Our First Hostel-Wombats, Munich, Germany

August 1, 2010
Our flight to Munich was uneventful. These European airlines take care of you. Free wine, sandwiches, dessert, all for an hour flight. We have had leather seats on all the flights;much more comfortable.

We did not know that the airport was a 45 minute train ride to Munich but we made it. The hostel is only a couple blocks from the train station. We will move to the Ludwig Hotel tomorrow because I couldn't get a room for a second night here.

All you young ones would love this hostel. It is in the center of the city and filled with young people all over the place. There is a computer room with about 12 computers;we have to pay 25 cents per 20 minutes. There is also a big lounge area and a bar. Lots of kids with backpacks. It actually seems like a college dorm.

We didn't get settled until about 4 p.m. We then went exploring. We made tentative plans for tomorrow to take a Grand City tour that will take us to the Olympic village and to most of the historic sites in the city. It allows us to hop on and hop off at 12 different stops so if we want to see more things at one of the twelve sites, we can. This evening we strolled down the center of the historic area and ate dinner at a really nice restaurant on the mall. Munich is quite different than the other cities we visited. Lots more diversity. We have seen many people from the middle east in their native clothes. Everything is more manicured and clean. In Lviv, many of the young girls dressed in very tight, revealing clothing, black dyed hair, and rather severe make-up. However, we saw very few overweight people.

Linda arrives at 7:30 a.m. but will have to take the train to town. We hope to start our city tour by 11 a.m. On Aug. 3, we are planning a day long tour to the Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria. That evening at 10 p.m., we will board the night train for a six hour ride to Bremen. We got a sleeping car. We wanted to have a variety of experiences.

Firsts: In the restroom, there was a special container of wipes on the wall to clean off the toilet seat. Instead of bread or rolls, the restaurant served large hot pretzels.

All for today-sleep tight!
Sandy

Off to Munich

August 1. We had a great breakfast buffet and are now waiting for the taxi to the airport. It is lke no airport I have ever seen! We will be flying Lufthansa, staying in a hostel called Wombats tonight and the Ludwig Hotel tomorrow. Linda arrives the morning of Aug. 2. I am really looking forward to our trip in Germany. Peggy just found out that some of the Seudhoff family also lived or still live in Bramsche, where Albert and Olga Hartwig lived. What a very small world. Back soon. Hope I can upload some pictures next time.