Heartbroken and hopeful in Munich

I honestly hope the next couple of months are worth the goodbye between myself and himself. Safe to say my heart is a little bit broken this morning. Although saying that, our actual goodbye was such a letdown. i had a pocketful of tissues at the ready, preparing myself considering the sad (but also lovely) evening we had the night before. But instead I was forced up on the airport bus with about two seconds to kiss himself goodbye. Ah well. I'm just glad I decided I absolutely couldn't go traveling for 6 months without seeing where he is setting up camp for the next while, I'm so, so glad I did. It was perfect. 

Well, when I say perfect, there was a minor detail or two that could have went more smoothly. One was my fault and one was not my fault. We got to Munich after a 6 hour train ride straight from Utrecht. It didn't even cross my mind that the big, fancy ICE trains wouldn't have wifi access. I had planned to double check the address of our accommodation and plan a route while we were in transit. I live in my own bubble but trust me, in future, I will be more prepared. I had booked three nights through www.airbnb.com, the latest craze in accommodation. We picked a cute little apartment in central Munich for about 176.00eur in total for the weekend. But, I couldn't find the reservation on my account. We had to track it down using Google, Google Maps, customer support hotlines and even knocking on doors. The problem ended up being me having two Airbnb accounts and not realizing it, sometimes using Facebook to login, etc. We finally got to the flat after tracking down the keys in a bakery. Don't ask. After the treasure hunt, we were craving a long shower and then we found out there was no hot water. Speaking with the owner of the flat we were told there would be no hot water all weekend (this seemed like a complete surprise to her too). Fantastic. We decided not to get angry about it, we'd complain formally later in the week, boil some water on the hob and wash each others hair like hippies.

The way I see it, the only problem with himself moving to Munich is that I'm not moving there with him. I'm jealous. We visited two years ago but were only there for a day. I didn't know how green and beautiful the place is. Also, it's bike friendly, yay! We had two full days together. The Friday morning we headed out to Nymphenburg Palace, navigated our way to himselfs office in the north of the city (which made me happy) and from there back the whole way into the centre to Marianplatz where we wandered around for the evening. 

The next day was a better tourist day altogether. We said we'd take a bike tour, meeting Lenny's bike tours by the fish fountain on Marianplatz at 11.30. It was 15eur each for a 3 1/2 hour tour. An absolute bargain and you get to see all the important sites in a quick, comfortable and cool way. 

Off the top of my head, my top three tourist things to see in the city would be:

- river surfing in the English Garden.

- dodgers lane way (a monument for those who went out of their way not to do the nazi salute)

- walk the river Isar banks (it's very green)

- nudist parks (apparently one can strip off in whichever park one prefers)

- and the Chinese Tower beer garden, second biggest in the world we were told, seating up to 7,000 people at a time.

There is too much to see and do in this city and not to mention what lies in reach of the place too. (Dachau, Neuschanstein Castle, Salzburg, Innsbruck and so much more.) Maybe when I'm finished saving the world in Asia 'Ill come back and be a bike tour guide for Lenny's. Not too bad an idea if himself decides he wants to stick around. Let's see eh?

For now, I've bigger fish to fry. I'm off home for two weeks. 

My Alternative Travel Bucket List (Part 2)

I'm back again with my little list of destinations associated with legends and fairytales. I think the below have a little more meat where the story is concerned. Well, that's my opinion at least.

Douarnenez, France

Another location I am just learning about now, this seaside town in France is associated with two legends. You can imagine my excitement with this 'discovery'.  Douarnenenz is a small fishing town that is now declining in population. However, it has strong associations not only with the legendary city of Ys that is believed to lie beneath Douarnenez Bay but also the story of Tristan and Iseult.
Ys. The Plot:
Well, a King builds a city unwittingly below sea level on the coast of France with a dike to protect it from the waves. His spoiled daughter comes to influence the city. She turns out to be a nightmare, organising orgies and killing her lovers come morning time. There are many versions of the story but in short, the devil visits her, convinces her to steal the key of the city from her father, open the gates and flood the city beneath the sea. The princess is turned into a mermaid and her good father the King survives by taking his magical horse to his new city on a hill. Magical horses are the best.
Tristan & Iseult. The Plot:
Just off the coast of Douarnenez lies the island of Tristan. To be completely honest, I am not entirely sure why. It could be the French claim to the legend for all I know. All the same it has been an important island through local history despite its tiny size (450m x 250m). In the version that I'm familiar with, Tristan was a noble from Cornwall and Iseult an Irish Princess. Tristan, charged with brining Iseult back to marry his Uncle Mark falls madly in love with her, as she does him. In some versions this is because of a love potion and the work of some tricky people. Anyway, as you can imagine, madness ensues. This legend has been cited as the predecessor for the Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere love triangle so it has to be good.

