When all else fails...hitchhike!

Today was a quite perfect day in the city of Munich. After days of torrential downpours, which ultimately flooded the Zorneding train station and left us stranded in the hotel, we were determined to get into the city. Sundays in Munich are notoriously low-key because all of the shops and most of the restaurants across the city close.

With this in mind, we set out with the dog from Marienplatz and trekked about a mile or so toward the Englischer Garten, one of the largest urban parks in the world. It's picturesque in every sense of the word, as one can enjoy the sights of the Isar River, rolling meadows, secluded hiking trails, horseback riders, grazing sheep, beer gardens, and nude sunbathers of course! There's something for everyone, indeed! We walked several miles into the park and had worked up quite the appetite by the time we reached the Chinese Turum and surrounding beer garden. Now keep in mind that, as we've been living in a hotel with no kitchen since we arrived, we've pretty much met our annual quota of deli-sliced chicken sandwiches, nutella, and grapes. We mixed it up today with a pork knuckle (that was ALL Scott), a bratwurst, some potato salad, a pretzel, and a cool 2 liters of Hoffbrau.

By the time we made it back to the S-Bahn station and headed for home, we'd walked at least 6 miles and were ready to call it a day. However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the past 3 weeks in our new home, it’s to never assume anything when it comes to how things work in Germany. About five stations prior to our train stop, an announcement was made that our train and all future trains were now terminating at this stop in Haar. Apparently there was an incident on the railway up ahead and we'd have to make other arrangements. Easier said than done on a Sunday evening at 7pm when bus service has been halted until Monday and we're a good 15 miles from our hotel. We seriously considered walking the 15 miles home and probably would've if we hadn't already walked all day and if we weren't within an hour and a half of sunset. So, up the thumbs went!

(Now, as a side note, this is actually my second international hitchhiking experience. Back in 2005, a friend and I hitchhiked across St. John in the US Virgin Islands on the way back from some geology fieldwork in the salt ponds. I'm still stunned that we caught a ride because we had hacksaws, rubber mallets, conduit pipes, and 2x4's strapped to our backpacks and I'm almost certain we looked like serial killers. At least on this trip, I wasn't garnished with could-be weapons and absolutely covered in mud.)

Nonetheless, within 10 minutes of deciding to hitch it, we'd convinced a fellow stranded passenger to let us tag along with her when her husband arrived. They were apparently headed right by our hotel on their way home and dropped us off at our front door, refusing our money and honking as they drove away. While hitchhiking is not necessarily my preferred mode of transportation, I must admit that we signed up for an adventure and so far, an adventure is definitely what we’ve gotten!