Arrived at Berlin airport around sunset. We are both rather tired, especially Checkers. Found a bus to Alexanderplatz and then a U-Bahn train to get us to our hotel (about 45 minutes).

Cute baggage claim concept!

As we exited the plane, trays of these chocolates were made available.

Woke up around midnight to find out Checkers had texted that her flight from Durango to Denver had been delayed about an hour making for a tight connection to the Frankfurt flight. Checkers made the flight and, by about 11 this morning, landed in Frankfurt.

I walked around the English Garden which bounds the hotel property on the west. Cold and foggy, but a nice stroll. Found the Chinese temple beer garden, one of the largest in the city. Must be a crazy place in the summer! Now hanging out in my room after a sauna and swim.

Bridge over a stream in the garden.

It was foggy in the park.

Chinese temple beer garden.

Sculpture near hotel reminiscent of a Japanese Shintu gate.

Woke up early and waited until the lounge opened for breakfast at 7:30, but it was worth the wait. Hopped on a tram and then S-Bahn and U-Bahn to the Olympic park where the BMW (beh-em-veh in German) factory, welcome center (pick up your new car), and museum are located. Toured the museum, which shows the complete history of their motorcycles and cars as well as the history of Mini cars.

The very important signs that tell you which way the train is going.

An artistic Mini.

BMW Welcome Center, sometime likened to a mushroom.

BMW Museum.

Self-portrait in a train window.

A rather empty S-Bahn train near the end of the S8 line.

A welcoming monk at Kloster Andechs.

Pork belly and potato salad. Yummy!

Time for another Doppelbock!

Altar inside a small chapel in an alcove of the church at the monastery.

By the time I got back into the city, it was raining. Dinner at the hotel.

Arrived in Munich on an Airbus A330-300 wide-body, twin-engine aircraft operated by Lufthansa out of Dulles. Flight was uneventful but didn’t get much sleep. Even though the Munich airport is new and modern, we deplaned down stairways outside and boarded articulated buses for the trip to the terminal!

After asking at an information desk, I was directed to the DB (Deutsche Bahn) counter where I purchased a 3-day pass to all buses, subways, trams, and trains including the airport (where I will meet up with Checkers on Sunday). So I can go anywhere for about 10 € per day.

One S-Bahn and one U-Bahn ride brought me to within about 2 miles of my hotel near the Englischer Garten, the largest city park in Germany (perhaps in Europe). I will explore the garden later. Today, I just got cleaned up, walked around the hotel area, and figured out how to get a close-by tram to the main S-Bahn line. Dinner was what was laid out in the executive lounge a few steps away from my 12th floor room. Now to get a good nights sleep!

Walked by EuropaPlatz on my way to the hotel. This tower with golden angel is there. This is the Friedensengel monument and the angel is a representation of the goddess Nike. It was built in gratitude of the Bavarian army and commemorates the Versailles peace agreement of 1871.

Big granite sculptures with my hotel in the background.