The Travel Episodes

But honestly? Don’t waste your time at the Englische Garten, find a nice spot in the small, somewhat secluded bay along the river. Discover Westend, that, for years, has been supposed to become the new Glockenbach, but somehow never manages to, which is exactly why it’s such a great place. And please, please don’t go out for food along the Leopoldstraße, unless you want to land on top of the other tourists’ laps, but give Nymphenburg, Haidhausen and the Au a chance, because they are altogether sleepy and so charming.
 
 

Swimming naked in the Isar

Shop in Maxvorstadt

The „Old Pinakothek“

The Olympic Village

The Olympic Village

View from the Reichenbach bridge in winter

Oktoberfest!

Sunset over the Wörth lake

Munich is and remains a village of millions – and that balance is not easily maintained. There are temporary uses and underground parties, good clubs and even better bars, there are still arthouse movie theaters and the “Boazns” (small beer pubs) with their ladies behind the counter, that altogether have some stories to tell. But there also horrific rents, slick Schwabingers (Schwabing is a popular district among the city’s rich and famous), whose sight makes your throat itch, and there’re the latte-macchiato mommies who circumvent each table in a fancy café with their latest buggies.

What’s most important for my personal feelgood factor: Munich is quiet and laid-back. It’s the perfect city to come home to. Being a travel blogger, I really appreciate this as I don’t always have to adjust to something new, and not everything is hectic and fast-paced and has long reinvented itself once I’m back from a longer trip. That’s when I really enjoy knowing where I can get the best cup of coffee and that every morning, the old man at the subway station will throw me a smile and holler a “Good morning, Sunshine”.
 
 

 
 
I like this city. In addition to its amenities, it has the edges I need to occasionally get upset about; friction develops and eventually warmth, when in the winter, I hold a reading at an ice cream parlor that was converted into a cultural bar or in the summer, I eat fries at the outdoor pool at least once a week.

The bottom line is: you are there, where you feel at home.
Sometimes it’s just a feeling. Sometimes the reasons aren’t that important. Then I think to myself:

Oh well, so I live here. Isn’t that enough to drop by for a cup of coffee?

* * *

Photography by Deniz Ispaylar.