Getting tickets: Lufthansa was the most polite, helpful airline I've ever worked with. They let me fly into Munich and out of Stuttgart (via free leg to Frankfurt) at no extra charge, after much dithering and several calls.
Packing: After placing stuff in a "maybe take this to Europe" pile over the couple of weeks before, packed in a tremendous frenzy, ending up with way too many socks and probably could have pared it down even beyond that, due to outside impacts to my schedule. It turns out that knapsacks don't really work that well with bulkily stuffed garment bags (can't sling garment bag around to my back the way I expect). Anyway, I never used the snowboots I'd packed, but probably better to have them and not need them.
Flight to Munich: lucked out, no seat neighbor. Kept with my usual plan of reading disposable materials (magazines I let pile up), too wired to sleep much. Near 8 AM landing, I realized that the video was showing different parts of the Munich airport that I would need to know. Hurriedly found my headset, punched buttons 'til I found the English channel, vid ended. Aagh! However, info booth after getting through Customs gave me a train map and showed me which station to come out of to get to ... Torn between reading guidebooks from friends (which I'd meant to do earlier) and looking at German countryside on train ride in.
Munich's glockenspiel: Big clock tower with figures that do different things to clock chimes: a royal court watches knights circle around and then joust; afterwards, dancers below spin in place (individually). I arrived around 9:30 am, show wasn't until 11 am. Killed time by wandering around, getting my spare glasses fixed (had brought them assuming I'd have time to get a replacement screw put in at some point), finding phones, trying to call the hotel I'd picked out of the guidebook, discovering that the phones required cards for operation, consulting my guidebooks, discovering that these cards could be bought at newsstands, finding my way back to the newsstand I'd passed, finding more phones, discovering that these took coins (argh!), which turned out to be quite rare (most only use cards these days), but that the ones next over took cards, and arranging my room. The hotel just took my name (no credit card needed) to hold my room until i showed up (same day), then just took my address (no credit card, not even ID, I think). Also called M (one of the friends from HS days I was visiting in Germany) and left a message. Decided I was too rattled to stick with my original plan of staying on my own in Munich for 2/3 days before going to Stuttgart, just wanted one day. Offered to take train over next afternoon.
Schlepped bags to hotel, noted location of post office on the way. Had I just dumped the bags in my room and slept, I could have gotten more done, but laid down. M eventually called, we made plans for her to come and get me next afternoon. As it got darker, decided to go to an art museum (Alte Pinakothek) that was open until 8. Walked through theater district (near my hotel), saw lots of big buildings, decided Munich was a weird combination of Manhattan and DC -- little shops open late jammed in between huge marble/granite buildings. Saw lots of classical art, including one striking one of Abraham + Isaac, which was an unplanned precursor to my reading Dan Simmon's *Hyperion* and *The Fall of Hyperion* while I was staying in Stuttgart. One of the characters in those books struggles with the problem of Abraham and Isaac (and God) in the book.
Looked for restaurant on my way back, passed a Very Expensive one (though I was wistful about the bouillibase) that reminded me of the top-notch restaurant featured in *Mostly Martha* (German movie that I saw in October). Found nice little restaurant tucked behind an art gallery that was having an opening (I might have gone in there, but a) they were packed, and b) I didn't think much of the art I saw). Ordered daily special, whatever was coming, and it turned out to be an odd if nice baloney-cabbage soup, the 2nd best liver I've ever had (nothing beats that place my sister T and I went to near her newspaper in Phoenixville, PA), and amazingly good potatoes au gratin (all my previous experience with p.a.g. was "potatoes are just vehicles for cheese). Still convinced the waiter had undercharged me, but my German and his English didn't overlap enough to discuss this successfully, so I just gave up and tipped well.
Should have gone into bar on way home to get more water, got very thirsty - warnings in books said don/t drink tap water - couldn't get Perrier in room fridge open - bottle opener on mini pocket knife on table at home, deliberately to get through airport. Woke up partway through night and watched German scifi thriller until sleep came again.
Next day, went to the museum on Lehnbachhaus recommended by sister S. I liked it inside and out (nice courtyard/sculpture garden). Found Klee mosaic-looking postcard for Tangent. More Kandinsky than I'd ever seen, cool. Lots of German expressionism. M came that afternoon and we wandered around downtown Munich (oh yeah, someone tried to pick me up while I was walking to Marienplatz to meet up, probably since I'd looked at my map on the street, dunno if he was after my American $ or what), but before I continue with my adventures with M, I'll wrap up with Munich: O (the other friend from HS days I was visiting) and his daughter G and I went back the next week to see the Deutshes Museum, a huge version of the Smithsonian Arts and Industries museum, emphasis on "industry". Large exhibits on chemistry/pharmeceuticals, waterworks/bridges, toys, glass, ceramics. Glass was really cool, explanations in German as well as English. Sadly, not so for ceramics (lots of stuff, but all in German). Glass for sale had the only 12-inch glass devil (red, tails, pitchfork etc.) I've ever seen. Also some gorgeous candleholders that I was able to talk myself out of, considering my flight home. Main gift shop had little gel bubbles of broken Titanic with iceberg sold as toys (shudder).
