Munich Miscellany

I totally love Munich (aside from the massive amount of construction that's going on). Some random thoughts:

• Loving the food in Germany -- just like being at home.
• Radler is a wonderful discovery as a beverage
• They have stores called Drogerie, which is a bit like our Walgreens.  Great place to pick up deodorant & hairspray, but also wine & cookies (I got all of those).
• American music is very popular here; it's played over the speakers in many establishments.
• Curious thing about the transit system here: no one every checks to see that you have a ticket. When I first bought a ticket for the tram, I knew I had to 'activate' it in a machine onboard. I had read that in my research and is was easy enough to figure out by watching others. I noticed a lot of people just getting on, though, and figured they must have Day Passes.  I had seen the same thing when we took the Underground on our way to Dachau. I finally asked Keith about it. Apparently, there's an honor system in place and it is assumed that you're buying tickets. Authorities ride undercover and do random checks. 
• This city is full of amazing cars. I've seen Mercedes, BMW, and Mini (made by BMW), VW, Renault, Nissan, Toyota, Volvo, but not one American brand. I even saw a cherry red Ferrari parked on the street, and a guy in a Maserati almost ran me over!



Nice Ferrari parked on the street

The area near my hotel is very noisy.  It's on a path from the Viktulienmarkt to the Reichenbackplatz tram stop, and there's a bar down the street. One night, some people came down the sidewalk singing 'Hit the Road, Jack' in heavy German accents. Pretty funny.

Loving these breakfasts with liverwurst and soft-boiled eggs as options.

Great 2-way windows

Have I mentioned the great 2-way windows they have in the hotels in Europe?! With the handle turned up, the window cantilevers out from the top. With the handle to the side, it opens wide like a regular window -- and there have been no bugs! Handle down locks the window closed and it really shuts out the noise.

Memorial to Michael Jackson

On our Third Reich walking tour today we came across an unexpected attraction: a memorial to Michael Jackson! I loved it and, apparently, so did a lot of the German people.  Fresh flowers and memorial items everywhere!

Meandered around and found my way back to the Hofbrauhaus for dinner and came into a distinctly different environment. It was really crowded and there was an oompah band playing. I ordered sauerbraten and a huge mug of Radler, and just soaked up the fun atmosphere. There was a huge crowd of Brits there to watch the Manchester City vs Munich soccer game the next day. Looked like a lot of fans had come down for the match and they were really whooping it up.

Distinctive Pole in Viktulienmarkt

Oompah band playing at Hofbrauhaus

Figured there had to be a better way to get back to my hotel than the route I had come. There's a big distinctive pole in the Viktulienmarkt and I only had to wander a bit before spotting that pole. From there, it was an easy walk to the hotel.

I'm so glad I decided to sleep in tomorrow morning. It will be nice to have a leisurely breakfast and see the art museums.