Today is check-out day in Salzburg and check-in day in Munich. Before leaving Salzburg, though, we make a brief visit to St. Peter’s Abbey founded in 699. The church has gone through many remodelings since then and now has a rococco interior from its 1760-1782 makeover. So needless to say, it is highly decorated. We identify as many of the gilded saints as possible and once again find that our database (my poor tattered piece of paper) is woefully inadequate.
The ride to Munich is lovely. The rolling countryside is dotted with yellow flowers and the snow-capped Alps are a background to the farms and little villages. We find our hotel with no problem. Our room is lovely and the hotel is in a very convenient location to the various churches and museums we want to see. But first a pilgrimage to Schneider’s for wurst, kraut, kartoffln und bier. Sarah has heard the story of our eating here years ago when we stumbled into it on one of our first days in Germany. Jetlagged and hungry, we had a breakfast of the aforementioned wurst, kraut, kartoffln und bier. We hope it lives up to her expectations.
It’s May Day here in Germany. Since it is a bank holiday mostly everything is closed. There is a big festival on Marienplatz with lots of entertainment, food and beer. Luckily for us, though, the churches are open and we tour the Church of St. Peter and the Frauenkirche doing our usual saint thing.
Tonight is a special night. We are meeting our friend, Waldemar, for dinner. John and Waldemar have been colleagues and friends for years. When John set up the Cooperative Technology Center in Stuttgart, Waldemar was his counterpart from HP. We always visit Maryam and Waldemar when we are in Germany. Waldemar is doing contract work in Munich so we see him today and then again on Friday at their home near Stuttgart.
The dinner at a nearby Italian restaurant is superb. The conversation is great. We spend a leisurely three and a half hours talking, eating and drinking. The only downside is that after ordering wine,desserts and after-dinner drinks assuming we would pay, Waldemar hijacks the bill and we are feeling very uncomfortable.
