Day One - Freising
We arrived at the Munich Airport, which isn't in Munich at all by the way, at 12:30, bedraggled and tired, the day after our grand adventure started. But even so, we were excited. Bill was excited to show me one of his favorite cities, Munich, and I was excited to be visiting it for the first time, and both of us were excited to meeting our new friend, Denise, in person.
Denise picked us up and drove us to her place in Freising after loading up the unwieldy amount of luggage we brought. An aside here: Bill and I usually travel very light in Europe due to having to drag everything around on trains, buses, trams, and subways, not to mention hills and cobblestone streets, but since this trip was actually a move, we had much more with us than usual. At any rate, after hoisting all the impedimenta up to Denise's second floor apartment - thank goodness it wasn't the third floor is all I have to say - settling into her guest room and visiting for about an hour, I decided I needed something from my luggage only to discover that I had forgotten one of my suitcases at the airport!!! Mad dash back to the airport to recover suitcase!!! Big sigh of relief when it was found and safely in car. Back to Denise's house.
Now, since I had left the States without a hair dryer and flat iron - horrors!! - due to the difference in electrical current in Europe, we spent part of that first day procuring them. As we were walking around Freising, I took a few pictures with my iPhone and generally tried hard not to fall flat on my face while walking on the cobblestones. (Those of you who know me know what I'm talking about.) I also realized that the cobblestones were being really hard on my right knee and calf. I had surgery at the end of December and am still recovering, so certain things like uneven walking areas are still uncomfortable. Unfortunately, this information becomes important later.
After running those few errands and having a coffee in one of the close-by cafes, we spent the rest of that first night as a quiet evening at home with Denise getting to know each other better.
Day Two - Freising and Munich
Our second day in Germany started with a stroll through what we in the States would call a farmer's market held in Freising's town square every Saturday. There were stalls with vendors selling fruit, vegetables, meats, various and sundry other things, and absolutely gorgeous flowers. I loved the flowers the best, and I am so sorry to say that I took no pictures. I had left both my camera and my phone in the apartment, and walking was just difficult enough that I didn't want to do it unnecessarily, especially uphill, so I just did without. Now I kind of regret that, but at the time, I was uncomfortable enough that it was the best decision. If only I had been that conscientious the rest of the trip, I would not have ended up in excruciating pain and in the doctor's office. But that's a story for a later day. Suffice it to say that this part of the day has no pictures.
After our walk about and lunch back at Denise's house, we decided to take the train into Munich, so we walked to the train station. One of the charms of Europe to me is that you hardly ever have to get in a car unless you choose to. Public transportation is abundant and wherever you are, you are within walking distance of a bus, tram, subway, or train stop.
Our plan was to visit Marienplatz (St. Mary's Square), which is right in the heart of Munich, drop off something at Denise's daughter's apartment, and go to dinner. Because I knew we were going to be walking a lot, I took Ibuprofen, too much it turns out since I felt no pain and so didn't know that I should have taken it easier. Again, more about that later.
First stop: Marienplatz.
There is a lot to see in Marienplatz, but in my opinion, one of the most entertaining of them all is the Glockenspiel, which only happens certain times in the day. The travel gods must have been with us because with no forward planning at all, we arrived just in time to see it. If you are ever visiting Munich, definitely put it on your list of things to view.
After leaving Marienplatz, we went to visit Denise's daughter, which led to one of the funniest things that happened to us. I know it amused us, and I'm absolutely sure it gave great delight to the people who witnessed it. We all lovingly refer to it as the "Train Dance." I don't know about you, but the last thing I want to look like is a dumb tourist. I don't mind looking like a tourist; after all, that's exactly what I am in new places, but a dumb one is something else again. But sometimes you just can't help yourself. If someone on that train had made a YouTube video of what we did, it surely would have been entitled, "Dumb Tourist Train Dance." Now, that's bad enough for Bill and me, but sadly for Denise, she isn't a tourist. She lives there. But when you hang around tourists, this is what happens to you. Visualize this: the train stops, we get off, someone - I don't remember who - decides we got off at the wrong place, so we jump back on, but wait! we are at the right place, we jump off, but no! we're not, we jump back on, and just before the doors close, we...jump off! Off, on, off, on, and off again. By this time, we have all dissolved into helpless laughter, but Germans are so polite that they wouldn't dare laugh in our faces, so the passengers on the train are holding it together with only mildly amused looks. The thing is that I'm sure that as soon as that train pulled away they all burst out with big bwahahaha's. I know I would have! Oh, well, what's a little looking stupid to providing others with laughter in their lives?
