Munich, Germany

Christmas break started with me running away to the capital of Bavaria. I arrived in Munich with little expectations (as with all my other adventures), though harbouring some involuntary preconceived notions about the country. Knowing their famous Christmas markets were going to be up, I prepared my stomach for lots of good food - I was certainly not disappointed. 

Perhaps it was the festivities of Christmas, or even the group of friends I was with, maybe it really is just Germany and Munich in particular, it was magically beautiful. Filled with good experiences, satisfied stomach and many tales to tell, I absolutely fell in love with the country (on the first night as well!).

Our visit to Munich was a very chilled trip (unwinding from a hectic Michaelmas term), not much on the itinerary allowing ourselves the freedom to be swayed by anything that caught our senses. The one thing I planned was a free tour by the Sandemann group. It covered all the important "must-see" places, blessed with an amazing tour guide who filled the walk with insights and anecdotes. It seems that every little action the Germans take has reason, history and a story behind it. This is a place with people who think deeply about the things they do. 

Back to my preconceived notions, I have often heard about Germans being direct and fore-telling, in other words, not the warmest people on the planet. I wasn't bothered about it, since I was only going to be there for 10 days, but kept in mind certain things so as not to offend the locals. What turned out was the exact opposite. They were warm, funny, welcoming, charming, helpful... all good things. Look at this guy below. We were at Haxnbauer to feast on pork knuckles (didn't disappoint!), I was a tad comprehensive on taking photos but clearly the waiters didn't mind, even jumping in to get a little bit of the action. Then there was the lady who walked our lost selves all the way to this restaurant despite waiting for a bus and not speaking English. And a guard at the Neueschwanstein Castle who was pulling funny faces at us - we're 21 year olds and he 40? 50? I love them!

Beautifully divine. If you love pork, don't miss this. I would suggest that this pork knuckle be shared among a few (3-4 possibly 5). We didn't know, we ordered way to much! But it was amazing, so no regrets.

I loved Munich. I would love to go back and experience the city without Christmas cloaking over it to see if it is just as wonderful. I suspect it is. 

Bologna, a city of Porticos...

Situated in the province of the beautifully named Emilia-Romagna, its capital Bologna is famed for being a food haven, it is after all the birth place of spaghetti bolognese - Taglietelle al ragu if you're looking for the authentic Bolognese dish here. Bologna to Italians is known as La Dotta, La Rossa, La Grassa which means the educated, the red, the fat. For the oldest university in Europe stands here to this day - University of Bologna which started out as a law school, the red - for the red bricked buildings, and the fat - for its local cuisine consisting of creamy pasta sauces and rich meat dishes. 

This is a city filled with unique and historical character. It is made beautiful and even more intriguing by the porticos (arched walkways) that line the red bricked buildings, which has equally interesting roots. During the expansion of population in the city, partly due to the growing student body of the University of Bologna, additional living space was required. The solution was to extend buildings over the streets below while maintaining the roads by using porticos to support the additions. Eventually, it became such a distinct feature of the city that officials imposed rules for the construction of the porticos such that is uniform throughout. 

One of the most beautiful experience I have had thus far is a somewhat-pilgrimage to the Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca atop the San Luca hill 279m above sea level. Walking there will take you through the longest portico in the world, starting from outside the city walls to the top of the hill with (3796m). There are public transport available for you to cut short the journey and start walking up the steps as well, but I decided to slowly stroll through the city all the way up to my destination, taking me roughly 2 hours each way. 

Climbing the stairs is not extremely difficult, but it is a long way. It is common for the locals to jog - up and down. Most of them are quite senior as well, putting me to shame as I walk up slowly already heavily puffing out of my poor fitness state. Unwinding with a cone of Gelato topped it all off with the great flabours offered by Bologna Gelato franchise la Sorbetteria Castglione - definitely try their pistachio flavour.

I left wanting to go back again, and I shall one day in the far future. I loved Bologna, with my limited range of Italian cities visited, I daresay that it is my favourite. It is a city that lets you walk with beauty that fills each corner, history at every turn, and amazing food for the gastronomical traveller.

 

Napoli

I am thinking back to a more relaxed period of my life, roughly 4 months ago when I was still on exchange in Italy. Napoli was my last stop and maybe I have been everywhere too far inland that the sight and sound of the sea was enough to make me fall in love with it. I was a little apprehensive about making a trip there as scattered comments on the net seemed to paint Napoli in not the best of lights. It turned out to be one of my favourite cities in Italy. The air is salted with the scent of the sea and there seems to be a slightly more genuine feel in the atmosphere. 

