FEBRUARY & APRIL: Munich special

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?

1. I love the architecture and history
2. I hold dear memories from the Octoberfest festivals I attendended
3. I met nice friends there
4. They have amazing supermarkets, pharmacies and drugstores like DM shop and Rossmann shop
5. There’s pork everywhere!

Marienplatz, Munich

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.

YUMMI curry!

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.

Greek Salad, Potato Wedges and my fake beer (eheheh) – apple juice with sparkling water

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

In love with February <3 – Part 2 – FRANKFURT

Hello again,

I decided to post today the second part of my month of February. As I said before, February was a short month and I only had three destinations. Melbourne (which I covered here), Frankfurt and Munich.

Eventually pretty much every month I am sent to Germany! I don’t know why because I don’t speak the language and I have never lived there!! Well, mystery! Anyways, I really like visiting Germany not only because of the cities but also because of the amazing shopping I do there. Supermarket, gluten free products and beauty products are the best in Germany as well as my medicines and suplements.

However, I wasn’t really successful in finding new places or restaurants in these two cities. Either the places I searched were somehow closed or the arrival schedule was not the best.. Anyways, like always I made the best out of the situation!

I leave you with my Frankfurt adventure! I will share the Munich one really soon!

Frankfurt

Frankfurt is one of the most well known cities in Germany. Mainly because it is a business and exhibitions centre. To be honest, I was not expecting a city with a lot of personality. However, Frankfurt has some beautiful views and a nice contrast between the old part of the city and the new modern buildings. Also, I found some characteristic bookshops and a lot of small and cute shops.

The day started really cold and kind of sad because it was snowing and raining at the same time, so the snow woudn’t stick to the floor. Anyways, me and a fellow crew colleague decided to leave the hotel and just go in direction to the city centre. After a couple of hours, the sun decided to show up and so we just kept on walking in the city, feeling a little bit warmer. We went to a really nice bridge, a huge flea market and we just lost ourselves in the old city, near the St. Bartholomew’s cathedral.

Rainy day in Frankfurt

 

 

Foodwise, and as usual I did my little research and I was really looking forward to eat some pizza at Pizzeria Sicilia. After 3,5h of walking and after climbing the cathedral’s stairs (what an insane idea!)  it was time to check out this place. Lucky me: it was really close to the hotel, so thumbs up for that!

We arrived there and.. well, the restaurant was CLOSED! C-L-O-S-E-D! It really looked like it was not open for a long time. I felt so sad! You know when you’re waiting the whole morning for an amazing lunch and then all of a sudden you cannot have it? I was almost crying! Not only because I was imagining that pizza but also because I didn’t really had another option nearby and it was getting close to our wake up call.

Anyways, I needed to eat. And I also needed to buy food for the flight. So we just went to a big shopping mall nearby that had a supermarket in the ground floor. Gluten free shopping is usually easy in Germany because most products are labelled. However what is challenging when you’re buying food on a layover is that you have to buy food that can last around 6 hours in your suitcase and moreover it has to have the regular sizes so that you can take it with you. Also, I don’t know why but the supermarket we went was more of a «basic needs» supermarket because it didn’t have a proper gluten free section and the products were basically junk food.. Anyway and as always I would have to sort out someting… and I did. Behold my lunch!

My lunch before the flight: smoothie, fruit salad, cheese, toast and some mini butter. Everything found at the supermarket!

As you can see, sometimes things don’t really go the way we would like them to go and often it’s really hard to deal with the frustration of not being able to simply order a burguer from room service. However, in the end if you don’t give up and if you chase your gluten free options like a hunter looking for food, you will always find a solution. In my case, I was able to do my return flight to Dubai with a suitcase packed with cheese, gluten free ham, smothies, yoghurts and a lot of tasty things!

You can do it too!

Beijinhos,

Sara