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Published: December 11th 2008
Her voice is calm and seductive, "Recalculating, recalculating, make a legal u-turn at the first available opportunity..." Even so, after awhile it does get annoying, to the point we turned off sound volume...
We nick-named this marvel of technology "Inga". Since there were three of us on this trip, I thought it would be nice for you to read Kate's version of "Inga", the rental car's GPS...
"Keith, being Keith, had done an exceptional job of planning the trip. Exceptional. From the places we would go, to where we would stay, and to how we would get there. Being ever practical, as well as printing maps, he rented us a new best friend for the journey... Inga! She was our Neverlost, and provided us a constant source of information as we drove from one spot to the next. She was an interesting best friend, however, because she was terribly weak on the take off, and exceptionally strong on the landing!
As we exited the airport, she convinced us that circling it (twice!) was actually the way that we needed to go to reach Rothenburg. Keith decided to trust the paper map and off we went.... While Inga 'recalculated',
smokers
in Munich's Chriskindlmarktwe were safely on our way and then on the approach to Rothenburg she couldn't have been more accurate. I watched her and told Keith which way to go, and as we entered the town gates, she led us from one little cobbled street to the other, and when she announced "you have arrived" we were literally within inches of the hotel! Quite an amazing invention the GPS, it certainly paid off on this part of the journey.
As we left the pretty little town of Rothenburg, we trusted Inga again to help us find our way to the castles. Again, she was terrible on the takeoff, but Keith knew the way out of town and we were on our way. So with our trusted double maps, the paper and the electronic kind, Keith followed Inga most of the way. We were following her directions, but as we got closer to the castles Keith's paper map won out, and whilst Inga 'recalculated', we began weaving around trying to reach the castles, finding that the written directions were difficult to follow. After driving aimlessly for a while, we turned around, trusted Inga again, and upon reaching the entrance to
where else, but Hofbrauhaus
we had a beer for Charlie and a beer for Peter! and a beer for... the castle, she spoke those magical words "you have arrived". We decided that we probably should have trusted her in the first place.
We left Reutte in good time on Sunday morning after a short walk and marveling at this little town at the base of the Alps. The town had amazing views of the mountains, and fortunately, thanks to Inga's poor take off skills, we were to spend the next part of the journey driving through them. As always, we programmed her perfectly, and she couldn't find the way out of town. So while I (who drove this part of the journey, excited to get the chance to drive the Autobahn!) made circles a couple of times, and Inga 'recalculated' we soon found ourselves on curvy roads leading out of the Alps and onto the main highway to reach Munich. Our roundabout way probably took us 30 minutes longer, but certainly the views were worth it.
Note to travelers on German Rental Car Agencies! Beware, the walk is LONG....! In the states, most airports shuttle you from the airport to the rental car return. I always thought this a hassle and a cumbersome part of
the whole experience. Having walked MILES in both Frankfurt and Munich lugging suitcases and backpacks, we would have enjoyed the shuttle bus. Whilst we found the cars and made our flights, certainly we didn't find the experience terribly user friendly. Oh, and it was such fun to watch Keith's comfort level when he had to leave Inga in the car, just sitting on the front seat, having to trust the German rental car return guy 'not to worry'! We'll have to check the credit card bill for the car closely!..." (thanks Kate)
For all the charm of Rothenburg and Neuschwanstein, Munich was a nice change. Kate drove us around the city, as our guide directed her through the streets. With less than 24 hours, this seemed to be the best way to see the most.
So, our quick itinerary included driving out to Nymphenburg to see the palace and walk the royal grounds, and then over to the Olympic Park, we took the elevator up to the top, where we had a vista view of the city.
The churches were having advent services, and we sat in on one. Again no understanding of the lesson, but with the
season we felt we knew the topic. Of course it could have been business meeting to present the church's budget, for all we know! But there was hymn singing, and some of the congregation lit little candles at their seats.
Our stroll through Christmas market was scented with roasted almonds and the spices of the warm gluhwein. My souvenir is the little mug the mulled wine is served in. Kate struck up a conversation with a potter. She now has a nice souvenir! From the balcony of the New Town Hall, a choir was performing. With the huge lit tree, and the market going on it was a wonderful beginning to the holidays.
And the highlight of the evening was our supper and beer drinking at Hofbrauhaus. The world's most famous beer hall since 1644. We sat with at a table with a couple from the north of Germany. It was great to talk with them and hear about their opinion of the oompah music. They didn't care for it, too southern!
And if my german translation is correct, for this blogs title, I think I said thanks to everyone in Bavaria, or something to that affect!
Frauenkirche
Munich's twin onion domed spires (14/12 - thanks for your help F.R. I have renamed the blog as you suggested!)
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Florian R.
non-member comment
Nice to read about my home in a blog entry from foreigners. It is always interesting to read other people's opinion about your home. You really took gorgeous pictures! And, by the way, the title would be "Bayern, ich danke Ihnen" or, less polite "Bayern, ich danke dir"! :) Bye!