And the Germany adventure begins... not with a whisper, but with a thud

---

And so we were off to Munich, first stop on our two week Germany, Austria, and Czech Republic adventure.

I don't know about anyone else, but the first day of a trip is always the most dramatic for me, mixed somewhere between anxiety, excitement, and just plain rotten luck. This year was no different, starting with an extra half hour at check in because Air Berlin had my Dad's name wrong in the computer (Um, his last name is Cole, not Jr.??) and they had to fix it before we could get through security. After a few heart pounding moments, we were on the other side of the security point (What, no pat downs?? How disappointing TSA...) and had a comparatively uneventful wait for our plane, followed by a relatively uneventul flight on the most uncomfortable seats I have ever had the unpleasure to sit 11 hours in. Not to mention TVs only every 5 rows in the center aisle so pretty much no one can see them. Sigh, at least their service was good (and their prices can't be beat for summer travel to Germany).

We changed planes in Dusseldorf to a much smaller, much nicer AB plane to Munich and arrived only 5 minutes late, grabbed our luggage and made the trek to the S-bahn where I proceeded to almost buy the wrong ticket (don't always trust advice on the internet! I read it was cheaper to buy the stripe tickets, which is not the case if you are three people). Buy the Partner Day pass (it was about 20 euro for the trip to Hbf). .

We checked in at InterCity Hotel which is in a perfect location, right next to the train station and walking distance to Marienplatz. They also include breakfast and a free City Pass for your entire stay, and rooms are pretty inexpensive for Europe. Just ask for an extra pillow... they are flat as a pancake. =(

We dropped our stuff off, walked to Marienplatz, and ate dinner at Zum Augustiner, which is HUGE and has outdoor seating both in front and back (unfortunately both were full so we ended up inside). We had Augustiner beer (great) and I had Munich sausages which came in a bowl of water (um, not very pretty to look at but tasted okay). Afterward we wandered around and then headed our jet lagged selves back toward the hotel, where my Dad took a head dive over a wooden box placed stupidly in the middle of the sidewalk. Do you remember when I mentioned rotten luck? Here's where that part came in. We thought we'd be spending the next day watching him get stitches (as I am writing this on Day 2, thankfully, we did not), and this is how Day 1 in Munich ended, with a very large thud, a bloody head, and an uncertain plan for the next day...

---

Photos

Neues Rathaus
Favorite bulding in Munich

A pig (um, on the left)
I have no idea what this is for

Neues Rathaus
Favorite bulding in Munich