Munich...the end of the trip

After leaving Venice we were on a train for a looong time. We had stocked up on snacks, but didn't have time for a real lunch before we left so by the time we got to Rosenheim (the stop where we had to get off the train to get a connection to Munich), we were STARVING. We have 20 minutes until our next train so I run in to the station to find something to eat. What do I find? Chicken schnitzel sandwiches. I love Germany. They were quite tasty and we ate them standing on the platform while waiting for the train. Then we wait. And wait some more. Turns out our first delayed train was in Germany, not Italy! (I know there was a strike one day, but that totally doesn't count). From what I had heard about Italy trains were dirty, unreliable, etc. I never found those things to be true. The trains were just as good as anywhere else I have been and they were always on time. But our train finally came and we finally got to Munich about an hour later. We had decided to make sure and have a nice hotel for the last city we were in so we stayed in the Le Meridian which was great. It was right across the street from the train station so that was nice, and we would have a king size bed! We pretty much checked in and konked out.

The next day we slept in, then got up and went to the Paulaner brewery, which is one of Jason's favorite beers. We show up to the brewery to find out that we are the only people on the tour. There was supposed to be another couple, but they didn't show up. So it was us and the tour guide, who was totally cool. This tour was by far the best value of our entire trip. For 8 Euro a person we got an hour and a half tour - one on one with the tour guide =) - a huge lunch of this stuff called leberkase that was delicious with German potato salad and huge pretzels. Then we got as much beer as we wanted. No joke. We sort of sloshed out of there around 3 or so and then went to the BMW factory for a tour of their plant.

Now Jason had pretty much suffered through Italy for me - that country is not made for his lengthy appendages - and had been awaiting this part of the trip for the last two weeks. Him at the BMW headquarters was like a kid in a candy store. They had all sorts of cars on display and a huge shop where you could buy all sorts of BMW paraphernalia. I was sort of tired so I found the cafe and ordered some espresso. I should have known better because we were no longer in Italy and it wasn't nearly as tasty. That's right, I have become a coffee snob. However, it if had been just as good I may have felt a little hoodwinked by Italy. Better that they keep the good stuff there I guess. Just one more reason to go back!

So the BMW factory tour was actually pretty awesome. We got to see basically from start to finish how they make these cars and it is honestly amazing. There are tons of robots that do all this crazy stuff and it astonishes me that they all know what to do. Being a computer programmer I am dorky and think about bugs in the software and what if they all went crazy and attacked the city of Munich. That is how smart they seemed.

After BMW we headed back toward the hotel and found this restaurant Jason knew of for dinner. We both got a version of schnitzel (basically because that was the only thing we understood on the menu) and they were both delicious. After that we headed to the hotel and went down to the spa to soak our tired feet in the hot tub, then it was off to bed before our last full day.