Munich for the weekend

I had called Harms, the shipping agent for BMW, to let them know we were returning from Oberwesel and they were happy to hear that as they wanted to close the office early so they could go to the opening of Oktoberfest. That was a surprise. Oktoberfest? Yikes, that would mean Munich would be thronged with even more tourists than usual. Oh, well.

Thanks to the Satellite Navigation I was able to find Harms' office in the outskirts of Munich. Other cars due to be shipped were already there.

I inspected mine from nose to tail to make sure there were no dings or scruffs before handing over the keys.

It looked good and I hoped nothing would have changed before I saw it again back in the USA.

Once the 30 minutes of paperwork was done they called a taxi to come pick us up to drop us back at our hotel- The Admiral once again.

This time we had a room on the 4th floor, overlooking the garden and this would be the room we would book on subsequent visits as it was quiet and we now had a balcony to sit on and enjoy the beautiful weather

Once settled in we unpacked and prepared to hit the streets on a lovely Friday afternoon.
We passed through Victualien Market on our way to Marienplatz for lunch. The market features beers from each of the Munich Breweries-each one gets a week to showcase their beer in a rotation.

The Breweries emblems are displayed

We come to Marienplatz, the tourist and locals' hub of the city

Yes a crowd has gathered-this would be the 5 pm mechanical Jousting Knights show

We had a meal here- bratwurst und pomme frites (French fries) washed down with big glasses of beer. The square is ringed with restaurants offering beer and outdoor dining. Even though the square is swarming with people they are all in a good mood and here to enjoy the experience without bothering anyone or causing trouble. It's all about eating and drinking and talking to friends. I feel very at home among German people-they know how to live and have respect for others. Striking up a conversation with one is easy as they are great talkers and love to practice their English which makes me feel embarrassed by my tourist German- but I try and that's the least anyone can do. I'll get better!!

Tonight would be a special night as we had tickets for the Bavarian State Opera (above) who were performing a work by Richard Strauss- Elektra. If you've never been to the opera I wouldn't suggest Elecktra as a first opera as it's deep and dramatic. Start instead with Puccini's La Boheme or Bizet's Carmen which are full of songs you'll be whistling on your way home and have easy to follow stories.

It was a great night and we loved the opulent theater and the friendly people we met there.

We walked on air back to the Admiral, through dimly lit but safe streets.

Next-a Bird's Eye view of Munich....

Room at the Top

Here's our little round hotel room

and the view from the bedroom window

A small lounge area

There was a decanter with some brandy and a bowl of apples awaiting us-a nice touch

The bathroom with it's gold-plated bidet faucets. The shower alas was one of those hand held only units so one had to kneel in the bathtub ( not shown) to prevent soaking the floor as there was no shower curtain.

A small but cosy hotel room. We had a 19 inch TV and  a CD player with speakers and a  lot of books to read if we chose to.

We spent most of our room time sitting on the balcony which has two small benches with a table between them. 

The hotel has a fine dining restaurant which is open to the public. We were offered a complimentary dinner there and accepted. It was a great meal- German food -but elegantly presented and with excellent service from a young polished waitstaff. It also saved us having to go down to Oberwesel and hunt for food.

Afterwards we sat outside in a small courtyard, looking up at the stars. I rounded off my meal with an excellent espresso and Samba before retiring for the night. We were lulled to sleep by the sound of a Nightingale singing merrily on the castle ramparts.

Next morning we enjoyed a typical German breakfast, again complimentary, in a beautiful room on the ground floor. There is also an outdoor terrace if you want to dine with a Rhine view.

This little path and archway lead to the outdoor terrace from outside

Some random hotel shots...

Another beautiful sunny day!

After breakfast and a walk around the property we decided on an excursion to some more Rick Steves recommendations- Castle Burg Eltz and the riverside town of Beilstein on the banks of the nearby river Rhone which is known as the Mosel in Germany. This would involve climbing up, away from the river and over the verdant pastures 1,000 feet above and then down the other side. The car would do all the climbing of course and I would just drive it, without breaking a sweat.

Here we are half an hour later, deep in the countryside with Burg Eltz in the valley behind

There's a small shuttle bus that will save you this long walk downhill and back again

Alas, no photos of the interior. We took a guided tour but flash wasn't allowed owing to the many tapestries hanging on the walls, some of them of an "adult nature" but we also got to see the ancient kitchen- basically a huge open fireplace where pots could be hung to heat.

There was of course a gift shop and a small cafe where I was able to quench my thirst with a beer on a bench outside-very civilized.

The sleuths among you will realize that the Eltz photos are from 2005 which was our 2nd stay in Oberwesel. The 2005 trip is a blog of the future and may be a year away from appearing here but I figured that if anyone reading this Oberwesel section was interested in going there or to nearby Cologne you might be interested to see what day trips you could make. Pencil in a visit to Burg Eltz!

After the castle we drove on towards the Rhone/Mosel and passed through the town of Cochem but didn't stop as it was so busy with tourists. We drove along the Mosel to Beilstein where we planned to have lunch at Haus Lippman which is the hotel of choice for Rick Steves. We dined outdoors and the food-basic German meat and potatoes-was superb.

Here's Beilstein

The view from our lunch table

The vineyards

A pleasant drive back to the hotel to relax before dinner. Tonight we would branch out and return to the quaint town of Bacharach for a quiet dinner outdoors at sunset. We drove back to the castle in the dark and enjoyed a drink before bedtime. In the morning we would have to leave and drive to Munich to hand the car over to the shippers-Harms and Co. They would get it on a ship and send it to New Jersey and from there it would be trucked to Indiana to my dealership. That took 5 weeks of waiting for me.

Next morning we packed after breakfast then took one last look down onto Oberwesel

We loaded up the car

and were soon blasting down the Autobahn to Munich

Castle Hotel auf Schoenberg

I'm putting the link to the TripAdvisor reviews of our hotel in Oberwesel just incase you might want to stay there..

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g198501-d238111-Reviews-Castle_Hotel_Auf_Schoenburg-Oberwesel_Rhineland_Palatinate.html

and the Hotel's Website....http://www.hotel-schoenburg.com

We weren't there yet as we had just disembarked our Rhine cruise. The car was still waiting for us nearby.

We left Bacharach and drove North to Oberwesel, following next to the Rhine all the way. We came to the bottom of a steep hill where a winding road would bring us 1,000 feet above the river.
We had to cross over a narrow bridge.

and parked next to the hotel's outer walls

and rolled our luggage up to the entrance of the hotel

Inside we introduced ourselves to the charming owners who work the front desk at times- Frau and Herr Huttl. A warm welcome and Mr H showed us to our room.

Our room was the top of this stone turret and consequently was round in shape. You can see our little wooden balcony sticking out at center right

Another shot from below

Views from the room

Looking down on the Rhine with the Lorelei bend in the distance.

Now looking East

To the South 

The barge  on the right is approaching Pfalz Castle in the middle of the river

Looking West

And down below to the castle ramparts

and the view from the bathroom....

Next we'll look at our round room....