Our evening in Munich ended with mouth-watering ribs at a restaurant that Bill had eaten at on a previous trip, the Rusticana, which if you are a meat lover, I would highly recommend. Tip: make reservations.
Day Three - Munich Revisited
The plan for our third day in Germany was to visit Olympiapark, home of the 1972 Olympics, also the site of the BMW plant, which is where Bill worked while in Munich, and enjoy a walk through the English Garden. Not at all on our plan was me hurting myself to the point of having to see a doctor. Remember me saying that I took so much Ibuprofen that I didn't realize I was overdoing it the day before? Well, I realized it as soon as I got up this day, and I should have stayed in Freising, but I thought if I did that, Bill and Denise would not have gone without me, and I didn't want ruin their day, so I didn't say anything about the pain I was in until it got to the point that I had to. By then, we were all the way into Munich, and I still didn't tell them how bad it really was so that no one would suggest we go back. In hindsight, this was a very stupid thing to do. At any rate...
Our first stop was Olympiapark and BMW. We did not go into the BMW plant as it was Sunday and not open, but Bill did point out which of the buildings he worked in while he was in Munich. Mostly, he worked in the plant in Greenville/Spartanburg, but occasionally, BMW would send him to Munich for a few months. The plant is HUGE, which you can see if you click on the link above.
Next, we went up into the Tower. From there, we could see a 360 degree view of Munich as well as a bird's eye view of the park. Denise pointed out the Olympic Village where the entire Israeli athletic team was killed by terrorists. I heard the news about it when it happened, but seeing the actual spot brought it home in a way that reading about it or hearing about it on TV never did. I spent a moment in silence for remembrance.
Next, we went to the English Garden. As we strolled through the expanse of beauty that the park is, it started to cloud up and became obvious that it was going to rain, but we kept going figuring that we'd enjoy the outdoors as long as possible. We walked to the area of the park where the Chinese Tower is, which also has a variety of food and beer stalls. We stopped to enjoy the food, and to our delight, a brass band was playing up in the tower, so we got to listen to traditional music as well as eat traditional food, brats and some kind of cheese that I don't remember the name of but was delicious.
After eating our fill, we went to see a beautiful carousel that was designed by a sculptor (Joseph Erlacher) and decoration painter (August Julier). It is well worth seeing because it is rare to see such artistic and intricate work anymore.
Just as we were leaving, it began to rain. Now, here's where the significance of all that pain I was in comes in. I had been hobbling along slowly all day with each step sending shockwaves of pain throughout my knee and calf, but as long as I was able to go as slowly as I needed to, I was still functional. However, as the rain started to get heavier, everyone speeded up, including me. Bad idea. Very bad idea. (Of course, the entire excursion had been a bad idea, but let's not go there.) Finally, my poor leg could take no more and let me know in no uncertain terms that it had had enough when my calf went "pop." Feeling things go pop in your body is generally never a good thing, and this one brought me to a grinding halt - in the rain on the other side of where we needed to be. Not good at all. Just as I was beginning to think that Bill would have to carry me across the park, the travel gods once again smiled on me, and a bike taxi came by at just that moment, so I was able to get a ride to the other side of the park where there was a delightful cafe. We sat out the worst of the rain in that cafe, drinking lattes, and then we went home where Bill decided that I should see a doctor before leaving for Croatia. Seeing as how it was Sunday night, and I couldn't do anything about it until the next day, I spent the rest of the evening with my leg up while we laughed and talked and laughed some more well into the night.
