PARTING THOUGHTS

We woke to rain on our departure morning. As we went down into the station to take the subway out to the airport, Don handed off his umbrella to a woman without one.

I thought is was really neat to be able to see the slip stream over the plane's wing as we took off.






























So, I finally have a passport with a stamp in it and I'm looking forward to more stamps! Germany was beautiful and amazing. The people were kind and helpful and generous. Spending 15 days in constant company with Don was a great experience. When we returned home, I found that I wanted to - and did - eat my lunches at work outside around the ponds with the ducks and geese. Don and I found ourselves calling each other a little more often just to check in and say hi and connect. Over time, these behaviors reverted to what would be considered 'normal life' for us, but that 'reconnect' was wonderful and beneficial and strengthened us as a couple.


I have a few LISTS that I made over the course of our trip:


The Good Travel Equipment List

1. Most important is having a great traveling companion.












2. Good resources, like an excellent guidebook, help you see the good stuff. My travel journal was probably a little heavy and I will use something a little lighter next time.










3. Good shoes are a must for the many, many miles of walking.












4. Traveling light - just one convertible backpack/bag and one day bag a piece - made getting around really easy and quick.











5. A camera is a must, of course. I think we learned some things about taking pictures on this trip - what to photograph and how best to do it. We had two batteries, so that one could be charging while we were out with the other. And we had a couple of memory cards so that we could click away without worrying about running out of space.








The Things That Are Different In Germany List
1. Toilets
2. Pets in public - they can go just about anywhere, it looks like
3. Old churches in every town and city
4. Great drivers
5. Doors all seem to open and lock with a key - which was inconvenient with only one key. If one of you wanted to stay in the room and take a nap, say - or shower - while the other person stepped out, you either had to leave the door unlocked, be locked in with no way to get out, or be locked out and wait for the person inside to unlock the door. Weird. Two keys would eliminate any problem. We left the keys in the doors after locking them so that a. we didn't lose them and, b. we could unlock the door quickly if there was a fire or something....


5. Computer keyboards are configured differently, which is a pain when you are in a real hurry.
6. Breakfast staples are meat and cheese and soft boiled eggs.



The Things We Saw a Lot Of List
1. Old churches
2. Stairs!
3. Meats, cheese and bread
4. Strawberry stands
5. Flower boxes and pretty gardens, no matter how small the space
6. No litter

7. In sharp contrast to how clean every place was, was the ever present graffiti.











8. Cranes and construction
9. People walking in early evening
10. Birdsong - didn't see it, but heard it everywhere
11. Stacked wood
12. Solar panels
13. Beer
14. Bicycles
15. Small cars


The Things I Missed From Home List (Other than Family, Friends and the Dog!)
1. A washcloth - they just don't use them in Germany
2. A couch or recliner to sit in
3. Doing my own laundry - silly, I know!


The Things I Miss From Germany List
1. Bells - I loved hearing the bells ringing all day
2. Pedestrian zones
3. Flower boxes and gardens
4. Big trucks staying in the right lane and slower traffic staying to the right
5. Public transit


Here's hoping we get away again before too long!

LESSONS 2 AND 3

First off, we all know about the difference in electric currents in Europe and we were well prepared. However, when you have a travel hair dryer with dual current abilities, you need to be sure to TURN THE SCREW TO THE CORRECT CURRENT before using. Down one hair dryer after first use.















Next was actually the first lesson we learned. Don had read up on cell phone usage and we just bought a new sim card for Don's phone to use in country. It was our first day in Germany, we were very tired and Don hadn't had a lot of time to hone his German speaking skills yet. Plus, he was trying to discuss something technical with his German and the salesman's English and that wasn't necessarily the best combination. The guy talked to us about a card that they could activate right in the store, but we bought a lower cost card that we needed to activate with a phone call, which the guy said was the best deal. What a learning experience. The sim card cost 5 Euro. By the time we had finally got it activated - from the hotel - it was 74 Euro, since the hotel calls totaled 69. Then we used all the minutes we had on that flat tire. So Don called to load it with more minutes and we weren't allowed to do that because we didn't have a German bank account! So it was about $110 for 15 minutes of calls. We just used our regular calling plan for then on, as we only used the phone to call ahead for rooms. Still, it might have been less expensive in the long run to add the international option to our existing phone plan.

