Munich

Walked to the main train station in Prague without too much trouble (it was not the one we came in through). While we were looking for our gate, a grubby-looking “porter” came over and insisted on showing us the way, after first insisting that we buy some food, as there would be none on the train. He then manhandled my bag from me, and started moving us in the direction we had been headed. Owen finally got him to leave us, after a small tip, and we managed to find platform 2 (there are only 6) on our own. He was worth the $3 tip, as he was right about no food on the train and we are glad we bought some sandwiches and brought some snacks and water.

The scenery so far is very much like BC – orchards, farms, hills and mountains, lakes, rivers, some cows, a couple of deer and a rooster crossing a street – their canola crop is a bit ahead of ours. It is rainy and cold-looking outside the windows – a good day for traveling.

Arrived a few minutes late at the Munich station, and following the directions John left us, had no trouble finding the right metro line or getting off at the correct stop. Finding the hotel was a bit more of a challenge – choosing church spires to navigate by may have been a mistake – there are several in every direction. Our hotel (Am Markt) is just around the corner from a very large street market (hence the name), selling cheese, fruit and vegetables, baking, meat, and bedding plants. Our room is as tiny as the one in Prague, but with twin beds. It looks like this hotel was built without ensuite bathrooms (as there are WCs and showers down the hall) Our room has a bathroom that was obviously added later – it is much like a wheelchair-accessible port-a-potty with a shower – all one piece, with plastic walls, floor and ceiling, that has been drywalled into the corner of our room.

Having nothing but nuts and a very suspect sandwich bought at the train station - one slice of red pepper and one slice of cucumber and a piece of lettuce on a bun – we were hungry. Found a nearby restaurant and had spaghetti and lasagne and beer. Then decided to have a stroll around the area and see what there was to be seen. Lots of people riding bicycles at rush hour. There are some familiar stores here – Zara, H&M, Body Shop – and lots of old churches and buildings. We tried to get in to a few of the churches. Most (like churches in the other cities we have visited) have the outside door open, but a grill across the back of the church, so that you can look, but not enter. A few wrong turns along the evening stroll helped us find some amazing fountains, gardens, and buildings.

Tomorrow – a museum! This was the one John wanted to see – has 17Km of hallways and the guidebook says it would take weeks to see everything, but we will give it a shot and take good notes for John!