Day 1:

We arrived in Munich without any problems. The flight left Charlotte around 6:30 p.m. and arrived the next day at 9:30 a.m. We walked through first class where the seats fold flat into beds for the night, complete with a real pillow and a quilted comforter. We walked through business class where the seats reclined and had at least two feet of leg room. We arrived in economy which had enough leg room to almost fit into the seat if you tucked your knees up to your chin. They did however give us a hot diner which wasn’t too bad. We also could have had free drinks including wine and spirits. After sitting with my knees in my chin for seven hours, I must admit I was tempted to have something stronger than the orange juice I eventually had with my muffin for breakfast. Just so you don’t feel too sorry for us, hot towels were passed out to clean up for dinner. It was a nice touch.

 It was snowing and cold when we touched down in Munich. We collected all the luggage. Ugh! We always travel with just a carry-on each. This time we had three checked bags plus our carry-ons. It didn’t seem like much when we were packing to move half way around the world for a year, but it seemed way too much to be lugging through an airport. We were able to locate the bus to the hotel. Our plan was to check-in, leave the bags and take the train downtown to explore until evening. In other words, stay up to try to avoid too much jet lag. All went well until we set out from the hotel to the train station. It was only about a ten minute walk, but it started snowing and the wind was blowing. Have I mentioned that it was cold? The train station turned out to only be a train stop with a self-serve ticket machine that only spoke German! We don’t speak German. After about 15 minutes, we figured out what ticket to get, but could not get the credit card to work. Have I mentioned that it was cold? At this point, I could not tell you what Munich looked like. My view was obstructed by the furry hood on my coat. All I saw was snow and my boots as we battled the wind back to the hotel to warm up. It was still too early to get into our room and there were no restaurants around, so we decide to head back to the airport to see if we could get some food of some kind. There we found a full travel station which sold us train tickets to Venice for the next day. Too exhausted from the night’s flight and the cold, we decided against going down town and simply returned to the hotel.

Day 2:

Have I mentioned that it is cold here? We checked all the baggage except for one small duffle and climbed aboard the train to Venice. The train skirts around the Alps. The scenery was beautiful. There were several times when I thought to myself, “I could live here”. Then Bruce turned to me and said, “We could build a chalet right over there in that meadow.” It was lovely. Arriving in Venice, we had a bit of trouble finding the right tram to get to our hotel and then finding it. It was only about three blocks from the tram stop, but it so inconvenient when everyone speaks German! You would think we were in a foreign country or something. We found a cute little Austrian café for dinner. I had beef broth with liver dumplings, followed by wiener schnitzel.  It was served with a lovely salad of potatoes, pickled cucumbers, and cabbage. It was so good. Bruce order a traditional dish (sorry, I can’t remember the name) of braised pork with root vegetables. When it arrived, his eyes started watering. He bravely took a large bite, and immediately started coughing. When he recovered enough to talk, he asked what all the white shreds on top were. It was horseradish and a lot of it. Needless to say, he now is a bit paranoid about horseradish.

Day 3:

Breakfast was hot chocolate and a croissant. Life is good. Have I mentioned that it is really cold here. The temperature was -20 this afternoon. We had planned to do more, but the cold has really hindered us. However, we did enjoy a practice of the Lipizzaner horses at the Spanish Riding School and a tour of the Hofburg palace. After a lunch of sauerkraut and sausages, we toured Stephansdom, a Gothic cathedral. It was magnificent. We had planned to go to a Mozart concert and dinner, but could not face anymore cold, so I am here in the hotel writing and Bruce is curled up on the bed watching BBC.