No English language newspapers were to be found, but breakfast was excellent, as usual. There are about a dozen choices of bread, 7-8 fresh fruits, and even more sliced and diced fruit, not to mention all the cheeses, meats, and cooked to order items. Someone in a review had complained that there were no "Bavarian" items, but every morning we have seen big pretzels and weisswurst with senf (mustard). How much more Bavarian can you get?
The lady who had helped us in the lounge with changing rooms was on duty at the concierge desk, and we spoke with her at length about the best way to get to the Loden Frey store without a lot of walking. I was hesitant to take the subway, as I know there is often a lot of walking in the underground stations, and there are not always escalators and when there are, they are sometimes not working.
The hotel is so conveniently located as far as transportation (for anyone who can walk). The S-Bahn is directly underneath. You can go all the way to the airport without changing.
It was as I suspected about the subway - not a good idea. First off, we entered the area to go down to the S-Bahn. Had to go down about 12 stairs. It had been awhile since our last visit, and forgot that we could have stepped just outside the hotel and taken the escalator down. Then we walked across a long expanse and took an escalator down to the platform. I should have learned from past experience not to follow Ron onto a train in haste. It is best to take your time and be sure what you are doing. The trains are so frequent it doesn't matter if you have to wait a few minutes. Nevertheless, we hopped on the train that was at the platform, and sure enough, it took us in the wrong direction to Ostbahnhof, the end of the line. So, we had to get off and find the train going back in the other direction. And, since we had bought single-trip tickets, our tickets weren't valid to travel in the return direction. After more up and down escalators we finally found the train going to Marienplatz. We were riding "illegally" until after we passed our original station (Rosenheimerplatz) and kept a wary eye out for the inspectors. Ron and Mike got caught once in that exact scenario - had gone wrong direction and re-traced their steps.
We finally arrived at Marienplatz (even though our original plan had been subway to Max Weber and tram from there). It is a huge underground area, and the long, long escalator up the street exit came to an abrupt halt just as we were about to step on. Thankfully, we had paused to let a large group of people go past us or we would have been on it and would have had to CLIMB a long way. We then went to look for another way up. This was the first path - yuck! Ron scouted out another way.
We ended up taking an escalator down to a lower platform and then another long escalator back up. Then we found an elevator, but it took us to the wrong place. Eventually we made our way out, and I was about worn out already.
When we came up into Marienplatz, the crowd was amazing. Just the kind of scene we had planned to avoid - crowds that might be targeted. There were dozens of police and security and barricades. As people came into the area, if they had any type of a bag or backpack, these were searched. It was difficult walking through the throngs of people, dodging and weaving, stop and go, all of which are difficult for me. As soon as we made our way to a clearing we looked for a place to stop and sit. We went into the Donisl, a Bavarian restaurant/bar that has been there forever. They usually have outdoor seating, but it was closed off because of this event, which we discovered was Munich Street Life Festival, plus the finals of Bayern Munich football.
After having a small beer and wine and catching my breath at Donisl, we continued walking through the barriers and down Theatinerstrasse to our destination, Loden Frey, a traditional Bavarian, very exclusive store.
Ron was hoping to find a shirt, as he had not packed nearly enough. I had a seat and read the newspaper while he shopped. After he went up to the third floor to Men's "trachten" (traditional Bavarian clothing) he found a nice shirt. He thought the area was so beautiful that he urged me to go up in the elevator and walk around the floor. So, we did, and it was huge, and the clothing so beautiful, and both the customers and clerks were so elegant. The clerks were all wearing gorgeous Bavarian clothing.
We then set out to find a spot of lunch. Unfortunately, we walked toward Odeonsplatz, and ended up at the Pfalzer Weinstube. The main part of the restaurant was closed, as the entire wing of the Residenz is under renovation for about two years. We were too tired to walk any further. The menu was limited, as their ventilation system under renovation so no grilled or fried items. I ordered white asparagus with Hollandaise. Ron had a leberknodel soup. Which is beef broth with a large liver dumpling floating in it.
Because of the Street Festival, all of Ludwigstrasse was blocked off, so there were no taxis. We walked and walked, looking at all the cross streets, but seeing no possibilities. We ended up walking all the way to the Neue Pinakothek (art museum). There were chairs chained to a wall at a closed pub. One of the chairs could be unfolded, and there I sat. Ron stood at the curb trying to flag a taxi. Finally one came along. He must have noticed how tired we were, as he asked how long we had been waiting. We told him the story of the entire inner city being closed off, and once we were in the city, we couldn't get out!
Whew, I was so glad to get back to the hotel. I calculated on Via Michelin how far we had walked, and it was over 2-miles. I had initially suggested walking 1 km (.6 mile) to Max Weber and taking a tram, and Ron kept saying, "You can't go that far."
