Munich Germany

• sat next to untalkative byt nice German gal w/ good American accent on way from SFO to Munich
• non-stop there, 2 stops on the way back (Frankfort and Chicago)
  • in Chicago, layover and delay (almost thought I wouldn't make it b/c of customs though!). But delay gave me extra time. Got to tour the cockpit of 747. Ate at famous downtown german Chicago place, got irritated at cashier, talked to woman going back east who kept prodding me while I was on the phone. Didn't get a hold of Vicki Liebman but she was at the airport that evening! Darn.
• Free booze on intl. leg of plane, I had very little on the way.
• On way there, woke to find what looked like vast ice shelf under clouds. Might have just been another layer of clouds. Eerie, watching land start to appear on the other side
• rented a Diesel Mercedes. Actually drove really nicely
• Driving on Autobahn, you don't see tons of lit up cities or billboards along the road.
• No clickety clack on the welded railway rails
• Seemed funny seeing a moon in Germany as insane as that sounds
• Friendly people throughout, all spoke english
• Not that many super fast drivers, max speed was 120kph
• first night's dinner: pictures mounted flush into the paneling, plump waiter, smoking is ok, 20% tax (!), real fireplace, vension sampler given to me to be nice (tasty). Had lamb which had a nice orange-colored sauce. Dark Franziskaner beer. Bee-Gees and other 60s/70s american music on the radio seemed funny. Included "dream a little dream" by Mama's & Papa's that Jenny likes so much
• Magazines out in the open with topless women are common
• Germans love sparkling water
• My room was small, but adequate with a decent bathroom. Poor Joe Fernandes had a slanted roof room, tiny bathroom. They have very interesting radiators with a thermostat knob right on them! Like BMW controls, they look primitive but they're sophisticated
• BSF class was too far away. They only have 2 women's classes in all of Germany! Christianity is not booming in the EU! No Gideon's Bible in the room.
• Brought my 'Ender's Shadow' book, but read mostly the 'Shadow Rising' WoT book.
• Cold, like midwest. But clear skies and stars. Thank goodness I brought my ski jacket and liner! Poor Tom Fernandes just had a ski sweater and froze the night we went to the Brauhaus.
• At the Brauhaus, there was a black woman in the men's restroom. Funny to see black people speaking German
• There was a black exercise guy who had a show where he'd switch from english to german where it made sense
• The roads don't have 'N/S/E/W' on them for direction - you have to know the destination town at the end
• Saw cool LED flashlight I passed on for $30 and wished I had got it. Also had an egg boiling device shaped like an egg to tell you when it was done.
• Brought back some Cuban cigars, chocolote for sister and wife, a newspaper for sister, a honey candle, some glass elephant figurines
• Tom Lehmann bought a big train set at a cool store selling trains.
• Kind of interesting to see white in ordinary jobs but then again I'm from California
• The hotel had a very space efficient garage underneath it with what appeard to be stacking lifts in some of the spaces. The ramp going into it (curved) had offset bricks to give you traction.
• They didn't stamp my passport! Bummer.
• In Munich downtown, wandered into a performance area where they did Opera or Ballet
• In Munich downtown, wandered around the Christmas market. There was even a row dedicated to nativity sets incl little glowing fires and smoking pots
  • also had some delicious roasted nuts. brought some home
  • had some great glauwein, which was wine with cider or something

-- MattWalsh - 11 Feb 2003