The Rooster Crowed at Five PM
Then became dinner at 6pm.
For those of you keeping score,
I always keep score. Need to know whom I need to get revenge on later.
today on our journey is Thursday, August 8th.
For those of you not keeping score... it's still Thursday, August 8th.
Hello! The date doesn't change just because you don't care!
Well yes and no. Depends on the time of the day. Once it hits midnight over there, the date will change to Friday August 9th. Over here, it will still be Thursday August 8th. Depending on where you live, it wont be Friday for at least another 6 hours or so. So the date does change, but youre right I dont really care.
Apology accepted. Umm what are you sorry for?
Munich is of course known for its history (beer!), friendly people (beer!) and Oktoberfest (more beer!).
We gather up all our beautifully cleaned and pressed clothes and stuff them unceremoniously into our suitcases.
For that kind of money, I'll treat them any way I want!!
At least now I know that if I run out of clean socks on my next trip, it's cheaper to just throw them out and buy new ones.
Live and learn.
I think we all learned from your mistake. Way to take one for the team.
I ask the nice young fellow at the front desk if he could call us a cab
Youre a cab.
to take us to the train station.
Oh, you meant call a cab for you. Got it.
Since he's German and English is a second language, he does not say, "Okay, you're a cab."
He probably knows he better not push his luck with the added cost of the laundry bill and all.
Instead he asks me if I am sure I want a cab.
He tells me that it's not very far.
I may have spoke too soon.
He raises an eyebrow.
You know.
The "Are you really so soft and weak, you spoiled and under-exercised North American, that you can't even walk two kilometers" raised eyebrow.
Did you raise your eyebrow back at him?
I'm not sure if his goal was to shame me into walking,
or to avoid having to make a phone call and telling some cabbie that he had an incredibly short ride,
See above smiley.
or perhaps a genuine concern for my health which could use a little endorphin therapy.
O
In any event, at the time, I picked (a); the shame.
"Ruby, why don't we walk? It's not that far. We've walked it before."
She bought it.
We'll be walking in the streets
With our children in the heat
And the morals that I worship will be gone
And the German who spurred us on
Sits behind his desk all day long.
Cracks a smile and sings his victory song
My hips will hurt as we walk to the station
Bow my head to think of a solution
Smile and grin to everyone all around me
Carry Kays bag one more day
Just like the other day
And when I fall on my knees Ill pray
I wont be fooled again
Won't get fooled again
And so our intrepid explorers set out on their quest to re-discover the train station, or die trying.
Well you lived to tell the tale, so we know you didnt die. Unless there is something here youre not telling us. Did Ruby and the girls have to revive you along the way?
Ruby had her comfortable rolling suitcase.
Elle had her comfortable rolling suitcase.
Kay had Ruby's comfortable rolling carrion.
And I had my comfortable rolling suitcase with carrion attached...
and the evil valise of incredible weight and death... depth.
I bet I can guess what Kay is getting for Christmas this year. Call it a hunch, but I bet she gets a new rolling suitcase.
We set out in fine form and high spirits!
Heck! Everybody in Europe will tell you that two kilometers isn't far at all!
They're lying!!!!
Well it is a one and quarter miles. Not that far when youre just walking it, but Im sure it can seem like 20 miles when carrying 500 pounds on your back.
By this time we were about half way there and I thought it was an excellent time to stop and admire the scenery.
After all, how many times are we going to be in Cologne, right?
Right?
Hello?
Anybody?
<cricket><cricket><cricket>
Nope. Nobody, because my family passed me by and are now looking back, impatiently waiting for me to catch up.
We have a train to catch!
And hernias to hatch!
But think of the good cardio workout youre getting.
With newfound determination, I grasp my one carrion, two suitcases and one rhinoceros and set off in pursuit.
At least I did until that dang elephant showed up...
Personally, I wouldve had the elephant carry them. Just saying.
When David Livingstone showed up to ride the elephant, a small part of me died.
This must be the part where Ruby had to revive you.
All that's left to do now is go down a flight of stairs and we're there!
Well at least its down and not up this time.
And there's an elevator!!!
Hes rounding third and headed for home.
And it's out of order!!!!
And hes tagged out at home plate. Oh man. He was so close.
