OK, jet lag and drinking perhaps don't mix too well. I had only 2 drinks in the hotel lounge but ended up wide awake until 4:00 AM, which meant that I only got 2 hours of sleep because we had to catch a plane to Munich. Maybe it was the tiredness, maybe because I am gettng older, maybe because it was 100 percent humidity (although it was not raining), but getting to the airport was quite arduous. Because this is a 5-week trip, I really couldn't live out of one teensy suitcase so I brought 2 overnight suitcases that can be hooked together So there I was, trying to roll my 2 suitcases over an uneven brick sidewalk to the train station (the train to the airport costs 4.5 Euros, the taxi costs 60 Euros, a no brainer decision), over trolley tracks and into the train station. Then we had to figure out where to buy tickets, and even though the ticket lady gave us directions to the correct track, and even though there were signs, we still got confused about where to go and were grateful when someone asked us if we needed help. We finally found the correct train and then had to face lifting each of our suitcases (we each have 2) up to the train and then get on only to find it quite full so we had to stand the whole way to the airport.
We managed to get off at the right airport stop but I found that lifting the suitcases down to the ground was not easy. And then we discovered that the train station and the airport are all in one big area and we had uite a confusing time trying to find the KLM ticket desk. By this time we were already hot and sweaty! After that, however, we only had ot go through all the usual airport rigamarole and the flight was easy and we arrived in the late afternoon.
Although we were really tired and dying for a nap, we decided on the better strategy of walking from our hotel to the Munich central train station (about a 10 minute walk) to get our bearings because we'll be taking day tours that meet there. And what a difference! The layout all made sense, the signs were really helpful and we found what we needed right awaz even though the place is huge. After that we went for a very Bavarian dinner -- ended up having the German version of macaroni and cheese and typical Bavarian roast pork with a potato dumpling (that's what they call it but I call it a tennis-ball size piece of lead) and coleslaw, washed down with a great Bavarian beer. By 8:30 PM we were back at the hotel and we simply crashed.
One interesting thing we have noticed is that both in Amsterdam and in Munich, people no longer smoke in restaurants -- it is wonderful.
The next day, we had a great Bavarian day. It was a holiday (Ascension Day but also called Men's Day) and although the shops were closed, the people watching was fun. Groups of men were walking around in one of the main squares wearing traditional lederhosen (we even found an outlet store that sells lederhosen and dirndl outfits) and roaming from beer hall to beer hall. Nobody seemed to be roaring drunk. While sitting at an outdoor cafe (despite the ominously dark clouds and cold wind) and having coffee, we heard a commotion and watched a huge beer wagon pulled by two Percherons and filled with men duded up in traditional costume (complete with boar bristle brushes on their hats) sitting on benches down the sides of the wagon with a table going down the middle, singing and drinking. That was followed a few minutes later by 4 men pulling a wagon that they had clearly built together, consisting of a table on wheels with a table cloth that partially concealed a beer keg underneath and an umbrella. On top of the table was a rack on one end with a bunch of soft pretzels hanging, a contration that sliced thin shavings off a large daikon radish, a very very loud bell that they rang often, and 4 beer steins that looked like miniature beer kegs. When they got to the middle of the square, they stopped, pulled out 2 benches from under the cart, sat down and started drinking and singing. Definitely a BIG favorite with the tourists.
Our big accomplishment of the day was to find the ticket machine to buy a multiple-day tram ticket (the machine was not near a tram stop), then figure out what the tram stops look like and how to use the ticket in the machine in the tram, and then figure out how to indicate that we wanted to get off. Sounds not so difficult but it took quite a while.
Dinner was another traditional Bvarian meal at a restaurant that makes their own beer Beef and beer goulash with the obligatory lead-potato dumplings, a surprisingly fresh salad that was not pickled, and a kind of pizza on a dough made from the dried grains left over from the beer making. Very good.
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