Day -3: Lift off

The first step is the most difficult

We all know the feeling. The first step is always the hardest: the first dance, the first day at a new job, the first visit to the gym. I'm a passionate and seasoned traveller, yet I still face a mental block when it comes to leaving home—even after doing it hundreds of times. It’s a bit like stage fright.

This journey is different from a business trip or a two-week visit to the U.S. Not only is the duration—two months—unusual, but being on a ship for nearly five weeks without Amazon or shopping centers nearby demands careful planning. Questions keep popping up: Did I pack enough socks? Do I have the right shoes for the capta*in's dinner? (Only for German readers: Habt ihr gemerkt, dass ich gegendert habe?) Will I have enough cash to make it back home? Each detail feels important in a way that it rarely does on a shorter trip. Yet, none of these questions will be truly answered until we’re underway; as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Don't forget to ...

We were lucky—our neighbor dropped us off at the train station. The excitement for the journey triumphs over the planner’s worries. On Saturday afternoons, the train is packed with people ready to party through the night, while we’re busy trying to navigate our luggage through the crowds. It feels a bit like being German tourists in the rainforest—out of our element, weaving through a bustling, chaotic landscape.

One of Herrsching’s advantages is the S8, the direct train to Munich Airport—or at least, that’s the theory. In reality, the tracks are often blocked by snow, fallen trees, or construction work. Sometimes, union strikes disrupt the schedule. That’s why we prefer to stay at  the airport the night before a flight instead of catching the 5:15 a.m. train. 

Insight of the day: Half a litre beer at the airport for 3.60€!!

We arrived at the airport hotel around 5:30 p.m. and decided to have one last Bavarian dinner before heading off into the jungle. We chose to go to the 'Airbrau' restaurant and beer garden at Terminal 2. It was quite crowded—no surprise, considering the beer prices are lower than in Herrsching.

Today's trip from Herrsching to Munich Airport:
90 km by train—just about 0.24% of our entire journey.
The red line indicates the full route, covering a total distance of approximately 33,000 km.









Location: Flughafen München (MUC), Nordallee 25, 85356 München-Flughafen, Deutschland

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