by Ron Largent | Nov 13, 2012 | BMW, Bullet Train, Geneva, Germany, Inter City Express (ICE), International Travel, IR Train, Lausanne, lucerne, Mercedes, Montreaux, Munich, Salzburg, Ski The Alps, Special travel deals, Stuttgart, The Alps, Travel, Travel the World, Zurich
We went down to the Marriott for breakfast and the placed was packed. Apparently, the hotels put together a special package for these holiday, and the place was full. We ordered from the menu…and got much more than we could eat. We walked back to the hotel…and left at 12 to catch the train to Leipzig. We were a little late in leaving, so had to rush to the station, using the U-bahn, but made it with about 5 minutes to spare. We went on to the first car that we saw was first class non-smoking, and as it turned out it was the end car with the engineer, except that the train was going in the opposite direction. This was the new ICE train, and the engineers compartment is like a cockpit, in that he sits at a console with computer screens “wrapped” around him. He is in a highback chair that is adjustable and on air, so that in the event of a bumpy ride his seat does not move. Right behind him is a glass wall, with a door, and then 6 seats, where we sat…then a wall into the next compartment. Within a few minutes we were off, headed towards Augsburg. It was at this time that the train changed directions, and the engineer came up to our car…so we in essence were in the first car…the drivers car, if you will. Pretty exciting, for again, these trains really move, and to watch the engineer control the speeds, etc…very interesting. He used both a cell phone and a console mounted phone, and was continually watching and checking the computer screens. We tried to monitor the speed, but it was hard to see through the glass, but knew we were going fast. Five hours later we arrived in Leipzig after this exciting time for both of us on the ICE. When we got off, the station at Leipzig was almost overwhelming…new, modern, and huge. The largest in Europe, with a full mall below the main station. Wow!. We walked 1 block to the Marriott, and although it was cold, we knew we were going to enjoy Leipzig. We were upgraded to the Executive Level, so had dinner right there…fried zucchini, etc…then went out for a walk in the sludge, as it had snowed and was much colder than in Munich. Back to the room and in bed by 9. A fun day on the train for a kid like me.
by Ron Largent | Nov 13, 2012 | BMW, Mercedes, Stuttgart, Travel, VW
I woke up early and went for a walk around the area…a very nice area with many Mercedes and BMW’s parked on the street. This would be a nice residential area in any city…very expensive. We went back down to the Marriott for their breakfast, as the Renaissance served only a buffet. The Marriott was great, where we got a small breakfast for about $5.00..Audy had muesli cereal. We then headed for the BMW Museum in the area of the Olympic Stadium. We got there at 11 and it was closed….many places were closed for New Years Eve Day…so we got the Metro back down town..to the center of Munich…the area known as Marienplatz, where the famous Glockenspiel is surrounded by the big downtown churches, and we both remembered this area. Very pretty, and very, very crowded this morning, with the stores closing at 2 PM. We found that the G’spiel would go off at 5 PM…so walked down to the Galeria Kasthof…a huge 5 story department store. We went up to the 5th floor and had lunch…then Audy walked around and we found the Formula 1 Calendar. We left at 2 and found that there would be a Mass at 5…so walked down the Kaiserstrasse,to the main station to take a day tour for an hour, which was very interesting. Munich has grown into a big city, with not too many “impressive buildings” like other parts of Germany. We were impressed by the pedestrian areas and the big stores, for it is a very cosmopolitan and international area. On Kaiserstrasse, you can find every imaginable shop, from Gucci to the tourist souvenir shops. Big and small, and huge crowds to go with it.
We got back to Marienplatz by 5…and for the first time, ever, we imagined…the glock did not go off. Bummer. We waited for a few minutes and then went over to the Mass…a full church, but a good service with massive organ and trumpet. The overall effect of these big churches when the organ and congregation are singing is almost overwhelming. You can almost feel the music and vibrations in the foundation of the building. Really meaningful, especially for musicians. We tried to find another service that we had read about…but no luck…so headed back to the hotel area for dinner. We stopped at a neighborhood restaurant and as we entered they asked if we had a reservation, which we didn’t. As it turns out, New Year Eve, known as Sylvester, is a big night…and the thing to do is to go out for dinner…then stay up and shoot off fireworks at midnight. After going to bed at 10…we were awakened at midnight with a huge fireworks show right outside the hotel. What happens is that people come out from the apartments to shoot …and it is a big deal. I got up and looked out, and there were probably 200 people right outside our window…all shooting off fireworks, and these are not just sparklers. This is a big night! The next morning I went out and the streets were littered with fireworks debris…almost a mess, as you had to watch where you worked. Overall evaluation of Munich is that it is a big well off city….good to visit…but we had been there before, and probably would not go back until we see everything else there is to see.
