Day 0-1: 5/6 May, Departure, Munich

We flew out of Charlotte again this year, so our journey actually began with a road trip. The weather was off and on; possibly an omen of what would greet us when we arrived in Munich. We stopped at a Whole Foods in Greenville, SC for lunch, and after fighting some hideous traffic, managed to get to Charlotte Douglas airport and to our gate by 4pm for a 5:15 departure. The flight was uneventful from an actual “plane takes off, plane flies, plane lands” perspective, but there was a German family in front of us with a small girl who just would not SHUT UP! We got a little relief when she finally fell asleep, but that was short-lived when she woke up and wailed and screamed for the remaining 2 hours of the flight. I don’t really like Lufthansa over British Airways for a couple of reasons. Mainly, LH just hasn’t managed to install the personal video screens in the cattle cabin like BA has. Also, the seating was downright uncomfortable. That said, the food was good, and the cabin service was the equal of BA. It really boiled down to the fact that BA requires a connection between Heathrow and Gatwick in order for us to get to Munich on BA, where the LH flight from Charlotte was direct.

We landed at about 8am, local time, and were out of the airport and waiting to board the Lufthansa airport bus by 8:30am. Thankfully, the bad weather that was forecast for Munich today never really materialized; it was a mostly cloudy morning, temperature about 48-50F. A short bus ride later and we were walking down to the now familiar Munich Marriott in the Schwabing district of Munich. It was very fortuitous for us that they had our room already prepared, and we were checked into our room by 9:30am. I immediately took a shower and we both took a short nap. Angela was still feeling the effects of the half of the AmbienCR she took on the plane; and who was I to argue with getting a little sleep?

We woke at noon; Angela got cleaned up; and we headed downtown. We’ve been to Munich twice, and both times I was unable to get to the Deutches Museum (www.deutches-museum.de). I would not be denied this year, so we walked from the Marienplatz, through the Isartor gate, and onto the small island in the Isar river on which is located the museum. The museum itself is like what the Smithsonian would be if there was one for Science and Technology. There were excellently prepared displays of maritime history, aviation, hydrodynamics, bridge construction technologies, paper making, musical instruments, you name it. Had Angela not been with me, I could have probably spent at least 2 days there reading all of the placards. I especially enjoyed all of the models that were built to illustrate various techniques and technologies. It was also interesting to see the history of so much of technology from a decidedly German perspective, with mostly German examples cited.

After we (read: Angela) had had our fill of the museum, we took a stroll along the Isar river and headed back into town down the Maximilianstrasse, a very swank shopping street with the likes of Hermes, Armani, Ferragamo, etc. lining the boulevard. By this time Angela was getting very hungry and, what do you know, we passed right by the famed Hofbrauhaus, possibly the most famous beer hall and garden in Germany. It is a HUGE tourist destination. I wouldn’t necessarily call it a tourist trap, since the prices are very reasonable and the food is quite tasty. One 1L radler and a helping of schnitzel and potatos and we were ready to head back to the hotel. Being Sunday, nothing is open anyway, except the restaurants.

We downloaded the whole season of Heroes on ITunes based on the recommendation of a friend of mine, and we will watch at least one or two episodes tonight.

Tomorrow, we pick up the car bright and early, and head down to the Bodensee and the lake-side town of Lindau. I sure hope the weather holds tomorrow like it did today.