I started my journey at 0745 from Rome and arrived in Munich at 1830 – 11 straight hours. My butt ached, I wasn’t able to sleep, I was inside a cabin with all Italian-speaking passengers so basically I was bored. The scenery on the way was great though – snow-capped mountain ranges which was a sight to behold at least for me. Then as I arrived in Hoptbahnhoff station in Munich I was harassed by a “supposedly” police man not in uniform. Now that’s a story…
So I was walking out of the station when a guy approached me showing me something from his wallet. I ignored him and walked faster, the guy followed me and grabbed my arm. Now that pissed me off so I yanked his hand off me and screamed at him: “WHAT??????”. He told me that he’s a police officer and that when somebody flashes me a badge I should stop. Well, how do I know if he’s a real police officer? He was not wearing a uniform. I’m a woman traveling alone, of course I will be cautious. So I told him that, he then asked me for my passport – I gave it to him then he asked me to go with him. I asked “WHY??????” in a very irritated voice. Both of us standing face-to-face on the train station’s platform and I was ready to scream my lungs out if he does something crazy. He told me that I must go with him as he needs to check my records since I didn’t stop the first time he asked me to stop. I showed him my company ID which of course he recognized and told him that I am not going anywhere with him unless a police officer in full uniform will go with us. He realized that I’m not going to budge on this little face-off that we’re having at the train station so he just said: “Next time, stop when someone asks for your passport” to which I replied with: “Next time, wear your uniform if you’re a real police officer”. Up until now, I’ve no clue if he was indeed a police officer. :p
I went to my hotel where I’m supposed to meet my aunt. I checked my email as soon as I arrived at the hotel and found out that my aunt is having problems with her reservations and visa in the Philippines and won’t be arriving until the 24th which is my departure date. So I decided to just cut my vacation short and fly out the next day. Why? Well for so many reasons. One, because I was running out of money. Two, I was beat and tired already at this point. It’s my first European trip and I did it all by myself. Doing it on your own the first time will probably drain the wits out of anybody. Besides, I figured that after this trip – I’d need a few days to rest before going back to work. After sending my aunt an email of my plan to cut the trip short, I went to the bar of the hotel and tried what the Germans are famous for, BEER. After a bottle, I went back to my room and had a very long bath. Well, after staying for 3 nights in a no-star hotel in Rome, this hotel that I have in Munich is heaven for me. I even get to have those fancy shampoo bottles, HAHA! So yeah, I bathed and stayed in the tub for God knows how long. Then finally went to sleep at 12am.
with love from Munich
Wow! Glad you were ok after that incident. Will you ever go back to Munich after that? Police officers in full uniform look really scary in Europe.
And you are entirely correct. I can easily see how doing Europe alone for the first could be overwhelming.
Yes I would go back to Munich after that. I guess it could’ve happened anywhere. :p