quiet one, the boring one, the.. you get the point.

I’m not suggesting it’s logical. Insecurities, paranoia or self-doubt rarely is. I do have this internal argument with myself in which I reassure myself and pick myself up but that insecurity has always been there. Infact it was probably a huge cause of how my anxiety started.

I spent the best part of my teenage years locked away (not literally!) in my bedroom and had become the ultimate recluse. From the age of 14 to 20 I had no real friends and subsequently no social life. You’d be forgiven for thinking I was depressed but I was happy – genuinely for the skeptics among you.

I had friends in Texas, Massachusetts, Lancashire, Essex or countless other places around the globe. The internet deprived me of that loneliness and I immersed myself in countless online platforms. Habbo Hotel, Yahoo Pool, Xbox Live etc etc – I made friendships for life in those years but I was about as much a recluse as could be.

Then I started work at Sainsbury’s and it was the same old. I don’t fit in here, do I? It was all a little bit clique-y and consequently for what was probably the first year of my job I only had colleagues, not people I considered friends. I generally had a better relationship with the customers opposed to anyone I worked with.

Then the next batch of recruits came in and things changed! There wasn’t that same clique and I started making friends – people outside of the internet that I could actually see face to face.

You’d think having no friends would be worse but there was a comfort and safety in being a recluse, I was largely dependent on my own company and became comfortable within that. Making friends was harder. I had something valuable I now didn’t want to lose and as I started seeing these friends outside of work the anxiety kicked in.

“Don’t fuck it up you loser!”

I spoke in my sickboy post about the physical aspect of the anxiety but that’s how it was. To some extent you manage the mental side of mental illness but when it becomes physical illness too there’s nowhere to hide.

The last thing you want to be doing when meeting friends is throwing up at the sight of them. I can remember getting a bus over to a friend’s house on one occasion and having her meet me at the bus stop only to be throwing up within seconds of getting off the bus.

“Lovely to see you, bleurgh..”

For someone that struggles making friends it’s not ideal throwing up in the company of the few that take pity on you. From there the anxiety just spiraled. Every social occasion, job interview, first day, whatever resulted in the same ritual of planning around the inevitable sickness.

“Try not to throw up in the company car park before going in for this interview, okay Jason? They’re probably not looking for that..”

That sickness chapter ended with Sydney (2013), the solo trip that helped build my confidence and rid me of the worst (physical side) of my anxiety. I started traveling more and have sustained friendships and relationships and whatever else since then but there’s always been that lingering self-doubt or insecurity in terms of fitting in.

With the exception of the football community I’ve always felt like an outsider and it’s why I’ve always said football is my biggest passion, even ahead of travel. Additionally it’s why I take exception to those calling it “just a game” who’ve never experienced the community aspect to it or the belonging that comes with it.

There’s nothing quite like it and I recently said that THAT night in Amsterdam was probably the best of my life because the outpouring of emotion and jubilant celebrations that followed the game is a moment I’ll never forget. I probably hugged 100 random people out in Amsterdam and they don’t care what your background is – just that you’re Spurs.

Getting back on track, I know that self-doubt and lack of belonging is in my head and ridiculous but it’s not something that is easily turned on and off.

With that introduction comes perhaps my low-point of 2018. It was the year I turned the big 3-0, as some of you’ll know I celebrated my 30th birthday by spending 30 days in the USA.

That’s all well and good, amazing memories and all that, but I live in England. I still wanted to celebrate my birthday here, despite not enjoying being the centre of attention. Ordinarily I’d happily forego birthday plans but it was a biggie, a little more special and I had to do something with people on this little island too to mark the occasion.

Perhaps surprisingly I enjoy social outings but I’m not really a plan-maker. I’m happy to hang out and do things most of the time but it’s usually as a result of someone else organising something – a trait I’m trying to work on improving and actually being a bit more proactive in making plans.

Anyway, I wanted to keep it simple and sent out open invitations for an afternoon / evening down at a local pub/restaurant on the river (literally). A huge beer garden, warm summer day and an “all welcome” approach. Perfect!

“Nobody’s going to come. They all hate you, you loser!”
“Piss off!”

That little voice in my head was shot down. The only way I was going to get past this illogical insecurity / self doubt was to head it face on. That’s the sound advice everyone gives you right? “Face your fears”.

