Jul 2007

In Munich, we celebrated the start of our Grand Tour with a visit to the ever-so-touristy Hofbrauhaus where we enjoyed a Mass of beer (ok, I didn’t quite finish mine…..) with some backpackers who were practically half our age. This was after dinner at the “Hax’n Bauer” restaurant, where I embraced the local cuisine and attempted a pig knuckle. I’m sure Lloyd enjoyed it….

After our Day 1 excesses (Lloyd had three liters of beer!), we didn’t quite manage to be at the Deutsches Museum (DM) at opening as we had planned. In fact, our 11am arrival seemed to coincide with the arrival of every teenager in Germany, who hooliganed around us wherever we went. Still, I have to say that the DM was a fabulous experience, and we really enjoyed the exhibits on mining and aviation. Who’d have thought mining could be interesting? The Germans have truly made it so.

We only had a couple of hours left after our extended visit to the DM, so after a final wander around the center of Munich, it was off back to the airport for our flight to Athens. Lloyd resisted one last taste of German beer at Munich airport (a decision he will surely come to regret), and we boarded our Aegean Airlines plane at about 7pm. Perhaps in true Greek style, we didn’t leave however until after 8pm, as it took a while for the crew to reconcile the number of passengers with the number of boarding cards issued. Not the kind of discrepancy you like to be in the midst of. Nonetheless, Lloyd was quite cheerful given the very attractive flight attendants (not sure that the American standard of political correctness has reached Greece yet - these ladies were selected for their looks and no mistake) – this was the first flight ever that Lloyd has happily volunteered for the aisle seat so he could admire the ladies swaggering up and down the aisles in their figure-hugging shift dresses.

I wasn’t complaining either. We were offered a sweetie prior to take-off (I can’t even remember the last time THAT happened), and a full dinner during our two and a half hour flight. And wait for the best part……. Though I know you will find this hard to believe, the flight attendants SMILED at you. United and American, take note!

Our perception of the Greeks continued to improve when we arrived in Athens to find that the Public Transportation was open despite the late hour. With the help of a very friendly young lady, we were able to take a bus into the center of town for 3,20 Euro each, saving a fairly hefty taxi fare. Hurrah! We finally hit the concrete mattresses of the Hotel Stanley at about 1.30am, and tried to get to sleep as quickly as we could knowing that we’d need to be up at 6.00am for our Day Trip to Poros, Hydra and Aegina.

We've been in Greece - Jacquie will write a new post today or tomorrow, as we are here for 4 days. Til then, enjoy our arrival video!

We had our next stop in my old home-town of Munich!! We saw all the typical sites on a typical (read: wet) German day - Marienplatz, the Deutshes Museum, and the pedestrian area down town. To start things off right in the food department (that is, to get Jacquie into the adventure of eating strange new things!) we went for dinner at . . . the Hax'n Bauer. If you don't know, a Hax'n is a knuckle, and here in Munich it is the #2 most higly recommended food - after white sausage (for breakfast!). I got my pig Hax'n which i love (think dark pork with cracklin all around on a big, big bone) and Jacquie her introdustion to the world of strange food.

Overall, Jacquie (to my relief) really enjoyed Munich - lovely old buidlings, great mass transit and overall clean and tidy. I was simply back home, so it was nice to know that memory serves me well. I was even able to fond my way to the Hofbrauhaus ( I know - it's not Augustiner, but you can't replace that fest-like atmosphere and it must be done by any first time visitor!).

Take a peek at our pictures, as well as this little clip of our visit there!