Grey Day in Munich

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Tuesday 26^thMay. The 7:30 ICE train from Jenbach brought me to Munich by 9:00am. Some nice countryside along the way, but couldn't see any of the towns as the railway is all walled in with 'sound barriers', more like 'graffiti walls', through every town. My hotel, quite near the station, was extremely accommodating and allowed me to check-in at 9.30. I had advised them of my train time. A very grey day, with occasional rain sprinkles.

I spent the morning at the Deutsches Museum Verkehrszentrum, basically their transport museum, about 20 mins walk from here. Very interesting and well laid out, with some classic and wonderful cars, trucks & trains. They also had a number of interesting displays on road safety, electric cars, railway technology, etc.

In the afternoon I walked around the historic city centre, saw the Glockenspiel working, and strolled through the markets. The city centre was very busy with shoppers. I encountered a few more ‘unphotographable’ buildings, very large buildings hemmed in by other buildings, eg the Rathaus. I really need a camera with a wide-angle lens!

Tomorrow I am off to the airport for the trip home. Summing up seven and a half weeks travelling in Europe is not easy. I really had four distinct trips: the school tour, the two weeks driving in Ireland, the French Language Immersion in Toulouse, and the Austrian trip. Each was very different to the others. I am not going to pick a favourite, but maybe name one highlight from each.

For the school trip, I think the day in Provins, with the wonderful Birds of Prey show, and the delicious lunch at the crèperie. In Ireland, so many scenic highlights, but probably the drive through the Glenveagh National Park in Donegal was the most memorable. In Toulouse, the weekend with the open cockpit day at the aircraft museum and then the Cité de l’Espace the following day was great, but without doubt best of all was the overnight trip to Millau which allowed me to see the viaduct - it was super-amazing! In Austria my most memorable would be the two days in Obertraun, despite the clouds and rain, because of the peace and quiet, and all the different beautiful views.

I will have to come back again, to see more of Germany and perhaps Scandinavia – would love to see the Aurora Borealis! But for the moment it’s time to go home and get back to work to pay for all this!

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Photos

New York to Paris Competitor
This race inspired the movie "The Great Race" with Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Jack Lemmon & Peter Falk. A classic movie, see it if you haven't already!