Day Four - The Doctor Merry-Go-Round
Before I start this portion of my entry, let me relay a little story to you. When my goddaughter and her brother were about 8 and 10 years old respectively, they had something like this conversation with their mother:
Morgan: Mom, I don't get it. Sometimes when something happens, you call it an adventure. Other times, you call it a learning experience. What's the difference?
Will: Oh, that's easy. An adventure is fun. A learning experience sucks.
Guess which one this was? In the interest of time and space, I'm going to retell it in bullets. Oh, and before those of you from home ask, the ER wasn't an option. The ER in Germany is not used for minor complaints. It is only used for major trauma, which this wasn't. So to the doctor's office I went.
- Got up bright and early after a late night to be at office first thing since I had no appointment.
- At doctor's office, discovered person at the reception desk spoke little to no English. If it hadn't been for Denise, the whole "adventure" would have been over before it started since I never would have been able to explain my situation. First woman (who was not the receptionist it turns out) said it was too much trouble to work me in.
- Denise insisted that we talk to the real receptionist, who thank goodness, was willing to deal with the difficulty of working a foreign patient into the mix.
- Filled out a multitude of forms all in German that I couldn't read. (Again, very grateful to have a German-speaking person with me.)
- Discovered that no space could be left blank even if it made absolutely no sense to fill it in, such as giving them my US phone number which is really a cell number that doesn't work in Europe. But whatever. I filled it in.
- Waited hours to see the doctor, who also spoke little English. (Understand, I'm not saying that any of the doctors or office personnel should have spoken English. I'm just trying to relay how impossible this situation would have been if I had not had someone to translate for me.)
- Was told to take off my pants so he could inspect my leg. Not a surprise since he couldn't see it with the jeans on. What was a surprise was that I was given no sheet to cover up with. Felt pretty exposed. (Made me think my mother hadn't been totally ridiculous when she insisted I not wear raggedy underwear because I might get into an accident.)
- After examination was told he was concerned that maybe I had developed a blood clot from the long flights and would have to see a different doctor for an ultrasound, and if it was a clot, the other doctor would treat it, but if it wasn't, I'd come back to him and he'd treat it. His office called to make an appointment for this one and gave me a piece of paper to take with me. This paper is important, as it turns out.
- Went to see the other doctor. Forgot the paper. Major drama around that. Almost didn't get seen. Only agreed to see me anyway because I was not using Germany's health insurance but only after much arguing between Denise and the receptionist.
- Filled out more incomprehensible forms with no blank spaces.
- Saw new doctor who did an ultrasound - herself as it turns out. No technician. Once again, on the table with no sheet. Forever grateful that my underwear was presentable.
- Determined that there was no clot! Doctor gave me a package containing a pre-made injection to give myself before the trip to Croatia to prevent one from forming on the way.
- Back to the first doctor. This time he did an ultrasound - again, he did it himself - to see what was wrong. Final diagnosis: small tear to calf muscle, which I guess accounts for the "pop." Gave me a shot in the muscle for the pain. Wrote a prescription for more Ibuprofen-like pain meds, which as it turns out, were a much lower dose than we buy over-the-counter here. Interesting.
- So, all in all, to recap my day: saw two different doctors in three different visits, had two different ultrasounds, got a shot in the leg, and got meds filled at a pharmacy - all without insurance coverage. I bet about now my American friends are hyperventilating about the cost of all this. Are you ready? Total about $250. That's right. I said $250. Amazing. Many thoughts as to why but no comment here.
- So our last day in Germany was spent with all of us back and forth in doctors' offices. Adventure or learning experience? You be the judge.
Leaving Freising We had planned to leave Germany for Croatia at noon, but of course, that had to be changed. There was, however, another train leaving late in the night, so Denise brought us to the train station and helped us get all that mind-boggling amount of luggage inside with no forgotten suitcases this time. (I will never carry this much luggage again. Next year, I'll ship over what can't be carried in one check-in and one carry on bag.) We bid Denise a fond adieu with an invitation to return and one extended to her to visit Croatia. Doctors' mess aside, Germany was a grand adventure, and I am looking forward to going back.
2025-02-14