Christmas Trip to Munich

I took my first official visit to Germany at the beginning of December. I went to Munich (München) for a few days to see the Christmas Markets. I flew over from New York (JFK) on Lufthansa on a Airbus A340 aircraft. It was the first time I had ever been on that aircraft. It is huge! While it's not the largest capacity aircraft on the market, it certainly is the longest and one of the most impressive in-flight.

The flight from JFK was an overnighter. The weather was horrible the day I was scheduled to leave (the inbound flight diverted to Philadelphia!). Thankfully, the weather cleared around 4pm so my 6ish departure was only delayed a short time. Germany is 7 hours ahead of us so between the overnight flight and the time difference, I arrived in Munich at 8:30am December 2nd. Notice I didn't say, "bright-eyed and bushy tailed?" I think I may have gotten a total of 2 hours sleep. But that's okay, being the aviation geek I am, I had plenty to occupy my time; not to mention the tons of movies Lufthansa offers via their onboard entertainment system. Oh yeah, I finally did get to see Salt with Angelina Jolie. It was a great movie!

So after I cleared Customs and Immigration in Germany, I went in search of their transit system. They have a transit station right at the airport and there are two lines on the Bahn; the S and the U. My hotel was on the S line; so I paid my fare ($12.00 US) and was on my way.

Since I made my plans rather "last minute" my hotel was sat about halfway between the airport and downtown Munich (a distance of about 25 miles). This was nice, because I didn't have that far to go in either direction...about 4-5 stops either way! I stayed at the European version of the Radisson - called the Park Inn. Here's a picture of my hotel.

In case you were wondering, it was a short walk from the train station to the hotel...here's what the walk looked like..I didn't mind it at all.

Once I got to the hotel, of course, no rooms were available yet, so I relaxed in the lobby, logged on to my iPad, and surfed the net and updated my Facebook profile. It was only a short time before my room was ready and I checked in. By this time I was so exhausted, I laid down and took a 4 hour nap. I woke up around 5pm and took the train into Munich to explore a little bit and to grab a bite to eat. This being only my second time in Germany (the first time, I was on a layover when I worked for Northwest and we were in Mainz). I didn't realize the different geographical regions that comprise Germany, so just because I was in Bavaria this time, I thought the food would be the same...um, no. Luckily, I found a restaurant that served my favorite - wiener schnitzel...and boy, do they serve you a lot of it - take a look!

So, after dinner it was a little stroll around the Marienplatz and a look at one of the Christmas Markets and some Gluehwein.

I met up with work friends who came in from earlier stops in Cologne and Berlin to visit the Christmas Markets there. They agreed that the best markets were in Munich. So after dinner at the Hofbräuhaus it was off to more of the Christmas Markets.

Oh yeah, how could I fail to mention how cold it was in Munich? They had some freaky cold and snowy weather before I arrived. The snow had stopped, it was still all over the place, but the cold had settled in and I don't think it got above 20 degrees the entire time I was there! The cold, mixed with the wind and all that frozen ice and snow.....brrrrrr!!!!

Here are some pictures we took in and around the Marienplatz....

But, regardless of how much fun you have, it's always nice to come back home. I will definately be returning to Munich.

Munich, Germany - Here I Come!

My passes on Lufthansa arrived today. I'm planning on heading to Munich, Germany on December 1st to visit the Christmas Markets. Apprently these are prevalent throughout Europe and the one in Munich is one of the oldest. Check on this link .

My flight leaves JFK at 5:45pm on Wednesday the first, and arrives in Munich around 8am. I figure I should clear Customs hop the train and be to the hotel by around 10 or 10:30am. Maybe they'll let me check in early and catch a little nap before I go exploring. Friends will be arriving from Cologne on Friday around 4pm and we'll do dinner and then more exploration.

I am so excited! I haven't been to Germany since I worked for Northwest Airlines in 1999 and then it was a layover Mainz (just outside of Frankfurt). I am staying at the Park Inn a few miles east of Munich.

I'll be posting pictures and writing of my adventure.

Later -

Welcome First Root Canal

So, it only took 47 years, but today I welcomed my first root canal. So far (and I say that while on oxycodone), it hasn't been as bad as I had read and been lead to believe. I think maybe advances in dental technology and treatments have improved so as to give us a break. One thing I didn't know is that they do a root canal in two parts. So I'm heading back in a couple of weeks to finish it up. It's amazing how a problem in your mouth can affect your facial area. I thought the right side of my face was going to fall off it was hurting so bad. I think I'm going to be okay now though! Yippee!

Oh, if you are reading this and live in the NNJ area, the professional that performed my root canal, and whom I would highly recommend is Dr. Steven Bair in Lodi, NJ.

A Weekend Miracle

So you think you had a bad week? Friday afternoon, some friends and I go out for drinks and dinner after work. We're just starting to relax when we receive heartbreaking news. One of our colleagues' 3 year old daughter was involved in a serious traffic accident and was being air-lifted to a hospital 3 hours away from her Mom. We jumped into action making arrangements to get everyone where they needed to be. Thankfully, while she does have some broken bones, there should be no permanent damage. There will be an extended recovery period; but we'll all be there for her.

Just goes to show how things can change in an instant. Never take anyone for anything for granted. If you love someone, tell them. Never leave a situation in anger, even if you can't resolve it.