Munich - A Very Short Stop Over

Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Munich, Bavaria, Germany
Tip: When traveling on an overnight train, spend the money to get a sleeper car. 

Arriving well-rested in Munich at 8:00 because we had been able to sleep through the night, the first thing we did was go to the ticket office to buy our tickets for the rest of the trip. We learned that we would be traveling all day to Zagreb and then overnight from there to Split. Our train did not depart until 12:27 so we had about three and a half hours to spend in Munich.

We got rid of our luggage and walked the three blocks or so to Marienplatz, the center of Munich, to spend our time. We entered through Karlstor, translated Karl's Gate. Karlstor is part of the original Medieval wall that surrounded Munich. The wall was removed in 1791 to allow for city expansion. Marienplatz is always quite busy, but we were so early that most everything was still closed up and quiet when we arrived. We passed quite a few unopened cafes.

However, by the time I managed to walk to the center of the square, there was a cafe' serving coffee and breakfast. I say "I" because Bill had walked circles around me - literally. I was still dependent on the cane, and therefore, slow so he walked ahead and circled back, walked ahead and circled back until we reached our destination - the open cafe'. On the way, I took some shots of the Glockenspeil  on the "New" Town Hall (built between 1867 and 1909) and the statue of the Virgin Mary. I then sat and enjoyed coffee and watched the square wake up. 













 

 
 
With about an hour to go, we left and started walking back toward the station. About halfway to the arch, I had to stop for a few minutes to give my knee a rest. I took the opportunity to do one of my favorite things - people watch.  

When we got back to the station, we retrieved our luggage and made our way to our train. 

Important Tip: When traveling from Munich to Zagreb, pay very close attention to your ticket because it is imperative that you get in the correct car on the train. The train uncouples at the Slovenia/Croatia border and goes in two different directions. If you are in the wrong car, you will end up in the wrong place. 

Our train was ten cars long. When it uncoupled, seven of them went the other way. We ended up in the last car going to Zagreb. I had never been on an end car of a train before. It was kind of weird to walk to the end of the car and take a picture of nothing but scenery.

The trip was uneventful, and our little three car train arrived in Zagreb at 21:00. 
 

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