Trafalgar Square In Yellow
Although last night was quiet, that couldn’t be said for lunch-time today.
but where were all the Bayern fans. Perhaps, as they have been described as the Manchester United of Germany, they were all in their hotels and restaurants, stuffing themselves with the German equivalent of prawn sandwiches!
The Sleeper From Munich To Paris
It takes over ten hours, but as I wanted to be back in London in time to get to Ipswich for the Hull game on Saturday, it was the only way I could do it.
I had booked the sleeper on Deutsche Bahn’s excellent web site at bahn.de. I had a self-printed paper ticket, that worked well. These are some of the pictures I took on the journey.
We arrived in Paris on time at 09:30. I had slept reasonably well.
The Problems Of Eating On The Move For A Coeliac In Germany
Just because I’m a coeliac, it doesn’t mean that I don’t want to eat gluten-free food on the move.
In the UK, there are a lot of options.
I can get gluten-free bars like EatNakd or Eat Natural in many places.
At stations, there is usually a good choice at Marks and Spencer of various snacks, which often include sandwiches.
There is also the coffee chains, like Starbucks, where I can usually find a bite of something.
And on top of that most pubs can probably rustle up something to go with half of decent cider or a glass of wine.
But in Germany, I found little to eat on the move.
As I returned from Ulm, I was very hungry, as I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. But there was nothing obvious at the station. So I looked at this vending machine.
Vending Machine At Ulm Station
I got a bag of crisps, which at least said they were glutenfrei.
Note though there is only one flavour in the machine and they were paprika. But I was so hungry, that I ate three packets.
Back in Munich, I had time to kill, as the sleeper to Paris didn’t leave until 22:50.
I should have done the sensible thing and go to the pizza restaurant, but I thought that I’d find something. I did and it was this salad.
A Revolting Salad At Munich Station
It was one of the most revolting I’ve ever tried to eat. Especially, as the only implements were my fingers. The picture doesn’t really do justice to the salad and especially the cheese and ham mixture on the top. Alternative layers of revolting cheese and ham had been sandwiched together and sliced up. In the end I gave up and put it in a bin.
I should have been entitled as I was on a First Class sleeper, to use of the DB Lounge. But after installing myself there at about 20:50, I was promptly turfed out, as it shuts at 21:00. So I was left to fend for myself in the cold for nearly two hours.
Incidentally, I could have gone back to the hotel and its warm bar, but there had been an altercation in the subway linking the station to the city centre, so I had to stay put.
It was then, that I met half a dozen Watford supporters on a stag do. They were trying to buy a sausage without bread from a fast food stall and not getting much joy, as apparently, it was against the rules. They were just getting fed up with their restricted diet of beer, bread and sausage.
I had been in Germany for two days, and I’d never found anything acceptable to eat on the move.
If it hadn’t been for the wonderful pizza, I might have starved. I can’t live by coffee with two sugars alone.
I think the rule is you must plan, where you are going to eat. Germany doesn’t seem to be like the UK, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium and France.
On the other hand, I tried to plan at Ulm and that didn’t work out! Years ago, I didn’t plan in Berlin, but the hotel was good and sorted out two of the best gluten-free restaurants I ever went to with C.
On My Way To Ulm
I had booked the sleeper to Paris from Munich at 22:50, so as a diversion during the afternoon, I went to Ulm. I had found a restaurant there on the Internet, that said it did gluten-free food, so the plan was to have an early supper and then return to Munich.
I made the mistake of taking a slow train, which took nearly three hours, when I could have done it in just over the hour.
A Fugger Express
As you can see it was called a Fugger Express, which sounds a bit rude to me. I didn’t like the train, as you sit rather high compared to a typical UK train, and when getting in and out of some of the seats, you can miss your footing. The generous European loading gauge may give advantages, but it might not make passenger entry and exit easy. To me, the low European platforms are not a good idea.
Low European Platforms
I don’t have too many problems, but on one station, there was a massive gap between the platform and the train and behind me was a three-year-old who jumped to get off. If they’d missed, they could easily have fallen under the train.
The train also passed through the wonderfully named station of Kissing.
Kissing Station
The next time though, I do this journey, I’ll take a faster train. There are lots of trains and Deutsche Bahn issue a very simple Munich-Ulm timetable detailing them all on virtually a double-sided piece of A5 paper.
The countryside is summed up by pictures like this.
Typical Bavarian Countryside
Green fields and woodland, with the ocassional church poking towards the sky.
But I do wish I’d taken a fast train.
Buying Tissues In Germany
With all my walking in the cold around Munich, my nose was running like a drain. So I needed to get some more tissues!
But could I find any? No! So I asked in a pharmacy and they gave me some free ones.
FreeTissues In Germany
In fact, there seemed to be a total lack of small shops in Germany, like the ones you get all over the UK. So there would appear to be nowhere to buy chocolate, pre-packaged salads and tissues.
I must be going blind, in not spotting them! there doesn’t seem to be too many food shops in town centres either!
Munich Olympic Park
I’ve been to several Olympic Parks and some like Montreal and Athens are not in the best of health. But Munich appears to be in use.
It is in my view one of the world’s most iconic sports stadia.
It is place full of tragedy and happiness.
I remember watching on television as the massacre at the Olympic village unfolded. Thankfully, no Olympics has seen anything like it since.
But there is a lesser tragedy entwined in the site and that is of one of Britain’s greatest ever athletes Lillian Board, who died in Munich of cancer, a couple of years before the 1972 Olympic Games. One of the paths on the site has been given her name. She was truly a multi-talented person, who represented her country at all distances up to a mile, and surely, she must be one of few people, who’ve received their MBE from the Queen, in a coat they’ve designed and made themselves.
Then there is the sadness and triumph in the medal tables on the honours board. Look at those of the women athletes and there is an awful lot of DDR and USSR. How many were clean?
But tucked in at the bottom is Mary Peters, who produced the performance of her life to win gold in the pentathlon. Of all the sporting events I’ve seen, both live and on television, her performance in Munich is in the top ten.
Munich’s Information-Rich Buses
To get back from the English Garden, I used a bus.
They were on of the most information-rich buses I’ve ever seen.
As London buses do, they also give you a running commentary of the route.
The only thing they lack, is decent maps at the bus stops.
Note how they use real video displays, whereas British buses and trains use simpler displays using LEDs.
Walking In The English Garden
In the morning, I took the U-Bahn and went for a walk in the English Garden and the streets and other parks that surround it.
The garden was originally designed by Sir Benjamin Thompson, one of the most unusual scientists and inventors of the late eighteenth century. He is also known as Count Rumford.
Left Luggage Lockers In Germany
All of the stations, I visited in Germany had lots of left luggage lockers.
Left Luggage Lockers In Munich
These in Munich, which easily took my small case cost just €3.00 for 72 hours.
i used them in both Munich and Nuremberg.
The Excelsior Hotel In Munich
This hotel was very convenient for the station and was well worth a stay.
The staff were very helpful, wi-fi was complimentary and I was able to have a very good breakfast with proper tea.
I would certainly stay again.
The Anonymous Widower 