We had decided to have a light breakfast in the lounge instead of the restaurant. Much calmer, with so few people we feel we have the place to ourselves, but plenty of choices. We enjoyed THREE newspapers, "USA Today", "NY Times", and "Wall Street Journal". We weren't in any hurry.
We had a late check-out and left the hotel about 11:45 AM. We wanted to meander on back roads, no autobahn. We passed through the area of Munich called Riem, which used to be the airport, which closed in 1992. It was amazing to see the enormous messe-gelande (exhibition/convention center) - over 20 huge buildings, office complexes, AND hundreds of modern apartments that had been built on the grounds. It was especially interesting to see that they had preserved the control tower of the airport and incorporated it into an office building. At the foot of the tower was a restaurant with outside dining. Would loved to have a stop there. We were amazed to see this massive development, and glad that we had "wandered" that way. We remember flying into Riem occasionally, and to see the change in the area is mind-boggling - and to think it has been 25 years since the new airport opened north of the city.
Continued driving, and thought we might go to Aying for lunch at the Ayingherhof, part of the famous brewery, and a lovely spot. But, we missed a sign, and ended up going more toward our hotel. We stopped off at a huge wein-depot, and Ron bought a supply of Kaefer (Lady Bug, a nice German brand) wine.
Before arriving at the hotel we spotted a golf course with a "Landgasthof Restaurant". Ron drove in, and it was a magical setting, so we stopped. We didn't really care about the food, just the view and experience.
Ron's meal was okay - rinder (beef) saft gulash. The chicken curry I ordered with basmasti rice was, instead, served with spaghetti noodles! The waiter explained they were out of rice. Somehow, curry just doesn't go with spaghetti noodles.
This was when the stress of the day (or of the trip) made its appearance! Ron went to pay, and didn't have his wallet in his pocket. He went back to the car to see if it was in his jacket, but NO. He asked if I had any cards, and I told him in my little blue bag inside my roll-on suitcase. So, he went back to the car again, rummaged around and found my credit card wallet. Then the waiter informed us that they don't accept cards! We had spent most of our cash at the wine depot, but luckily, had just enough to pay for the lunch bill.
We searched the car from top to bottom, dumped out my tote bag to make sure it wasn't there. In a panic, we tried to re-trace our steps to the wein-depot. We had no idea of the name of it or what town it was in, and Ron had paid cash and not obtained a RECEIPT which would have identified it! I knew it was adjacent to an EDEKA store, but the phone wasn't working for google, so that didn't help. Ron managed to find the place, but the clerks all said they had not seen the little black wallet.
More panic - once again tossing the car and all the bags to no avail. So, the only choice was to drive back to the Hilton in Munich. We had tried repeatedly to call them, but there were only voice recordings and never could speak to a real person. Ron was super stressed - not good! I was urging him to "be calm" - that is a real "role-reversal"! We were thinking through all of the problems and chaos this would entail. One of the worst being that when his debit card had been cancelled a week or so ago because of "suspicious activity" we had increased the cash withdrawal limit on mine to use instead. But, of course, that card was now in Ron's wallet! So, we would have no way to obtain cash! Another issue was his driver's license. Had the International, but that is not always sufficient if stopped or involved in accident. Besides credit cards (making mental list of all that needed to be cancelled), there were numerous things like VA card, Medicare card, etc., etc. The only good thing was that our passports were safe in the jacket pocket. In the past, I have usually been diligent about making copies of all our documents to carry with us. This time I was lax and only had copies of passports, so we would have to think through what all companies or organizations needed to be contacted. This kind of anxiety makes you feel physically ill.
We arrived back at the Hilton, and didn't hold out much hope. We felt the hotel would have tried to contact us by text or email if they had found it. Unbelievably, when Ron went to the desk and said that he thought he may have left his wallet there when checking out, the girl reached under the counter and retrieved the wallet! All he could say was "Thank God".
Drove out of Munich once again - this time we took the autobahn as far as possible. We were so happy to arrive at the beautiful Aschbaherhof in the small town of Feldkirchen-Westerham.
We have stayed here several times, and had requested a particular room - up one floor and adjacent to the elevator. It is a corner room with the most fabulous view - out one window the stunning Wendelstein range of the Bavarian Alps, and out the other, a beautiful pasture (backed by trees) with several horses. The room also has a wrap-around balcony.
A big storm came up. Ron loves a good storm, and snuggled up under a blanket on the balcony with a "libation" in hand - enjoying his beloved Alps. A much needed relief from the stress of the day. The only "problem" was these older style European hotels still don't understand the American desire for ice, lots of ice. On Ron's first request, the clerk wanted to give him chocolate ice cream. He then specified "eis wurfeln" (cubes). We were given a small glass pitcher with ice.
So, after a round of drinks, I went back down to request a refill. Then again, after dinner we had to ask for more.