Of course the fairytale ending is you face that fear and you’ve overcome it afterwards. All I had to do was put myself out there and there’d be an outpour of love and happy memories to look back on.

Sadly life doesn’t always go to plan and the turnout was actually quite disheartening. I’m grateful to the few who came out but there were far fewer people than I’d anticipated. It stung.

I’d been carrying the disappointment all day and I don’t think it was until I’d put Ross in to a cab later in the night that the weight of it hit me. I was up for a boogie, up for extending the evening a bit longer but I was just sat in this club alone and felt empty. There were other people in the club of course but I was sat celebrating my birthday on my own. I was craving for a familiar face to walk through the door of the club to make me feel less alone and change the end to my night but it wasn’t to be. I felt emotional and it killed my night.

“Don’t cry here man, just get home.”

Which I did. I grabbed a taxi home, curled up in bed and shed a few tears. That pesky insecurity had got the better of me, feeling like I’d taken a slap in the face and almost validating every self-doubt I have. Admittedly I’d had a few beers but it’s very easy to overthink in the early hours of the morning and enhance that doubt in yourself.

I analysed it, I questioned everything, I even took to Facebook and bitterly culled a few people which was somewhat therapeutic if I’m honest. I then had another cry and eventually I slept.

In the immediate aftermath it perhaps left a little emotional scarring but I picked myself up, dusted myself down and reassured myself as I often do.

In the many months since I’ve contemplated posting this story multiple times in a multiple of different ways and been reluctant to hit that ‘post’ button. I don’t think there’s any way to have written this without it seeming a little guilt-trippy which is definitely not my intention!

The reality is there are numerous reasons and circumstances which didn’t go in my favour on that particular day. From commitments to finances to emergencies to whatever, there are plenty of factors that played a part and deep down I know is no reflection of how loved I am. A lot of friends were out of town and had other arrangements and that’s life. I completely understand that.

So please don’t feel:
1) Guilty. If you’re reading this there’s no resentment on my part.
2) Pity. I don’t need your pity either.

As I said the purpose of this post was more to offer a dose of reality and transparency on my part – this month in particular which has been busy. I am conscious that my life often LOOKS perfect but this was a way of showing I’m as messed up as everyone else. Everything looks perfect on the internet but we’re all dealing with our own problems.

Potentially not everyone is comfortable being as vulnerable and open with their issues but just because you’re not reading it, like you are here, that doesn’t mean people aren’t going through a rough period.

Personally I’m in a good place right now, I probably wouldn’t be posting this if I wasn’t, but I thought it important to share a brutally honest and vulnerable side to my life and low-point to my 2018. Fortunately things change quite quickly and I had a good few reminders through the rest of the year of my place and importance in the world following that. They could be seen as seemingly insignificant moments to others but moments or celebrations I was included in that reminded I’m not forgotten about or insignificant.

Anyway I think I’m done rambling, apologies if you endured all of it! Given it is mental health awareness week I’d like to end by reminding you that you can message me any time you’re struggling and need a chat.

Alternatively the following organisations all do a good job of helping those struggling with mental health and you can get in touch with if you want to talk to someone a little more anonymously.

Mental Health Foundation
Mind
Time to Change
Together
Young Minds

That’s a wrap! Next time on the blog will be back to the travel stuff and specifically part 2 of my Bavaria trip (Sep 2017). If you want to remind yourself of part one you can here: A trip to Memmingen!

All the best!

Jason

A trip to Memmingen!

Research, research, research! Some of you might be wondering where the hell Memmingen is but let me start with the more important question – why Memmingen?

I’m like you, I hadn’t even heard of Memmingen so why would I have any reason to fly there? For that you’ve got to really read my recent post here but for those that missed it, let me catch you up. I’d decided to go see a band with a friend (Nicole, remember her?) in Munich in mid-September and what could possibly clash with that timing? Opening weekend of Oktoberfest – of course! How could I possibly have overlooked that?

Running from September 17th to October 3rd (2016) was Munich’s biggest event of the year. Come October 4th you’d have found the aptly named Oktoberfest done and dusted (“sorry mate, you should have come in September”)..
So inevitably my poorly timed visit was looking expensive, I had my heart set on this trip and I wasn’t going to let Munich’s obscene flight prices and accommodation prices deter me.

