Germany - Munich

| Arrival in Munich (April 2001) The flight to Munich was long. It was two hours from Phoenix to Chicago and another 8 hours from Chicago to Munich. This did not include the delays so that added to the misery. The airline I chose was United and the flight attendants were reasonably nice. The connecting flight from Chicago to Munich was handled by Luftansa. I heard so many different languages spoken and the stewardesses were blonde with very attractive accents.

I arrived in Munich at 8:30am and the airport was fairly easy to navigate. My friend mother was picking me up to take me to her flat (Schwabing, a nice area close to the university and heavily populated with students) On the route I kept seeing a sign labeled "Ausfahrt" and thought it was a huge city because there were so many signs on the freeway. What it really meant was exit, *duh*.

When we got into Munich, about a 20 minute drive, it was utter hell finding parking. And I've never seen so many teeny, tiny cars in my life. It made the U.S. seem like the country of giants. As I later learned, America is known for its big cars, big states and big ideas (as in "what's the big idea!?"). It was really interesting to get the European perspective, *sometimes.* I also learned that the European consensus is that Americans have no food culture. Actually, that was probably in reference to me as I know absolutely zilch when it comes to proper food etiquette.

My first impression of Munich was that it reminds me of San Francisco except for the people who are completely different, much more reserved. Thankfully they don't seem as uptight as I'd been led to believe.

The most convenient form of transportation was using the tube (subway). I was fortunate to have my friend as a guide because I couldn't understand or make sense out of any of the signs or directions. Of course, I was also functioning on little sleep the first time I ventured into the tunnels so I was none too coherent. When we got to the main station, the Hauptbahnhof, the first thing we did was get a weekly pass for the subway. It's only good for Monday through Friday so you have to buy individual tickets for the weekend.

If you need to check your email there is also an internet cafe, the Easy Everything I think it was called, across the street from the main rail station. Be warned that you have to get used to the different keyboard layout and when I first used one it was a bit awkward. It was just soooo ridiculous and it took me forever to compose a letter. The cost is 5 Deutsche Marks ($2.50) for 30 minutes. There were a lot of people there for a Friday night so sometimes you have to wait for an open computer.

| Evening at the Sendlinger Tor district
Of course, the first area I wanted to see was the lesbian and gay district which I learned is generally the Sendlinger Tor district on account it has the highest concentration of gay/lesbian bars and cafes.

At around 7pm we headed for Cafe Paris, primarily a men's establishment but very lesbian friendly. The atmosphere was great, low lighting, nice music and cozy. We ordered Weissbier (whitebeer) which is pretty yeasty, lots of stuff floating in it but not very strong. For our meals I had a vegetable dish (potatoe, brocoli and cauliflower) with cheese and hollandaise sauce for $13DM/$7.50 and Evi had the same dish except with chicken.

Since the weather was mild, not rainy or cold, we decided to walk the streets, which were pretty empty. Most businesses close at 6pm so people tend to congregrate at bars and cafes. Our first stop was Bei Carlas, a neighborhood lesbian bar frequented by older dykes. It was very small so we sat at the bar and chatted a bit with the barkeep who was also the owner. She'd done some skiing in Lake Tahoe and Colorado and also passed through Arizona.

After toasting our companions we left Bei Carla and headed to another bar called Ivans. Mostly men with a few women sprinkled throughout, it's a nice place to have a drink or two. It's two stories and the bartenders are very nice. Evi knew a couple of them so we had excellent service. Plus, they played house music which was quite good.

Calling it a night around 1am we headed back to the flat.

| Munich tourists
On Saturday we visited several churches around Glockenspiel which were awesome. One church has a huge statue of Christ hanging on the cross and footprints left by the devil in the cement floor, very nice gothic touches.

After the cathedrals we walked the main shopping district, Marienplatz, in downtown Munich. Evi had wanted to show me the open market but by the time we got there it was closed, around 2pm. Since we were hungry, we went to this great cafeteria called Marche where we spent a couple of leisurely hours. It's pretty clever the way it's set up. There are all these mini-food courts catering to different world foods. You not only have German but Chinese, Spanish and Italian to name a few. You give your order to the server behind the counter and they stamp your ticket. At the end of your grubbing you go to the cashier and she charges you based on your stamps.

We were lucky to find an unoccupied small table at the rear. It gets very packed and space is at a premium. We shared two liters of merlot, a potatoe and salmon dish and a sinfully delicious piece of rich, chocolate cake. The atmosphere was bustling and it was so nice and the food and beverages so good that we spent two hours catching up on our lives since the last time we saw each other. Full and very content we made our way to the cashier, total was about 60DM/$30.

**The Deutche Mark has been replaced by the Euro***

| Hofbraeuhaus and loads of beer
Once we'd left the Marche, Evi suggested, *Let's go where all the Americans go.* I guess all the Americans go to the Hofbraeuhaus, the traditional Bavarian drinking establishment. You know, where you can guzzle beer from liter size mugs? It is very crowded so you have to share tables with strangers. We found a spot next to these guys from the French part of Switzerland. They were attending a construction convention and were very festive. They bought us a couple of rounds of drinks and they also shared their radishes with us. You would think the combination of radish and beer would be gawdawful but actually it was quite good.

To make a long story short, by the end of the evening, we had danced a couple of polkas and sang German songs. Not in a million years would I have done this sober but in the state I was in, these were fitting activities for the occasion. Also, this place is filled to the brim with guys and we all know how friendly guys can get after many, many beers. Suffice it to say, they were nice but we left before things got out of hand. All in all, if you visit Munich, you most visit the Hofbraeuhaus.

| Salzburg, Austria
On Sunday, we got up very early and headed to Salzburg, Austria, about 150 km from Munich. On arrival we didn't realize that you had to go through a tunnel cut into the mountain to get to Salzburg's "Old Town" and baroque architecture. The town is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the view is stunning.

In the center of the town of Salzburg sat a cathedral dedicated to St. Virgil and St. Rupert. Mozart's birthplace is located here as well in a very quaint looking building.

Salzburg also hosts the largest medieval fortress in Europe, the Festung Hohensalzburg. An elevator takes visitors up to a pathway leading to the fortress high above the town. The view is fabulous, a river that winds its way through the area.

After touring the fortress, we walked a short distance to a fairly large cafe/restaurant. We drank thick cappucinos and shared a slice of lemon cake. Do not plan on dieting if you visit. Temptation is everywhere. Even the windows are stuffed with chocolates.