Luzern through Zurich and into Munich

It's Friday the 21st of April, and as of today, we have completed 8 full weeks of euro-travel. It is a strange reality because in some respects, when we think of all the places we've been, and everything we've experienced, it seems like we've been here for much longer. At the same time, when we think about how we feel, and how much we still look forward to the next destination and how deeply we enjoy and appreciate each moment as it comes, it seems like we just started the trip. I am having some "missing" attacks though, usually in the quiet waking minutes of the morning. I miss the family, our friends, time with family and friends at the Bay, and playing squash. But overall, we are both sooooo into this trip. Really, REALLY loving our time here. And truthfully, despite all the places we've been and those that are still on our itinerary, it feels like we've only barely scratched the surface of what we'd really like to see and do here in Europe. The vast majority of the places we've been are ones that we would have liked to have stayed even longer. And we've learned about so many other places that we'd like to experience, or specific things that we'd like to do that we just won't have the time to do this go'round. I think that this trip has only awakened a mutual desire for continued extensive travel here, and elsewhere, in our future together. We just have to figure out how to design our lives to allow such a thing. And, as always, we have ideas.......

Waking up in our fluffy down comforters, and huge down pillows was a pleasure. We slept in a little bit later today, not getting out of bed until around 8:30am or so because the last few days have been long and action-packed, our bed was so comfy, and we decided against the breakfast they wanted to sell us for an additional 30 SFR. We were only in this hotel for one night, and so we barely even unpacked. Re-packing was quick and easy, and we checked out in plenty of time. In the mini-bar, we stored some leftover bread and cheese from our munchies the night before, and for breakfast, we picked at the bread while we walked, and then Vee got some delicious apples at the Coop. We decided to hold off on the coffees so that we had something specific to look forward to once we would arrive in Zurich a bit later. Not feeling much of a desire to linger any longer in Luzern, despite how much we liked it there, we walked briskly to the train station and got on the next train to Zurich. There are two departures for Zurich each hour, so the wait was minimal. We didn't want to spend a whole lot of time in Zurich because we've heard that although it is a nice city, there aren't a whole lot of tourist attractions. We arrived at about 11:45, and decided to take the 1:15 train out of Zurich to Munich, since there weren't that many to choose from, and with it being a 4 hour trip, we didn't want to arrive too late. In Zurich, we just walked around the busy shopping areas within a 3-4 block radius of the train station and found it to be quite pleasant. Zurich definitely has the big city cosmopolitan feel, but not in a crazy overwhelming way. It felt self-assured, stylish, clean, and affluent. We found a trendy little cafe, and paid way too much for the two tiny espressos, but we weren't in much of a position to bargain hunt given the nature of our surroundings and the few minutes we had to spend there. Two to three sips and we were back on the street, trying not to cause too much trouble on the busy sidewalks with our main packs being pulled behind us rather than strapped to our backs. We zig-zagged through the streets, and headed back to the train station by 1pm or so. The train arrived only a few minutes before it's scheduled departure, and although we got kicked out of our first seats, we settled into two others in the same private cabin and enjoyed the ride. I helped the elderly couple (the ones that kicked us out of the initial seats we chose) with their bags by stowing them away high up on the overhead racks, and that seemed to warm them up and ease the awkwardness a tad. Once across the border of Germany, the new train agents gave Vee a bit of a hard time with her non-U.S. passport, but eventually eased up, and dropped the issue. It was not a big deal, just a bit hairy for a few moments. The fact that he had a pistol on his hip did not make us feel any more comfortable with the situation. No biggee, and before long we were in Munich. The first thing I noticed were the smells. Something smelled sooooooo good!!!! My salivary glands were kicked into full production immediately. And it was one delicious aroma after another: pretzels, bread, pastries, grilled wursts, pizzas, and on and on. It took nano-seconds for me to like Munich. We managed to locate a newstand and bought a map, then ventured out into the city to find our hotel. We covered a few blocks, and then a very friendly young lady on her bike rode over to us and asked if she could help us find something. We showed her where on the map we wanted to go and she said that it was too far to walk and suggested a taxi, or the two metro lines that she knew would get us there. We thanked her perfusely and discussed our next move. Instead of fussing with the metro at rush hour on a Friday with our bags, we got a taxi to the hotel, and it turned out to not really be that far at all. But, it was nice to just BE there. We checked in, and were very pleasantly surprised with the accomodations. This might be the cheapest yet of all our hotels, and is actually quite nice. We dropped off our bags, and couldn't wait any longer to get out there and see the city. A few moments later, and we were out in the thick of all the activity. Vee successfully navigated us to the city center, where no cars are allowed, and the streets were packed with people everywhere enjoying the weather, their beers, and the people whose time they were sharing. It was vibrant, alive, and invigorating. And having not eaten or drank anything all day besides bread, an espresso and an apple, I couldn't wait for a big german dinner and a beer! We wandered around for quite a while though, looking for an authentic beirgarten, not one that the tourists would find, and that had prices below those charged on the more heavily trafficked strasse. We found the perfect place, with long tables and wooden chairs, and lots of meat on the menu. Vee had a gigantic garden salad topped with grilled chicken, and I had a delicious goulash soup, and a huge plate of roasted pork with two perfect spheres of potato and stuffing, gravy and cold saurkraut salad. The only thing left on our plates were a few small scraps of fat that I peeled of my meat, otherwise, both of our plates were stripped clean. Vee had a tall wheat bier and I started with a helles, and finished with a pils, all were delicious, refreshing and so wonderfully balanced and clean-tasting. To top it off, Vee ordered an apple strudell that was out of this world. They even garnished it with a huge sparkler-looking decoration! Thoroughly stuffed, we wobbled back outside and in the warmth of the early evening, strolled back through the activity where street musicians were still playing, and futbol fans in full team garb were merrilly chanting or singing fight songs as they stumbled along, some arm in arm, having apparently just left a nearby match. We found some sort of candle-lit religious ceremony going on outside one of the cathedrals and poked around a bit to see what the buzz was about. Vee suggested that maybe it had something to do with the one year anniversary of the induction of the new Pope, who is from Germany. We continued on our way, and found the hotel in the darkeness no problem. With the "VGPS" ("Vee"-GPS) system, it's easy. Tonight, a bit of blogging and reading, and in the morning, laundry. Tomorrow, a full day of Munich.