Plane Tales, Part 2

Post coming soon...

Frankfurt for One Night

It is time again for a view of my room… After having a small room at Wombat’s in Munich and a large room at Hotel Lasserhof in Salzburg, I was not ready for the tiny room which was at the Ibis in Frankfurt. While it was clean and made efficient use of the space, it was INCREDIBLY SMALL! I could not stand sideways in front of the sink with my arms by my side… When I put my coat in the closet, it took up the entire closet.

the bed

the desk

the bath
the shower shot (again tilt your head to the left)

It was on 76€, for one night and on the river…
What a view?!?!

Need I remind of how tiny the bath is... Check out this video!

Final Full Day: From Salzburg to Frankfurt

So most of my day, I was in transit. I had about a 6 hour train ride from Salzburg to Frankfurt. The train ride was fun, but long! As I started my journey, I realized that I had not provided a photo of a train compartment so, here you go…
I was pretty much alone in my compartment from Salzburg to Munich because the heat was not operational. In Munich, two guys and a lady named Yvonne joined me. Yvonne was unlike any other person I have encountered during my visit. While most Germans and Austrians I found to be very nice, they are not eagerly friendly like Americans. For instance, when I am in a group of people I will walk up to everyone and say hello. Germans and Austrians will stand back and wait to be approached and if not will not say anything. Yvonne was very much like an American… We chatted in German and English during most of the ride from Munich to Heidelburg (her home) about my trip, my mom, yoga and life. She felt familiar… As she got off at her stop, we hugged good-bye, because that is how Americans do!
In Frankfurt, I went on a mini-tour of the city. I visited Römer and saw some of the Main River. It was night and Frankfurt is known for being a rough city so, I did not want to stay out long. From what I saw, Frankfurt is quite lovely, but more of a place for business and residing and not vacationing.

Sunday in Salzburg

Being a religious state, 95% of Salzburg is closed on Sunday. I took advantage of this and slept until 11, which is remarkable since I had been waking up at 7, 8 or 9 most mornings. I did decide to venture out on another Panorama Tour, On the Traces of Mozart. IT WAS HORRIBLE!!!!! The only thing good was the visit to the Mozart House and seeing the swans at the lake… After the Tour, I went on my own to visit the Cathedral Dom.

Next time, I visit Salzburg I will try not to go on Sunday, unless I am going to Mass.

The Hills are Alive (or How Can You Not Love a City Like Salzburg)

I have two favorite movies: LA Story and the Sound of Music. When I was planning this trip, I really wanted to go to Munich. Then, I learned that Salzburg was only a 90 minute train ride away so, I knew that I must visit the place were one of the best movies of all time was filmed. Supposedly, this town of 150,000 receives about 400,000 visitors/year (or something like that) because of this movie. With recommendation of my unofficial tour planner, Rick Steves, I selected Panorama’s Tour 4 hour version.
I boarded a large 50-passenger bus, painted with Sound of Music Tour marking so, EVERYONE knew what was going on inside the bus. Might I also mention, the Sound of Music is not popular in Austria…. My tour guide, Trudy, was from England and was extremely animated. She is a fan of the movie and led us in many sing-a-longs during the course of the tour.
Our first sight was her pointing out the Hohensalzburg Fortress, which served as a backdrop for several scenes during the movie. It is a very prominent site in Salzburg so, using it in the movie was inevitable.
Next, Trudy directed us to the Untersberg Mountain, which was the mountain Maria was supposed to be on in the beginning of the movie and the one the family actually hiked on at the end.
We were then transported to the lake and terrace that was used for many scenes, including the children meeting Baroness.
The next stop was a park that housed the original pavilion used in one of my favorite scenes, where the Captain admits to Maria that he loves her and they sing “Something Good.” The pavilion was moved from its original location because of tourist. It is also the one use for exterior scenes, the interior was shot on a Hollywood sound stage.
The park also has the location for the path Maria skips down singing “I Have Confidence” and the home exterior.
We were then driven out to the countryside of Austria to a town called Mondsee. There we saw the church where Maria and the Captain were married. Also, we had the option to shop and dine on fabulous apple struedel.
Viewing the countryside and the lake were reason enough to take this tour…
Our final stop was Mirabell Gardens, where we were able to act our the “Do Re Mi” scenes.

This tour was really a fan’s dream come true…
Not to mention, we passed the headquarters of Red Bull… Thecla, this photo is for you...

