Tuesday 23^rd August 2016

An early start this morning with breakfast at 7:00am then back to the room to collect luggage check out and head for the Huaptbahnhof  (Munich Central Station) for our trip to Prague. We boarded the train at 8: 30am and it departed exactly on time as scheduled at 9:01am. We have a compartment to ourselves with luggage having to be put up in racks above our seats.

 At 12:15pm the train crossed the boarder from Germany and into Czech Republic and arrived as  scheduled in Prague at 2:43pm.

Disembarked the train and them had to find a taxi to take us to the Hotel. What an experience. We had read that there is only one official taxi operator, but there are many scammers purpoting to be official taxi owners. We had only just walked off the station platform when we were approached by a man asking if we needed taxi. He was obviously not from the official taxi company so we politely said no thank you. Within 5 minutes the same man approached us asking if we needed any money changed. Eventually found the correct taxi rank but as we needed two cabs as there were 4 of us with luggage one driver agreed to take Heather & Mick to the hotel and then return to pick us up. When he got back to pick us up he had a disagreement with another cab driver so we decided to walk the 1klm to the hotel.

After checking in we had a drink followed by dinner in the in the Hotel Bar. Dinner was great, lamb chops (Cutlets) followed by cheese plate and a nice single malt whiskey. Lynne had chicken, a glass of wine and cheese cake.

All in all good days travelling only slightly dampened by the taxi experience.

Monday 22^nd August 2016

Woke this morning to clear sky with expected top temperature of 25°.

Agenda for the day was to walk round the city and do the things we didn’t have time to do last year.

First stop was The Residenz, (the family home of the Bavarian Royal Family). A very large palace with an amazing amount of gold leaf and very ornately decorated ceilings. The chapel which was very grand was partly destroyed by bombing in WWII and has only recently been rebuilt and now used as a conference centre but the walls are now only bare brick.

Hall of Antiquities in The Resident

Time for lunch so the four of us went to the Hofbrauhaus. Traditional Munich sausages with sauerkraut, cheese plate, bread and the mandatory 1 litre of beer for Mick and I, Heather had a dark Radler (Shandy) while Lynne had Rhine Pino Gri. A great experience with a traditional German Oompa band playing.

Lunch at Hofbrauhaus

More walking and some retail therapy before finishing the afternoon with a well deserved cuppa and sit down to rest our weary feet. So far today we have walked about 8klms.

A little more walking saw us at the Schneider Weisse Brauhaus for dinner. Traditional Munich roast pork with bread dumplings, salad and a beer to assist with digestion. Only ½ a litre this evening. Lynne stuck to water. Walked back to the Hotel for a cuppa in the restaurant before going upstairs to pack up ready for the chapter of our journey to Prague tomorrow.

Quote of the trip so far was by Lynne. She was in a toyshop in Munich and the assistant was speaking German. Lynne replied that she did not speak English. Actually meant to say she did not speak German.

Sunday 21^st August 2016

Overcast sky with a few showers this morning, with expected temperature range 13°- 21°.

After an excellent breakfast of cereal, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, toast & tea/coffee we set off with Heather & Mick  to the Hauptbahnhof (Central Railway Station), as they were going on a day excursion to Neuschwanstein Castle.

After leaving the station we walked back to the Hotel, picked up our cameras, and went to St Peter’s Church (Munich’s oldest parish church) to climb the 306 steps to the top of Alter Peter (the bell tower). The view was fantastic and definitely worth the climb. Back down at ground level and having done our exercise for the morning it was time for lunch.

View from top of Alter Peter (bell tower)

Lynne at top of tower

Viewing platform at top of Alter Peter

stairwell up to top of tower

View from top of Alter Peter video

More exercise this afternoon walking to and around the Deutsches Museum, which was very interesting with lots of machinery, mechanical toy exhibits as well as a floor dedicated to marine navigation.

Deutsches Museum

Next on the agenda was afternoon tea with cake, a must in Munich.

We have certainly done our exercise today having walked approx. 8klms so we did not feel guilty about going to the pub again tonight for dinner of original wiener schnitzel, potatoes, salad accompanied by a litre of dark beer for me and a glass of Riesling for Lynne.

Saturday 20th August 2016
The flight from Singapore departed at 11:30pm and landed in Munich at 5:00am. The plane was full and we were glad to disembark.
After collecting our luggage and clearing Customs which was very fast and efficient we got a taxi for a very quick trip (160klm's per hour) to the Hotel Torbrau which will be our home for the next 3 nights.
Whilst very tired we decided to haver a walk round the old part of Munich City Centre and had a light breakfast of Croissants, bread rolls, tea and coffee before walking round the produce market and buying some fresh fruit.
A short rest back at the hotel recharged the batteries a bit so we bought ticket for the hop-on-hop-off bust and did the Grand Circle tour which included the Nymphenburg Palace and the BMW Museum.
Back at the hotel for another short rest before heading to the Paulaner Im Tal pub for dinner.
The food was as good as we remember from last year and the dark beer is still excellent so Mick and I had litre to go with out pork schnitzel, roast potatoes, bacon & onions. Weather today was a very warm 26 and sunny although it had started to just before we went to dinner.
An early night in in order tonight as we did not get much sleep on the plane last night.

BMW Museum

BMW HQ Munich

Nymphenburg Palace

Sentry Box at Nymphenburg Palace

Friday 19th August 2016.
Typical Singapore weather today, 29, cloudy and humid. We had last checkout at 12:00pm. After checking out we got the MRT (train) into the City and had a drink in the long bar at Raffles Hotel then caught the train back to the airport.
Collected our luggage from the hotel and walked to The Haven in the airport terminal to have a shower, change clothes and a light meal.
We are now have to wait until 8:00pm to check our luggage in for the next leg of our trip to Munich which departs at 11:10pm and arrives at 5:30am.

Thursday 18th August 2016
Staying at the airport last night was a great way to go. After a leasurely breakfast we had a short walk across to the terminal to checkin. The flight left on time 10:30am and arrived in Singapore at 4:00pm (about 30 minutes ahead of schedule). The flight itself was good and the extra legroom was appreciated. After clearing customs (which was very quick), we walked through the terminal and checked into our hotel which is in the airport complex. As we have stayed here before our room was upgraded.Weather in Singapore is 29, sunny and humid. That's all for now as its time to have a drink with Heather & Mick and get something to eat.

Wednesday 17th August 2016

After months of planning, our 2016 European & UK Extravaganza including River Cruise is about to start. We have a morning flight departing 10:30am tomorrow so we decided to stay at the Park Royal at Melbourne airport tonight rather than have a very early start and battle traffic in the morning.