Munich’s city planning impresses me, the roads and streets are well laid out and connected by the metro. I have been navigating cities with paper maps, and by far Munich has been the easiest.

My airbnb host, Barbara, was wonderful. She was a retiree who traveled all over the world. Every morning she would make me breakfast and give me suggestions on where to visit. Then we would move on to other topics such as Germany’s reunification, environment vs. development, favorite travel spots, and best way to clean fruits.

Barbara collected paintings everywhere she visited, my room was mainly decorated by Australian art:

I was being a tourist for a day where I visited the cathedral, art museums, and the Residenze. Then I realized I overdozed on museums, castles, and cathedrals, so I decided to take a break from sightseeing.

I went to the Tollwood festival which was an eco-summer fest with music, food, and entertainment in the Olympic Park. I had the best chocolate covered strawberries there!

On game days, people congregate in front of the TV screens:

I spent my remaining Munich time in cafes, the English Garden, and by the lake. I was pleasantly surprised to see people surfing the river in the English Garden! The beer halls were also fascinating, strangers sit together on long benches and had food and beer together.

While I was drinking coffee outside the Alpine museum, I was talking to this older gentleman who used to work for the museum. He climbed McKinley (Denali), the highest mountain in North America, at 64!!! I asked him some questions about his climbs and suppressed my urge to ask him a thousand more questions. In return, he asked if I liked travelling alone and I told him I liked the freedom that came along with solo travelling. I always get my wish on where to see, when to wake up, and what to eat.

He then said to me he used to travel alone when he was young and he thought it was a sign of confidence. Then he met his wife and had been travelling with her for the past 20 years. His wife was such a wonderful person that he found the joy of sharing moments with her to be the best thing about travelling. Unfortunately, she passed away recently and he said he couldn’t stand travelling alone now as he couldn’t bear the thought of not sharing his experience with her. I thought about what he said for a long time and knew he had gifted me a piece of his precious wisdom.