Leaving Austria. Going to Salzburg to change train to Munich. We were going to stay with a friend in Munich.

After a few hours of train ride, we finally arrived in Munich, Germany. We were overwhelmed by big groups of Bayern Munich fans cheering about at the station and all over the place. It was the day - 17 May 2003 - that German Bundesliga match Bayern Munich vs VfB Stuttgart at Munich Olympic stadium, and Bayern Munich FC won the German Champion for the 18th time.

Within the cheering crowd, there was a dangerous scene: when we were descending on an escalator, some drunk fellow above us dropped her beer bottle from the escalator and it hit hard on the steps to the ground. Luckily, no one was hurt.

We were totally immersed into the jubilant celebration of the Bayern Munich soccer fans on their favourite team’s win.

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Thought I would see nudes sunbathing in Englischer Garten (English Garden)! But forgotten that it was cold and no warm sun. Who wants to strip down with the chilly wind?! Englischer Garten is one of the world’s largest urban public parks, even bigger than Central Park in New York.

It is not so much a garden but a huge sanctuary with streams, biking and walking paths, forest and beer gardens. Surprised to see a surfer balancing himself on the rushing stream.

Munich is the capital of the German state of Bavaria and a Gamma World City. In fact, it’s one of the richest cities in Europe. During the short stay in Munich, I felt that everyone in the city seemed to be in partying mood all the time.

The Deutsches Museum in Munich!

Goodness! The Deutsches Museum is so big, with at least six storeys to cover the whole museum! No wonder it’s the world’s largest museum of technology and science, possessing over 100,000 objects from the fields of science and technology.

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We visited the famous Olympiapark (Olympic Park) which was constructed for the 1972 Summer Olympics and the Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium) was the main venue for the major event.

The Olympiastadion also saw the legendary World Cup Final in 1974, which resulted in a 2-1 victory for the host nation against Holland. Indeed, it’s also infamous for being a bogey ground for English football teams as for more than 20 years as the home of Bayern Munich, only one English club managed to beat the home team there - Norwich City F.C.

Children were having fun by rolling down the grassy slope!

The Olympiastadion was scattered with litters left by the German Championship spectators in the previous day.

The communication tower.

Saw this nice BMW building near the Olympiapark.

Goodbye Munich!

We had our farewell dinner at a Thai restaurant with the lovely Singaporean friends in Munich. First time I smelled RICE after more than two weeks of stay in Europe!!! At the moment, we felt so blessed with RICE!!! Of course, it was a good Asian dinner with plates of RICE!!!

Our Munich friend had reminded us to be mindful with our belongings in Prague. He had encountered a bad experience when travelling in Prague with his girlfriend. His camera and bag were stolen when a man stood near him and flipped his coat, and like magic, the things were gone with the thief. The most disheartening part was, all the photos taken throughout the Europe tour were gone too! Another point was that the policemen might not help even if the tourist is being robbed, as tourists are supposed to be richer than the robbers!

We also heard that a lady was being pushed in the train by a few men, and just before the door closed, the men left in a hurry, leaving the zipper of her haversack opened and her wallet was gone.

The following day was a long journey for us to Prague, with a two connecting train rides in Austria.

Next: Journey to Prague!