If not Munich, where else in Germany can I fly to? Ooo look, Ryanair fly to an airport called Memmingen Munich. Munich! That’s perfect! I’ll book a hotel in Augsburg (the city Nicole lives in) and flights to Memmingen Munich – that’ll do!

“Great, so now we know why you went to Memmingen and also where it is. It’s part of Munich!”

Whoa, don’t get ahead of yourselves! Did I specifically say that? No, no, no. Ryanair have taken a leaf out of Oktoberfest’s books. Yes, they sell flights to Memmingen Munich but what about that would possibly make you think it’s in Munich? Memmingen is actually 70 miles away from Munich – you idiot!

Seriously though, imagine your horror at flying in to Memmingen on October 4th to find you’re in the wrong city and you’ve missed the festival?

Fortunately, whilst I got caught out by the timing of Oktoberfest, I was a little more familiar with Ryanair’s practices and aware that usually you’re landing in the middle of nowhere on their flights. I knew ahead of going to Memmingen that it wasn’t actually anywhere near Munich, nor Augsburg for that matter which is slightly closer.

I’d sensibly done a bit of research on how to get from Memmingen to Augsburg and as I exited the airport I looked for the bus in to the city centre. It looked like there was going to be a bit of a wait but hang on, what’s that? A tiny little beer garden just outside the airport! What better welcome to Germany than that?

I looked on Google Maps to see how far it was to walk in to the centre and decided it was a bit too far. Unfortunately I was left with no other option but to wait it out. What a pickle right? I suppose I’ll have to take a seat in the sunshine and have a beer whilst I wait then. It was a tiny airport with minimal other amenities so what choice did I really have?

Even Germany’s airports have beer gardens!

The bus arrived soon after I’d finished my beer so I was on my way in to Memmingen, hoping it would be clear where I needed to get off. Fortunately it was and the bus dropped me off just outside of Memmingen’s train station. Perfect! On to Augsburg I go! Unless..

I stayed for a bit? What was the rush really? I’d been to Augsburg a year earlier which meant I wasn’t seeing anything new, plus Nicole was stuck in work anyway so did I need to go right away? Maybe I should look around Memmingen whilst I’m here, Augsburg can wait.

I have to say, I’m glad I stuck around. Don’t get me wrong – I’m not saying Memmingen is somewhere you have to visit, nor is it a particularly big city but it took me by surprise. I ventured away from the station and was soon heading up this street with a number of colourful buildings and I couldn’t help but admire Memmingen already. It looked to be full of character and charm.

I stumbled upon what I’m guessing is Memmingen’s old town and its architecture and character really became apparent. I passed some cute looking shops and couldn’t resist picking up some postcards whilst in the city.

As I came out of this store I turned the corner and discovered this picturesque square, home to Memmingen’s Rathaus (town hall) and a number of other stunning buildings. Memmingen’s locals were embracing the sunshine and taking seat at some of the cafes and restaurants within the vicinity. It was the perfect setting.

Charming Memmingen with the town hall on the right!

Everywhere you looked was something to catch your eye and that’s when I spotted just to my left a small street with a tiny canal running through it. Sure, it wasn’t Bruges or Amsterdam but it was still pretty. Either side of the canal were small shops, businesses and restaurants. I was swooning over this unknown little place.

View this post on Instagram

Not quite Amsterdam but pretty nevertheless. #memmingen #Bayern #Deutschland #ichliebedeutschland #Germany

A post shared by Jason (@jasonlikestotravel) on Sep 17, 2016 at 1:58am PDT

After walking up and down various little side streets I decided I needed to grab some lunch and had to find my German/Austrian favourite. No trip to Germany is complete without some schnitzel and given I was only here for a weekend I figured I’d make sure I got that opportunity locked down early on in the trip.

Following on from lunch I wandered a little longer through the city and whilst it isn’t particularly big, it felt like a bit of a gem. I highly doubt I’ll ever go back to Memmingen but it had been a pleasant surprise to wander for a couple of hours. Memmingen’s changing weather was a sign to call it a day. I’d arrived to clear blue skies in the morning but that was the last I saw of any blue skies in Germany. It had become overcast so I strolled back towards the train station in a race against the imminent rain that remained for the rest of my weekend in Germany.

