June 24th: Munich

The year before, we started the tour in Munich, but Bowen was fixated on castles that year. Once he discovered Minecraft he decided he likes mines, and I told him that the Deutsches museum had a full scale replica of a mine. He got very excited and told me I should have told him about it the year before, but of course how was I to know that he'd like mines!

I opted not to ride into Munich this year. Part of it is that city riding is unpleasant, even more so on the triplet, but mostly because in all my European touring, the only place where I ever get flat tires is in big German cities on their bike paths. Germans love their beer, and refuse to drink from cans, preferring glass bottles. Large numbers of Germans must gather in the night on bike paths to drink beer, and then when they're done with those beer bottles, will smash them right on the asphalt bike path, especially under bridges. On my commute in Munich, I'd frequently discover a flat, and after fixing it would look up and around me to see all around my tens of cyclists also fixing flat tires. It got so prevalent that on the Munich bike path, I would get off my bike before any bridge underpass, lift my bike on my shoulders, and run through the underpass before getting back on my bike again. There was no chance of my being able to do that on the triplet, so the 32 Euro Bayern ticket seemed like a bargain. Not only does the ticket grant  you full access to all regional trains for the day (for up to 5 adults, and a practically unlimited number of children), it also granted you full access to the Munich municipal transit system, which itself is a 20 Euro value!

The problem with Bad Tolz, however, was that the train station was far enough away that we needed a taxi ride to the train station. Once on board the train, we discovered that it had a special compartment meant for families with children. Once in town, we headed straight for the Deutches museum, where Bowen had fun being in the simulated mine, which was so big that he even felt as though it would never end!

When done, we headed over to Viktualien market for lunch, buying gooseberries and the various fish snacks from various stations. Then we visited Marienplatz and the Schuster, the outdoor store where we replaced Boen's Camelbak bladder, as well as getting Bowen a new pair of sunglasses to replace the one he'd just lost the day before. Both kids asked for new helmets, but their reasons weren't legitimate, so we put them off. Xiaoqin noticed that the prices for kids cycling clothes at the Schuster were even cheaper than what I'd found in Barcelona!

We then visited the Englischer Garten by transit, getting a much needed afternoon break. Bowen started complaining agian about being tired, but of course, perked up again once he saw the playground at the Chinese tower Biergarten.

Dinner was at the Haxnbauer for pork knuckles which were huge (the full size portion is just 3 euros more than the half portion, which was enough for Bowen and I!). After that, we took the transit back to the main train station and got onto the train back to Bad Tolz.

I  contemplated visiting Alan Wissenberg at Euraide, but we were pressed for time. It was just as well, as it would turn out that he was on a trip to Sweden. Back at the Bad Tolz train station, we visited the supermarket for some milk and drinks, as it had warmed up a lot, and then took the taxi back to the hotel. It was a very full day, and I told everyone that the next day was due to be even warmer, so we should sleep early and get up early so we could leave early. The kids ignored me, of course, knowing that I was the one who'd be paying the price the next day.