Start: Munich
Finish: Munich
Distance: 0
Total: 1253
I had a great day off here in Munich. I had several things I needed to take care of while in a large city and I got them all accomplished. And while running my errands, I had the privilege of meeting some people from the U.S. that engaged me in good conversation.
The day got started with sleeping in until 8:00. My accommodations at the Hampton Inn was nice and quite, my room was dark, and most important of all, air conditioned. That all led to a good night’s rest. There was quite a crowd for breakfast but the buffet was very good and had several items that were not normally offered at an international hotel. But this being a Hilton hotel, I had a nice American breakfast.
After breakfast, I walked a couple of blocks to the subway station to catch the S-Bahn to the center of town. The place I needed to go was only a couple of miles away, but this being my day off, I decided not to walk there. The subway system in Munich is clean, safe, cheap, and easy to use. I had three things I needed to take care of and they were all at the same subway stop; Marienplatz. First, I needed to go to the Vodafone store to get my cell phone plan extended. I use my phone to navigate on my route all day, everyday, so I can’t afford to run out of data. After I got that issue resolved, I needed some Euros (cash) so I went by the bank ATM to take care of that. Finally, I needed some special batteries for my GPS transmitter. I’ve looked at several stores over the last week but couldn’t find what I needed. So to find a store that might have this special battery, I walked into the tourist information office at Marienplatz and they said there was an electronics store only two blocks away. I went there and they had exactly what I needed.
After taking care of my errands, I took a seat in the shade on the plaza to take a break and do some people watching. Today I intentionally wore my Texas A&M shirt because Marienplatz is one of the main tourist destinations in Munich and I thought I might attract some Aggies with my shirt. After cooling my jets in the shade for a few minutes, a group of tourists with their guide stopped near where I was sitting, and two ladies in the group decided to take a seat beside me. They were talking with a noticeable southern accent so when I got my chance, I asked them where they were from. At that moment I met Jean and Trisha from Columbus, Georgia. They were in Munich on a tour with their Baptist Church. We talked for a while about the river cruise they were catching later today. After a few minutes their tour guide gathered everyone up and they moved on.
After meeting Jean and Trisha, it was lunchtime. At this point it is important to say I hardly EVER eat at McDonald’s. And you would think if you were in Europe, you would avoid American fast food like the plague. However, I eat three meals a day, everyday, based on the local cuisine. Every now and then, I just need something besides the local food. So I gave in today and went to McDonald’s at Marienplatz for lunch. While I was eating, a man and woman walked by and said “Gig’em.” That got my attention and at that moment I met Gerald ‘86 and Jill Verwold from College Station. They were in Munich for a few days before also leaving on a river cruise. They placed their order and joined me for lunch. We had a nice conversation before they needed to move on as well.
So overall, I had a great day off in Munich. I got all my errands run, did a little sightseeing, and met some nice America tourists. My batteries are recharged and I’ll be ready to move on deeper into the German countryside tomorrow. I hope everyone has a great weekend starting tomorrow.
