Last day of Munich went fast. Fast like a BMW...I went to the BMW museum.
Anyone who knows me, knows I eat, sleep, and breathe cars. It's my biggest passion in life by far and–haha no, just kidding. I don't care about cars. But it was cool to see the history. I didn't know BMW originally made planes, so that was cool.
You can't see it, but the placard in that last photo reads "...the largest BMW motorcycle collection in the world is kept by Peter Nettesheim, who resides in Huntington, New York on Long Island." I flew over 4,000 miles to read about something I could've driven 28 minutes to see. Goddammit.
My favorite romantic movie, Before Sunrise, starts with the protagonist taking a train to Vienna. So my evening train to Vienna felt extra special thanks to that. But it also felt extra special–and this is true–thanks to someone playing episodes of the Big Bang Theory. I say playing and not watching because the audio was loud enough that it was truly a non-consentual, train-wide community event.
Me in real life
Before Sunrise
"You look familiar" I sheepishly suggested to a guy at the hostel bar. "Yea, you too." Then a brief moment of two furrowed brows trying to quickly comb through memories of forgotten faces. He broke the silence, "you ever been to Connecticut?".
Turns out, he went to UConn...Turns out we graduated UConn in the same year...Turns out he lived in my building freshman year. Wild stuff.
Two more quick things.
(1) One of my dad's favorite songs is (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding by Elvis Costello. I passed a cafe (below, left) and it was a nice reminder of home.
(2) Years ago, my mom started a balloon business out of thin air. Actually that's an understatement: in a few years she became a renowned balloon artist and won multiple competitions for balloons sculptures (below, bottom row). One time, on a vacation in Italy a guy ran up to her saying "oh my god, are you June?". He was a fan that recognized her and asked for an autograph. The only thing more impressive than the story is her ability to not immediately retell it to everyone she meets. My point with all that is Vienna could really use her help (below, right).