Loftus Hall, Wexford, Ireland
This could be a blog post all of it's own. Let's be clear, I'm not easily scared and have an obsession with the weird and wacky because I know they are stories. But there is something not quite right with this house. What's the plot? Back in the 18th Century a stranger turns up at the house gates. He is welcomed in and over the following days, the young, lonely daughter of the house falls in love with the stranger. They play games one night and after the young lady drops her cards on the floor, she finds that the strangers feet are actually cloven hooves. The stranger transforms into a demon and flies out through the roof. And so the young lady goes mad from grief and shock and is locked in her room from there on. People who have stayed in her room throughout the centuries have reported horrible poltergeist experiences and animals have refused to enter the room. The hole in the roof where the demon escaped is still there (or reportedly still there since there are claims the house was levelled and rebuilt in the early 19th Century). Another version of the story places the girl as falling pregnant out of wedlock and is locked in her room. Subsequently a baby's body was reported to have been found sealed into the wall of her room. Other strange going's on would include three deaths occurring spontaneously and separately on the same back stairs for no apparent reason. I visited the house less than a year ago as it is now open to the public for viewings. I didn't like it. But then again, I grew up with the story. Being stereotypically Irish, safe to say my parents and grandparents were less than happy with me.... holy water at the ready!

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

This is less of a fantasy destination as it isn't directly related to any legends, more a murder mystery. Although, I admit there are reports that it was the inspiration for Disney's iconic castle. Easy to see why. But back to the murder mystery. The castle was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria. The King had a couple of nicknames, most notably 'The Swan King', 'The Fairytale King', and less complimentary 'The Mad King'. You know you are on to a winner when you find someone called 'The Mad King'.  Ludwig financed Wagner who went on to produce one of his most famous pieces 'Tristan and Isolde' - it's all connected ;). Ludwig's story doesn't end well. He was a known 'eccentric' who had struggles with his sexuality. He was paranoid and began to spend all the Kingdom's money building extravagant castles like Neuschwanstein. His death is shrouded in mystery. He was reported as having drowned in waist deep water but an autopsy stated there was no water in his lungs. His companion had blows to his head and marks round his neck. How and ever, official reports were released stating that Ludwig murdered his companion and then killed himself by drowning. Yeah right.

That's it for now. I think the above three are now my favourite legend inspired destinations but the list is growing fairly fast. More to follow while I count down the days to my 6 month adventure.

My Alternative Travel Bucket List (Part 1)

My last post about Slovenia where I mentioned Dracula reminded me about 'my list'. Most people have a list of beautiful or historical sites they want to scratch off during their lives. My list however, contains a couple of places that I want to see that have connections to legends and fairytales. That's normal, yeah? My dad would tell ghost stories to me when I was little and I have always been fascinated with visiting the physical places connected to the takes. All of the below are in Europe but I am more than sure I'll pick up a few on my travels through South East Asia in the coming months. Silly maybe, but it keeps me happy.

Triora, Italy

I just heard of this lately. It's a sleepy little village in Liguria, Italy close to the border of France. In a few words, it is the Salem of Italy. A group of women were accused of witchcraft in the 16th Century by the inquisition and the usual, were tortured and burned alive, etc. But the town has embraced it's dark history. The site of the burnings still stands and there are witch shops, sign posts, sculptures and various witch 'relics' all around the town. Not to mention the many 'witch' related events round the year and the amazing backdrop.

Pied Piper of Hameln, Germany

We should all know the story of the Pied Piper. The man who turned up and cleared a town of its rats using a magical flute only to clear it of all its children as soon as the town officials refused to pay him for his service. This story has a location and it's in Germany as most good fairytales are. Let's be honest here, it's doubtful there was a magic flute involved but whatever the reason, the story hooked me.


Giants Causeway, Ireland
The Giants Causeway reeled me in when I was tiny. I haven't actually had the opportunity of visiting it. I kind of feel like 'saving it up' to visit with my future kids in years to come. If I feel like having kids. It's a site full of rock columns standing up straight and in prefect formation. What's the plot? Two giants wanting to fight so badly they build a bridge over the sea, not being able to fit in a boat and all. I need to educate myself on the details but the opposing giant ends up rushing back across the bridge over the sea, destroying the bridge as he ran. The Causeway is also a Unesco World Heritage site and mentioned as the fourth greatest natural wonder in the UK (being Northern Ireland.)

Glastonbury Tor, England
Glastonbury Tor
As a child I remember watching the movie 'The Sword in the Stone' over and over and over... But it wasn't for years that I realised that the site of the legend is connected with the famed Glastonbury. I don't need to go over the whole King Arthur story for you but there is a certain charm about swords being pulled from rocks, wizards, knights of the round table and crusades for the Holy Grail (whatever the Holy Grail was supposed to be, I don't know).

But Glastonbury really has it all. Not only does it have Avalon as a legend, it's mythical connections reach far into the past. The Tor has been claimed as a magic mountain, a faeries glass hill, a spiral castle, the Land of the Dead, a magnetic power-point, a centre for Goddess fertility rituals, Druid place of worship and not to mention a converging point for UFO's. Safe to say it has a bit of something for everyone.

Bran Castle, Romania
I can't believe my parents let me watch Dracula when I was about 7 but I am glad they did. It probably sparked a life-long obsession not only with the story written by Bram Stoker but the real story of Vlad Tepes and how the legend evolved down through the ages. Both stories differ but both are full of horror and gruesome detail. I don't know which attracts me more, hellish demon vampires or a tyrant King with a sadistic leaning. For sure it's on my list and if I'm honest, the whole reason I'm making it.


This is it for for now. Absolutely more to follow.