Seasons Colours, An Autumn's Day Walk.

Munich - Seasons Colours, An Autumn's Day Walk 

I am sure that you have heard of the famous annual Oktoberfest carnival. Yes, that is the carnival where you get super tall mugs of beer. That very mug can get you talking for hours.  Do you know where Oktoberfest is held? In Munich, of course!

Thus, where is Munich, and what are some of Munich’s famous landmarks? Munich is in the state of Bavaria and is the third largest city in Germany. Do names like Siemens and BMW sound familiar? Munich is where the headquarters for both these companies are. This Bavarian city is home to six million people. Do you remember when I talked to you about Munich and Oktoberfest last year?  Here is the link to that informative and exciting article on tips for your next Oktoberfest and Bavaria trip.

Guess what, to bid goodbye to the pleasurable summer and colourful fall this year, ReachingDelphi is taking you on a short walk to explore the colours of the third calendar season. Come, join me, as we explore these lovely sights with my friend Babak along the Isar River in Munich. 

Munich, we are here once again! 

Lets get started, Munich here we come

We start our walk at the Marienplatz. What and where is Marienplatz? In just a few words, Marienplatz is the most famous square in Munich. It is one of Munich's most important landmarks. Do be cautious not to step on anyone’s foot or hold someone else’s kid here, as this is a very crowded square. Almost all visitors to this city have come here at least once. 

At the square, you will see the New Town Hall, Old Town Hall, the Column of St. Mary and, the very famous Glockenspiel (the tower that houses motorised figurines). The square is a common meeting place and a great spot to have some coffee. I hope you have braved the thousands of cameras that are recording the figurines dance for their next YouTube entry. 

Look, my sister and I were here too, at Marienplatz, a couple years earlier. We had fewer wrinkles and more black hair then.

Back then at MarienPlatz

Have you had your cup of coffee? No? Then it’s time to grab a drink because our coffee refuel is the next stop. Babak recommends an Irish coffee and a delicious Torte.

Starters - Irish Coffee

Let’s continue our walk.  Here is a clip of Marienplatz for you. Do you hear the sounds from the violins?  It is charming. Another Julia Fischer in the making. It would be nice to stay here longer but we must get going. Before winter.

Now we head towards the river. On the way, just for today, you can see many runners on the street.  Today is the Munich marathon. This marathon is a full 42.2 km race. The marathon starts at the Coubertinplatz (Olympiastadion /Olympic Stadium) and ends at the Olympiastadion athletics track.  Watch out, it’s best not to get in their way.

Munich marathon

Plans can be bent, and there is a little detour along the way to show you the famous St Michaels church. This church is located between Karl’s Platz and Marienplatz. It is the largest Renaissance church in Bavaria and was consecrated in 1597.

St Michaels, Munich

Keep pace with us. We are now at the Zellstraße.

Look here! From a distance it looks like a Lennon showing a De Niro look alike how to handle the guitar and De Niro returning the favour with some valuable lessons in life of Yesterday, today! 💗

Yesterday .... All my troubles seemed so far away - Zellstraße.

We are at the Isar river. What a beautiful name! Isar is 295 kilometres long and cuts across two countries: Austria and Germany. Along the way, we spotted people swimming, picnicking, painting, napping, fishing and reading.

Isar, Munich

Just what are they painting here?

Time to concentrate, Isar Munich

I get it now. What a perfect spot for a Caspar David Friedrich moment.

Splendid, St Lukes, Munich

But like this lady here, ‘I can’t take my eyes off you’. 

The church you see here is St Luke's. It was built between 1893 and 1896. The St Luke's towers and it's 64ish-meter high domes are prominent features.

Wake me up later

Let’s keep walking. Mesmerised yet by the autumn shades of yellow, red and green?

Hiking

I wonder if he caught any fish? If he did, what would he do with it? The river looks like a perfect place to be in today.

Any fish today?

We cross this bridge. I see a few wise shadows in the Isar. 

Bridges, bridges

Did you find Babak?   

Where is Babak?

The view from where we stand is striking. We see another crossing not too far from where we are. It’s a long walk for me, but it’s worth the steps.

We take one step at a time, soaking in the sun. The crowd gets smaller, but the view remains just as stunning. We stroll along the river bank to the bridge across that we saw earlier and got more pictures of the inky blue Isar and Kabelsteg bridge.  

Isar again

I want to show you another place. Muller’sches Volksbad, an art nouveau style building. 

