Xmas 2014 - Munich: Day 11 Last Day

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My last day in Europe. Sigh. At least my flight did not leave until 9:40pm. I checked in online and was not able to get an aisle seat or window seat…. The only consolation is that I got a seat at the bulk head, so at least I wouldn't be squished in for more than 7 hours.

I slowly took my time packing and enjoying my last day of freedom. At 11:59am, there was a knock on my door - housekeeping. By this time, I had my coat, gloves and boots on, my bag packed, I was just doing a final check of the room. I told the guy, "Just five minutes please" ….. and he totally flipped out!!! He started yelling at me!!! I got so upset - I told him, "See me standing here in my coat??" It left a horribly sour taste in my mouth over an incredible 11 day vacation where I had not had any real problems. I almost cried. I took my stuff down to reception, asked them some questions and to hold my bag and told the girl about the housekeeper - she was sympathetic, but at the same time also did not really seem to care.

Oh well.

I asked the reception to recommend a good place to get a burger and beer and she steered me in the right direction. Just about two blocks away was a perfect restaurant. I was the first one there, thinking that maybe I was going to have the place to myself, but it quickly filled. The burger was delicious, the beer yummy, and the staff quite pleasant. That helped me feel a bit better.

I made my way towards the Pinakothek museums, but I must say, the wind was taken out of my sails. I really was quite bummed. I tried to rally and went to the Alte Pinakothek, which is the museum displaying the older pieces. It took a minute to find as the map I had showed the museum at a slightly different location, but I found it. It was only about 4 euros, though much of it was under refurbishment. The place was massive and impressive. I went up the long long stairs to the main galleries. The layout was overly impressive - very well done. It took me a few minutes to get the audio working, but once it did, I was happy with it. I only wished they'd had audio for more of the pieces - maybe one out of every 10 or 15 had audio on the history or meaning behind the paintings. The Peter Paul Reubens galleries were also closed. But it was generally a good experience, helping me to get out of my funk.

Walking through Munich in a pretty heavy snow was an experience. I grew up near Buffalo, so I know how to deal with the snow, but I've also spent the last 12 years living in Southern California and the middle eastern deserts - so, I was not as prepared as I normally would have been. I was starting to get cold, so I tried to stop every now and then in stores or archways to take a moment. I came near the Residence, the former palace of the Bavarian ruling family - the Wittelsbachs. It seems each member pretty much added onto the palace, making a huge complex which includes 10 courtyards. This place is huge and I just did not feel like going inside, so I wandered around some of the outer courtyards, casually checking for where I could enter. Ultimately, I decided just to wake my way back to Marienplatz where the beautiful old buildings are. As I was walking towards the old city center, I passed by this cute little shop which caters to children's German clothing. I went in and while I would have loved to get my niece and nephews traditional dress like leiderhosen, when would they actually wear this? I did buy something for my niece though. This is the type of gift I'm looking for - something genuine and made in the country you're in. Why go somewhere and buy something made in China? That just means you can buy it anywhere.

I made my way back to the square just in time to hear the church bells ringing all over the city - such a beautiful sound. I also noted how quickly they were dismantling the Christmas market stalls. A little sad! I walked into St Michael's Church, which I found to be the loveliest of all the churches in the vicinity. I loved the sculptures out front and the inside also did not disappoint. However, I had missed the tours of the crypts, which house the remains of many of the Wittelsbach rulers - I am morbid, I know.

Next, I hit a few fancy souvenir shops, where I managed to find some very cool authentic "made in Germany" items for some family members, including my sister and her husband, who were on the receiving end of some bad service with Amazon and my bank this christmas. How was I going to pack all this in???

At this point, I was weighted down with gifts and I was cold and tired. So, I went back to the hotel and got a beer, settling in to read my kindle. I finally got my airline tickets printed, directions from the guy at reception, and made my way to the train station. Taking the S8 train directly to the airport is about 45 minutes. Let me be clear: I never, ever steal. Ever. However, I tried very hard to get a ticket to the airport and kept failing and i could not find a ticket center to save my life in the huge underground; I did not want to stray too far from the line where I knew my train would come in and it was coming in four minutes. The guy at the hotel said they did not usually validate tickets, so I just went for it. And was never checked. I felt uncomfortable and guilty the whole ride, but it was a nice ride.

I was glad to have checked in already because there was a long ride at the counter even though I was more than 3 hours early, so I just had to check my bag. I asked if there were any business class seats available and was told the flight was full. Bummer. Probably a good thing, but business class is just so much better. I was able to get through customs relatively quickly and the officer was so incredibly friendly! He was just chatting with me and about my trip the whole time. Such a nice exit from the country. I was a little disappointed in the airport. I had recently seen that it was one of the top airports in the world, but they must have just focused on the other terminal(s) because mine was a joke. I got a half bottle of wine and a panini and settled in for the wait. The wine was yummy and I was getting tipsy, ready to get another bottle, but there was along line; again, probably a good thing! At one point, I heard my name called and got so excited - yes! A Business Class seat. Sadly, it was just a change in seats - since I was at the bulkhead, they gave my seat to family with a baby. Ok, and at least I got an aisle seat - much better. Oh, and the eye candy on this flight was awesome…

I had hoped to sleep on the flight, but was unable to… So, barely making my flight from Dubai to Doha, I passed the heck out on the hour flight home. Half asleep, I went straight to work, stayed for a couple of hours and went home…

What an amazing trip! I will have a separate blog, listing the highlight and lowlights of my journey.

Fit Bit results for my 11 day trip - Total steps/miles: 138,056/57.06. Average per day steps/miles: 12550.55/5.19. Best day steps/miles: 21,896/9.18 (Day 2 in Paris).

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Photos

Munich
with the New Town Hall and Frauenkirche

Alte Pinakothek
Seven saints - always love the depictions of the saints in just images

New Town Hall
dismantling the Christmas market stalls

German children clothes
kinder clothes!

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Wow
stunning