Munich nutters, freaks, weirdos, and craziees

I encountered my first German nutter today on the U-bahn, between Sendlinger Tor and Innsbrucker Ring. He was of average height, pretty skinny, with short brown hair, a red top, light blue jeans and brown shoes. He first drew my attention when he "giggled" while glambering onto the U-Bahn, but I initially thought it had been response to someone else. Not so! He continued to giggle/gibber (not quite sure which) on and off for a minute or so, before moving into his "conversation" phase. By the time he got off the U-Bahn, it had turned into a full-blown one-sided conversation, and it took all of my willpower to keep the mirth from my face.

People sometimes talk about how the Germans stare at people. Well in the UK nobody would ever dare look (let alone stare) at a nutter. Not so over here! This one guy walked to the door to get off, and while he was waiting for the U-Bahn to slow down he turned around and stared the nutter full-on in the face for several seconds. I don't know how he managed to keep a straight face!

Anyway, if anyone else sees (or has seen) this nutter or any other wierdos then please post your story here as well, as I'd be interested to hear what else he does.

There's a nutter who hangs around near Münchner Freiheit. He's a black guy who carries a guitar with one string. I reckon everyone who regularly goes to Schwabing has seen him. Sometimes, if you're really lucky, he'll serenade you with a twang of his guitar, and some tuneless mumblings.

Ah yeah, I've seen him before as well. He's pretty amusing, and certainly a few cards short of a full deck - but this new guy was a raving nutter!

I've seen that guy on the U3/6 too. I still haven't decided what language he speaks - it seems to be a mix of english and german, spoken badly.

It's Italian. Although I'm sure he speaks a little English and German too.

Yes, I know him. Black as the ace of spades, spikey grey hair, permanently pissed as a fart - usually with a can of Lowenbrau in the back pocket of his jeans. He tries to serenade unwitting teenage girls on the U-Bahn with his singing and guitar playing - which incidently isn't all that bad.

He's often seen trying to perform at Mama's Kebap House too, but is persistently turned away.

Isn't all that bad? How can his guitar playing not be bad when the bastard thing only has one string on it?

I don't think the guitar always has only one string. You must have seen him on a bad day Spud.

There's another borderline nutter that I see regularly traveling north on the U3/6 line from Marienplatz. He's a fairly large, young guy, say 20-something, who always listens to his walkman wearing HUGE earphones. He's a trainspotter type with a trainspotter's anorak. He sits on the U-Bahn with a large grin on his face and half mutters, half sings - presumably to the music that he's listening to. But he constantly changes the tape over and switches it with other tapes that he has in his trainspotter's handbag. Anyone else seen him?

Nutters seem to be U-Bahn line specific. Unfortunately I've never seen this one of Aquatic's because I never travel that line.

Has anyone seen the guy on the U3/6 that looks like a grown-up version of "Smudge" from The Beano?

Spud, by this Smudge-like-character, you don't mean the scruffy dude who sits outside Karstadt at Munchener Freiheit with his ghetto blaster playing dodgy Bavarian folk songs do you? He trys to sell all sorts of crap, fluffy toys, signed posters and the like. He's definately not a character, just a loser. The Munich Gestapo should have cleaned him off the streets and sent him to Dachau long ago.

Is it possible to be a part-time nutter?

I need a regular job to pay bills, etc. Come 5pm, I could get on the U-Bahn, ride around in circles, mutter to complete strangers and argue loudly with myself.

Hazza, I'm sure you would make a wonderful part-time nutter.. but how do you intend making it pay?

Well I might get a few cents here and there - maybe the occasional half-eaten sandwich. You'd be surprised what you can find by rummaging through the bins.

That's why I just want to be a part-time nutter, so I can have a regular job during the day and just supplement my income as a nutter.

Well its worth a try, if anyone can make money being a professional, part-time nutter, you can.

I think I should feel insulted

Hazza, Have you ever gone onto public transport and purposely acted strange to observe the reactions of people? This used to be an assignment in psychology at my university. I went out once with my friend while they were on assignment. Great fun to see people's reactions.

On a side note, I was in Barcelona recently, and my favorite street act was this man dressed in a gorilla suit. He walked around La Rambla sneeking up on people and then saying "meow". I sat and laughed, laughed, laughed at people's reactions for 20 minutes. Sorta mean, but all for harmless play.

Anyhow Hazza, I whole-heartedly support you becoming a nutter. And btw, can I come along and watch?