Worst hotel yet! Large room. However, on getting out of bed, we found no one and no food in the dining room! There was some food in the refrigerator thanks to Rhea and Carl – but where were the meats, the cheeses, the selections of breads and pastries, the salades composée, the Viennese café or the Cappuccino? Where were the cereals, the yogurts, the selection of fresh fruit, the hard boiled eggs? Where was the wait staff to clear away the dishes?
What did we find? A stack of mail – well, to be specific, bills to be paid!
Well, Virginia, there may be a Santa Claus, but unfortunately, there is no maid, only laundry at the end of a vacation.
Ah, bien, à la prochain vacances! До побачення!
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
20090524 – Sunday - Munich to Montreal
After a slightly (but only slightly) lighter breakfast, it was running ahead of the rain drops 300 metres across the cobblestones to the Schnellbahn/Ubahn station and our train to the Flughafen (Airport). The ride to the airport was somewhat amusing and noisy. A young black guy was rather uncomfortably sleeping across two seats with his both feet firmly planted in the aisle, snoring at about 6 on the Richter Scale! Great flight on Lufthansa and then unfortunately a seven hour layover in Montreal. Paid something like $11CDN for a beer – a pint – not even a Litre in the airport! Got in at midnight and thankfully we were picked up by Gloria. All luggage intact.
20090523 – Saturday – Munich
Saturday morning was another round of sightseeing of some of the historic churches. They are fabulous and one runs out of adjectives. It is easy to see how they inspire awe and belief. In the afternoon, we took the U-bahn (Metro) to the Olympic park. It is a beautiful location with hectares and hectares of parkland, a pity that it has to be remembered as the place where terrorists killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches. We went up to the observation deck at the 190 metre level of the 291 metre tower. What a fabulous view of Munich and the surrounding countryside with the Alps in the background. We then strolled around the lake, watching the ducks, geese and swans. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympiapark,_Munich . Then it was off to BMW Welt (World). Everything BMW, all current models, literally 100s of interactive experiences, including workshops for children. Even Gail, who is not usually that impressed by cars, other than knowing she likes nice ones was impressed. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_Headquarters Unfortunately we did not have time to visit the BMW Museum. It was then back to the hotel and clean up and to celebrate our last nite in Munich with a "white wine and white linen" dinner as Gail calls it. After another fantastic meal, it was back to the hotel to pack and get ready to leave in the morning.
20090522 – Friday – Munich
Raining today, but not a problem as we went thru the Residenz or Royal Palace and the Royal Treasury – crowns, etc. One of the most opulent and best collections that we have seen. Beside the Residenz is the memorial to famous Bavarian generals which Hitler had turned into a Nazi shrine and made it compulsory for everyone passing to do the Nazi salute and say Heil Hitler! Behind the memorial is a small lane that people who wanted to avoid the salute would pass. It came to be know as Heil Hitler Lane. The Nazi décor was removed after the war, but the name persists. We then went to the Hofbrauhaus which is the largest and oldest beer garden and ale house dating back to the 1500s. We then went exploring and site-seeing other landmarks and churches as well as some souvenir shopping. Later we had dinner at another great Italian restaurant not too far from our hotel.
20090521 – Thursday - Munich
Early start to the day! We had an excellent taxi driver who pointed out sights along the way. What a great time to see the city – 5am, sunrise, no traffic! Just a note that the traffic in Lviv is horrendous – double what is was two years ago. Arrived in Munich and took the S-Bahn (train which is combined with the U-Bahn or Metro) into the heart of the city and about 300 metres from our hotel. We checked into our hotel and went to the famous bier garten in the Englischer Garten. Of course we had a small beer (1L – Gail wouldn't let me have a large – 2L) and sausages. We then went to St Peter's and the Rathaus (city hall) where we went up the tower for a bird's eye view of the city. Later we went to the Monaco, a small Italian restaurant recommended by Fodor's and around the corner from our Pension. Great food at a reasonable price.
20090520 – Wednesday – Lviv
Woke up to pouring rain, but set out for the pioneer village anyway. An outdoor (what else would you do in the pouring rain) museum, with buildings from the various areas and times in Halychyna-Bukovina. Later we met Tess for lunch at the UPA theme restaurant where an armed guard challenges you, asking if you are a Muskovite. You can go into the basement and shoot off a revolver, but we just ate. Later we did a bit more site-seeing before heading off to the ballet. The Opera – Ballet Theatre is fabulous in décor, rivals Vienna, and is about half the size. It was built during the [Austro-Hungarian] empire. http://www.uazone.net/go/gallery.cgi?gallery=Lviv&what=buildings&ac=show&id=063 After the ballet we had dinner at the Restaurant Mozart, with usual sumptuous and enormous portions of slavic-germanic foods served everywhere! We then went back to our room to pack for our 4am wake-up call for our flight to Munich. Sleep was not easy. At about 2330h, crowds poured onto the streets, singing, drag racing, drinking and generally celebrating Ukraine's victory over Germany in the Euro Cup.
20090519 – Tuesday - Lviv
Took the early train to Lviv and checked back into the George. We then did a walking tour of the city concentrating on the areas we did not get to on our last trip. We met Tess for dinner at the Jewish restaurant and had another great meal complete with the hand washing ceremony.
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