On Wednesday, as previously, I caught the red-eye from Boston. The ticketing agent almost put me on a plane to Frankfurt—there was apparently another Neubert flying there that day—but I balked, we got it straigtened out, and my Munich reservation trumped the error. Regrettably my request to get an exit row or bulkhead seat came to naught as the flight was booked solid. The flight was uneventful though uncomfortable as it always is, and we made it to Munich before I became a cripple. Ran into an exceptionally long line at passport control, but eventually made it through, picked up my luggage, and was greeted by the VBT rep who linked me up with four others from the St. Louis area who were on the same tour. We were shuttled to our hotel in Munich, the Hotel Stadt Rosenheim, near the Ostbahnhof, and after checking in, I set out to do some sightseeing. the hotel was well located, with a U-bahn entrance on the sidewalk just outside the door, a tram stop just across the street, and kitty-corner from the Ostbahnhof. Bought a three day transit pass, then took the U-bahn to the Lehel stop and came up to a street fair, where I was able to grab a sausage on a roll for a timely lunch. Hopped on a tram to the Englischer Garten and made my way to the Chinese pagoda where I wandered around a bit, then got a Coke at the nearby Biergarten. I was starting to fade at this point, so I went back to the hotel and napped for an hour or so, then explored the neighborhood around the hotel. Back to my room to dress for the evening’s concert, after which I took the U-bahn to Odeonsplatz, window-shopped on Theatinerstrasse and Residenzstrasse, and walked Shirker’s Alley (Viscardigasse.) From there on to a flute/violin/cello concert at the Residenz in the Hofkapelle. Not especially comfortable seating: old wooden pews, but the concert was enjoyable. Thought their arrangements of Non piu andrai and Largo al factotum could probably be rescored for my local trio, but I was tired and foolishly neglected to buttonhole the musicians after the concert. (A couple days later I went to a music store in back of the Neues Rathaus to see if I could order the arrangements, but apparently they were unpublished. Tried contacting the concert organizers to see if they would ask the musicians, but never received a reply.) Returned to the hotel area and had dinner at Zum Brünnstein, a local restaurant, which was quite busy and featured mostly hearty German fare. Then to the hotel and to bed.
The next day (Friday) was a mixture of the old and the new. Got on a tram to see the Maximilianeum (the Bavarian Parliament.) From there it was a short walk to the Isar, where some people were lounging on the banks, but did not see anyone au naturel. Back on the tram to the Theatinerstrasse stop, and walked from there south to Marienplatz to see the 11:00 glockenspiel action. People were already starting to crowd the parks in anticipation of Oktoberfest even though it was a week or so away. Back on the tram to the Hauptbahnhof. Not much to see there, as it was likely destroyed during the war and rebuilt. On the tram back to Karlsplatz Nord. Walkted to Stachus to take the tram up to the Neue Pinakothek, but Stachus was being completely rebuilt, so I walked to Lenbachplatz, on to Maximiliansplatz, up Max-Josephstrasse to the obelisk at Karolinenplatz, and again found a tram that went up Barerstrasse to the Pinakotheks. Had lunch at the Neue, then went in to view the museum. When I had finished, I got back to Karlsplatz Nord by tram and foot, then took the #19 tram again back across the Isar as far as Max-Weberplatz where I changed to another tram and went to see the Gasteig (concert hall for the Munich Philharmonic), the Isartor, and the Sendlingertor. The tram turned around at the Sendlingertor due to the construction at Stachus. I went back to the hotel to relax for a bit, then went back to have dinner at Spatenhaus an der Oper, opposite the Nationaltheater off Max-Josephplatz. This took a while—a while longer than I expected—and when I was done, returned to the hotel to end Friday’s adventures.
Saturday was a more relaxed day. At the suggestion of the VBT contact I decided to take the train out of the city to Starnberg and the Starnberger See, a large resort lake to the southwest. After boarding the train at Ostbahnhof it was a half to three-quarter hour ride to Starnberg station. The lake and the large tour boat, about the size of the Mt. Washington here at home on Lake Winnipesaukee were just a few meters from the station, and I got on board for a nominal sum and had an hour ride around the northern part of the lake, where there were a lot of expensive homes along the shore. When the boat ride was over, I had lunch at a snack bar next to the dock, then wandered on a trail beside the lake filled with boat rental stores, restaurants, souvenir shops, etc. Finally caught the train back to Munich, and after freshening up a bit, went went by U-bahn and tram to the Englischer Garten for another brief look-see. As I was waiting at a tram stop on my return, I saw a young woman checking out a map, accompanied by an older man. Didn’t think much about it at the time. Got off the tram at Prinzregentenstrasse and walked over to the Eisbach canal to watch the local surfers. Didn’t expect much, but it was interesting watching them negotiate the artificial wave and the current. As I was waiting for the tram back, the the young woman with the map and the man wandered into the tram stop and eventually she came up to me and asked if I spoke English. “Very well,” I said. She was looking for a way to get to Marienplatz. It turned out she was from Uruguay (!) and the man with her was her father, who spoke only Spanish. Telling her which trams to take and which stop at which to get off, I eventually got off myself and caught the U-bahn back to the hotel to relax a little. Went back to central Munich on the tram, stopped at the music store mentioned above, then had dinner at Ratskeller under the Neues Rathaus. A large room in a kind of Mitteleuropa hunting lodge decor, and the food, service, and price were all good. Then back to the hotel to get ready for the next day’s trip to Lake Constance.