I think at this point, while Ruby was directing everyone on the best ways for us to navigate the stairs, I sprinted up and down with almost all the bags.
Once again, my idea of letting them slide, tumble, fall down the stairs would be sounding pretty good about now.
Hey. Dont be stealing my ideas NOW.
We then had a well-deserved bite to eat while we waited for our train.
We? I dont know about everyone else, but sure sounds like you earned it.
I remember there was some confusion on our part.
We weren't 100% sure we were at the right platform.
Didnt we just go through this?
Doesn't that gentleman on the left just scream 'German' to you?
Nope. Its more Get that camera out of my face before I go over there and bust it over your head.
Then again, for all I know, he's from Seattle or something.
Or Canada.
We boarded the train and settled in.
The kids immediately focused on the important things.
You know... making sure the wi-fi was set up and the iPods were plugged in so they could enjoy not looking at the passing scenery.
I think its more so they dont have to listen to your history lesson. You know, tune out dad.
Once the train got going, I had to switch seats with Kay.
She doesn't like travelling backwards...
Then she probably wouldnt like Expedition Everest.
I found a way to make Kay look up at the scenery.
Kinda cruel of you to turn her neck and head that way with your hands isnt it?
She would regularly take her photo cues from me.
If I took a picture of something, she would too.
Oh, well that way works too I guess.
I had reserved a car for the next leg of the trip, but we weren't going to pick it up for a few hours.
I wanted to give the kids a chance to see a little bit of Munich before we left.
We stuffed our bags into some lockers
They have lockers that big there?
We hadn't eaten anything since the morning so it was time to grab a late lunch/early dinner.
How long was the train ride? You just ate at the train station.
There's a German dish that Kay really loves.
It's called spätzle (or spaetzle).
Basically a type of noodles that are re-heated with butter and typically served with a gravy.
Yes, it's very good.
Kay told me that she would not leave Germany for Italy unless she first had some spätzle.
Well it was nice knowing you kid. Well be sure to send you a postcard from Italy.
Kay's spätzle
Around here, we call that Mac & Cheese. At least it looks like Mac & Cheese.
A couple of things happened during our meal that made it memorable.
Yeah. You took pictures so you could remember it when you got home.
Our waiter was always bustling about taking orders, bringing food, asking how everything was...
Basically doing his job. What a concept.
When we finished eating, we decided to order dessert.
If you finished eating, and then ordered dessert, wouldnt that mean you really havent finished eating?
Our waiter took our orders.... and was never seen again by man nor beast.
How about women?
We're pretty sure he was abducted by aliens.
Or could be out back having a beer and a smoke.
But after we ordered dessert, we sat there for fifteen minutes with no sign of the waiter.
There was a sign. You mustve missed it. It looked something like this.
While we were waiting, a couple of middle aged women sat at a table behind us.
For whatever reason, they decided they didn't like that table and moved to the one immediately beside ours.
I can only surmise they did so because this would give them a better vantage point to eavesdrop and blow cigarette smoke in our faces.
Luckily, we were just about done eating by then and were just waiting to pay.
Well look at the bright side, Ill let you know what the bright side is once I can determine what it is.
When we had finished eating,
Are you sure this time?
The Glockenspiel runs twice a day at 11am and noon and also 5pm in the summer.
We walked quickly enough that we arrived in plenty of time to stake out a good vantage spot.
Why would need to stake out a vantage spot if its running?
Here it comes, and there it goes. Well that was exciting. Now what?
Netting over sculptures keeps the pigeons off.
You see this on a lot of buildings in Europe.
I told Lady H last night that thanks to you, I have an idea how to keep the birds our of our Christmas wreath this year. Last year they used it as a place to rest and as a restroom.
The New City Hall was built between 1867 and 1908.
Sounds pretty old?
Nah. The old one is still there and was built in 1394.
The glockenspiel has two main sections and one smaller section at the top.
The glockenspiel has life size characters that twirl and dance and even two knights on horseback who 'joust'.
The knights go around twice with the Bavarian knight knocking down his opponent on the second go-'round.
After it's all said and done, a mechanical rooster slowly flaps its wings and crows three times.
I'm sure when it was first introduced in 1908 it was the equivalent of today's YouTube.
Now?
