...my true love gave to me - two warm gloves...
Yep it is pretty chilly here in beautiful Munich. As our plane was coming in for a landing the sun was shining and I could see mountains in the distance and what I thought was a blanket of thick snow on the ground. But with a closer look, it was just low clouds ... aka dense fog. As the plane landed, my first sighting of the ground was immediately as our plane touched the runway. Only one other time have I ever experienced landing in such a soup of fog, in London I think, but it is kinda scary once you think about it. The tower couldn't see us and we couldn't see it (or the ground). Kudos to our pilot.
We bought a ticket to ride the train from the airport to Munich. We went ahead and bought a 3 day pass so we can hop on and off the trains as we pleased. The lady at the ticket counter was very helpful. So as we got on the train we started figuring out the routes. Looked like spaghetti to me, but Guy was on it and had our final destination mapped out in a jiffy. The train ride was about 40ish minutes and we stood the entire time as the train was full, but it felt good to stretch the legs after the long flight. As we came to our final train stop, we lugged our suitcases up the stairs of the train station to see our hotel on the other side of the tracks. So down we went and back up the other side. As we came up the stairs, viola! there was our hotel. Pretty darn handy being right above the train station.
When we checked in (about 11am by this time) our room was ready and we went up to check it out. Conveniently located on the 4th floor (could do the stairs if necessary) we unloaded our things and decided to get some lunch. The really nice guy at the desk (who also happened to be quite funny) gave us directions to a nice place for lunch, "a nice stretch of the legs through the park" he said. Well that was fine for me as I had my big coat on, but Guy on the other hand wasn't quite prepared for the misty cold we were walking in. But just like he told us, up the street and through the park. It was a lovely walk and the little park was cute. I'm sure on a warm beautiful day it would be packed with kids and families and sweethearts on blankets.
So for lunch we were given menus translated into English. I chose the "meatloaf" and Guy had pork schnitzel. Both of our dishes came with potato and cucumber salad. When it arrived it looked fantastic. We were expecting the potato salad to be hot, but it was indeed cold. However, being a big fan of German potato salad, I loved it! My main entree was a bit trickier. The menus we were given were translated into English and I ordered the "Meatloaf". German meatloaf is more like a few thick slices of bologna that had been seared and had a fried egg on top. Not ham, not bologna. Either way, it was quite tasty and the apple struedel at the end topped of a delicious lunch.
The walk back to the hotel was again a bit chilly, but we felt sleep coming on and it was only about 1pm. The funny guy at the desk asked how lunch was. We were explaining everything we had (he explained the "meatloaf" as a very traditional Bavarian food and called it something in German) and after we told him we ended it with struedel he said "Well, you can get back on the plane and go back home now" LOL. - When we got back to the room, we took long hot showers, brushed our teeth, set our alarm and out we went for about 3 hours. I know you aren't supposed to do that, but it seems to work ok for us. However, when the alarm went off at 5pm it was a struggle to get up. So a phone call to home and a chat with the parents got us awake and moving.
So tonight was our first Christmas market experience. I guess we were not thinking about it being Saturday night - and I suppose it was kinda cool to see one of these markets in full swing, but my goodness, it was packed. For those with issues of being in big crowds, Saturday night at the Christmas market is NOT for you! We really just got a taste of what was happening, went in and out the some of tents, got some food (potato pancakes, kraut, and a pretzel) and gluhwein (yes it is as delicious as everyone says it is) then headed back to the room. All in all we were there just under 3 hours and I couldn't take the crowd anymore. We went into the one tent with music playing and you literally were smashed up against someone else from all sides. It was unnerving. Two words: FIRE CODE. There obviously isn't such a thing at the market. I did stand in line for a crepe for 45 mintues. It was ok for a couple of reasons... they smelled soooo good and it was nice to take a break from the crowds. So we totally understand it was a Saturday night and Guy was amazed by the crowds, but we are looking forward to checking out some of the shops during the day and experiencing it again on a Monday night. (and perhaps a few other smaller markets) I've already spied a few items I'd like to purchase, but tonight was not the night.
My photos are slow to load, so I'll add them in the morning. Even tho I'm not really tired, it is almost 12:30 pm, so I better work on getting my internal clock straightened out. Good night from Munich, will report back tomorrow.
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