Europe, Patrick's Celebration

It is the second time when I visit the Prado Museum. Honestly, it is impossible to observe the whole exposition even in two attempts because of the huge collection.

Well, while you are strolling in the corridors of the museum and studying the pictures, you may find many interesting facts about history and life in former times. Every painting here has some annotation, which conveys you the story of the masterpiece, the main idea, and what you should take into consideration first.

It is lunch time. "Take Wok" is a popular place here where you may try Chinese food for relatively small money. One of such restaurants is located close to the Anton Martin underground station. For example, for the big box of fried noddles with beef I paid only 6 euro.

On my way back to the apartment I bumped into the Anton Martin Mercado (Calle de Santa Isabel, 5). This two-story market is packed with organic food stalls, wine bars, Iberian ham and cheese shops. In fact, it is not an ordinary market, but a delicatessen shop. There is also an area specialized in cooking performances and small art exhibits.

Actually, Santa Isabel street is full of many interesting and vibrant places such as restaurants, bars and cafeterias. Eventually, I stayed in Alma cafe to drink coffee with a dessert.

On Friday evening is extremely crowdy on the streets, especially on Puerta del Sol, which supposedly is one of the busiest places in Madrid. Moreover, at Puerta del Sol starts one of the most famous shopping streets of Madrid - Preciados street.

While walking around the area "Barrio de las Letras" (Literary Quarter) I could not pass by these old-fashioned traditional taverns, which preserve the spirit of the old time.

I suppose, such places have their unique history and traditions. On the other hand, it might be the bait for tourists. Nevertheless, it looks colourful and impressive, and you may take the great photos of them.

And here is the food for thought. I would like to mention different types of public houses, which I could meet in Madrid:
- Cerveceria, which is for drinking beer;
- Restaurante, which is for good food with not cheap prices;
- Braseria, where they serve one type of dish;
- Cafeteria, where they predominantly serve coffee and other drinks or ready-cooked food;
- Taberna, which is for traditional food.

All of a sudden, I found out that people are celebrating St Patricks Day this weekend. I could not but join this event. A pint of Guinness in La Fontana de Oro cost me 5.50 euro. It is such an atmospheric place to drink Irish beer.

Then, it was Labarka de Pintxos, where you can find a great variety of pinchos with the cost of 2.90 and 3.50 euro.

The late evening I met in another cosy bar, which is located in the building where my apartment is. One more glass of red Spanish wine and a complimentary snack. The life could not better be.

Full night. And I am walking along the cosy streets filled with dim lights.

Europe, Oktoberfest-like

My alarm clock did not wake me on time as I had planned yesterday. In fact, I did not pay attention that the alarm clock was set for week days only. So, I am in rush, completing my tasks before leaving the apartment. Taxi is waiting for me already...

It is Saturday, and I am setting off for 'The Grand Tour' around Europe. I call it 'The Grand Tour', because the trip covers three countries. Honestly, it is quite unusual for me. I mean, there was an unspoken rule to visit only one country during one journey. So, it is slightly different now.

Luckily, I am safe and sound at the airport, and there is plenty of time before departure. Phone calls, chatting, drinking coffee, and finally I am ready to board.

My first point of destination is Munich. The flight takes about 6 hours and 20 minutes. Time-lag between Novosibirsk and Munich is also 6 hours.

While taking off I usually have the feeling of euphoria not only because of physical conditions, but because of the anticipation of something unexplored. I suddenly realized, that my long-expected vacation have just started.

Boeing 737-800. It is a window seat 11F, right next to the engine. Miraculously, the middle place is not taken, despite the fact that the plane is almost full. However, there is one disadvantage about my place. The armchair cannot be reclined.

Speaking about the cost for the return ticket to Munich from Novosibirsk, it cost me only 14500 rubles, which is incredibly cheap. Additionally, I have paid extra 450 rubles to have opportunity to choose the seat on the plane on my own. Initially, I did not want to pay for choosing a seat, but when I discovered that the seat, which was given to me automatically, was the worst on the plane (the last row close to the lavatory) I decided to pay for my personal choice.