Alpine Cabin in the City

I have been so lucky throughout this trip with my lodging selection! Wombat’s (my place in Munich) was adorable and now look at what I have in Salzburg… I feel like I am in cabin in the Alps and for only 56€/night.
wardrobe and one of the two desks…see my skylight!
bed with cable tv, Wombat’s did not have a tv in the room (and yes, that is Larry King Live)
bathroom with another skylight!
my standard tilt head left shower shot

Various Sights & Sounds of Munich

Here are few pictures of things I saw in Munich, but had no place to put…

In the States, this store is called Forever 21, because that is the point where you are fully legal, drink, vote, drive, etc. In Germany, it is 18.

“Germans for Jesus” in Maribelplatz…. Groups like this also make me feel “weird”…

Another photo for Tishana, who LOVES T-Mobile. In Germany, the T-Mobile stores are called T-Punkt, which means like the T-Mobile Place or Spot. I prefer the name, T-Punk!
This place in the train station that I passed many times a day… It sold fish and the fish stunk up the entire station. I wanted to tell them to throw their supply away because fresh fish should not smell fishy!!!!

Final Day in Munich

With my last day in Munich, I had many last minutes things to do. I wanted to go on the Third Reich Tour, which was a walking tour through many landmarks of that period in history. Did you know that Nazi Party got its start in Munich?

This is the building where they had their first meetings.

This is the building where they had their first rally, where the infamous Adolf Hitler spoke. This building is better known as the Hofbrauhaus, the beer hall.

After the tour, I ended up hanging out with a couple of ladies who were in my group, Carol from Montreal (I think that is her name), who was also on my Dachau tour and Dawn from Auckland, New Zealand. We took the U-Bahn to BMW Headquarters Complex and the Olympic Center. They are right across the bridge from each other…

It was a nice final day in Munich…. A city I will definitely visit often, but not soon enough….

One of the Best People

My Canadian Surrogate Mother, Joyce tells this story of her visit to Vienna and how she was denied an opportunity to purchase a ticket to the opera because of her dress. The ticket seller told her the opera was for the best people. In Munich, I was one of the best people. One of the things, I have been looking forward to the most with my visit to Europe was seeing the Bayerische Staatoper production of Madama Butterfly. How wonderful it was?!?! Everything was complete indescribably beautiful…the building, costumes, set and performance. Here’s a picture of the view from my seat, which was on the same tier as the Royal Box and one of the many chandeliers.

The Musem for All the Germans

Germans are quite known, or maybe not, for their contributions to science and technology. The Deutsches Museum highlights “the development of science and technology from early origins through the present day.” It is an interactive showcase with many do-it-yourself opportunities. Spread out over 5 floors, there are exhibits on aeronautics, including full-size planes, musical instruments, chemistry, including examples of chemical reactions and the environment. The neatest thing though was the Museum’s logo because I know it would have made Tishana go crazy…

So Tishana, this is for you!

Dinner Date

My tour to Dachau was a guided English-speaking tour. The guide was this guy from England, with the rest of the party consisting of: 2 South Africans (male/female couple), 1 lady from Perth, Australia, 1 lady from Montreal, 1 guy from Madison, Wisconsin and myself. I chatted up everyone during the entire tour and when we were leaving, the guide was giving us directions to wherever we were headed next. The lady from Australia and I were headed in the same direction, so we walked together. Then, we ended up dining together… It was nice having company for dinner. I am enjoying my time here alone, but I do wish I had someone with whom I can share my experiences…

Dreary Day in Dachau

Dreary day as so many days were for those who struggled to survive here... This was the day I was looking forward to the most and least. The day when I face my former self. Some of you might not be aware, but I believe in past lives and in mine I was a Nazi. I was a young man, who believed all of the Nazi propaganda and enlisted, I believe in the Air Force. I died in the war because of a stomach wound, not sure if it was gunshot or stabbing. Anyhow, today I was to face all of those who I wronged and visit the Dachau Concentration Camp. As I learned from my guide, Dachau, which is about 20 minutes outside of Munich, was a prototype of all Concentration Camps and was one of those that was opened the longest. It was a death camp, where people were sent to immediately die, but a work camp, where they were taught that through hard work, honesty and love of the Fatherland they would be free. As the sign that is shown when they enter the camp says, “Arbeit Macht Frei” or work will set you free. Below are a series of photos from my visit…


bunks in one of the dormoritories

the Jewish Memorial, with black rock from Israel

the gas chamber and crematorium

the last view of many...the window inside the disrobing room of the gas chamber.... this was the second hardest moment for me during the entire visit. The first was viewing where the tracks were that unloaded so many in their last moments...

