Both of my roommates woke up fairly early and were out the door before 8am. Fine by me as I could then go through my morning routine without fear of disturbing anyone from their sleep. I was able to make some coffee in the kitchenette nook upstairs and I had a simple breakfast of dense German bread with liverwurst (which I had picked up at the Aldi). Unfortunately, I had some real internet troubles. I headed downstairs, thinking that would help, but the troubles persisted. It strangely reminded me of how the Great Firewall of China works. I would have an internet connection, but attempting to access a website would “time out.” Sometimes a page would load, but typically not.
It was a real time killer as I was hoping to have a bout of productivity before going out to do some sightseeing. Ultimately, I decided to throw my computer in my backpack and take it with me to potentially work at a bakery/cafe later in the day.
I went over to the Cathedral first, then looked at the Bertol Brecht house. I suppose if I had ever seen the Three Penny Opera or read any of his works, I might have been inclined to pay entrance to the museum, but he only lived there for a few months as a baby.
The main tourist attraction in town must clearly be the Fuggerei, which is a 500 year old village within the city, founded by the wealthy Fugger merchants as a way to ensure their entry into heaven. It is essentially the world’s oldest and longest running public housing project, where rents have been the same since the middle ages when they were pegged at 1 guilder, which was the average wage of a tradesman. The enclosed neighborhood is absolutely gorgeous and I would kill for a little two room flat with a kitchen and bath like the ones they have there.
I walked about through the downtown of Augsburg looking for somewhere to stop for a light lunch and internet. I never quite found what I was looking for, but did stumble across the town’s hidden market, where there was a booming lunch business from dozens of counters. I took a good long look at them, but none seemed to be just what I wanted. However, on the way out of the central building upon repassing the “Milk Bar,” I decided to pop in and try one of those sweets drizzled with warm vanilla syrup that looked so good. There were too many choices and I ordered wildly, getting what for all intents and purposes was basically a giant mantou. It was nice if a little pricier than the average bakery pastry.
It was hot and I was getting tired of carrying my backpack. Yes, somehow I have managed to pretty much never carry a day bag around with me when going out and about. There really is no point. What do I need to carry with me? Most museums make you check them and it tires the shoulders, back, and waist with dead weight. So, I headed back to the hostel, which happened to be right there when I emerged from a long commercial pedestrian zone. I took a power nap, then, still stressing out about getting an internet connection, resolved myself to go to the Starbucks I had spotted. I swung by the St. Anna church, reportedly Germany’s first “Renaissance” church and a rest stop for Martin Luther. At the Starbucks, I treated myself to a Frapuccino and had a productive work session.
It was only about 5 pm, and I walked about a bit more around town, enjoying the Rathausplatz, but not really feeling like going in to any attractions. Having just had a sugary Starbucks drink, I couldn’t justify stopping at any of the open air cafes to enjoy the slanting, yet strong sunlight from the protection of shade.
I popped into the Rewe to pick up some salad and an ice tea for dinner later, then returned to the room. There was a new guest, a cyclist by the look of him. Cyclists are usually pretty weird. They bike 100s of kilometers in a day, stop in a hostel, sleep, then wake up and do it all over again. For what end? Do they stop anywhere to look around?
The weird Eastern European guy showed up again. So he checked out, disappeared all day, but came back again. I noticed his small duffel bag only contained food and his only set of clothes were the ones he was wearing. Homeless, I suppose.
I watched a few more episodes of Babylon Berlin and went to bed before 11pm.
| Fuggerei | 6.5 |
| Milk bar | 6.2 |
| Starbucks | 4.99 |
| Salad | 4.67 |
| Total: | 22.36 EUR (174.4 RMB) (USD 24.35) |
Running Total: 30375.4 RMB (USD 4241)
Daily Average: 366 RMB (USD 51.10)