Hey guys!
First and foremost I would like to apologize for the lack of writing in these past weeks. My schedules have been quite weird and we had my mum visiting. The time and will to write was not really here.
Anyways, I’m back and I decided to write this post about Munich! Munich was the last destination of my month of February and also the last destination of my month of April. I’ve just arived from there yesterday night!
I love Munich. Why?
- I love the architecture and history
- I hold dear memories from the Octoberfest festivals I attendended
- I met nice friends there
- They have amazing supermarkets, pharmacies and drugstores like DM shop and Rossmann shop
- There’s pork everywhere!
Having said so, Munich is not the easiest place to eat when you’re celiac. There’s a lot of sausages with unknown ingredients, schnitzel and beer. However it is the perfect place for shopping and that’s what I usually do when I’m around.
I did some restaurant research before I go but both times some other colleagues wanted to visit the city so we ended up eating where the majority wanted which rarely means a gluten free place eheh
Anyways I have to admit that both layovers were really nice.
In February we decided to go to the city centre and just walk around. We went to Marienplatz and the nearby streets. We stopped for coffee and the girls had something amazing pastry in a café. After this nice stroll everybody was quite cold and tired so we just decided to stop at the supermarket and head back to the hotel.
As I told you before, Germany is a really nice place to shop gluten free. The typical Schar products are cheaper than in Portugal or Dubai and I was also able to buy some really nice cuts of cheese and cold meats.
However, this shopping was not a proper dinner!!! After taking a look at the in room dining menu, I decided to order a green curry. Really German, I know :p ! The staff from the hotel were really nice and they made sure that they dish fit my dietary requirments.
The second time around things were a bit different. The flight was on a Sunday and next day it was 1st of May. What does that mean in Germany and most of Europe? No shops, supermarkets or even restaurants were open for these two days. I only found out about this when I was in the middle of the flight and believe me when I say I was super sad! I had a proper supermarket list of stuff to buy in Munich! Anyways, there’s not much I could do.
Upon our arrival in Munich, the sun was shining and the temperature outside was amazing so there was no way we were going to stay in the hotel even though everything was closed and the city was quite empty. After taking a look at the map we decided to go and visit the English Garden and be around nature.
That was a wise decision! The walk from the hotel to the garden was really nice and allowed us to stretch our legs and to breathe some needed fresh air. When we arrive to the English Garden it was like we were entering another dimension! The place was crowded. Families, couples, old people, everybody was there and most people were wearing the typical Bavarian clothes! 🙂 There was a band playing and the smell of food was super inviting. Immediately, we all agree on staying there and spending the afternoon around nice food, drinks and conversations.
As you can expect there’s not much I can eat in this situation. The amazing smell in the air came from grilled sausage, typical German meaty dishes and fried ingredients. Also beer was everywhere and there was not many people speaking English. However and thankfully, vegetarianism and veganism are super common in Germany and therefore, there was a salad bar where I could find some alternatives for myself.
Believe it or not, the atmosphere was so nice and our table was so perfectly located that we ended up staying there for the whole afternoon! We only left when the sun was setting and our feet were getting cold. Happy days!
My advice for Munich: there’s nothing to be afraid! Download the card in German (you can find more info here ) and always look for adaptable options like salads and grilled meat. Also and if you cannot find anywhere to eat, trust the supermarkets and drugstores. Because Germany is in the European Union all the labels should contain allergen information which makes everything super easy!
Enjoy your travelling,
Sara
the gluten free journey 