We got up a little early this morning to do a little last-minute packing. The phone rang around 8am and the concierge told me that our bus was here. We were scheduled to leave at 10am. OK, he’s pretty early, but we’ve noticed that he often shows up early and waits outside the hotel. No big deal. We finished up in the room and then headed down to breakfast where we saw Pi & his family and Mary Theresa and Lauche. Around 8:45, as we were waiting for our omlettes, the hostess came by and told us that the concierge was concerned about the traffic, since it was raining. He said we needed to leave a little early. How early? 9am –in 15 minutes! We told her that we’d do our best and continued waiting nervously for our breakfast to arrive. A few minutes later, our guide, Sylvie came in and told us it was a false alarm. They had planned to take Kent to the airport for his earlier flight to Krakow, Poland, but he had already left in a taxi. So, we tried to relax and finish up our meal.
We were a little concerned, because nobody had heard from Cristina, but she & the girls showed up right on time and we pulled away from the hotel around 10:15am. The check-in process at the airport was done at the typical French relaxed pace and took forever. At one point, one of the agents flipped her sign to closed, stood up and left without a word to anyone. I thought Pi was going to have a fit! Finally, they got us all checked in and on our way to security. Roland and Sandy got singled out for a more extensive search and were held up for a bit, while the rest of us went to the club to relax before the flight. Luckily, it was a little late, so that gave us some needed extra time to get a snack and use the bathrooms.
The flight to Munich was short and pleasant and we were soon standing at the baggage carousel waiting for our luggage. I think we were the only people that checked bags on that flight –it was deserted. We easily found our luggage (they were all ours) and met our waiting guides just outside of baggage claim. As a nice little added touch, both of them were dressed in traditional Bavarian garb!
It was about a 30 minute drive to our hotel, the Bayerischer Hof. I didn’t think anything could top the Ritz Paris, but I think this hotel has done it! Check-in was super-fast and efficient. They had us in our room with the bags in about 10 – 15 minutes (compared to over an hour at the Ritz). We have a beautiful suite on the top floor with plenty of room. The only problem is that it is very warm. We’ve had all the A/C units on max all afternoon and it is still uncomfortable warm. We may have to change rooms. Even if they are smaller, I would like to be comfortable.
After checking in, we went for a short walk to a beer garden / restaurant, were we sat at a big table outside and had an early dinner. On the way, we passed an impromptu Michael Jackson memorial outside our hotel, so we stopped to check it out and take a few photos. Michael used to stay at our hotel when he was in town, so I guess that’s why fans starting leaving momentos nearby.
Once we got to the restaurant, we had several different kinds of beer, lots of pretzels, and plates of assorted meats, cheeses, and other goodies. Delicious! I love Germany! The owner even invited the kids into the kitchen and made some chicken & gravy for Cameron with strawberries for dessert.
During the meal, we discussed our plans for the next few days. Tomorrow, we are scheduled to drive up to the top of the highest mountain in Germany for lunch at a scenic restaurant. It is about 90 minutes each way. Then, Friday, we were scheduled to drive out and see a famous castle, which is about 2 hour each way. That sounded like way too much time in the bus to us. Especially toward the end of our 3 week journey, we need a little more downtime. We decided to proceed as planned tomorrow with a generous break halfway for the kids to get out and run around. We cancelled the castle on Friday. Instead we will sleep in and relax, then split up for afternoon tours. Some walking and some riding bicycles. Saturday, we’ll visit BMW World and have some free time for shopping. Sounds like a plan!
We were a little concerned, because nobody had heard from Cristina, but she & the girls showed up right on time and we pulled away from the hotel around 10:15am. The check-in process at the airport was done at the typical French relaxed pace and took forever. At one point, one of the agents flipped her sign to closed, stood up and left without a word to anyone. I thought Pi was going to have a fit! Finally, they got us all checked in and on our way to security. Roland and Sandy got singled out for a more extensive search and were held up for a bit, while the rest of us went to the club to relax before the flight. Luckily, it was a little late, so that gave us some needed extra time to get a snack and use the bathrooms.
The flight to Munich was short and pleasant and we were soon standing at the baggage carousel waiting for our luggage. I think we were the only people that checked bags on that flight –it was deserted. We easily found our luggage (they were all ours) and met our waiting guides just outside of baggage claim. As a nice little added touch, both of them were dressed in traditional Bavarian garb!
It was about a 30 minute drive to our hotel, the Bayerischer Hof. I didn’t think anything could top the Ritz Paris, but I think this hotel has done it! Check-in was super-fast and efficient. They had us in our room with the bags in about 10 – 15 minutes (compared to over an hour at the Ritz). We have a beautiful suite on the top floor with plenty of room. The only problem is that it is very warm. We’ve had all the A/C units on max all afternoon and it is still uncomfortable warm. We may have to change rooms. Even if they are smaller, I would like to be comfortable.
After checking in, we went for a short walk to a beer garden / restaurant, were we sat at a big table outside and had an early dinner. On the way, we passed an impromptu Michael Jackson memorial outside our hotel, so we stopped to check it out and take a few photos. Michael used to stay at our hotel when he was in town, so I guess that’s why fans starting leaving momentos nearby.
Once we got to the restaurant, we had several different kinds of beer, lots of pretzels, and plates of assorted meats, cheeses, and other goodies. Delicious! I love Germany! The owner even invited the kids into the kitchen and made some chicken & gravy for Cameron with strawberries for dessert.
During the meal, we discussed our plans for the next few days. Tomorrow, we are scheduled to drive up to the top of the highest mountain in Germany for lunch at a scenic restaurant. It is about 90 minutes each way. Then, Friday, we were scheduled to drive out and see a famous castle, which is about 2 hour each way. That sounded like way too much time in the bus to us. Especially toward the end of our 3 week journey, we need a little more downtime. We decided to proceed as planned tomorrow with a generous break halfway for the kids to get out and run around. We cancelled the castle on Friday. Instead we will sleep in and relax, then split up for afternoon tours. Some walking and some riding bicycles. Saturday, we’ll visit BMW World and have some free time for shopping. Sounds like a plan!
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