The hotel alarm didn’t go off, but luckily, my phone did. Not that I liked it, but it had to be. Feet on the ground, quick stop in the bathroom, and out of the room. Fast check-out, grabbing an apple on the way.
The check-in kiosk didn’t like my data, so I had to do it manually at the counter. At security, I realized I had a bottle in my hand luggage—too early in the morning for that. But nothing a quick drink couldn’t fix.
Gate D11. Not too much waiting before my flight to Munich started boarding. A smooth 2-hour, 10-minute flight, mostly uneventful. I might have dozed off in between. Standard A320—legroom could be better, but manageable.
We landed in Munich on time. Breakfast? A proper Bavarian pretzel, of course. Then a quick train ride to Terminal K for my next flight. Just as I arrived, the A319 was already boarding. Perfect timing—no unnecessary waiting around.
Two-hour flight to Malta. The usual Lufthansa service: water and a piece of Lindt chocolate. Podcasts kept me entertained as we flew over Austria, the Balkans, Naples, and Sicily before finally arriving in Malta. On time, great weather, smooth landing.
Just one issue—no luggage. Apparently, they didn’t manage to get it onto the plane in time. I filled out the online form and hoped for the best. Next mission: finding the Hertz car rental. Not exactly easy, but after some wandering, I spotted the rental car building. Some of the companies looked questionable, with long queues in front of the cheapest ones.
Malta gets a lot of Ryanair flights—cheap holidays attract the fitting crowd. No surprise that everything is about cutting costs.
The rental process took a while, but I got what I wanted: an automatic car. No need to think about shifting gears while also focusing on driving on the left. The deal was good—€136 for 8 days. The €800 deposit? Less great, but fine. They offered an option to reduce it for three times the price, but my travel insurance covers the excess, so why bother?
Then, out into the madness of Maltese traffic. A lot of cars, a lot of lane changes—without indicators, of course. No GPS in the car, and my phone kept falling over. Great start.
It took me an hour to reach St. Paul’s Bay. I’ll have to go to Valletta twice this week—looking forward to that chaos. After a few wrong turns, I found free parking not far from the hotel. But I was early for check-in and had to wait until 15:00. No problem—time to grab my first geocache in Malta along the promenade and pick up some drinks from the supermarket.
Good news from Lufthansa: my luggage would arrive with the next Air Malta flight and be delivered to my hotel. Perfect timing—it was there by the time I checked in.
For €40 a night, including breakfast, the hotel was fine. Small balcony with a distant glimpse of the sea—not exactly a “sea view,” but who needs one? I’d be out exploring all day anyway.
A bit of planning for tomorrow, then dinner at an Indian restaurant with good reviews. Food was okay, nothing special. Never heard of an Indian restaurant running out of naan before. Not a good sign.
After dinner, a short walk through St. Paul’s Bay and along the harbor to the National Aquarium. This place is built for mass tourism—hotels, restaurants, and little else. Old hotels, new hotels, tour operators. Nothing particularly charming or interesting. In peak season, this must be unbearable. Good thing I came off-season.
Back at the hotel, exhausted after two days of travel and little sleep. My neck hurt again—probably from stress. Time to plan for tomorrow and finally get some proper rest.