Dissed at Dinner in the City with the Most Difficult Roads

Anyone who knows me, knows that I always get lost! Everywhere I go, I get lost. I tried my best to avoid this in Munich. Within 5 minutes of being in the city, I got lost. I turned the wrong way out of the train station. I ended up meeting this bellman at the Le Meridian who started speaking to me in English. I want to “pass” for European so, I was insulted by this. And, I let him know that. He then attempted to give me directions to my hotel. I walked down the street looking for the side street, on which it was supposed to be. I could not find it. I ended up asking this newspaper vendor and he told me it was like three blocks back the other way. I finally found it.

I had a busy Tuesday afternoon planned. I was going to visit Marienplatz, the Lady Church (or as the German’s and the rest of the world call it, the Frauenkirche) and have dinner at one of the best vegetarian restaurants in the city, Prinz Myshkin. I reviewed a couple of maps and was on my way. After I started walking, I realized I was on my way to know where that I wanted to go. I got so very lost. Not lost to where I did not know how to get back to from where I came, but lost to where I did not know how to get where I was going. I ended walking back to my hotel and asking someone at the front desk for detailed directions on how to get to Marienplatz and the Lady Church. At this point, I was not worried about finding the restaurant because it was nearby. I should have been worried.

I followed the directions the clerk gave me and found the places okay. They are so beautiful! Apparantly the Lady Church was one of the few buildings to survive the War and the Marienplatz is where the famous Glockenspiel is located. After I viewed these attractions, I decided to make my way to dinner. It was around 5:45. My reservation was at 7:00. I made it there at 6:55. In reality, the restaurant was about 4 blocks away. I was lost for an hour! I walked around Munich, looking for a restaurant for an hour! It had nothing to do with me not being able to read the signs, because street signs are street signs. If you can read, then you can read them! Munich is just completely unorthodox in their street layout! Later, I spoke to people who are not as directionally-challenged as I am and they have said the same thing! I know I could have used a GPS on this trip! $200 would have saved me from 2 blisters and extremely sore legs.

When I arrived at dinner, I order the tofu stroganoff, which supposed to be a mix of tofu, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes and broccoli. It sounded very yummy and figured I could pick around the broccoli. While I was deciding on my entrée, I thought I would also have the apple strudel for dessert! Apparently, the German’s should have invited the Super Size. I have never seen such a large plate full of food. I wanted to take a picture, but thought it would have been rude. What I did not think was asking for my check without finishing my dinner?!?! My waiter kept asking me if the food was good. I told him, it was great but way too much for me to consume in one sitting. He look at me like he was a bit disappointed and walked away… I paid and walked back to my hotel, getting lost one last time that evening…. I did not even get my apple strudel! :-(

Photos coming soon…

Hostels are Cheap Hotels

I LOVE my hostel too! I have two twin beds, which I could push together, but do not mind them being apart, for I can use the other bed for next-day clothes staging. My room also has a wardrobe, table and two chairs and a bathroom with toilet, mirror, sink and shower with hot water! Speaking of hot, I also have a semi-private patio that I can access from the 2 doors that are apart of my wall of 3 windows (with the single being a window that partly opens for fresh air). And if it gets too cool, I can turn on the radiator heaters! All of this for 58€ a night!!!!! Did I also, mention I am about 1.5 blocks from the train station? Did I also mention the complimentary wi-fi in the lobby? The only downside is this place has the tiniest elevators I have ever seen in my entire life…. It could only fit me and my luggage, but how many times would I be transporting me and my luggage? Twice.

the beds

the wardrobe (tilt head to left for a better view...I have not learned how to adjust pictures after uploading so, please be patient)

the toilet and you flush by pressing the button above (tilt head to left)

the sink

the shower (tilt head to the left)

one view of the patio window, with one of the windows opened (I quickly closed it after taking this photo.)

another view of the windows....

the elevator...told you it was tiny!

the reason why, it is made for 4 people...

How Thank you Rick Steves for this one!!! I will stay here again!

P.S. This place is so great, I will call it a hotel from now on….