matt's 101 in 1001

Dear family and friends,

It is with deep regret that I inform you I am a changed man. The Matt you all knew is gone. I have arrived at the realisation that, replacing the clean-cut, well-groomed, employed man you're familiar with, is a mere shadow of him.

I am now unemployed, sporting an unfashionable belly and desperately need a shave. I'm living out of a backpack, wearing the same clothes over and over and crashing at various people's houses and find myself, each day and night, eating a truckload of food and drinking copious amounts of beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages. Sounds pretty grim, right?

Wrong.

After an ill few days in Munich (jetlag, no doubt), things have taken a total turn for the better. I attended the opening night screening of Steven Spielberg's new film, Munich, in Munich! The next day we headed down to Passau, a city near the German-Austrian border, where, soon after arrival, I indulged in my first snowball fight. We've been tobbogganing on multiple occassions (including in the backyard!). I have been exceptionally well-wined and dined, trying a range of German foods and many, many German, French, Austrian and Italian beers, wines, champagnes and schnappes. I went for a refreshing barefoot walk in the snow (which is excruciating at the time, but afterwards gives the impression you've just dunked your feet in a trés expensive tub of champagne). We visited the Salzburg Saltmine (a massive saltmine that has been operational since the early 1500s; once entering, you travel down on a series of trains and 40-metre slides (as in slippery-slides) until you end up in the deepest part of the mountain, where you drift across a salt lake on a raft 140 metres below the surface). On the way to the saltmine, we had the opportunity to zip down the famous autobahn at a cruisey 220km/h, with a couple of detours through Austria on the way (current country count: 3). Yesterday we visited the Spiegelau Glass Factory, where glasses are all hand-blown the old-fashioned way. And today we're simply wandering the streets of Passau, before heading off to a beer festival tonight. Did I mention I've been exceptionally well-wined and dined?

In Munich, we stayed at the Euro Youth Hotel, a decent little hostel near the city's shopping centre. We didn't see a great deal of Munich due to illness, but no doubt we'll be back at some point. Since arriving in Passau, we've stayed with two exceedingly welcoming families (understatement of the millennium) who've been kind enough to keep us very, very well-fed and have been showing us the sights of Passau. Incidentally, I love this city. It's got Bavaria plastered all over it, with the architecture, food and customs all indicative of what to expect of South German life. Oh, and today it's a chilly -9°C (during the day).

On Sunday, it's off to London, which I'm really excited about. My cockney accent may need a brush-up, but I've got a few days.

Cheers and German beers.