I was excited to head to Augsburg but a little sad leaving Memmingen behind too. Is it somewhere I’ll go back to? Probably not. Is it somewhere that should be on your bucketlist? Again, probably not but in a short few hours it had left a memorable impression. No, you probably shouldn’t be going out of your way to visit Memmingen but if you’re in the area or perhaps you want a cheaper alternative to flying to Munich, Memmingen certainly isn’t a bad shout. It’s not a bad little day-trip or in my case an extended lunchtime visit.

Despite my poor timing I decided it’d actually be easier getting home from Munich on the Sunday evening so flew back from Munich, consequently I didn’t see Memmingen again. Nevertheless it was a good start to a fun weekend in Bavaria.

Up next? A return to Augsburg and Munich!

Stay tuned!

Jason

Jason Goes Global!

Alright, perhaps not quite but I thought it was a somewhat fitting title given Elle over at Elle Goes Global gave me the honour of writing my first ever guest blog post! Elle kindly provided me with the platform to write about my struggles with anxiety and how traveling went some good way to helping that so I’d love if you went and gave it a read here!

I think it’s important to speak up about mental health and it’s a piece I’m proud of. However the long-term readers of my blog might be sensing a feeling of “Sickboy” de-ja-vu because, yes, it’s a story I’ve told on my blog before and a slightly lengthier effort on that occasion too which you can read for comparison here: Travel helping my struggle with anxiety!

So in addition to the above I thought I’d dedicate the end of this particular post to Elle and a few of her own written posts that I’ve enjoyed and think you should also give a read! Check them out below!

25 countries in 25 years – One of Elle’s recent posts revolved around her visit to 25 countries before the age of 25. It’s really interesting to see where she’s been to already. From nearby countries in Europe to faraway lands such as South Africa or Mauritius.
Go let her know where to visit before 30 in her quest to reach 30 countries!

How to travel solo and still have the best holiday ever! – Exactly what it says in the title. Solo travel can be quite daunting if you’ve never done it before and I personally know a few are still having doubts about whether to travel solo or not. Elle offers a few tips on how you can have the best time traveling solo which might just be enough to give solo travel a chance!

72 hours in Valencia – One city I’m keen to visit at some point is Valencia in Spain. It’s somewhere that has always appealed to me and a good excuse to return to Spain at some point. Fortunately Elle has written a 72 hour guide on the city which is well worth giving a read. It’s given me a few ideas for when I get around to visiting!

Visitors guide to Cardiff – Somewhere else I’m hopeful I’ll visit properly soon is Cardiff. It is a city I’ve briefly visited but I don’t really count it as somewhere I’ve been to. This month Wales has been a frequent visitor to my news feeds on social media with celebrations for St David’s Day and Wales Six Nations success.
It’s definitely somewhere I’ll try spend a weekend in at some point this year and Elle has written up a useful guide for visitors to the city!

Fantastic treasures in Italy – Another country I’m keen to return to and see more of is Italy. I’ve only been to Italy the once, visiting Pisa and Florence back in 2015 which was a fantastic trip. It’s a country I’m overdue returning to and in this particular post Elle has advised of a few ‘treasures’ to visit in the country.

Anyway, I’ll leave it at that but if you want to see more from Elle you’ll find her at:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
or over on the blog of course.

I’d love to hear what you think of the guest post and it’s certainly something I’m open to doing more often so get in touch if you’d like me to write up something for your own blog.

Thanks for reading!

Jason

The Bayern mistake!

Following on from my NYC trip (June 2016) I was quickly turning my attention towards the next trip: Bayern (Bavaria) in Deutschland!

Long term readers of the blog may remember previous mentions of my favourite German, Nicole, on trips to Salzburg (Oct 2014) and Bavaria the first time around (Aug 2015). The romance was long gone but we’d stayed good friends and I couldn’t help but be tempted by a European gig tour.

A band we both enjoy listening to were touring the UK and Europe in 2016 and as I scoured through the tour dates I was pleased to find they were playing in München (Munich) on a Friday night! “That is perfect!” I thought. I can book the Friday off and have myself a weekend trip to Munich in September!