So anyway, M picked me up, we wandered around Munich and drove to Stuttgart, picked up some chicken for supper, saw Kinder Eggs at a gas station and went to O and L's.
Thursday I puttered around until M came back over and we went to see Harry Potter. No, not in German; there's an English-language theater near where M and O work. While waiting outside at the florist shop I noticed hideous hybrids of christmas trees and cacti and fungi. Harry Potter was fun, and then we had the first of several Italian meals, popular if not quite a a staple there.
Friday, L took G and me to Hohenzollern, one of my favorite parts of Germany. Big old castle at the top of a hill; we parked at the bottom and hiked an hour up on wet leaves in sneakers (really wished I had my hiking shoes). The view from the top was heavenly. Lots of green little farms and fields, the castle walls all around us. Acted as on interpreter during tour, since I spoke more German than anyone else (hah!) and the guide only spoke German. Fortunately, I'd already read the brochure. 3 different chapels built for different family members (Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox (someone married in)). Beautiful marble etc. tile flooring. G and I enjoyed the Hundesbistro sign above permanent dog food/water dishes in the courtyard outside (big dog culture in Germany, e.g., Doberman on train).
Saturday, M and O and I went to Rotherdam an der Tauber, an old walled city that had stopped building during a depression and forbade further building after it became apparent they were onto a major tourist attraction. Lovely little gardens just outside the city and one behind a church that we couldn't get to. Kind of sterile, though; I much preferred Friolzheim (where O and L live) and Stuttgart, where the old is mixed in with the new and it's all so alive. Noticed that some guard rails are double thick on the Autobahn.
Sunday, all of us went to Bad Wisbaden at the edge of the Black Forest. Pretty park and river (with white-water rafters passing by), hiked on pavement in hiking shoes. We tried to go up a hiking trail that was closed off, and the whole experience reminded me of Jerome Jerome's *Three Men on the Bummel*'s comments about Germans and landscaping.
For the next few days I was on my own. I recovered and planned on Monday, ran some shopping errands with L, saw more Kinder Eggs, still loose and therefore dicey for travelling. Ended up taking the bus and train into Stuttgart quite a bit (around $12 roundtrip).
Food and drink notes: Various folks had asked me to report on German beers. Weissbeers had been especially recommended to me. I found them not bad, but not something I miss. However, after giving up on them I tried some darks, which I haven't in the past liked that much. Either German darks are very different from what I've had in the states, or my tastes have changed in the years since I last tried any. Good thing I was walking walking walking so much around Stuttgart, since so much of the food I came across was high fat/starch. However, the cafeteria on Konigstrasse (Restaurant Movingen, near corner cinema?) had an excellent cabbage with broccoli dish. L and I found a mystery yummy root vegetable (like parsnip but hairy) in the produce section of a grocery store. Never found out its name. Not horseradish, sort of sweetish.
Traveling: 2 types of trains: Sbahn (commuter trains) and Ubahns (metro). Never actually made it onto a Ubahn. Sbahns sold food right there by the tracks, but I never saw anyone (else) eating on the trains. In fact, lots of food sold on streets, but the only on-street eating I saw was around a bunch of semi-permanent stands near the ice skating rink at the Stuttgart Schlossplatz. You buy a train ticket at a booth and then carry it with you just in case a conductor asks to see it (never happened to me) instead of using a card/token to get on as in the States. Public toilets freestanding 30 cents remind me of disintegration chamber from star trek episode, but I came out alive.
General non-city-specific notes: Ladies rooms marked by picture of woman in very short skirt (tutu). Most doors have extra strip on outside so it doesn't have satisfying click shut, but probably better for insulation. Most light switches are 2-inch wide panels (toggle) Parking garages have spaces near doors, elevators reserved for women (safety).
Staatsgalerie Altes: Tried to check bag, would only take coat. Close attention from guards. Favorite painting: Emmanuel de Witte 1660. Innenasicht der Oude Kerk in Amsterdam. Protestant church the center of town (people talking, woman breastfeeding, dog wandered in), full of light and life. Also saw a ton of religious art that doesn't seem so prevalent in say the old wing of the National Gallery in DC: Eventually had it up to here with martydoms and bloody crucifictions. Looking for tiles in paintings was nice distraction.
