After leaving Greensboro on Tuesday, April 17 at about 7 P.M., we arrived in Munich on April 18 at 10:00 A.M. The Munich airport is vast, and the first challenge was to find our rental car agency, which, unbeknownst to both of us, did not have an office inside the terminal.
As most of you know, we began planning this trip over a year ago and had plenty of time to learn some rudimentary German and carefully plan our itinerary. We dutifully bought language and guide books. Alas, we did not actually read the books.
After wandering around the airport for a bit, we finally stumbled upon an information desk attendant who helpfully told us that our rental car agency was not at the airport. He said the rental agency would have sent a person to meet us at the gate with a sign. Huh. Obviously, we missed that. Fortunately, a quick call to the rental agency from my cell (which worked perfectly in Germany & Austria) and answered by the nice English speaking agent solved our problem. After a short wait, we were whisked away to the agency.
Since I insisted on an automatic transmission, the rental car agency “upgraded” our rental to a full-size, black Mercedes van. For some reason, the van was flying a small Canadian flag on its roof. In retrospect, it was probably flying a Canadian flag because the van was last used to transport the entire citizenry of Canada across Europe. We could have lived in that van. It had three rows of seats and plenty of room left over for luggage. The van was also equipped with a navigation system.
Since I insisted on an automatic transmission, the rental car agency “upgraded” our rental to a full-size, black Mercedes van. For some reason, the van was flying a small Canadian flag on its roof. In retrospect, it was probably flying a Canadian flag because the van was last used to transport the entire citizenry of Canada across Europe. We could have lived in that van. It had three rows of seats and plenty of room left over for luggage. The van was also equipped with a navigation system.
(Note to readers: If you are in Europe, never allow a rental car agency to “upgrade” you to a full-size van; there are reasons people in Europe drive small cars (see Salzburg).)
Finally, we were on the autobahn, free to drive as fast as we wanted. Not. I did at least reach 100 mph or 160 kph, but it made Kevin (and me) too nervous. There was too much traffic, and, contrary to common belief (mine, at least), there were speed limits on certain sections of the autobahn—at least that’s what we think those signs meant; sign meaning was heavily debated inside the ginormous van during the entirety of our trip.
That first night we stayed in Oberstaufen, a tiny little town in west Bavaria. From here we would begin our circuitous route around Bavaria and eventually to Munich. We had a delicious traditional German meal and our first freshly tapped German Weissbier.
Although, not completely planned out at the time, our agenda became:
4.19 Schwangau, Wieskirch & Oberammergau
4.20 Innsbruck
4.21 Salzburg
4.22 Regensburg
4.23 Rothenburg ob der Tauber
4.24 Rothenburg ob der Tauber
4.25 Munich
4.26 Arnsbruck (to visit Weinfurtner Das Glasdorf, old and famous glass & crystal makers)
4.27 Home
Finally, we were on the autobahn, free to drive as fast as we wanted. Not. I did at least reach 100 mph or 160 kph, but it made Kevin (and me) too nervous. There was too much traffic, and, contrary to common belief (mine, at least), there were speed limits on certain sections of the autobahn—at least that’s what we think those signs meant; sign meaning was heavily debated inside the ginormous van during the entirety of our trip.
That first night we stayed in Oberstaufen, a tiny little town in west Bavaria. From here we would begin our circuitous route around Bavaria and eventually to Munich. We had a delicious traditional German meal and our first freshly tapped German Weissbier.
Although, not completely planned out at the time, our agenda became:
4.19 Schwangau, Wieskirch & Oberammergau
4.20 Innsbruck
4.21 Salzburg
4.22 Regensburg
4.23 Rothenburg ob der Tauber
4.24 Rothenburg ob der Tauber
4.25 Munich
4.26 Arnsbruck (to visit Weinfurtner Das Glasdorf, old and famous glass & crystal makers)
4.27 Home
In addition to partaking of lots of German bier, one of us ate her weight in sausage, while the other tried to stick to the less artery-clogging meals. See below a meal of spargel (asparagus) and bratwurst and chicken and rice.
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