Thunderstorms, traffic waits, a castle and a Brauhaus!

August 8, 2010

Wow!

So much happened today it is already hard to remember everything.

Left Bolzano after a continental breakfast in the hotel during which we booked two nights in a hotel on the beach in Dieppe.
Went through the Brenner Pass. Absolutely spectacular scenery. Looming mountains, terraced hillsides, tiny villages, geranium flower boxes. Beautiful.
Crossed the border into Austria and headed towards Innsbruck. Got caught in a traffic hold up for half an hour. Sang along with sappy country music on the iPod and actually enjoyed it.
Stopped and had coffee and shared a muffin. Should have had the apple strudel. When in Rome . . . you know.
Reached Fussen just over the border into Germany. Since we were trying to navigate without a map today (foolish) we parked in the wrong P 4 parking lot, and ended up having the most expensive bathroom break--parking lot fee plus a coffee so we could use the restaurant's bathroom.
Corrected ourselves and headed for the Neuschwanstein castle. Another expensive mistake. Bought the parking ticket for 4.5 euros, walked through the pouring rain, had a look at the length of the line for the bus to take us up to the castle and agreed that (a) this would not be a life-changing experience, and (b) photos from the parking lot would be just fine.
Headed up the Romantic Road through yet more incredible scenery. I "omg"ed it for most of the way. Rolling green hills, happy cows, tidy farm houses bedecked with
geraniums, even their woodpiles were tidy. Loved it.
Arrived in Munich and our (at the moment) beloved GPS led us straight to our hotel. We've discovered the secret to getting a great hotel room: pay more! In a Sheraton tonight. So glad to have a super comfortable bed even though the hotel lacks the personality of the great B&B's we have had.
Proud of ourselves tonight. Our goal for Munich was to revisit Marienplatz and to eat in a Brauhaus. This required taking the subway. We actually figured it out and got off at the right spot. Pretty good for two people who don't speak German. As soon as we came up the stairs out of the subway, we remembered why we loved Munich the first time we were here. It is such an exciting city and such a well-orchestrated mix of the old and the new. Just as we were about to watch the glockenspiel in Marienplatz, the main square, the skies let loose and it started pouring. We ran to a covered area and tried to wait it out. We had been looking for a particular brauhaus (without a map . . . ) but found another one. Loved it! A true Bavarian experience. It was a typical old style German beer house, complete with a boar's head, antlers, rifles, beer kegs, and steins. We broke with our non-meat habits and ordered beer and weiner schnitzel. When in Rome . . .

A perfect end to the day was walking back through the square under a rainbow (no kidding) and stopping to listen to a chamber music group playing Pachabel's Canon.
Wow!