Did you know that Muller’sches Volksbad is a public sauna and bath? It also has an indoor swimming pool. This place is known as the most beautiful bath in Europe. The building complex was built in 1901. Karl Muller donated the building to the city of Munich on the condition that it be used as a pool for the poor.

Pretty Spa

We finally reach a spot called Vater-Rhein-Brunnen. The fountain you see here was created by Adolf von Hildebrand, a local sculptor. We end our walk here because the evening rays are taking my words away. And here is where I wish to drift away into the fallen evening leaves. 

Here is where I will be - Vater-Rhein-Brunnen

That long walk certainly made you hungry. Babak has some hot rice and tomato stew, if you decided to follow him even further.

Oh Yummy, Hot food. Danke Babak.

Thank you and Danke Schon Babak for taking us on this walk, far far away, and allowing me to put my thoughts into your pictures and videos. It was a kaleidoscopic experience for ReachingDelphi indeed.  

Es war ein sehr schöner Abendspaziergang.

Note:
Traveller on location : Babak - Sept 2018

The butterflies and hearts on a sun-kissed Mandovi cruise.

Imagine this: You are in Panjim. You have all these fantastic shots of the well-preserved Portuguese influence in Goa, but you want that one last shot to call it a day. It’s the one with the stunning rays over the river. You look at your watch. Seconds are racing. Daylight  is fading away slowly.  Where do you go?

If you want to get up close and personal with the Mandovi, my suggestion is that you head to the Mandovi River Harbour. Take a river cruise.

The Mandovi originates from the Western Ghats of Karnataka and flows into Goa from the North. It covers a total distance of 77 kilometres. The river is described as the lifeline of Goa.

There are many boat and cruise operators in Panjim, and I noticed they operate throughout the day. The more popular ones are the evening and sunset cruises.  These trips last anywhere between an hour and two hours.

The ticket prices for these cruises depend on the operator. The one I was on cost me INR400 for a 75- minute sail.

I noticed many visitors shared the same preference as mine. And, by that I mean, we liked being outdoors on the upper deck. And there, we did what happy visitors usually do – waved at strangers on other boats and in the bay, and snapped photos of just about everything around. Pictures of the impressive bridges that make commuting across much faster, the various angles of the dipping sun, the darkening sea, the lit-up floating casinos, the neon-lights that formed a kingfisher, and the stars that were about to take the unobstructed centre stage. Are those the same stars that reach Delphi? Only time will tell.  

After we were done with those crazy, but true, tourist moments, most of us went back to our seats. Yes, to the seats that we had reserved earlier with our carry-ons. Time to sit back and enjoy the windy sail.  Do carry a light jacket with you if you are sensitive to the chill. Alternatively, you could go indoors to enjoy the Goan folk song and dance performances. Some cruises also have clowns, like a Goofy, onboard, with whom you can take pictures. I must alert you, this is more for the restless children onboard.   

There was also a tattoo painting service. I jumped at this offer immediately. Excited, indeed. I was first in the queue. Yayyyy!  But the artist attended to another customer first instead. Did I look like someone who wasn’t serious about getting one? Anyway, I was next. I chose an image with butterflies and hearts from his selection. No, there were no dream catchers in his file.  The artist told me the painted design would last one month. I guess he knew he wouldn’t be seeing me again. The drawing was beautiful, and that small fee for his work on my wrist left me happy for a few days.

Food and drinks are sold on board. Potatoes samosas and masala chai promise to keep you filled up while you watch the mandarin shades replace the cloudless blue skies.

I was told that due to earth's current position, we could, on a clear day, see Venus, Mars and Saturn without a telescope. See it for yourself, name the planets.

I did not see any age restriction signs, although the youngest I noticed onboard was about three. All children must be accompanied by adults.

Overall, we had a fun time chatting with the different families we met. They were mostly domestic travellers. Some were from as far away as Punjab, Delhi, Mumbai and Assam. My 2018 goal to learn a new language proved positive when it was put to the test in a live environment. Bilkul!

We did not purchase coffee onboard but did get one just before this ride. The coffee image below is a local one taken at the railway station during this trip.

This coffee is a very every-persons-and-everyday drink. Instant and affordable. It combines the aroma of the different cultures around. We are all different, and this uniqueness offers more variety and flavours when combined. With the right amount of tolerance, it’s a home run. Enjoy the cruise, enjoy your cuppa. Count those stars, we are cruising the Mandovi en-route to Reaching Delphi.