So the lesson: if you buy a new sim card, let them activate it for you- it might be a little more expensive to begin with, but you won't have the headache of dealing with it and the minutes will be cheaper.


(This is my phone with the cute fob from India.)

MUNICH

I hardly know what to say about Munich other than I need to give it another chance sometime. My first impressions were NOT good. But it got better.

Things started off a little badly with the room. For almost 2 weeks we had just called in the morning and been able to get our first choice of rooms. Munich is probably the largest city we stayed in and therefore we should have thought ahead about accommodations. We struck out on our first two choices in the old town, so ended up in a hotel right by the train station. The good thing about it was that it was close to the train station. The bad thing was that it was close to the train station - not the best neighborhood and, even though we were on the 6th floor (our 7th) the street noise was still significant. And the room ended up being an additional 29 Euro (about $44) a night because of a convention or something in town.


Our room was up in those dormer windows - the first two (basically the top center of this picture.)

















The street entrance - that brown outcropping - Hotel Monaco













Funny little elevators in the hotel - typical of a lot of elevators in Germany. This door opens out like a regular door.
















With our bags, there was only room for the two of us - it was quite small.

















You close these folding metal doors when you get in.












Our room was large and comfortable enough


























The view from our window - leaning out the dormer












We decided to go to a beer garden for dinner - for the experience and because the food is supposed to be good and inexpensive. It was just the regular kinds of 'fast' German food.

These mugs are the 'small' size. There was so much movement I couldn't get a clear picture.







We tried sitting in this area and were quickly informed it was the reserved area - for regulars.












This was a real family place, amazingly enough. Lots and lots of little children amongst all the beer steins.











We followed the beer garden with a look in at Hofbrauhaus - one of the most famous beer halls in the world.












The oom-pah band was fun. The place was loud and crazy and people seemed to be having a great time.
























A little quieter courtyard.

We did not sample the wares of the beer gardens, just the ambiance. And now we don't need to do that again :)









Marienplazt is Munich's main square and is famous for its glockenspiel.




































































































































































































The square is surrounded by three churches. Believe it or not, we didn't go into any of these churches!

















































I loved all of the sundials.













































The twin domes are the third church.













Just a block or so over from Marienplatz is the Viktualienmarkt - the open-air market. I managed to crush a cup of fresh squeezed orange juice all over my white shirt here. (I went back to the room and changed.)
























Red carrots? We weren't sure what they were except that they were pretty!


























We ate lunch on the sidewalk.













A scary poster. "A moon for the loaded" can't really be what this says, can it? What does it mean?











A bunch of bicycles.













The Residenz, home to the Wittelbachs family, who ruled Bavaria for centuries.












The grotto in the Residenz - made from Bavarian freshwater shells.












The palace was demolished in WWII. The people had no money to help with reconstruction, but they gathered shells to rebuild the grotto.

















The Residenz Antiquarium - the banquet hall that is still used as such today. The hall is lined with busts of emperors.

















They can seat 200 dignitaries for dinner here - probably 300 common folk :)













The ceiling.

















A hall.





































King Ludwig had a room like this in Lindorhof - ornately Baroque with the porcelain vases on display.












































A room of miniatures.

























































Items in the treasury.































An amazing jewel-encrusted statue of St. George.
















This 'prayer bead' was hand carved by a monk. It was between the size of a walnut and a lime.






















It seemed that every restaurant set up tables and chairs for outside dining, no matter the location.














Not in our guide book :)

























We also visited the Alte Pinakothek, a museum with mostly 14th-18th century art. I realized that the Renaissance isn't my favorite art period. I would have liked to visit the Neue Pinakothek with its Monet's and Renoir's, but we ran out of time.



Going to the English Garden - the largest garden in Europe, it stretches more than 3 miles in one direction.












It's a good thing Don insisted that we come out to the English Garden, because this is where Munich started to be redeemed for me.













Geese that are a little different from any I have ever seen before.











The English Garden has a lot of open green lawns.




























It also has a lot of wooded area.


















Streams.












One stream famous for its surfers.









































We we surprised to see a street music group with a grand piano.












Our last meal in Germany, eaten in an enclosed courtyard.