We arrived at 6:30 a.m. in Munich. It was a bit of a challenge just trying to figure out where to wait for our pre-paid shuttle bus. Once we figured out where to wait, we took the Lufthansa bus to the main train station (Hauptbahnhof). We walked just a few blocks to Hotel Monaco. The hotel was very close to the station and within easy walking distance to Munich’s Old Town. There is a subway line (S-Bahn) that will take you from the airport to the main train station, but we decided we didn’t want to struggle with public transportation first thing off the plane. If you want to save a little money and are more intrepid than we were, it is a definite option.
The Hotel Monaco is on the top floors of a non-descript office building. The entrance is not very prepossessing. We went up to the 5th floor in a tiny elevator that could barely hold 4 people squished in. The hotel was decorated with hearts and angels and was really perfect. We shared a bathroom with three other rooms, but never had a problem with it. The place was clean and the people who worked there, very helpful and friendly. Yes, they spoke English. Whenever we would leave our room, we would turn in our key and pick it back up when we returned. Every morning, they served an excellent buffet breakfast with salami, bologna, fruit, soft pretzels, all kinds of bread, cheese, cereals, half-a-dozen different kinds of jam, soft boiled eggs with faces drawn on them kept warm in little bunny cozies, Nutella, and even peanut butter. The price of breakfast was not included in our package.
After dropping off our bags, we headed out to explore. It was probably our coldest day and Connie purchased gloves at the department store near the hotel. It was close to 90 degrees when we left Texas, so the weather in Germany seemed really cold! Actually, we had terrific weather for most of the trip, sunny and mild (unless you are from Texas. Then it was sunny and COLD).
 |
| Rathaus - Munich, Germany |
 |
| Marienplatz - Munich, Germany |
From our hotel, we walked through Karlsplatz and saw a McDonalds, a Game Stop, a KFC sign (rather depressing actually since it could have been anywhere USA), but then we made it to the Marienplatz. There we saw the column topped by a golden statue of the Virgin Mary. There was the Neues Rathaus with the famous glockenspiel. We were there when it chimed at noon. On the first tier, there are dancers and jesters who circle around. Then on the second tier, jousters face off until one falls forward on his horse. The dancers take another turn before the show ends. There was some type of protest going on when we were there and there were police everywhere. Everything was under control, but the crowds were really heavy so it was hard to get close to the Rathaus.
We were hungry so we walked to Viktualienmarkt, the farmers’ market, and bought cheese and bread. We were lucky enough to be there on a Saturday when there were lots of vendors and people shopping. We sat at a table outside with lots of locals drinking beer and eating lunch, some even wearing lederhosen. We noticed that there were tons of really nice shops in Germany and Austria selling traditional derndals for both children and adults. It is hard to believe that there could possibly be that big a market.
 |
| Viktualienmarkt - Munich, Germany |
 |
| Dried Fruit - Viktualienmarkt - Munich, Germany |
We went into the Frauenkirche after lunch. So Sheila says. Connie was in a zombie-like state of exhaustion at this point having been completely unable to sleep on the plane. We didn’t climb any towers, although we had heard the views were spectacular and that supposedly you could see the mountains from there.
 |
| Karlsplatz - Munich, Germany |
As we headed back to our hotel to check in and take a nap, we saw a street band playing for tips. It included a cello and a grand piano; maybe it’s more accurate to say it was a street orchestra. When we woke up from our nap around dinner time, we were too exhausted to do much more than go back to bed and sleep until morning.
No comments:
Post a Comment