Thursday, 1 October

My flight arrived in Munich at 1:30 pm, about an hour behind schedule but not without a little drama. As we started to get ready for arrival, the stewardess had trouble waking up a woman in the row behind me. As soon as the captain told the crew “prepare for arrival” and the crew were seated, the woman got out of her seat and headed to the back of the plane. The stewardess told her to be seated, finally she came back to her seat. As we were waiting to get off the plane, the woman was arguing with the stewardess about showing her boarding pass for the next flight and being belligerent. After we were off the plane I heard someone in front of me mention that the police were outside of the plane. I did get about four hours of sleep on the plane and the time difference is +6 hours.

My arrival was much, much nicer. Passport control was a breeze and then a long walk to the exit which felt good after sitting for an eight hour flight. I messaged Nicole and she met me near the exit. A hug and a coffee at the airport before heading to her and Frank’s apartment in Friesenried. Munich traffic and construction reminded me of home. I greeted Frank and had the chance to view his large model car collection. There are a few planes and a motorcycle as well. Frank is a magician. These are magnificent. I will need to remember to get some photos tomorrow. Time for another coffee.

It was off to the Hotel Elbsee on a lake Elbsee in Aitrang, not far from Nicole and Frank’s. The room is wonderful, large with a kitchen and large bathroom with a deck. I checked in and Nicole and I took a walk over to the Elbsee Restaurant. The hotel also has a campground. There are some activities for the campers including kneipp pools. Nicole described this as wading in cold water in a shallow pool, then going over to a sink and splashing cold water on your arms. Nicole said it is a German tradition that is especially nice in the summer.

On the way we passed some small rides for children that I wanted to try. Put a Euro in the slot and you could run a hydraulic shovel and move gravel around, another Euro and you could stack blocks using a crane. Mini sized heavy equipment to play with. .

We sat outside and I enjoyed a tender venison roast served with creamy chanterelle mushrooms, red wine sauce, dumplings, and a pear with lingonberries along with a German beer. A scoop of homemade chocolate ice cream for dessert. the food was delicious. Nicole had chicken cordon Bleu and finished with hot chocolate since it cooled off after sunset/

We found out that the server that one of the specialties is spareribs. If you order spare ribs, they are delivered by a robot playing music. Very entertaining.

I was able to give Dolora a call before heading off to sleep in the comfortable bed. Tomorrow’s plan is to meet at 8:30.