This morning we decided that our two long journeys (Munich and Prague) would be now and the end of our trip. In-between we would do day trips to closer German cities. Since Munich (Munchen in German) is six to seven hours away by the fastest (ICE) trains, we could ride it the rest of Sunday and then be ready to explore Munich tomorrow before riding a late train back.
The hard part ended-up being understanding the rail system. There are helpful people, but most only spoke a little German until we reached the main station. We set out for Hauptbanhauf, the main station, but we mistakenly went to Friedrichstrasse Banhauf.
We bought our World Cup special ticket and then tried to get some help knowing where to go to catch our train. The gentleman who helped us tried to put us on the night train with regional trains instead of the shorter ICE trains. We asked if we could take the ICE trains and he said no. I knew we could and that ICE trains ran all night. So we said danke and went off to find out why.
Being at the wrong station was important. Most of the ICE trains leave from Hauptbanhauf, so when Alicia looked at the station map and pointed out that we were in Friedrichstrasse Banhauf, we understood. We hopped on the next train to Hauptbanhauf and when we got there knew we shouldn't have ever mistaken it. Hauptbanhauf is enormous and beautiful.
After a short visit with an English-speaking agent, we were on our way to platform two (no platform 9-3/4 that we could see). It was easy after that.
While riding along I have noticed a slight obsession of mine, windmills. Not the old storybook kind, nor the kind that are in Altamont pass near Livermore, California. These are huge! The propellers are probably 6 stories in diameter and 15 stories up.
I found there is something sublime about listening to a Rachmmaninoff piano concerto while speeding through the German countryside at sunset. I know of a few people who would relish in the colors thrown out by the sun as it passes in and out of clouds, through trees, and over towns older than America.
It was pretty late when we arrived in Munich. By the time we stopped I had reviewed the map on my phone and knew where the nearest subway stop was to the hotel.
Since in all German cities with subways that I know of have the main subway station as the central hub, it was pretty easy to catch the subway and after a couple stops we were there. Well, almost there. It didn't look like the best part of town at night. So I plotted a new route that kept us on well lit paths and we arrived without incident.
We booked the hotel online using hotels.com and paid online in dollars. The night clerk thought we hadn't paid and wanted to charge us 125€. I corrected him and after he confirmed it, we were just fine. I think I really like hotels.com. 125€ is their standard rate and hotels.com sold me the same room for $75. That is equivalent to 52€. I saved 73€ or about $108. I always thought most online hotel sites saved you a little if anything.
Tomorrow we look forward to the former capital of Bavaria, former host of the summer Olympics, and front-runner for the 2018 winter Olympics.
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