Well the whole thing lasts about 15 minutes and after you've seen it, you'll wonder if you'll ever get that 15 minutes of your life back.
You won't.
And we will never get the 5 minutes back that it took for us to read about you telling us about the cocker spaniel, or whatever it is you called it.
Some fools left early without realizing that they hadn't seen the whole thing.
How I envy those people...
Whos the fool now?
But it's a traditional Munich experience and I'm glad the kids got to suffer through it just like I had to the first time I saw it.
Admit it. This was a form of punishment for Kay wanting Mac & Cheese.
After the "show", we made our way to the most famous site in Munich.
If you've ever been to an Oktoberfest celebration anywhere in the world...
And if they've played "oom-pah" music...
I dont know about oom-pah but I did find
IHA, IHA IHA-HO music. You know how long it took me to find an appropriate link to post? Although I fairly enjoyed the other videos I came across.
Then they (and possibly you) would have sung about the Hofbrauhaus.
It's a huge building with a cavernous open main floor,
a smaller upper floor
and a large open air area
all for the purpose of quaffing copious amounts of beer.
Sounds like a place Lady H and I need to visit.
Founded in 1589 by the Duke of Bavaria, the Hofbrauhaus is one of the oldest beer halls in Munich.
The Hofbrau beer became popular and then famous.
So famous that it actually saved the city.
In 1632, during the 30 years war, a conquering King threatened to burn the whole city down.
He agreed not to burn it down in exchange for 600,000 barrels of Hofbrauhaus beer.
You'd think with that much beer on hand, you wouldn't really have to worry about fire, don't you think?
Well I could see how this could be a problem. Theyre in barrels. Barrels are made of wood. Back in 1589, Im sure they didnt have fire engines like they do today. So theyre left with 2 options.
1. Give the Duke his beer and spare the building so they can continue making beer in the future.
2. Dont give the Duke his beer and use the beer you have to put out the fire. Which would require lots men and/or women/children on top of the building pouring beer over the building; in hopes they dont die in the process and are able to put out the fire to save the building. Take it the barrels dont catch fire themselves.
I think I wouldve chosen option 1 myself. Either way, theyre going to be out a lot of beer.
Everywhere you look you'll see people drinking beer or serving girls carrying huge handfuls of beer steins.
Beer and women. A mans paradise.
Well most men anyways.
We tried to find a table outside to sit and try some beer, but it was full.
Full? Really? What about the 2 empty chairs (possibly 3) and table in the bottom right hand corner of your picture? Looks empty to me.
This is my favorite part of the hall.
There's an area where locals reserve their own tables...
and some even have their own beer steins which are kept at the hall under lock and key!
Nice. Sounds like my kind of bar.
Since we couldn't sit outside, and the band wasn't playing yet inside
(they start around 7pm)
we decided to just grab a pretzel from a passing server and head out.
No beer? You couldve stood around to drink it. Oh man. I hereby revoke your man card yet once again.
Boy! Just because you have a massive super salty pretzel, is no reason to demand water!
Shouldve bought them a beer. I think its legal. Ill Google it after Im done here.
At the car rental place, I give my reservation info to the clerk.
I had done a lot of research on car rentals from Munich and had decided to have some fun.
Well isnt one of the reasons we go on vacation is to have fun?
Ladies, were going on vacation but its forbidden for anyone to have fun.
For only a little bit more per day, I had reserved a convertible.
I could see it now.
Toodling through alpine villages with the top down and not a care in the world.
Until Ruby says 2 minutes later Ponzi, can you please put the top up. The wind is messing up my hair.
The clerk took one look at the four of us and...
"I don't want to tell you what to do... we have the car here... but...
Do you have any bags with you?
The trunk is very small and can only fit maybe one large bag.
My experience with people from America is usually they have a lot of bags."
Well, I had already thought of all that.
My plan was to have some discomfort for a bit until we got to the hotel,
then afterwards it'd be smooth sailing.
Now speaking from experience, I know the driver does not experience any discomfort.
The hotel is about an hour and a half drive...
So that's three hours of having the girls ride with suitcases piled on top of them...
On our trip to WDW in 2010, we actually had to do this. We even had a full size car. Next time well need to go with a mini-van or something that can hold more bags. Ill post pics and talk about this a little more later if you dont mind my talking about it.
