Thankfully, the rain stopped this morning before breakfast. The sky was still gray, but the light through my window was much brighter with thinning rain clouds.
Breakfast was in the “family style” dining room. Today I brought the camera along for the meal. Everything was typically neat and tidy. A German breakfast consists mainly of small bread rolls called brochen, thinly sliced meats and cheeses, yogurt, cereal, and fruit.
The staple of European childhood, Nutella, is of course present in volume and can even be eaten out of miniature ice cream cones.
I still can’t get enough of the family environment. It is too cute to hear the little ones gently cry out “Pappa” across the dining room. The disposition of the families seems to be much more gentle than I’m used to. Even when a two year old had a tantrum, no one got worked up about it and the parent simply and gently talked to the child when the fit was over. There was gentle strength in everything.
(No tantrums in this near perfect family breakfast.)
Before leaving the hostel, everyone is expected to strip the beds of linen and return the sheets and towels downstairs...
... and sweep up. The cleaning part is hardly a task at all, since the hostel is almost sterile to begin with. With everyone pitching in to keep things tidy, the alpine family hostel environment is a very comfortable setting.
After breakfast, a quick thirty-minute walk to the train station was the tack. On the way a new phrase came to mind to replace “Like a moth to a flame.” It was, “Like a German slug to a wet sidewalk.” They were everywhere and big. I maneuvered the slimy obstacle course pretty well and chose not to look when suddenly there was a not so firm step. Maybe it was just a little “extra” wet there? Gishy...
The German railway system continues to be a breeze. By and large the trains are on time and comfortable. The views of the country can’t be beat.
I still like the ability to sample countryside vistas from the train.
Finally, one of the great opportunities of the train is meeting new buddies.
As the world gradually becomes culturally beige, native culture is being lost. Just look at the generational gap in headgear, with grandfather in traditional form and the next two generations in baseball caps.
This group was practically the only traditionally dressed crew seen in the past few days in Bavaria and they were likely headed to a cultural event.
The great train stations of Europe can be truly massive. Munich's is no exception for pure scale.
After reaching Munich I decided to wander the old part of town in search of the Deutsche Museum.
Occasionally there is a lucky moment, as someone who enjoys taking photographs, and when that moment comes you just gasp and hope the shot comes out well. This was just one of those occassions, with the perfect set-up but tough lighting. No bother for the little girl as she was having a blast with her umbrella and the waterfountain.
This was my favorite museum in the whole world as a kid and I hoped it wouldn’t disappoint as an adult.
Yep, it is still the best museum in the whole dang world! What I love about this museum is it seemingly covers every topic from microbiology, to mechanical industry, ships, airplanes, and even music. What truly sets this museum apart is that it is completely interactive. Practically everything can be touched and if you can’t touch it there is a button to press to make the thing work. It is like lighter fluid for the imagination.
If you are interested in displacement and wave dynamics or simply want to see which boat goes faster, press the button and watch the thirty meter hydrodynamic hull demonstration.
If you are interested in something a little more shocking, there is even a Tesla Coil demonstration of over 200 thousand volts!
(This was very loud, as the electrical arc spread across the plate glass.)
I could only spend about two and a half hours in the museum today, before closing time, so 9:00am tomorrow will definitely be the starting call for another day at the geek Olympics.
Walking back to the hostel the sky began to lighten, revealing more of the native beauty and tradition of Munich.
If you are planning to get married in Munich and you are a little short of cash, have no fear, your buddies will simply make you ride a lion statue and sing requested songs for donations. This "groom to be" was a riot and may have been enjoying the scene as much as the entertained crowd.
To finish the day off, it was time for good old fashioned pork schnitzle and cheese spetzle. Around the Big Ten college towns of the Mid-West there is a Mexican restaurant named "Burritos as Big as Your Head" and they're not really that large. Here in Munich this restaurant served "Schnitzle Bigger Than Your Head!" without any marketing or naming convention to promote the idea. This was an extra large serving plate filled with food. Needless to say I tackled about "half" the feast to experience "all" the heart burn. Have no fear, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
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