Day 2 in Munich...

Decalage horaire, quelle horreur!!! Which translates to up at 4am and what to do?

Breakfast is only served at 6:30am...Had plenty of time to shower and doll myself up for the excursion today to Harburg castle and then to Rothenburg, a medieval village.

Breakfast at the hotel-a treat
Getting dolled up this morning-brilliant intuition (I even had lipstick on at that hour)
Getting asked to join a young American for breakfast at 6:30am-PRICELESS!

David was a cutie of an American, training to be a chef. He was on business to learn from senior chefs (Michelin stars) and worked along their sides. Worldly, well-spoken, strong and solid beliefs and somewhat comical in nature. After being showered with compliments about my hair, eyes and VOICE ( as he closed his eyes to describe what it is he likes-yum), he asks me how old I am- to which I reply "consider me, Mrs. Robinson".

He never heard of The Graduate...clearly I dated myself. David is 28.
God we ALL need pick me ups like this...to remind us that we are not just middle aged mothers, with typical life stressors. How nice to be looked at and TOLD "you are attractive-Hell, you don't need plenty of fish".
...and NO I WILL NOT BE SEEING him, as he left town. It was just a lovely breakfast with a perfect stranger!!!! Thanks David for putting a smile on my face so early in the day!!

I walked merrily to the train station, to meet the tour company. Petra was a drab tour guide and someone remind me to "NEVER JOIN A BIG ASS TOUR AGAIN" with American teenagers. I know I have American viewers here...but these guys lacked a global education, manners, basic knowledge. Makes me wonder what is happening in high schools.

The grayline bus hit the autobahn... and we were told this highway system is THANKS to Hitler. He wanted to reduce unemployment levels, back then. To do so, he ordered the creation of autobahns. The speed limit on most of these highways is 130km/hr. That being said, 19% of the autobahns are SPEED LIMIT FREE. Who needs the Grand Prix?

We made it to Harburg castle and thanks to Wikipedia, one knows that "Harburg is a town (population 6,000) on Bavaria's romantic road boasting one of the most impressive remaining medieval castles in Germany. It is in the Donau-Ries district.
The castle was first mentioned in 1150 and has never been seriously damaged by war. Unlike many other German castles which were often built in the last 200 years or rebuilt after World War II, the castle Harburg retains the feel of the Middle Ages. Michael Jackson has called Harburg "the castle of my dreams", and he tried (unsuccessfully) to buy it.
The village itself is quaint with many footpaths and a historic stone bridge."

We drove an hour more to Rothenburg ob der Tauber, in the district of Ansbach of Mittelfranken. It is a well-preserved medieval old town. The name of this village comes from German, meaning Red fortress above the Tauber river.
The village was also an inspiration for Walt Disney's movie Pinocchio.
There was a band from Wisconsin, Ambassadors of music,with over 100 gifted musicians who performed for the tourists. Nice way to relax and enjoy the scenery.

On the ride back, my American teenage FRIENDS, decided to be loud and obnoxious for the duration of the THREE hour ride back....Calgon and Grey GOOSE take me away.

About thirty minutes close to Munich, we drove over The Danube river and I thought of Strauss' An der schönen blauen Donau. Here's my conundrum: That river was not blue...the water was as clear as could be. Which brings me to my next thought: was Strauss living a blue moment?

Tomorrow, Salzburg, Austria for the day....can't wait to walk the streets of Wolfgang and the place where The Sound of Music was filmed....

For now, Auf Wiedersehen!

First impressions of Munich, Germany

Guten tag,

Yesterday was officially my first day in Munich. I chose Munich, based on my trip last summer when I flew into this city and had a chance to check out the aerial view of this place. I had found it charming, green and somewhat peaceful below the clouds.

The flight to Munich yesterday was a breeze. I even had a chance to nap, which isn't something I do all that easily. The airport is in the midst of a forest. The city center of Munich is about 30km. I tried to negotiate with a desert dwelling cab driver, to no avail. I even begged! Failure totale!!!

I arrive at the sofitel in Bayerpost and the lovely blue-eyed, blond haired lady desk manager informs me that it will take a few hours to give me a room, as the hotel is fully booked. She convinces me to drop everything and begin discovering the area.

So my discovery of this city begins....a stroll along Bayer strasse/street, where I am surprised to see so many Lebanese vendors. Arabic writing on the store windows, signs, menus... I continue along Neuhauser Strasse and Kaufinger strasse/street to reach old town,a touristy, cobble-stoned square with cafes, a town hall, and a church. It is said that between 1319 and 1791, this gateway served as the entrance to the Old City through the second fortified ring wall.
Nearby is the Burgersaalkirche (church) which holds the tomb of Father Rupert Mayer, whose opposition to the Nazis cost him his life.

Once I arrived to the square, I found a nice outdoor cafe and enjoyed my morning latte and watched people walk on by. I was blown away by the TALL folks walking by, the mannequins at H&M were GIANT size to represent the German population. The locals have a sense of style. The women are elegantly dressed and the men HAD NICE SHOES and Jeans (I guess now would be a good time to tell you have a shoe fettish-men's shoe that is!!!) I was too tired to pull out my camera and focus...hohum....otherwise, I would have been clicking away to add to my collection of Men around the World!

At 11am I had the pleasure of listening to the Glockenspiel/Carillon of the New Town Hall, a neo-gothic building which was erected between 1867 and 1909. The 85 meter tower is a Bavarian attraction, with its 43 bells, and 32 almost life-size figurines which dance and entertain the crowds. The dance has something to do with the celebration of the wedding of Duke Wilhelm V to Renata of Lorraine.

I continued meandering for the next three hours and returned to the hotel, only to find out that my room was no where ready. They asked me to kindly be seated ans they would get back to me. I began observations of the patrons of this hotel. Burkas, black veils, while their MEN wore tank tops, shorts and sandals. Did I forget to mention that the temperatures were in the 35C and humid!!! I felt I could have been in Qatar, Dubai, Kuwait....and wait a second they are getting room keys!!! Why???
Oh manager....Jet lag finally reached its toll.

I did get a room and Bassam my syrian porter was kind enought to escort me to my room. I coudn't keep it in...from one desert dweller to another, I asked him "wasss up with all the burkas???" He laughed!!!!Hysterically!
Apparently, the Saudis can't stanf their local weather in the fifties; they travel on holiday to cooler climates ( like Munich's 30s) to chill!!! ...and shop apparently. Of course, true to Tania, I then asked..."shop for what????The Burkas cover everything, including NOSTRILS!!!" He burst out laughing again.

I settled in my room and turned on some television...only to see TV Kuwait, TV Dubai, TV SAUDI, TV AL Jazeerah and this went on...no joke.
Don't you think, somewhere on the hotel brochure or web page, they should have removed them gorgeous German blonds I like to check out and instead displayed Burka central....that way, I can choose to go there or NOT?? Just sayin'....if I wanted to see Qatar, I would have flown there, no?