My credit card covers the insurance on rentals... but only up to a reasonable amount.
I think it's around $60,000 or thereabouts.
This car is worth more than that.
Ah, what the heck. I'm on vacation, right?
Right. Im not going to argue with that. I of course probably wouldve done the same. With Lady Hs permission of course.
It wound up costing an extra 250 Euros or about $340 USD.
It turned out to be so worth every penny.
So how much overtime have you had to work to pay off the credit card?
The clerk explained to me that since he was alone, he couldn't leave his desk.
He gave us directions to the garage and sent us on our way.
Well I see some things are the same in Germany just as they are here in the U.S.
After a couple of minor miscues, we find the car.
Oooohhhh... very purty.
I'll post a pic in a later chapter.
Well hold you to that.
So we stuff all the suitcases in,
(as it turned out, we still had to have one in the backseat between the girls)
pile in,
Let me guess, it was Kays bag that you put in between the girls?
aaaaaaannnnnddd.....
nothing.
car won't start.
Everyone have their seat belt on? Some cars are starting to be made that way. They wont start unless everyone has their seatbelts buckled. Pressure sensors built into the seats.
Push the start button. Nothing.
Some cars have the keyless starts where you need to scan the remote next to the button. Did this one have it?
Shouldnt it be in park? Another safety feature in most cars now-a-days. Unless this of course is a manual transmission, then you did this right.
I start looking around for something obvious.
Like, "Hey dummy! Do this first!"
Nope. Can't find anything like that.
Theres only one other thing I can think of. Did you step on the brake? Lady H used to have a car like this. I discovered how this actually works one time when she spilt a Dr. Pepper into the gear shift.
I pull out the owner's manual to try and figure it out.
Of course the manual's in german...
Well go figure.
I'm just on the verge of telling everyone to sit tight while I go back to the rental office and ask how to start it,
when lo and behold, our rental clerk enters the garage.
Rental Clerk to the rescue.
"Hey! How do you start it?"
The clerk comes over, hops in the driver seat, pushes the button and...
VRRRROOOMMMMM!!!!!!
He didn't say that... it's the sound the car made as it started right up.
He looks at me and innocently asks, "Did you have your foot on the brake?"
Knew it would be something simple.
We wouldnt know. You havent posted a picture of it yet. All we have is your word to go by for now.
For those of you who own or have rented expensive vehicles you can skip the next little bit.
But for the rest of us....
We dont have the money to afford this luxury. Well we do, but then that would mean we eat bologna sandwiches for the rest of vacation.
While I thought the in dash GPS was nice, I was amazed by the heads up display.
The speed, road restrictions, plus GPS directions looked like they were floating over the hood of the car.
This is a cool feature. Ive seen it in the new Chevy Camaros as well.
When I got the car up to speed, which at one point on that first day was 170 KMH/105MPH, the car was perfectly smooth.
At that speed, with the cruise on, the car would slow itself down if I started catching up to traffic.
The steering wheel would give a warning vibration if it thought I was drifting out of my lane.
Speaking of which, the turn signals would turn themselves of after a lane change.
All these features and no auto pilot? You would think it would drive itself for you.
<sigh> Just gotta win the lottery and I can have one for my very own.
Im still waiting for this day myself. Hopefully tonight. If I win, Ill buy you one of these cars. Ill fly up there, well drive to the nearest toy store where they sell model cars and Ill buy one for you.
Our host greeted us warmly and showed us to our rooms.
We were very lucky this trip as our hosts at the smaller B&B type places were really, really friendly.
I'll post photos of the hotel in later chapters, but right now it's been a long day and we're beat.
I thought you said they were really really friendly? I dont understand why they would beat you for no apparent reason.
There's no air conditioning in the room and it's a little warm, so I open the balcony door to let in some fresh alpine air.
Yeah, but was this cool fresh alpine air?
We go to sleep dreaming of the next day's adventure while being serenaded by a couple of tom cats fighting outside our room.
You sure it wasnt the neighbors? Did you throw an old boot at them like they do in the cartoons?
Thanks for another great update.
Your TR has been such a lovely distraction for me. Grateful. 
Dang it! I just got that back!
