Day 1b - Munich to Fussen

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I board the train from the Munich airport to Munich Pasing station, a suburb station of the city. Schoolchildren were boarding along the way to ride into Munich. I would guess that these kids were ages 8 - 12, elementary school age. It was fun to watch them interact - no different than watching kids from the US, except that we don't usually see them in commute with adults going to work and tourists making their way from the airport. My very rough German allowed me to catch some of their conversations - girls teasing boys, boys teasing girls and so on. That helped pass the time, about 45 minutes, till my stop at Muich-Pasing, a suburb of Munich.

The train was a few minutes late in arriving, and I watched my connecting train depart the station as I climbed the last step to the platform. That's OK, the cold fresh air is needed right now as the jet lag is beginning to come alive. I took the opportunity to call my cousins in Germany to let them know I had arrived safely, and write a bit in my journal. There is some trace of snow on the ground, and I'm hoping that there will be more outside of the city in the higher elevations around Fussen.

On board my next train, I hear two young fellas speaking "American" English next to me. I strike up a conversation with them, and learn that they have been traveling since August, backpacking all over Europe, with their journey not ending until March. I would guess that they are in their mid to late 20's. They have covered the British Isles, France and The Netherlands, and from there over to Romania, Chek Republic and Hungary into Berlin, and are now making their way through Bavaria. They have done some odd-jobbing along the way, more for the experience than the money I gather, but find their conversations to be interesting and refreshing. They are a little homesick, and were glad to have me as a source of Stateside information and a dialect and language they could understand and speak fluently in. We continued to visit until we reached Fussen, where they departed in search of King Ludwig's Castles.

The terrain on the ride to Fussen gradually changed from flat to rolling hills, to the Alps in the background. The snow cover went from patches to several inches deep. As we passed near Kaufering, I saw a concrete monument bearing the Star of David near the tracks that I believe to be in memory of the many Jewish people who suffered during the Holocaust. I know that there were several camps located in the Kaufering area, and have read that there are a few memorial sites and monuments to the individuals who were imprisoned scattered about - nothing remaining of the camps themselves, just monuments. This must be one of them.

We arrived at the end of the line, and made our way to the bus, for the short ride (maybe 5 or 6 miles) into Fussen.

Fussen is an easy town to navigate through. My hotel, Hotel Kurcafe, was located a short block and a half from the station. Check in was easy, surprisingly did not need my credit card, and off I went to my room. For Europe, the size of my room was wonderful - a bit larger than most standard American Hotel rooms. However, I intentionally booked a double room vs. a single, and the room I selected is a corner room. I quickly got settled, did a quick shoe change, and off I went to explore the city.

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