Consequently I ran the idea past Nicole, who said she’d love to go, and put a little pin in the calendar for that weekend. I knew NYC was going to be expensive, I needed to save my pennies beforehand but as soon as I was home I’d look in to flights and accommodation for Germany. 

So off I went and had a week away in NYC. I had a fantastic time, as you can read about in previous posts, but I couldn’t dwell on that for too long – it was time to start planning again!

Having been a year earlier (Aug 2015) I had a rough idea of what a weekend in Munich should cost me. With August generally being Europe’s peak travel month due to the school holidays and summer weather (it had been close to 40C in Germany in Aug 2015) I was looking forward to a slightly cheaper weekend away.

I was WRONG! Flight prices for Munich were obscene! Accommodation in Munich was either sold out or obscenely priced. What’s going on? How can it possibly be this much in September compared to August?

One explanation was that dreaded word that has been on everybody’s lips for the last three years – Brexit! My NYC trip was perfectly timed, the £ to $ exchange rate was fairly decent but my “wait until after NYC” approach came back to bite me on this trip. I returned home from NYC in June 2016, just before the Brexit vote which saw the pound nosedive following the result.

Even so, it’s still way too expensive in Munich for that to be the sole cause. What am I missing? Is there a big event going on in September that I don’t know about? Bayern Munich are playing at home but that can’t be it, you can see football in Munich every weekend. The only other time I’d expect Munich to be this expensive would be..

”Oh no..”

Oktoberfest! I suddenly remembered, Oktoberfest overlaps in to September doesn’t it? Still, I’m looking to visit in the middle of the month! Surely Oktoberfest isn’t this early?

Wrong again! Septemberfest as it shall henceforth be known was running from September 17th until October 3rd in 2016. Three days? Are you kidding me?
I was looking for flights on September 16th. I’ve only gone and invited myself to Munich for opening weekend of Oktoberfest! Of course it’s bloody expensive you idiot!

I’ve always wanted to visit Oktoberfest at some point but this wasn’t the trip for that, so now what? Referring back to that dreaded B word that every Brit is sick of hearing about, I had a similar problem of my own. I’d made the decision to go to Munich but with further clarity and new information do I follow through? What do I do?

It was clear that if I wanted to still go to Munich it was going to be a BAD deal but on the flipside “gig means gig” right? An agreement was in place and I didn’t want to go back to “Europe” (Nicole) and say I’d changed my mind. I hadn’t changed my mind at all, I definitely wanted to go to the gig but it was under very different circumstances than I’d anticipated.

On the plus side it didn’t take me three years to resolve my little problem, just a couple of weeks, maybe I should be our new Prime Minister (ha, no thanks!).
Anyway I’m getting sidetracked, let me get back to the story. Plan A was out of the window so I had to focus on finding a plan B. I’m committed to going to this gig so where else can I fly to, where else can I stay?

My best, or perhaps preferred option was to stay in Nicole’s hometown Augsburg if not Munich. Unfortunately it seems other Septemberfest attendees had similar ideas and were venturing out of Munich. Trains between the two cities run regularly and aren’t too expensive so it makes sense but meant I was effectively paying Oktoberfest rates in September whilst staying in another city. Still much cheaper than hotels in Munich of course but somewhat frustrating.

As far as flights go I ended up finding flights to ‘Memmingen Munich’ – not actually Munich at all but fortunately I was a little more aware of Ryanair’s practices. Fool me once maybe but I wasn’t going to get caught out by Ryanair too! Their flight prices are unrivaled but part of the reason for that is they fly to tiny airports in the middle of nowhere.

Memmingen is actually worthwhile flying to, particularly if (unlike me) you’re looking to go to Oktoberfest but just be aware the town is actually 70 miles away and you’re going to have to make your way to Munich from there. I do have some sympathy for those poor souls unaware flying to Memmingen on October 4th and finding they’re miles away and have missed the festival.

Fortunately things worked out for me. Yes, I suffered a small blow to my bank balance but it was a nice lesson for me and something I took in to other trips. A year later I completely avoided going to Boston as the weekend I was looking to visit clashed with the Boston marathon and was not a weekend I wanted to be in town haha.

The bigger reason it worked out though was that I still got my weekend to Germany. More on Memmingen, Augsburg and Munich to come soon!

Moose Blood in Munich. September 16th 2016

Stay tuned!

Jason