This map must be in German!

To set the stage, neither of us ever won an award for map reading. That would have required us to do it at least once before. So, instead we took the approach of enjoying the journey and deciding that wherever we ended up would be our new favorite spot.

At this point, Jared and I are fairly certain that our hotel exists in a different universe. The only way to enter that universe is by achieving a feeling of intense desperation. Typically, we enter that state by searching for multiple hours. Luckily, that strategy has worked.

Upon arriving in Munich, we knew we had to get on the airport train to go to the main train terminal in Munich (Hbf). Seems relatively easy, especially since all trains run through it (so we thought). The little detail we were missing: a train accident caused them to shut down the line running through the middle of the city. We give ourselves a pass on missing that little detail because all notices were in German.

After getting to the end of the line of our first train, it became clear that we skipped our stop. Luckily, the rations of bread, beer and water had yet to run out. We went back the other direction carefully looking at each stop on the map as we got to it. Sure enough, we figured out what was going on and a helpful Bayern fan pointed us in the right direction.

Later that day, we were walking around aimlessly. Not necessarily because we didn't know our intended destination, just simply that we were not getting there. We have no excuse for this. We can only say we are trying to get better at reading a map.

Broadly, all our first day goals have been achieved. Jared has now successfully purchased a beer ... or two. We have thoroughly explored local bars and dining establishments. Our gardening skills have been honed in a fine institution of a German beer garden. We learned about the gadget scene in the German bocci ball community (seriously, gadgets for bocci ball!). And throughout it all, we refined our tastes for German beer and Cuban cigars. Life is good!

The picture below is in front of the Hoffbrau Hous. Unfortunately, you may not otherwise know that because our carefully selected, volunteer photographer could not frame the picture. We see it as a metaphor of our trip. Certain decisions may not catch the most of Germany, but we make the best of the ride and look good while doing it.

-the Harp brothers