We are going to fly across Russia, Belarus, Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany. The maximum height is 10.4 kilometres, and we move with the speed of 810 km/per hour. It is extremely chilly outside. Literally, it is -65 C.

Now we are approaching Munich. I can see through the windows the numerous wind mills, small villages with white houses and red roofs and lush grass. It is 11:50 and about 4 degrees at the airport. Another turn, and I can see a horizonless row of mountains. Spectacular view!

The first thing at the airport I wanted to do was buying a transport card. I was a little bit confused by the ticket machine (red box with the name 'Fahrkarten'), but luckily a Russian speaking woman helped me with purchasing a weekly ticket 'Isacard', which cost me 54,90 euro. It is very expensive! However, the wonderful thing about transport system in Munich is that you need only one type of ticket for any kind of transportation. While buying the ticket I was asked to chose the zones where I would like to travel, and I went for zones 1-14, including the Airport.

Now I am on S1 train, and I go to the Central Station (which is called 'Hauptbahnhof' in German). While travelling I noticed that German people greatly respect order and cleanness. Even on the train they have special employees, who regularly walk and clean the windows.

One interesting fact is that the cost of the journey by bus depends on the distance you travel, and you also can obtain a ticket aboard. However, be aware that the banknotes cannot be used for purchasing a ticket in a bus. Though, I am a lucky owner of the unlimited ticket.

Very soon I arrived to my new home for the next 5 days. The district, which I am going to live in, is a very quite place, and I hope to have a good sleep here after the long walking excursions.

After a small talk with my hostess I directed to the centre of Munich. With a bus I arrived at Viktualienmarkt, which is located right at the centre of Munich.

As I observed, Pauliner is probably the most popular kind of beer here. Additionally, the most famous and the cheapest street food is sausages. For example, Rostbratwurst with ketchup and mustard at Viktualienmarkt cost me 3.10 euro.

By the way, Viktualienmarkt is a daily food market, which covers 22000 square metres. The numerous stalls may offer everything that an experienced chef would want, including fruits, vegetables, venison, fowl, fish, sausages, herbs, spices, delicatessens and more. There are also bakeries, restaurants and flower shops here.

At Viktualienmarkt, you also can find a beer garden, which has seats for hundreds of people, and it is regarded as one of Munich’s most central beer gardens. It is common to bring there your own snacks and enjoy the atmosphere with purchased beverages. Simply, pick up some local cheese and sausages from the market and then take a seat in the beer garden, like the locals do!

I walked a few hundreds of metres from Viktualienmarkt and found myself at Marienplatz, the city's main square (since 1158). The square is dominated by Neues Rathaus (The New City Hall) with The Clocks.

I could not but visit another Munich's landmark - Frauenkirche (or Munich Cathedral). The church towers are widely visible because of the existing height limits. According to the narrow outcome of a local plebiscite, city administration prohibits buildings with a height exceeding 99 metres in the city center.

One of the main features in the Frauenkirche is the dark footprint, supposedly left by the evil at the entrance.

I was lucky enough to have been invited to the beer festival on my first day of staying in Bavaria. People told me that they booked the entrance to this event four months ago to have opportunity to take the seats at table.

The beer for this festival was made according to the old recipe of the monks, and it was very strong for me. Moreover, it is served in 1 litre mug. When we arrived at the beer garden, people were already tipsy and  they were having fun in full swing. The atmosphere was incredible! Despite the fact that there were so many drunk people there, I felt absolutely safe.

Another interesting fact about this celebration was that all people tended to climb the benches when the musical ensemble started playing the music. Unfortunately, it was not allowed to step on the table.

I could handle one mug of ale only. The celebration was in progress when we decided to go home by taxi. In fact, I should have gone to bed earlier, because I needed to recover after the long trip.

By the way, usual price for taxi is formed by such fares as 3.70 aboard and 1.90 euro per kilometre. All in all, we paid 11 euro for the way back home, which was about 4 kilometres away from the garden.