We went down to dinner. I only had pfannkuchen soup, which I thought would be the same as the Swiss flaedli, but it seemed there was some meat amongst the strips of pancake, so I was not so fond of it. Ron loved his schweinebraten and potato dumplings.
We were ready to call it an early night. Felt like we had aged a year in one day!
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| Executive Lounge |
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| Buffet in lounge |
Continued driving, and thought we might go to Aying for lunch at the Ayingherhof, part of the famous brewery, and a lovely spot. But, we missed a sign, and ended up going more toward our hotel. We stopped off at a huge wein-depot, and Ron bought a supply of Kaefer (Lady Bug, a nice German brand) wine.
Before arriving at the hotel we spotted a golf course with a "Landgasthof Restaurant". Ron drove in, and it was a magical setting, so we stopped. We didn't really care about the food, just the view and experience.
Ron's meal was okay - rinder (beef) saft gulash. The chicken curry I ordered with basmasti rice was, instead, served with spaghetti noodles! The waiter explained they were out of rice. Somehow, curry just doesn't go with spaghetti noodles.
 |
| Curry chicken with spaghetti noodles - Bizarre! |
This was when the stress of the day (or of the trip) made its appearance! Ron went to pay, and didn't have his wallet in his pocket. He went back to the car to see if it was in his jacket, but NO. He asked if I had any cards, and I told him in my little blue bag inside my roll-on suitcase. So, he went back to the car again, rummaged around and found my credit card wallet. Then the waiter informed us that they don't accept cards! We had spent most of our cash at the wine depot, but luckily, had just enough to pay for the lunch bill.
We searched the car from top to bottom, dumped out my tote bag to make sure it wasn't there. In a panic, we tried to re-trace our steps to the wein-depot. We had no idea of the name of it or what town it was in, and Ron had paid cash and not obtained a RECEIPT which would have identified it! I knew it was adjacent to an EDEKA store, but the phone wasn't working for google, so that didn't help. Ron managed to find the place, but the clerks all said they had not seen the little black wallet.
More panic - once again tossing the car and all the bags to no avail. So, the only choice was to drive back to the Hilton in Munich. We had tried repeatedly to call them, but there were only voice recordings and never could speak to a real person. Ron was super stressed - not good! I was urging him to "be calm" - that is a real "role-reversal"! We were thinking through all of the problems and chaos this would entail. One of the worst being that when his debit card had been cancelled a week or so ago because of "suspicious activity" we had increased the cash withdrawal limit on mine to use instead. But, of course, that card was now in Ron's wallet! So, we would have no way to obtain cash! Another issue was his driver's license. Had the International, but that is not always sufficient if stopped or involved in accident. Besides credit cards (making mental list of all that needed to be cancelled), there were numerous things like VA card, Medicare card, etc., etc. The only good thing was that our passports were safe in the jacket pocket. In the past, I have usually been diligent about making copies of all our documents to carry with us. This time I was lax and only had copies of passports, so we would have to think through what all companies or organizations needed to be contacted. This kind of anxiety makes you feel physically ill.
We arrived back at the Hilton, and didn't hold out much hope. We felt the hotel would have tried to contact us by text or email if they had found it. Unbelievably, when Ron went to the desk and said that he thought he may have left his wallet there when checking out, the girl reached under the counter and retrieved the wallet! All he could say was "Thank God".
Drove out of Munich once again - this time we took the autobahn as far as possible. We were so happy to arrive at the beautiful Aschbaherhof in the small town of Feldkirchen-Westerham.
We have stayed here several times, and had requested a particular room - up one floor and adjacent to the elevator. It is a corner room with the most fabulous view - out one window the stunning Wendelstein range of the Bavarian Alps, and out the other, a beautiful pasture (backed by trees) with several horses. The room also has a wrap-around balcony.
A big storm came up. Ron loves a good storm, and snuggled up under a blanket on the balcony with a "libation" in hand - enjoying his beloved Alps. A much needed relief from the stress of the day. The only "problem" was these older style European hotels still don't understand the American desire for ice, lots of ice. On Ron's first request, the clerk wanted to give him chocolate ice cream. He then specified "eis wurfeln" (cubes). We were given a small glass pitcher with ice.
 |
| Our "ice pitcher" which needed frequent refilling |
So, after a round of drinks, I went back down to request a refill. Then again, after dinner we had to ask for more.
 |
| Enjoying the storm - and recovering from the stress of the day |
We went down to dinner. I only had pfannkuchen soup, which I thought would be the same as the Swiss flaedli, but it seemed there was some meat amongst the strips of pancake, so I was not so fond of it. Ron loved his schweinebraten and potato dumplings.
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| Pfannkuchen Suppe |
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| Schweinebraten |
We were ready to call it an early night. Felt like we had aged a year in one day!
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