Days 1 & 2

While it is generally exciting to be back on the road, the first day of travel isn't usually all that thrilling. That suits us just fine. Our first day of travel brought us uneventfully to Atlanta and then on to Munich.

Day 2 started with an early landing in Munich. After negotiating the questions of the German customs agents (How long will you be in Europe? Are you here for business or pleasure? Is this your first time in Europe? Oh, Cah-lee-fohr-nee-ya! We love Schwarzenegger!) we collected our luggage, took a quick trip to the loo, and met up with our tour manager, Patrick. Just like the locals, we hopped on the S-Bahn and headed out for our hotel. It's a very nice, but very typical European hotel... tiny lift, tiny rooms, and no air conditioning. Fortunately, the evening temperatures are very mild. 

The first day is always the most difficult. We had to push ourselves to fight fatigue and jet lag in order to acclimate ourselves to a new city and a different time zone. Patrick was able to help us out with that. He had plenty of activities planned to keep us awake. The first stop was lunch at the Viktualienmarkt. At this old food market in the center of Munich, our group had to venture out into the stalls to buy their own lunch (typical Bavarian food). With a full stomach (and maybe a little beer) we met up with our Munich guide, Markus, for a walking tour of the old city center. 

Munich was founded over 850 years ago by Duke Henry the Lion. The name Munich (München) comes from the old Bavarian word for monks. That's all that was here in the beginning. But, very soon, Munich became an important center on the old trade routes from Austria and Italy to the Netherlands and the Baltic. Salt passed through the city gates from Salzburg on its way north. Luxury goods from Italy passed through a separate set of gates. This crossing of roads has shaped the city of Munich to this day. The main thoroughfares in the city follow these old trade routes. For 700 of its 850, Munich was ruled by the descendants of Duke Henry the Lion, the Wittelsbach family. They no longer play a role in the government of Bavaria, but they still live in Munich to this day.

After our walking tour, we enjoyed a little free time (museums, shopping, getting lost...) and then reconnected with the rest of the group for dinner in the Ratskeller. For dessert, a few of the more intrepid explorers spent an evening in the Augustiner Biergarten, enjoying the company of hundreds of locals under the chestnut trees.

Tomorrow morning we head out for Dachau.