My Adventure Through Europe

On my way to Munich, Germany, last August 28th, my stopover was in Lisbon, Portugal. I saw this cute store with everything handmade from Portugal in the food/shopping court area. The airport is really nice and has plenty of options for food and of course shopping.

Photo by Sheyla Paz

What I found strange was that you can only go to your gate when it tells you on the monitors what gate number your flight will be departing from and how long it will take you to walk to your gate. It also means you at what time your plane will be at the gate, and when it’s there, that’s when you get your gate number.
​On our first night in Munich, Germany, we explored the city and ended up at this cute Italian restaurant. We dressed as it was warm outside because the temperature was very friendly and refreshing, but once we started walking around the Munich Cathedral, it started raining, and it got chilly. We went to a nearby store to buy umbrellas, and a gentleman came up to us really fast and told my friend that she could not come in with a surgical mask that she needed an N95 like mine. So, I went in and purchased the two umbrellas, and fortunately, they had the masks right at the counter, so I got one for her too.​

​We then continue on to explore the area looking for a place to eat. All the restaurants had outdoor seating and were crowded. We continued walking around the plaza and off to one of the side streets and found an Italian restaurant that was not too busy and seemed nice.
When we sat down, there was a blanket on the back of the chair, and I grabbed it and wrapped it around my legs because I was freezing, and I wore a dress thinking that it was warm enough for it. We asked for hot tea and pasta, of course. It was very delicious, and the ambiance was very uplifting. People were very friendly, and it looked like a hangout place for the locals, and everyone knew each other.
We actually stayed longer after finishing eating just to enjoy the atmosphere. Also realized that every chair had a blanket so customers could sit, eat, enjoy themselves, and not worry about feeling cold. What an excellent idea!
Afterward, we continued to walk around and saw this golden-looking church but could not go in. There was a massive fence in front of it like there was some kind of preparation for construction, but we could still admire its architecture.
Not sure how long we walked, but we ended up in front of a beautiful Farris wheel and then went to take the metro back to our hotel. The next day, it was another adventure to make it to Vilshofen for our River Cruise with Amawaterways. 
Have you ever taken the train the wrong way in another country?
Well, we did and realized it when the train got going. My friend Marie sent me two pictures of the train station where we had to get off to meet her at the Hilton Hotel so we could all take the train together to Vilshofen, so we got up in the morning with that plan in mind.
We gathered all our belongings, went to check out, and asked the lady at the front desk about taking the train to that specific station; and she said the train would be leaving in four minutes, and we said we didn’t have time to make it. She said, “oh yes, you have time. Go here down the stair to the other side and get on the train going left. “ We started running with our luggage and backpack and realized that there were stairs, so we had to lift the bags down the stairs and up the stairs and by the time we made it to the platform, the train took off, and we were on the wrong platform Then we took our time to walk down the stairs and up another set of stairs to buy the train tickets We got about five minutes to catch our breath before the next train showed up. So, we got on it, and when it took off, it went the other direction.
So, we asked a gentleman that we wanted to go to Central Station to get on the train for Vilshofen, and he told us to get off at the next stop, cross the street and get on the train again the other way. He was so kind to help us get off the train with our bags. Fortunately, there were no stairs this time. We waited about 20 minutes for the next train and barely got enough time to grab a cup of coffee and make it to the right train just in time. And actually, we didn’t know where she was until we got off the train and looked for the letter B that she kept saying that she was in the car in front of the big B. She was about to get out to look for me when I stopped in front of the door where she was about to get off.
Well, at least we didn’t get lost. The ride to Vilshofen was about an hour and fifteen minutes, and we had a great time onboard chatting with a German lady who spoke excellent English.
Have you heard about this cute little town called Vilshofen a der Donau? It’s a town in the German district of Passau and where many river cruises start their journey up and down the Danube River. The population is a bit over 16 thousand, and its cobblestone streets are very walkable.
After we got off the train, we took a short ride by taxi to the port where our beautiful AmaVerde was docked. It literally took 2 minutes to get there in a cab. We could have walked, but that would have been a challenging walk with all the luggage and cobblestone streets.
Since we had an itinerary planned for the day of the arrival on the ship, I could not go out to check out the town, but the following day I did. It was so cute, and I took my camera along and walked around for about 20 minutes to take photos. I’ve shared some pictures on my social media pages, but you can check out the video below of me boarding AmaVerde. 

​Should you like to experience a river cruise this year for the holidays, let me know. There is still time to book it and enjoy the Christmas Markets on the Danube and Rhine rivers. You will love it! 

Follow me on my social media pages to follow my journey through Europe @SheylaAdventureTravel  

About Sheyla Paz
Sheyla was born and raised in Cuba. Moved to the United States 20 years ago after meeting her husband at her beloved island when she was performing with a band at the Riviera Hotel in Havana. She is a Journalist, Actress, Producer, and  Photographer with a passion for travel. Sheyla launched the tour agency to Cuba out of her desire to share her culture, music, dance, and the architecture of her homeland with others. Her agency provides travel arrangements to all Latin countries and Caribbean islands. She has several award wining short films and was recognized as a leading media personality in the Latino community in Tennessee with the award “Beacon of Light” in 2019. Sheyla was one of the few Cuban-American journalists selected to travel to Cuba with President Barack Obama in 2016 as part of the White House Press Corp. Sheyla is an ASTA Verified travel advisor, Signature Travel Network Luxury Certified Travel advisor and several destination specialist in the Caribbean and Latin America. She is also certified in Luxury River and Ocean cruises.

Email me or schedule a time to chat about your next adventure!

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