Yes, it has really been that HOT here. My room finally cooled down this morning about 5:00 am. I know this because I popped awake ready for the day at about 5:00 am. There wasn't much to do other than walk to the Marienplatz S-Bahn station to pick up the tickets for today's journey to Schwangau and the Castles Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. You may think 5:00 am is a little early to be walking outside in downtown Munich, but 5:00 am here is about as "daylight" as 10:00 am in Knoxville. We're so far north here in Munich that darkness only lasts a few hours at night.
Nevertheless I was able to successfully navigate the automated ticket machine and actually got the CORRECT tickets. One Bayern ticket lets 5 of us travel all around Southern Germany for about 35 Euros...that's called a bargain! And with a Euro costing us about $1.35 each we need all the bargains we can get :-)
Breakfast this morning was different than our gourmet croissants and pane chocolates in Paris...just about EVERYTHING in Munich is different from Paris, Mrs. Mynatt says. This morning we had several kinds of cereal, fresh milk, juices, teas, coffees, hot chocolates, crusty bread with jam, cheeses and dried meat. We encourage the students to stock up on these "free" breakfasts which are at every hotel we have reserved.
After breakfast it was off the Marienplatz to zip over the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) and onto our little train all the way to the castles. Neuschwanstein is a popular destination as was evidenced this morning because the train was jam packed...all 2 hours of it! Some of us got to "stand" for a good portion of the ride because we had to compete for seats. Coming home was a different story...we all KNEW what we had to do the 2nd time around - suffice it to say nobody stood :-)
After the train deposited us in Fussen and we caught the bus over to the castles, Mr. Mynatt picked up our reserved tickets and met the rest of the group already at Tegelbergbahn...an absolutely beautiful location nestled in the Bavarian Alps. Paragliding, summer luge, trampoline, are all part of this amazing outdoor play area.
Even Mrs. Mynatt gets in on the fun after Mr. Mynatt arrives to watch over all of the purses, bags, pouches, backpacks, camera bags, etc that a group of 21 just must have as we travel around. It was an absolutely gorgeous day and the blistering sun was replaced by some nice clouds and the temperature dropped dramatically. MUCH more Bavarian like :-)
Before we knew it the afternoon of playtime had been all used up and now it was time to head back over to the castles for our tour of King Ludwig's famous Neuschwanstein Castle (or Cinderella Castle as Disney liked to portray it). King Ludwig was a bit eccentric (as any good king probably is) and took his life of indulgence to the extent of almot bankrupting the state of Bavaria during the construction of this famous castle. However the castle was only partially finished on the inside as King Ludwig mysteriously drowned in a lake just south of Munich. Today we toured the finished rooms of the castle and had a glimpse of what over indulgence looks like...kind of like we did back in Paris (could this be a theme???)
After the conclusion of our tour we raced down the mountain as fast we could to catch the bus back to the train so that we could get home by a decent dinner hour because tonight is dinner in the famous Hofbrauhaus. It's a strange concept to the students that people just walk up and sit down at your dinner table with you. After all, it really doesn't make sense to let unused seats go to waste just because one or two people happen to be sitting at a four person table, now does it?? However, there are so many students on this tour that they EASILY fill 2 complete beer hall tables. The noise inside is deafening...this is NOT fine-dining atmosphere type of restaurant - it's a Beer Hall complete with Oom-Pah band and barmaids and men selling giant pretzels table to table. I think the most popular choice on the menu tonight was the 1/2 chicken with potato salad. After all, if that's what Mrs. Mynatt suggests then it must be good! The students did their own ordering and figured out how to pay the waitress as she came to each of them with their checks. Usually Mrs. Mynatt just pays for the entire bill and then the adults collect the money from the students after we get back to the hotel...this is not a trivial task!
It's been a long day but a fun day, too! Tomorrow is our visit to the Dachau Memorial Camp which is always an eye opening experience. Then the afternoon consists of free time with group shopping on the Marienplatz. I'm sure everyone will be saying it was one of their best days...it usually is. The kids are learning and experiencing new things everyday. I was just noticing today how at ease the students are on Munich's metro system now. When we decend into the stations the first thing they ask now is "how many stops" and they remember and know exactly what to do now. They are truly a great bunch of students, and are having a great time with this priceless gift you have given them. It is a pleasure to know each of them!
Good night from a tired bunch of CAK travelers in Munich; I think we'll sleep well tonight!
Nevertheless I was able to successfully navigate the automated ticket machine and actually got the CORRECT tickets. One Bayern ticket lets 5 of us travel all around Southern Germany for about 35 Euros...that's called a bargain! And with a Euro costing us about $1.35 each we need all the bargains we can get :-)
Breakfast this morning was different than our gourmet croissants and pane chocolates in Paris...just about EVERYTHING in Munich is different from Paris, Mrs. Mynatt says. This morning we had several kinds of cereal, fresh milk, juices, teas, coffees, hot chocolates, crusty bread with jam, cheeses and dried meat. We encourage the students to stock up on these "free" breakfasts which are at every hotel we have reserved.
After breakfast it was off the Marienplatz to zip over the Hauptbahnhof (main train station) and onto our little train all the way to the castles. Neuschwanstein is a popular destination as was evidenced this morning because the train was jam packed...all 2 hours of it! Some of us got to "stand" for a good portion of the ride because we had to compete for seats. Coming home was a different story...we all KNEW what we had to do the 2nd time around - suffice it to say nobody stood :-)
After the train deposited us in Fussen and we caught the bus over to the castles, Mr. Mynatt picked up our reserved tickets and met the rest of the group already at Tegelbergbahn...an absolutely beautiful location nestled in the Bavarian Alps. Paragliding, summer luge, trampoline, are all part of this amazing outdoor play area.
Before we knew it the afternoon of playtime had been all used up and now it was time to head back over to the castles for our tour of King Ludwig's famous Neuschwanstein Castle (or Cinderella Castle as Disney liked to portray it). King Ludwig was a bit eccentric (as any good king probably is) and took his life of indulgence to the extent of almot bankrupting the state of Bavaria during the construction of this famous castle. However the castle was only partially finished on the inside as King Ludwig mysteriously drowned in a lake just south of Munich. Today we toured the finished rooms of the castle and had a glimpse of what over indulgence looks like...kind of like we did back in Paris (could this be a theme???)
After the conclusion of our tour we raced down the mountain as fast we could to catch the bus back to the train so that we could get home by a decent dinner hour because tonight is dinner in the famous Hofbrauhaus. It's a strange concept to the students that people just walk up and sit down at your dinner table with you. After all, it really doesn't make sense to let unused seats go to waste just because one or two people happen to be sitting at a four person table, now does it?? However, there are so many students on this tour that they EASILY fill 2 complete beer hall tables. The noise inside is deafening...this is NOT fine-dining atmosphere type of restaurant - it's a Beer Hall complete with Oom-Pah band and barmaids and men selling giant pretzels table to table. I think the most popular choice on the menu tonight was the 1/2 chicken with potato salad. After all, if that's what Mrs. Mynatt suggests then it must be good! The students did their own ordering and figured out how to pay the waitress as she came to each of them with their checks. Usually Mrs. Mynatt just pays for the entire bill and then the adults collect the money from the students after we get back to the hotel...this is not a trivial task!
Good night from a tired bunch of CAK travelers in Munich; I think we'll sleep well tonight!
Thank you for snapping a picture of Mr. Margene:) Nice to know he steps out from behind the camera every once in a while!
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