After the outbreak of the epidemic, it became impossible for me to want to travel abroad. I tried to find photos from my previous trip to Europe several times, but I couldn't find them. Now that the mobile hard drive has a large capacity and there are several of them, there is a problem. I know it must be there, but I can't find it. It is a huge project to classify hundreds or thousands of folders logically and clearly.
My brother chose to settle in Germany due to a job relocation several years ago. It can be said to be a German village. Although it is a village, it is only about two hours drive from Munich. In terms of area, compared with China, Europe is definitely a small country. It is possible to drive across the border in two hours.
Later, I also took this opportunity to take a trip to Europe. I had never been to Europe before. My previous overseas trips were to relatively close countries such as Southeast Asia and Nepal. The first time I went abroad was on a business trip to the company headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Not long after I graduated, we were originally on a business trip. The night before I left, my colleague suddenly had a visa problem and could not go. I went there alone. I remember that right after the 9/11 incident, the company was located in the Petronas Twin Towers, which was the tallest in Malaysia and seemed to be the tallest in Asia at that time. Rumors spread online that terrorists specialize in attacking skyscrapers. Every day when entering the company's office building, the search was very strict. Everyone was checked as if they were suspected terrorists.
This time I had the opportunity to go to Europe for a good walk, and I prepared all the visa materials. An old German visa officer answered various questions during the interview with ease, and fluently expressed the concept of European and American backpacker culture. I remember that the interview took less than ten minutes, and the conversation was quite pleasant. I forgot what joke I made at the end. I remember the visa officer laughed. Interviews are my strong point. . . I got a 5-year multiple-entry Schengen visa. I was very happy. I thought it would be more convenient to go there in the future. However, with the epidemic, the 5-year visa has expired. . .
I traveled around Europe for three months, and the journey was very slow. There were so many things to see in the east, west, and south of Europe, and the social environment was very different. I gradually realized that three months was not enough. Some European countries did not have high consumption, but the overall consumption was still very high. I always stayed in youth hostels and often cooked my own food. It was very economical. This is necessary when traveling for a long time. The kitchens in European youth hostels can be said to be fully equipped. It is very convenient to buy something from the supermarket and cook something to eat. Just wander around at your own leisure and at your own pace.
三个月的欧洲之行（二）
On July 8, 2018, I flew to Munich and booked a Thai Airways ticket with a connecting flight in Bangkok. Why did I book Thai Airways? It was because it was cheap. The air ticket cost just over 3,000. July is the summer and peak season. This price is very cheap. One-way, the return time is uncertain. I don’t like to set the return time early and make a plan for myself. Later, my return trip was at the end of September, and the air ticket was only over 2,000, Aeroflot. I specifically looked at the current air tickets to Munich. They are all over 20,000, and some are 30,000, 40,500, 30,000, 40,000, 45,000. My god, just take a plane. It’s really exaggerated. Hey, the prices of everything have increased nowadays, including gas prices. Gas stations can be regarded as high-consumption places. . .
We transferred to Bangkok. We landed in Bangkok at 9pm and continued our flight to Munich at 1am. We stayed at Bangkok Airport for 4 hours. I am familiar with Bangkok Airport. I used to come to Thailand a lot and stayed overnight at Bangkok Airport. I used to know which area of the airport was quiet and suitable for sleeping. . .
The transfer is also very good. You can get off the plane and wander around the airport for a while, eat and drink. At that time, many stores in Bangkok Airport can accept Alipay payment, which reduces the boredom of the long flight of more than 10 hours.
We landed at Munich Franz Josef Strauss Airport at 7 a.m. the next day. The airport is not big, and that’s about it for international metropolitan airports in Germany. Compared to our Pudong Airport, it is as big as a mainland military airport. . . It went smoothly out of the airport, there were not many people passing through the customs, and I didn’t need to wait. The customs officers asked me some simple questions, stamped my visa, and let me go.
I turned on my mobile phone, inserted the German data card bought on Taobao, and sent a WeChat message to my brother. My brother was already driving on the highway. Actually, I didn’t want to trouble him. I just wanted to take the train to his town by myself, and then he would drive out from his village to pick me up.
My brother has always been enthusiastic, and if he is not allowed to play his role when something happens, he feels uncomfortable. I understand, and I feel the same way sometimes.
After leaving the airport, it was still very early. I saw a McDonald's nearby. Let's go have breakfast first and see if the breakfast of 10 to 8 yuan at a domestic McDonald's is the same price in Germany. I ordered breakfast, drank coffee, and faced the first ray of European sunshine shining in front of me through the window. I watched the German strangers coming in and out of McDonald's. I was not tired at all.
三个月的欧洲之行（三）
I added positioning on WeChat, and within 10 minutes, I successfully connected with my brother, and then went to pick up the car. The parking fee was 6 euros. My god, it was more than 40 yuan in less than 10 minutes? Munich Airport is not that good, but the parking fee is quite affordable~
My brother laughed and said that some things in Germany are expensive and some are quite cheap. Even if the domestic consumption level is better than that, well, I said, that’s because the prices of some things in the country have skyrocketed.
Speeding all the way, the highways are the same all over the world. There is nothing new. The only difference is the speed. There is no speed limit on the highway here. There are many cars with a distance of more than 150 yards, whizzing by. I feel a little dizzy, not comfortable with it, and have an instinctive fear of speed.
After passing the town, I parked my car and walked around with my brother. It looked like a typical European town, clean, refreshing, and sparsely populated. This is different from our town-level places. No matter what people do on the street, they have a Buddhist temperament, they are slow and orderly. The municipal buildings are old but functional. In principle, they can be used without renovation. Regarding the infrastructure of a city, I prefer this. Don’t be tall for the sake of being tall. The maturity of a city is the same as that of people. Only those who are pragmatic and do not pursue superficial vanity will be mature. Those in the city will eventually be found to be useless. The city should be built with the orientation of making life convenient, comfortable and relaxed. It should not be about political achievements or fighting for the first place in various things. It is important to win whatever battles you want. People should live according to the way they like. They should not be recognized by others or praised by others. Those things have no other purpose than hindering you from living in the direction you like. They are too far-fetched and your thinking is divergent. . .
Continue to a village, which is actually a community surrounded by grassland and pastures. You can see cows wandering around in twos and threes. . . The company my brother works for is in the electronic technology industry, and the location here has nothing to do with animal husbandry.