Travel, write, and eat with Jordan

Hello friends! I’m writing this from my hotel in Vienna, the final leg of this trip.  Yes,  I backtracked a little bit here.

Originally this trip was supposed to just be Budapest and Vienna, and my flights were booked. Salzburg and Munich were late adds,  which is why I ended up with the order I went in. No worries though as the high speed trains have been convenient and comfortable.

Last year I did 4 cities and flew in between each one. While the flights were cheap and quick, this wasn’t necessarily more convenient than if I had planned a trip where I could train in between each city. When you factor in airport security, customs, and getting to and from the airport, it adds quite a bit more time and stress.

The best part of taking the trains in between European cities is that they are typically from city center to city center. Makes it much more convenient to just get off and head to your hotel. Airports of course are usually on the outskirts of a city (or in an entirely different town), so factor in that time when city hopping. It’s also nice to just show up 10 minutes before a train departure and just getting on.

I spent two nights in Munich and I was really impressed with the city. Previously, my only other experience in Germany was Berlin, which I also really enjoyed. You can feel such a different vibe in between both cities and that’s a great thing.

My first night I had a reservation at one of Munich’s more chic restaurants, Brenner. It’s a very large space with a trendy decor and crowd.

I was still taking a break from the heavy red meat dishes and ordered a salmon tartare as my starter. It was nice, but i felt it was unnecessarily dressed up. I’m simple with my raw fish dishes though, and felt it would have been fine with just the citrus.

For my main I ordered the grilled octopus, which was perfectly cooked. Octopus is a tricky dish as you have to time it perfectly to get the right texture. Too little or too much time can ruin it, but this place knows what they are doing. I appreciated that they let the octopus really stand on it’s own so that you could get the flavor or the meat. It came with a side of tomatoes but I also decided to order a side of grilled artichokes because I needed some green veggies. The artichokes did not pair with the octopus, but they were good on their own.

The salted caramel dessert was the star of the show. I savored every last bite. At Brenner, they will give you a dessrt menu if you ask but they recommend looking at the dessert case, which I think is a good marketing move. I saw that and immediatley knew I was ordering it.

The next day, my only full day in Munich, was a busy one.  I had a list of different landmarks that I was hoping to visit and snap some pics of and originally was planning on going to a musuem, but the only one I wanted to go to was closed for renovations.

I set off after breakfast and hit the old town. All the landmarks I was hoping to visit were within walking distance of each other, so I got through the first few pretty quickly, including St. Michael’s Church, the Ferdenhalle, and Marienplatz.

Being a saturday, all the main squares, shopping areas, and tourist spots in Munich were crowded, but I still did not feel like this impeded any of my progress or took away from my experiences. In fact, I really enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere and was energized by the vibes.

One extremely touristy spot that I stopped by was the original Hofbrauhaus. There are a lot of ultra popular touristy restaurants and bars that I would usually skip, but this is one that is still worth visiting, even if it’s just for a quick beer or snack.

The place is massive, with long wooden tables that you associate with a German beer hall. You seat yourself at any open spots and the staff will attend to you. I wasn’t in much of a beer drinking mood, but it was the original Hofbrauhaus dating back to the 16th century. I was more than happy to get a small one.

I went to Gross Real Wear nearby. They’re a Munich streetwear brand.  I picked up a couple shirts that had their original designs and logo. Cool spot you should go to.

After I walked to the Sigestor monument, I decided to check out one of the hipper neighborhoods in Munich, Glockenbachviertel. It was full of different boutqiues, cafes, and bok stores. It was giving me Williamsburg meets East Village vibes for any New York City based people.

I found a book store that specializes in crime novels, and picked up a book by Ian Rankin, a Scottish crime novelist that I’ve been reading recently. I was hoping they had some merch with their store’s logo, but unfortunately they didn’t. I primarily read on my Kindle, but I do like to support independent book shops, particularly ones that cater to one of my favorite genres.

I took some time to relax at my hotel and then later went to my dinner reservation at Theresa another trendy restaurant specializing in steaks. I had put this place on my list because their steak tartare was suppose to be some of the best. In hindsight, I should have done some sort of tartare March Madness bracket.

They prepare it for your tableside at Theresa, which gives it some flair. The meat is seasoned well and they do not overly dress up the dish, which I feel would take away from the quality of the meat. For a good tartare, simpler is often better.

For my entree, I did a ribeye steak and a side of creamed spinach.

The dessert I ordered was also delectable: a semi frozen dulce de leche with apples and chocolate.

Overall, I loved Munich. It’s a very pretty city and I feel like is the “right size” in some ways. Not overwhelming sprawling, but also a lot more to do than a city the size of Salzburg.

I could have done with an extra day or two there.

I’ll try to write more tomorrow about some deeper reflections I’m having on this trip, but in the meantime here is a photo dump.