After a rest, we again went up to the lounge for some drinks and enough food so we didn't have to venture out.
The lady who had helped us in the lounge with changing rooms was on duty at the concierge desk, and we spoke with her at length about the best way to get to the Loden Frey store without a lot of walking. I was hesitant to take the subway, as I know there is often a lot of walking in the underground stations, and there are not always escalators and when there are, they are sometimes not working.
The hotel is so conveniently located as far as transportation (for anyone who can walk). The S-Bahn is directly underneath. You can go all the way to the airport without changing.
It was as I suspected about the subway - not a good idea. First off, we entered the area to go down to the S-Bahn. Had to go down about 12 stairs. It had been awhile since our last visit, and forgot that we could have stepped just outside the hotel and taken the escalator down. Then we walked across a long expanse and took an escalator down to the platform. I should have learned from past experience not to follow Ron onto a train in haste. It is best to take your time and be sure what you are doing. The trains are so frequent it doesn't matter if you have to wait a few minutes. Nevertheless, we hopped on the train that was at the platform, and sure enough, it took us in the wrong direction to Ostbahnhof, the end of the line. So, we had to get off and find the train going back in the other direction. And, since we had bought single-trip tickets, our tickets weren't valid to travel in the return direction. After more up and down escalators we finally found the train going to Marienplatz. We were riding "illegally" until after we passed our original station (Rosenheimerplatz) and kept a wary eye out for the inspectors. Ron and Mike got caught once in that exact scenario - had gone wrong direction and re-traced their steps.
We finally arrived at Marienplatz (even though our original plan had been subway to Max Weber and tram from there). It is a huge underground area, and the long, long escalator up the street exit came to an abrupt halt just as we were about to step on. Thankfully, we had paused to let a large group of people go past us or we would have been on it and would have had to CLIMB a long way. We then went to look for another way up. This was the first path - yuck! Ron scouted out another way.
We ended up taking an escalator down to a lower platform and then another long escalator back up. Then we found an elevator, but it took us to the wrong place. Eventually we made our way out, and I was about worn out already.
When we came up into Marienplatz, the crowd was amazing. Just the kind of scene we had planned to avoid - crowds that might be targeted. There were dozens of police and security and barricades. As people came into the area, if they had any type of a bag or backpack, these were searched. It was difficult walking through the throngs of people, dodging and weaving, stop and go, all of which are difficult for me. As soon as we made our way to a clearing we looked for a place to stop and sit. We went into the Donisl, a Bavarian restaurant/bar that has been there forever. They usually have outdoor seating, but it was closed off because of this event, which we discovered was Munich Street Life Festival, plus the finals of Bayern Munich football.
After having a small beer and wine and catching my breath at Donisl, we continued walking through the barriers and down Theatinerstrasse to our destination, Loden Frey, a traditional Bavarian, very exclusive store.
 |
| Flowers outside of Loden Frey |
Ron was hoping to find a shirt, as he had not packed nearly enough. I had a seat and read the newspaper while he shopped. After he went up to the third floor to Men's "trachten" (traditional Bavarian clothing) he found a nice shirt. He thought the area was so beautiful that he urged me to go up in the elevator and walk around the floor. So, we did, and it was huge, and the clothing so beautiful, and both the customers and clerks were so elegant. The clerks were all wearing gorgeous Bavarian clothing.
We then set out to find a spot of lunch. Unfortunately, we walked toward Odeonsplatz, and ended up at the Pfalzer Weinstube. The main part of the restaurant was closed, as the entire wing of the Residenz is under renovation for about two years. We were too tired to walk any further. The menu was limited, as their ventilation system under renovation so no grilled or fried items. I ordered white asparagus with Hollandaise. Ron had a leberknodel soup. Which is beef broth with a large liver dumpling floating in it.
Because of the Street Festival, all of Ludwigstrasse was blocked off, so there were no taxis. We walked and walked, looking at all the cross streets, but seeing no possibilities. We ended up walking all the way to the Neue Pinakothek (art museum). There were chairs chained to a wall at a closed pub. One of the chairs could be unfolded, and there I sat. Ron stood at the curb trying to flag a taxi. Finally one came along. He must have noticed how tired we were, as he asked how long we had been waiting. We told him the story of the entire inner city being closed off, and once we were in the city, we couldn't get out!
Whew, I was so glad to get back to the hotel. I calculated on Via Michelin how far we had walked, and it was over 2-miles. I had initially suggested walking 1 km (.6 mile) to Max Weber and taking a tram, and Ron kept saying, "You can't go that far."
After a rest, we again went up to the lounge for some drinks and enough food so we didn't have to venture out.
Comments
Post a Comment