Day 7 to Ulm and Munich

Day 7 to Ulm and Munich

The morning did not start well since I thought I had killed my laptop, but that problem is now temporarily resolved so onward we go.  We had a nice breakfast at the hotel and checked out, loading up the car before going shopping again.  We all hit different places and Lo and Behold, we discovered that the shops will ship stuff home!!!  That solves the problem of space in the luggage and car.  There are several boxes heading to GA from Rothenburg.  We finished up shopping and shipping and headed out of town.  Getting out was not quite as bad as getting in, but it was still ‘interesting’.  Back to the autobahn we went, this time in the rain.  We drove and drove to Ulm about 2 hours and the rain made things scary but it didn’t slow down too many of the drivers.  It did slow me down some, say to 100 – 110 kph. 

We got to Ulm about lunchtime and had a very difficult time getting close to the church with the tallest steeple in the world.  We could see it but we couldn’t get to it.  Believe me when I tell you that it is kind of scary driving in the bus only lane!!!  Once Igot on it, I couldn’t get off.  However, we finally got back into regular traffic.  We found a parking place and had to get a fella to show us how to pay for time in our parking spot.  I went to an Apple store to see about getting an iPad but the fella could not promise that it would be totally usable in the USA so I didn’t get it. The others went to the church to see the steeple and took photos.  Sue and Sarah came to offer me technical advice which I very much appreciated.  Linda and Paula found a yarn shop and Linda made some new friends and bought some yarn.  I also bought some and hope to make a scarf from it.  However, I should probably finish that scarf I started in Switzerland first. 

We decided to head out of the large city before getting lunch and it seemed to take forever to get back to the countryside.  It was raining harder now but we made it to an Autohof, which is like a rest area with a restaurant.  We had some trouble communicating with the waitress but we had a good meal anyway.  Salads, pork, spaetzle and potatoes were the main items for lunch.  We got back in the car and headed for Munich.

It was about this time that we noticed ice and snow hitting the windshield but thank goodness it wasn’t too much of it.  We think the temperature hovered between 34 and 36 all afternoon.  The traffic was bad, the rain was bad, and it got worse when we got to Munich.  At rush hour.  In the rain.  Getting dark.  Tons of traffic.  We circled the city and used gigabytes on Sue’s phone’s google maps to get us near our hotel which is in the heart of the city.  Think of driving in rush hour in Atlanta when you don’t know where you are or where you are going and you are driving a bus – that’s kinda what it was like.  I did not hit anything, which was a miracle and I don’t think I was honked at (except once going into Ulm).  We just could not get to the street with the hotel but we knew we were close.  So, Paula and Sue got a taxi, told him where we wanted to go, and the rest of us followed in the car.  It might have worked except the taxi did a three point turn and then left while I was making my five point turn!!!  They were gone!!  We drove around a while and then they called us to help us.  Their taxi driver would not stop and wait for us or slow down but the girls got to the hotel.  They called us and put the hotel doormen (two wonderful young guys) on the phone to help us.  We got into the area and drove around the same block about three or four times before we decided to get another taxi to follow.  However, the young man on the phone left the hotel on foot and with an umbrella to come get us.  We were about 1 ½ blocks away and we followed him to the hotel.  The fellas unloaded the car, we checked in and then one of the fellas and I went to park the car in the underground garage.  That was another whole adventure of five point turns and dragging the car’s antenna along the ceiling of the garage!!!!  I had had it by then.   We ended up making a parking place along a wall because that’s the only place it would go.  He made a point of telling me that when I was ready to leave that I must get 2 or 3 or 4 of the hotel workers to help me get the car out of the garage.  I am not looking forward to that but since it is a few days away, I’m not going to think about it.

I went up to the lobby and my room, crying all the way.  It was a very stressful day for us, especially Sue and me but we got it done.  We all rested a few minutes and some of us collected dirty laundry to have washed by the hotel.  Then we walked a block to the Hofbrau biergarten.  It was a very loud, bustling place with hundreds of people having beer, dinner, music and fun.  There were no tables available, but there were two guys with beer glasses almost empty so we asked if we could sit with them.  They allowed us to pile on to the benches and then they got cozy and friendly with us.  It was actually quite nice to talk with them for a little while.  Once they left, we were able to spread out and get down to the serious business of ordering dinner.  I actually drank about 6 sips of beer, but it just doesn’t taste good to me so that was it.  We had sausages, sauerkraut, sauerbraten, potatoes au gratin, and yummy desserts.  Oh, and we had beer.  That beer sure did make me belch a lot – once Paula thought the oompah band was playing again but it was just me burping.  Sorry about that. 

After dinner, some of us shopped a little (!!) and then walked back to the hotel.  We made a plan for tomorrow (breakfast at 9:30, tour of Munich, watching the Glockenspiel, and shopping).  Then we went back to our rooms and I discovered that my computer still does work if the battery is removed and the electrical cord is plugged in. So that meant we had to have a meeting to approve the previous day’s blog.  After some corrections and additions, it was ready to go.  By the way, Paula and Linda’s room is as far away from the elevator as is possible on the third floor and Sarah’s room is the same distance away from the elevator on the second floor.  Mine and Sue’s room is the closest to the elevator on the fourth floor.   That’s just how it worked out.  The rooms are very nice and everything is very modern and the hotel employees are anxious to please.  Of course, with the amount of tips we gave those two doormen, everyone is probably hoping they will get to do something to help us out. 

That’s it from Munich for our first night here.

Pictures will be loaded later.