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This morning we got up and ate the last of our muesli for breakfast. There was a tiny bit left over, which we discarded. M. got her morning coffee at Ratio Coffee Shop again. Today was wet and colder than yesterday, only around 13-14°C, so we rugged up with our jackets.
Returning to out room, we packed ur luggage and checked out of our hotel. Since there were no reception staff, this involved scanning a QR code and confirming online that we'd left the room. We stored our luggage in the provided free lockers in the hotel foyer, since our train for Munich didn't depart until 16:00, so we had a few hours of free time.
We spent the rest of the morning and the early afternoon walking around and exploring Salzburg more, using umbrellas for most of the time except for a period around lunch when the rain petered out to sporadic droplets. We went back to Schloss Mirabell and this time looked inside the free entry Marble Room and staircase, which was pretty fancy. The large and ornate staircase led up two tall floors and at the top it was quite warm due to the heat rising. The middle floor contained a door to a hall used for concerts, but this was closed at this time. There was a small wedding party in the staircase taking photos, using the marble splendour as a backdrop.
Outside we explored a little more of the gardens, climbing the "Do, Re, Mi" stairs and then continuing up further to the highest part of the garden, which gave a good view back down and along the promenade, leading directly towards Festung Hohensalzburg high on the Festungberg in the distance. The gardens were packed with people now, during the day, compared to being more empty late in the evening the last time we were here, and most wielding umbrellas against the rain.
That took a shorter time than expected. We'd tentatively planned to pause for lunch after seeing Schloss Mirabell, but instead we walked across the river to the Altstadt and did some more exploring of a few streets we hadn't seen yet, as well as passing shops that weren't open before. We found one amazing store that had souvenirs and knick-knacks in the front, including a few notebooks which M. took a lot at. Meanwhile I explored the depths of the store, walking down the back and discovering it extended a surprisingly long distance. And it changed character as it went, with areas devoted to toys, homewares, and then right at the back it morphed into stationery. And it didn't stop there! An open doorway led off to the right, into another room with higher class stationery, fountain pens, and so on. Turning left again was a room full of very expensive looking leather-bound books, but straight ahead it continued into two rooms of art supplies. It was an amazing hidden treasure trove.
Leaving here after several minutes of browsing around, we decided it was time to get some food. We passed a cafe or two, but they didn't look very inspiring. I searched on my phone for bakeries and found a couple down a narrow alley that was quieter than the tourist-clogged main street. Hidden down here we found an unassuming bakery with bread, rolls, pre-made sandwiches, and some sweet pastries. It also has a soup of the day sitting in a large pot in a tiny kitchen at the back. There were only a handful of tables, and they were populated by what looked like locals, not tourists. The lone woman serving barely spoke a few words of English and I had to use German to order some sandwiches and other things for us, and also a bit later to ask for two glasses of water when we saw her giving them to other people. It was nice to find such a local haunt that apparently tourists overlooked.
After eating, we roamed around a little more, then decided to head back to collect our bags and head off. But on the way we stopped at My Mom's, the cinnamon roll place, so I could sample one of the rolls. I really wanted a Toblerone roll, but they'd sold out! I settled for a Kinder roll instead, with a mix of milk and white chocolate. It was very good, though I think I would have preferred the Toblerone version.
Back at the hotel we collected our bags from the locker and then headed out to walk back to the train station. It was a ten minute walk, but this time it was raining, so we had to use umbrellas. Our bags got a bit wet since we were pulling them on wheels and they couldn't be kept under cover, but fortunately the rain wasn't too heavy.
At the station we discovered that our train was delayed yet again. Not a very long delay this time, about 15 minutes or so. We sat in a waiting room in the main passageway beneath the platforms. I used the time we had to dash off another sketch. I wanted to fill my sketchbook of 64 pages with sketches from this trip, and needed to pick up the pace a bit to complete it before we got home.
We caught our train about 16:15 and it took us to Munich, arriving about 18:00. As we were walking down the platform to the exit, I noted to M. how plain and dull Munich station looked, compared to some of the grand old stations or ultra-modern new ones the we've seen across Europe. This one was boxy and boring, looking like it had been thrown up as fast as possible with minimal or no attempt to make the design interesting. My research had said that our hotel was just across the street from the Hauptbahnhof, but when we exited the station we found ourselves a long block away. As we walked along the street we noticed that a large block right behind the station was an active construction zone, with multiple cranes and a large empty area. I realised that this was where the station was meant to be, according to Google Maps. So it looks like the station is in the process of being rebuilt, and what we saw was probably just a temporary construction, with the platforms and roofing extended a block further along while reconstruction of the station proper takes place.
We chose a hotel right across the street from the purported Hauptbahnhof location partly for convenience, because we're only here for one brief night so we can get to the airport first thing in the morning. The other reason we chose this hotel was because M. was attracted by the online photos of the funky looking bar area. Check-in was here, with the bartender helping us use some automated iPad check-in software. M. said he sounded Australian, which we confirmed later on. The bar was indeed funky, with cool furniture and lighting, and the guy said it was open 24 hours. There was also a guitar with a sign on it saying guests could borrow it. And when we got to our room, there was a guitar amplifier in there, with a note saying you could plug in your own music device, or borrow a guitar to play from the bar. It was also one of those trendy new hotel rooms where the shower is simply a transparent glass cubicle right in the bedroom.
We dropped our bags and went for a walk. Although we only had a few hours in Munich, we wanted to see a few things and also get some dinner. I again used ChatGPT to collate recommendations for local restaurants with vegetarian options and it recommended Der Pschorr, near the Viktualienmarkt. This was a walk away down the main shopping street, passing under the Karlstor gate and towards Marienplatz and the imposingly Gothic architecture of the Neu Rathaus. The street was busy with people walking to and fro, and with the shops still open for a while before closing time at 20:00.
I was unable to get a reservation online at Der Pschorr, so we rocked up and just asked if we could get a table. A few people went in just before us, and were given tables. The place was large and busy, but there were a few tables free, and we were shown to one on a slightly elevated platform in one half of the large room. There was also a mezzanine floor above with more tables and diners. A dozen or more waiters and waitresses dressed in traditional lederhosen or dirndls scurried to and fro, carrying huge trays of food or drinks and expertly dodging moving customers when necessary.
They had a very traditional Bavarian menu, but also several tempting looking vegetarian choices. I had a plate of three veal sausages (thin ones, not the giant fat ones) with potato salad and M. chose the potato rösti with fried mushrooms and salad. All very good. And though the serves were on the large side, they weren't overwhelming, which was good. The service was efficient and very friendly. This was definitely a great place to come for a single meal in Munich.
We walked back to our hotel and went to the bar to get a drink and do a little bit of sketching. M. had filled her sketchbook and was working on filling in the watercolour, but I still had about five pages left. I planned do them on the flights home. I had a quick chat with the bartender, who turned out to be from Sydney, having moved to Germany a year and a half ago with his German wife.
We packed our bags and set an alarm for 05:30, to get up and head to Munich Airport. Our flight was scheduled to depart at 10:00 for Frankfurt, but we only had 75 minutes to make it to our connecting flight to Singapore. Having missed a flight connection in Frankfurt once before because of the sheer size of the airport and it taking 30 minutes or more to travel between terminals, we were concerned about the connection time, especially if the Munich departure was delayed at all. So the plan was to arrive at the airport by about 07:00 and see if we could get our first flight changed to one of the earlier Munich-Frankfurt flights, which departed at 08:00, 08:30, and 09:00.
With only about six hours to sleep, we turned in earlier than we have been.
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