First Day in Munich

Landing in Munich at 9:30 this morning, to say that we were tired is an understatement. Of course, who can actually get a decent night's sleep on a plane? Not me. Not only did I have a woman kicking the back of my seat the full 7 hour plane ride, but attempting to position your head with the pillow provided...yeah, I might as well try my attempts as a contortionist.

Arriving at our hotel, we were unable to check in, so we checked our luggage and went on our way, facing Munich head on. Grateful for the sunshine, we stepped outside to be greeted with the sun on our faces and a warmth that I was hoping for on this trip. Walking past the Hauptbahnhof (the main train station), we pushed forward to the city center.

A little miffed that my good Fossil sunglasses decided to lose a screw, I walked the streets squinting and attempting to guide us there via two maps. Entering the main city center, we were surrounded by shops (many of which were laughable at the possibility of entering because of its high priced content) and caves, each offering authentic German delicacies. However, no scene was quite as impressive as the Viktualienmarkt. A large, open market, visitors were surrounded by food (sausages, breads, pastries, vegetables the size of my head, and cheeses), flowers that emitted the most fragrant aromas and bloomed brightly, as well as teas and hand-made novelty items for tourists and locals.

Housed in one large area, we walked away from the market and stepped inside St. Peter's Church. A 14th-century church, it's beauty shown through the massive altar at the front of the church. I don't know about anyone else, but visiting churches in one of my favorite things to do when in another country. To some, once you've seen one, you've seen them all, but I highly disagree. I have seen some amazing churches, none of which resemble another. Each has its own atmosphere, reasoning and history. St. Peter's provided a beautiful setting for those wishing to spend some time in playful solace.

At this point, our stomachs were grumbling. The last thing we had eaten was a few slices of deli meat, part of a blueberry muffin, and a roll, which was our "breakfast" on the plane. Speaking of the plane, although the loss of sleep was unfortunate, the ability to enjoy a glass of white wine, receive a handy-dandy personal kit complete with an eye mask, toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, earbuds, and ear plugs, Air Berlin did well in keeping its fliers content and happy. It also helped that come 6 a.m., a warm towel was placed in my hands :)

Since out stomachs were making themselves known...loudly, we stumbled upon the Hard Rock Cafe. For those of you who know, I collect HRC shirts from each place I visit. Happy to be sitting down, we split a plate of their infamous nachos before moving on to our next stop. Of course, I had to buy myself a t-shirt since that's sort of my thing.

Noticing that Hofbrauhaus sat next to the HRC, we opted to revisit the area in the next few days. After all, you simply cannot visit Munich without going to Hofbrauhaus, sitting down and throwing back one of their infamous boot beers.

Back in the room at 4 p.m., our intentions were not to fall asleep, but unfortunately, jet lag had its own agenda. Waking up at 7:30 p.m. There was no doubt that we were in for the night...after all, we have a full day ahead tomorrow -- we're going to the land of the Sound of Music and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart -- Salzburg, Austria!!!