Altes Schloss: favorite museum! Lots of gorgeous inlaid furniture, side room had wood samples / how-to also for gilt, carving. 1430 card set - the four suits were in hunting dogs, deer, hawks, and people. Wonderful small ceramics/glass display. Cookie stamps tiles gift shop. 100s of designs. Some kind of German Christmas cookie tradition. Have tried making cookies several times since getting back, but my little dancers on the stamp mostly melt into each other.
Wednesday wandering around beautiful downtown Stuttgart, full of parks, glorious blue sky (like Seattle, has a rep for lots of rain, but nice most days I was there), plethora of wonderful museums, had surge of "If only all my friends and family would move here!"
Ludwigsburg: O took Thursday (his birthday) off; we wandered around in the gardens at the castle in Ludwigsburg, which were nice. Porcelain bait and switch: the brochures said they had the only ceramics factory in Baden-Wirttemsburg (sp? Southwest Germany), "Admission Free", but it turned out you couldn't tour the factory, only the extremely pricey gift shop.
Ths. night O and L in classes, I watched tape of *Pitch Black* I'd borrowed from B (M's boyfriend). Good movie! (but horror, beware).
Friday Munich day trip (see above).
Saturday: I went to the HUGE flea market in Stuttgart! Had enormous fun poking through various piles on tables, seeing what they had that was similar and different to the ones I've seen with Catherine and Mom (yard sales etc.). Bought some antique postcards and odds and ends. Surprised to see Nazi postcards mixed in (illegally) with the rest of the goods for sale, but did not go looking for the polizei.
Sunday: Cousin Tony and his fiancee Anna came down from Mannheim, we talked and talked and then went to the Croatian joint in town for lunch and talked and talked some more. Anna and her son (?) are big Star Trek fans and her eyes gleamed when I talked about the cons I've been to. I know they have cons there, but maybe they're not so big on media cons (as opposed to books and definitely gaming) there. Hope when they eventually move here (2004?) we can go to some cons.
Monday: I think this was the day I went to the Stuttgart Staatsgalerie (?), huge modern art gallery in Stuttgart with funky construction materials. Much more sympathy for German expressionism, which had seemed grim before. Still seems grim, but in contrast to all that blood, not so bad.
Tuesday: Spielkartenmuseum! Outside Stuttgart there's a museum of playing cards, which I just happen to collect. The info center near the major station in Stuttgart told me smoothly which buses and local trains to take to get to a tiny museum in a little town off the beaten path, with a little printout and maps! So, I went to the museum. They were supposedly closed (contrary to the guidebook) but I found a back office entrance, and I looked forlorn and mentioned my flight out Thursday am and they told me to come back in an hour and a half, and they dumped me on the graphics designer who'd shown up for some reason or other. We had a great time wandering around the exhibits as he told me how he'd taken home 400-year-old backgammon sets to photograph them for exhibit posters and whatnot. Went mad in gift shop.
During my hour-and-half wait for the designer, I went straight for a church spire in the distance and found exceedingly well-tended cemetary, beautiful plots like mini-gardens. My understanding is it's a cultural obligation there to maintain ones' ancestors' plots.
Also poked my head in various tiny modern art galleries and the Lindenmuseum (ethnic stuff, had Amazon masks and Afghan paintings on exhibit when I was there) in passing different days.
Wednesday M picked me up and we had fun watching movies and doing food prep (peeling etc.) for the big Thanksgiving dinner she was cooking, then she took me to her fave German restaurant, good food and then the best Tiramisu ever for dessert.
Kinder egg tragedy: Had learned of Kinder Eggs from my former colleague Susie, who had a great collection in her office. Intended to pick some up later, hollow chocolate eggs with neat toys inside (like Crackerjacks only much better toys). Was going to buy 2-3 dozen and pass 'em out like candy back home, but kept expecting that I'd find whole packages for easier travel (like eggshells, easily crushed). Was planning to get them in Stuttgart airport Ths. am, but was going to transfer in Frankfurt, which is a much bigger airport, so I waited on the theory that that would give them that much more chance to get home alive. But No! Frankfurt must have decided that anyone flying to the States would only want extremely expensive scarves and china, no Kinder Eggs at all in the international section, no time to go to the other terminal. Sigh. Why Kinder Eggs aren't (legally?) available in the States
To compensate for the disappointment in Frankfurt, I lucked out again with no seat neighbor for the Frankfurt-States leg of my trip back. Landed Thanksgiving afternoon, incredibly low-traffic easy drive back. Enjoyed delayed thanksgiving feast that weekend with friends. Mulligatawny, acorn squash, yams, tofu turkey, real turkey, succotash, brie, various desserts, and I forget what all else. A nice soothing ending to an interesting and at times great trip.