I'm woefully behind in blogging about my latest trip, but I was having way too much fun while I was there to sit and write about it. And the week since I got back has been a blur of long work days and a sinus infection. So now that I'm healthy and have a short break before my evening call with China... Picture it: Scotland, Saturday, August 3rd...
Edinburgh
My trip to Munich had been in the works since November when I bought a ticket to the Robbie Williams show there, and when Jody entered my world, I knew I wanted to bring him along. Because the concert wasn't until Wednesday, I started the trip with a detour to my future hometown. Jody met me at the airport on Saturday, we got our favourite brunch at The City Cafe on Sunday, and just generally hung around avoiding the Fringe Festival crowds until it was time to catch our flight Monday afternoon.
Munich
Monday was a day filled with anxiety due to Jody's fear of flying, but we made it to German soil without incident -- I was really proud of how well he did on the plane. After catching a train into the city, getting lost following Google's incorrect walking directions, and settling for whatever food was available at the only non-fast-food place that was open, we collapsed in our hotel around midnight.
Munich was hot during our visit, so every time we'd wander out for a while, we'd spend at least as long back in the room's glorious air conditioning, getting ourselves back to a normal temperature. On Tuesday afternoon we took a walk to Marienplatz, doing some shopping along the way, then sat and relaxed at an outdoor cafe until we felt the desire to stroll back. On Wednesday we did a bit more wandering, and I saw the gig I'd been anticipating for months, but the highlight of Munich was definitely Tuesday night.
That night as we lounged in our hotel room, a thunderstorm flashed, rumbled, and pounded the window with rain. Looking at the weather, Jody told me that his Plan A to take me up on the roof for a romantic view of the city wasn't possible, so he was going ahead with Plan B... which was to kneel down and propose to me right then and there. Of course I said yes, and we spent the rest of the night celebrating and sharing the news of our engagement.
Vienna
We took the train to Vienna on Thursday, which was a city I had never really planned to visit, because I'd always heard "Austria is a beautiful country; shame it's full of Austrians." I wasn't terribly interested in the place itself, and a land of unfriendly people didn't appeal to me. However, I was pleasantly surprised by both the people we met and how pretty the city itself was. We spent most of our time there being generally touristy and enjoying the food (try Almdudler if you get the chance), but it was even hotter than Munich, and we weren't sad to leave the possibility of melting behind on Saturday.
Edinburgh
The last night of our trip was back in Edinburgh, away from the crowds in a more isolated hotel than the one we started in. Jody's glowing reviews of the bus system got me on one, only to find out the driver gave us bad information and we were going totally the wrong place. Beyond that brief adventure, though, we spent a quiet night dreading going back to the airport in the morning.
Now that I'm back in Seattle, all my energy is devoted to getting myself back to the UK, permanently this time.
Sweet. Sounds super fun.
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