Hallo! Or as the Dutch (and Germans) say – HALLO!

After we last wrote to you from Nice, we spent a whirlwind couple of days with Shruti’s old roommate Rushali in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam
Rushali picked us up from the airport with a sign (just like in the movies!), guided us through the tram system, brought us home, and fed us delicious Mexican food at Masmais.

The one full day we had in Amsterdam was gray and windy and especially cold after sunny Nice. We spent it slowly wandering through the Van Gogh Museum and briskly meandering along the canals, dipping into Chinese restaurants and Dutch cafes for some cozy warm meals.

Nate took us through a neighbourhood he stayed at during a 2022 vacation, and we wandered up toward Centraal Station, criss-crossing canals along the way.

At the station, we hopped on a ferry to Amsterdam-Noord, a borough just across the river. The ferry’s single large chamber quickly filled with people and bikes (and more bikes). We’re pretty sure Amsterdam has more bicycles than people.

As we packed up to leave the next afternoon, Rushali took out a bottle of cold vermouth. After a swig and a proost, we were off to the airport to catch our flight to Munich.

Munich
And just like that we were in Bavaria! We had some trouble figuring out how to buy tickets for the train systems of Munich, but Shruti’s cousin Vijay had given very clear instructions on how to get to their house. (Note to selves: knowing a local is very helpful to navigate public transport in a new city). We were welcomed home by Vijay, his wife Rebecca, and their two cats, Pumpkin and Charlie.

We spent our first day in Munich at the nearby Grubenpark, which turned out to be a forest that made us feel like we were inside a fairytale.

Shruti reconnected with Isha (an old friend from art class over 15 years ago) and we went out for our first taste of Bavarian food. Isha and her husband Pragun introduced us to Gaststätte Burg Pappeheim, which was packed with locals at 7pm on a Thursday. The owner grumpily ushered us in, and as the evening progressed, mischievously joked with us in German. We quickly felt like Munich locals, chugging down beer poured from freshly opened barrels.

Salzburg
The next day, we decided to pop over to Austria (Salzburg was only a two hour train ride away!). We spent a sunny day strolling along the Salzach River, walking through the Mirabell Gardens and trying a Sacher Torte (which we thought would be way more chocolatey).

Soon after, Shruti came down with a bug, so the next few days were mostly spent indoors with ginger tea and hot home cooked meals (thanks Vijay!)

We spent our last day in downtown Munich, watching the metal figurines of the Rathaus-Glockenspiel dance at exactly 5pm, chugging beer tea at Hofbräuhaus and sampling pastries at the closest Rischart.

We’ve come to realize that Bavarian food is a lot of potatoes & fried schnitzels, bratwurst & beer. And we’re told that everyone buys fresh bread from their local bakery everyday. If you have recommendations of what we should eat in Germany next, please send them our way!

Our time in Munich has passed so quickly (thank you for putting up with us – Vijay, Rebecca, Charlie & Pumpkin).

Next stop, Berlin.

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