The city often acts as more of a gateway to attractions nearby such as Pompeii, Almafi Coast, and other islands nearby. It is therefore less of a tourist attraction in itself. That may well be one of the reasons I took such a liking to Napoli, the various buildings with their colours and ornamented appearance accompanied me as I walked through the streets - not alone, as is advised. 

There is a street that tourists are often point towards to - via San Gregario Armeno where artisan crafts are made right there and then (some) by locals. With tourism a huge business the world round, it is often difficult to decipher true local souvenirs apart from factory scale produce. Here in Napoli, it is the real deal. Along the street, you will undoubtedly come across chilli like looking wooden ornaments. They are a horn (corno) said to be a good luck charm and ward off the evil eye, thus being called a portafortuna. Another popular item you will find is Pulcinella, a masked character who appears in old theater and puppet shows, know as a prankster.

Going to Napoli without eating pizza could be classify a sin. After all, it is to them that the world owes the creation of pizza to. Needless to say, it was obvious that I was going to have a pizza pilgrimage to one of the most well known pizzeria's in the world - Da Michele. They serve only two types of pizza, margherita and marinara, and claim that their recipe goes back five generations. To avoid the crowd, try going before rush hour, which would be around 12. With ingredients so fresh and mastery of the art of making pizza, I doubt I'll ever be able to eat a pizza in the same way again. For this and this alone I would make sure that I go back to Napoli.

Florence on a whim...

I have a terrible case of wanting what I can't have. And as many months as I have been looking forward to spend time in Italy, now that I am here, I am also terribly homesick. Just before the Easter weekend, I was feeling very lonely having no family to celebrate Easter with. I had virtually no plans and Pisa didn't seem to have much going on. With a little help from google, I found out that Florence explodes a cart every Easter Sunday outside the Cathedral. With bus tickets priced just below 10 euros from Pisa airport to central Florence and travelling time of an hour, you know I had to make my way towards the capital of Tuscany.

Scoppio del Carro is what the explosion is known as. An elaborate cart is built, pulled by a pair of oxen on a procession ending at the square between the Baptistry and the Cathedral. Later, it is blown up and fireworks are released for a good 10-15 minutes. My Easter has never been this explosive so it was fun but there was so many tourist I could hardly see much given my height (I'm short). You can watch the video and here to have an idea of what it is, also that website is good for any official events you want to find out about happening in Tuscany.

I used to have an idea of what kind of tourist/traveller I am, but I'm starting to have doubts in terms of what I enjoy when I visit some place new. I didn't visit all the "must see" things in Florence due to first of all time constraint and second I just didn't think I needed to see them. Granted, I would probably make my way back to Florence given its close proximity to Pisa and also the need to get out once in a while. This is definitely something I like to work on and discover exactly what kind of travel I enjoy most, to you know, maximise my utility (I try really hard not to throw in economic jargon into my daily talk but I can hear the voices of my lecturers in the weirdest times...)

Here's my mini itinerary of what I did that day: I joined the massive crowd outside the Cathedral for the explosion of the cart, then I attended Easter mass half an hour late trying to push my way through into the Cathedral (which was one of the oddest services I have ever attended because of the sheer amount of tourists present). Later I had myself some pre packed egg sandwich as lunch and went exploring the streets in search of Grom for some Gelato. I was not disappointed as I devoured the soft cold chocolate and egg custardy flavoured cream. They were so melt-in-your-mouth I was so tempted to go back for a second helping right after. The one thing I kind of put on my list that I wanted to do was to go to the highest point of Florence which is Piazza Micheangelo. Nearby was Basilica San Miniato al Monte which was absolutely beautiful sitting on the peak of the city where I suggest you pack some food and have a mini picnic there while looking into the horizon with the city as a back drop.

Florentine Bernardo Buotalenti is advocated as inventing modern day ice cream back in 1565, and if you're in search of Gelato in Florence, you'll definitely won't be left without one. There is a shop selling gelato at every corner in the city it gets dizzying trying to decide who to get it from! I did my homework though, so I went for Grom a little hidden away near the Cathedral and like I said, perfection. I read somewhere that the "better" Gelaterias will not have their products on display and are instead kept in barrels. Another way to tell a good one is to look for the pistacchio flavoured gelato where a more vibrant colour would probably indicate artificial flavouring/colouring. If you don't fancy yourself as a gelato snob however, than you will be spoilt for choice. I don't think anyone of them sells bad gelato anyway.

So walking around in Florence, I once again established the knowledge that I am not meant for the little town. I thrive in a bigger city-like environment. For now, I'll count every second I have in Pisa as golden and hope that my future will bring bigger cities into my life.