Day 2 in Munich

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I rented a car today. The rental company was 5 miles from the hotel. That meant I had to find my way back. Turned the key, car jumped 5 feet. STICK SHIFT! I haven’t driven a stick in 10 years. None of the signs made any sense, but Jerry and I made it back without incident.

After a scrumptious breakfast at our hotel (King’s Center, highly recommended) we wandered back down to the old part of town. There are hundreds of little streets (strasse’s) that are filled with shops of all kinds. One square had a farmers market, and all of the squares this time of year are serving sausages, sauerkraut and spiced wine.

For lunch we made the mandatory trip to the Hofbrau Haus. What a fun place. Lots of people including locals in traditional dress, drinking huge tankards of beer and listening to the small band. The atmosphere reeked of Bavaria. The waiter suggested I try the pig’s knuckles, and having avoided them all my life, I finally broke down. Delicious. When in Munich, do as the Munchkins do! We all (yes all) had some beer and a grand old time.

At this point, I would like to introduce guest blogger Jerry:

Hey. Its jerry. These Germans really know how to live. We had lunch at the Hofbrauhaus today, and it was great. There were enormous glasses of beer, grilled sausages, and bands wearing lederhosen playing polka music. It was great. I could live there if they would let me. That was one of the highlights of the trip for me so far.

In the afternoon we drove to Salzburg, Austria. Once settled in the hotel we walked to the old town of Salzburg. Hard to believe there could be a more quaint locale than Munich, but Salzburg is it. There is a huge Christmas market that spills over two squares.

It’s very cold here (-1C) but they are not expecting snow for Christmas. Ach!

Tomorrow it’s back to the Christmas Market to find a small Christmas tree for our room and explore the Castle at the top of the hill that you can see in the picture.

Larry

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Photos

Salzburg At Night
Across the Salzach River

Hofbrau Haus
Jerry, jumping to get in

Boys & Beer
An Excellent Bavarian Dark

Salzburg Christmas Market
"You takin' a picture of me?"