10 June 2016
Please buy us beer
The shopping streets and fountains of Munich
Its the last night of my trip, on the ground, still have 2 to go, in the air.
It was time for a last lap of the city of Munich, in the burning sunshine.
As I have come to expect, everything shut at 7, and then everyone wandered around wondering what to do now. Even coffee shops and ice cream shops SHUT. Your only choice was the convenience stores in the train station.
Before my trip to such a store, I found an entire part of Munich I somehow missed until now, lots of grand buildings and fancy cars, and rich people standing around in the street smoking. Germans smoke more than Chinese, based on a study I just did.
One good thing was that I found a few great places to eat, selling healthy non German food, and I was able to have the best meal of my entire trip. More on that below.
But then at the end of my long walk, I was at an arab run convenience store, specializing in selling imported cigarettes, hookah parts, lotto tickets and cigars, where I was buying an orange falvoured diet cola, when I was approached by a group of American girls.
They asked me if I would buy them beer and one of them held up a 20 euro note with her purse wide open showing about 1000 euros inside. The girls looked about 20 years old and terrified, so I told them that and they said they were 19 and 20. I also told them to stop flashing so much money about.
Now I was confused.
I informed them you can buy beer in most of the world when you turn 18, which left them looking confused.
So I told them that not only are you old enough to legally buy beer, I doubt the guy running this store who is watching soccer on his phone would care if you were 5 years old.
After some hushed debate amongst themselves, they decided to give it a try (I hung aounnd for amusement purposes). Of course they had no problem buying 1 beer each. Now they had beer and were debating if they should drink it, throw it away, or buy more.
I like to think in some small way I contributed to their downfall. This time next week they will all be working over the road for tips.
Blazing sunshine had people jostling for position around the fountain.
The main shopping street was a sea of people at closing time.
This guy is here to save us from all the vampires getting about.
I finally found something to take home as a gift.
Then I snuck into this ridiculous church and took photos despite the sign advising me not to because its frowned upon by god.
Best dinner so far. Photo is misleading, under the lettuce is a heap of different antipasto vegetables. And its real grilled chicken, grilled from raw. Too much food here is reheated dried and salted meat.
These guys were the greatest buskers I ever saw. They played a 20 minute montage of every inconic song ever made to the tune of Pachelbels Canon, with crowd participation, stunts, instrument swapping, falsetto, acapella, dog barking and a backflip.
They got a shiny 1 euro coin from me and about 1000 other people. I had to fight the moths coming out my wallet to make that happen.
Then I found a new part of Munich, I think it might be the town hall.
And a giant statue favoured by the homeless, drunks, and misbehaving youths not concerned about buying beer from convenience stores.
Then I found a truly bizzarre shrine to Michael Jackson. It had tupperware containers detailing TRUE FACTS ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON - all your questions answered and more.
The guy died years ago and yet this shrine lives on. I would burn it if it were up to me.