Munich, Germany & aniMUC - April 2026
- jennaoliverva
- Apr 19
- 6 min read
Lucas and I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Munich, Germany this April.
With every international trip, we also go to Salmon and Bannock at Vancouver International Airport. I got the elk burger, which was delicious. Highly recommend for anyone who has the chance to go to one of their locations.
The flight itself was pretty uneventful. I usually watch all three Lord of the Rings movies on longer flights, but they surprisingly didn’t have them as an option. But I did manage to watch Predator: Badlands, which was excellent. Really loving what they are doing with this franchise recently.
When we finally got to Germany, we struggled to navigate the train into the city, but a nice couple helped us make sure we had the right fare.
We checked into our hotel then started exploring the city. The first place we checked out was Karlsplatz. It was pretty fun to people watch, as it was a very busy area.
Then we walked around a bit more, ending up at Alter Südfriedhof, which was very peaceful. It was almost Disney-esque with the songbirds twittering away.
The next day was more walking around to see as many churches as we could, since it is some of our favourite architecture. We went to Asamkirche, and were blown away by the sheer amount of details all over. Everything is so elaborate and elegant.
We also walked around Marienplatz, taking in the sights until we arrived at Dom zu Unserer Lieben Frau. It was a really cool place, especially when you get to the top of the tower, but oooo boy. I had an asthma attack in that elevator. They packed it so tightly that I wasn’t able to get enough air after climbing up those stairs. Was pretty scary. But once I was out of the elevator and able to steady my breath, the view was breathtaking 😂 You could see the horizon in every direction.
The last cathedral we went to that day was Theatinerkirche. The lighting in this place was amazing. You could see the sun beams coming through the window. It was just so stunning.
The rest of the day was spent at the Munich Residenz, which reminded me a lot of Versailles. But there were far less people, so I finally got the chance to truly enjoy the palace at the pace I wanted.
While there was a lot that did remind me of Versailles, there were a lot of unique features here, like details made out of shells and the use of so much gold— especially on the blue background. The most jaw dropping area was definitely the large ballroom. There were only a few people there with us too, which made it seem even more grand. It would be so cool to dance in there.
After an absolutely wonderful day, we stopped for a quick dinner then went to bed early because we were up early for a day tour out to Linderhof and Neuschwanstein. What an experience. Both Linderhof and Neuschwanstein are well worth the trip!
Let’s start with Linderhof. It was apparently inspired by Versailles and was made to be a mini version of it. It was pretty cool to be able to compare the two since Lucas and I had gone to Versailles not too long ago. He definitely saw more of Versailles in Linderhof than I did, but there certainly are similarities.
We weren’t allowed to take photos inside, which I honestly appreciated. It forced people to put down their phones and actually absorb the palace beyond a screen. I actually really loved the decor in this place. It was really neat how the rooms had different colour schemes. And the chandeliers were wild! So beautiful! Though, the ivory one probably wasn’t sourced in an ethical way so that makes me sad.
The part of the palace that was most like Versailles was definitely the garden and fountain just outside the front entrance.
The next stop on the tour was Neuschwanstein. This castle is probably one of the most famous due to its location, the incredibly unique decor, and the fact that it inspired Walt Disney in many different ways, including Sleeping Beauty’s castle.
We had some time to look around the area before we could enter the castle so we had some traditional Bavarian food then hung out in the courtyard until it was our time to go on our tour.
Again, we weren’t able to take photos inside the castle, but I can see why it’s referred to as the fairytale castle. Every area was like a new theme. Moroccan, Bavarian, walls painted like an opera stage, straight up a fake rock cavern room. Very cool. It was a little sad to see that the throne was never finished, as I can only imagine how elaborate that would be.
There was one balcony that we could take photos on, and the view was incredible. I’d love to wake up to that everyday!
And with the castle tour over, it was time to head back down to the bus to go back to Munich. The next morning we would head out to Fürstenfeldbruck for aniMUC!
Lucas was invited to aniMUC 2026, and I was fortunate enough to be able to attend as his “handler”. I will admit that I was a little nervous about going since I didn’t have a great experience at the last convention I attended with him as a guest. But the staff at aniMUC were phenomenal! They made sure I was included in everything and that Inwas doing okay throughout the convention. I am truly grateful for their kindness.
I also loved how they took all of the guests and liaisons out for dinner each night. It allowed us all time to bond with one another, and I wish more conventions did that. Especially since, a lot of the time, the guests are too busy during the day to talk to each other.
With the move and all of my medical issues, I sadly didn’t have time to really make any new cosplays for the con (and I didn’t fit any of my old ones), but I did manage to put some stuff together.
I cosplayed:
Wendy (original design to match Lucas’ Peter Pan),
Swann Holloway from Lost Records: Bloom & Rage
Casual/modern day Zelda
It was nice to cosplay again, even if it was mainly more casual.
The people we met/reunited with were all so lovely. I know I made some new friends that I’ll be close to for a long time. Especially a particular person who helped me overcome a lot of my insecurities about my body 💕
The location of the convention was also incredibly unique. It was held at an old monastery, and there was a beautiful church nearby (though, they did have it closed off during the con). Lucas and I managed to sneak a peek the day before the con.
There’s so much more I could say about aniMUC, but the main thing was just how nice everyone was. I really hope Lucas and I can go back. But we are already planning on meeting up with a few folks at Dokomi in 2027!
With the convention over, it was supposed to be time to head home, but Lufthansa went on strike and our flight was cancelled haha
So we suddenly had an extra day and night to spend in Germany. On the recommendation of one of the aniMUC staff, we went to explore a city near the airport.
Freising, Germany.
It was such a cute little town. It felt a bit more like the quaint towns you see in movies.
The trip out this was was worth it after we discovered Der Freisinger Dom St. Maria und St. Korbinian. The cathedral was huge. Not only was it probably the biggest cathedral of the trip, but it was also the coolest.
Not only was the main section of the cathedral incredible, but every corner you turned there was a new area to discover. At one point we thought we were walking to the exit, but we ended up at a smaller and much older chapel. And along the corridor there were stone carvings dating as far back as the 1300’s.
It was surreal seeing something so old just inches in front of us. Like, we could have reached out and touched something over 700 years old.
It was a great “bonus” day, but it was finally time to return to Vancouver. Lucas and I flew Turkish Air with a layover in Istanbul.
It was so nice to finally be home after a long day of travel and over a week away from the cats.
I love doing these big trips, but I sure do miss my babies when I’m gone!
Germany was definitely one of my favourite trips ever, and I am excited to hopefully return next year!
⭐️ Jenna
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