Friday’s details…
After breakfast at the hotel, I headed back to my room to pack – checkout day here before heading to Berlin. I packed everything then headed to the train station to drop my bags in a locker. After leaving the bags, I headed downtown to the Marienplatz to see the Glockenspiel at noon. The Glockenspiel, when it plays has jousting knights and dancers – the little child next to me thought it was hilarious – he was laughing most of the time.
After seeing the Glockenspiel, I headed off to see the art museums – first up was the Alte Pinakothek – with art work from the 1450s to the 1650s. There were lots of paintings of the life of Christ during this period, as well as other mythological topics – with a few “slice of life” paintings mixed in. My favorite was one of a still life that was so detailed (including reflections), it looked like a photograph and it was from the 1400s!
Next up was Pinakothek die Moderne – the Munich version of the Museum of Modern Art. Lots of interesting art pieces here – including a whole section on modern design. My favorites were by an artist named Blinky Palermo – whose use of color in abstract, yet modern design was fascinating, as was his back story on the audio guide at the museum. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blinky_Palermo)
After museuming out, I headed to BMW Welt (BMW World) to look at the latest in high-tech automobiles and then visit Olympic Park, home to the 1972 Summer Olympics. Lots of nice cars and modern architecture at BMW Welt – makes me want to think about buying a new BMW and picking it up overseas… Time to start a new savings account…
Off to the Olympic Park – at this point it was nearing sundown, so I wasn’t able to see much, plus the park is undergoing renovations in hopes of winning the 2018 Winter Games – if they don’t win those, I can easily see them going for the 2022 games – with a “50th Anniverversary” appeal to the IOC… I did see the Olympic Hall, but it was closed, and I stopped by the Olympic Pool, which was open. At which point I decided to go for a swim… Since my swimsuit was at the train station, I had to go back and get that and my towel and goggles, but I was able to drop off the bag I was carrying – plus I had 4 hours until my train left.
An hour later, I was heading back to the Olympic Pool and ready to swim. I headed down to the changing area only to discover that there wasn’t a mens and a womens, but one communal area – you went into a little changing closet (like at a department store) to change, then put your stuff into a locker, got the key, then headed to the showers to rinse off before going in the water. I had fun swimming laps in the same pool that Mark Spitz won 7 gold medals in! I wasn’t able to swim as much as I’d like, since I wasn’t a member of one of the local swim clubs (so I couldn’t use the lap lanes at that time) and I tired of dodging kids and other swimmers who wouldn’t let me stay in the far edge of the swim area (the pool is 50 meters long and probably 14 lanes wide – I tried to stay in my little edge…).
Being done, I headed back to the train station to grab a quick bite to eat and catch my train – I opted for Pizza, as it was quick, and right there in the main platform area. I grabbed my bags from the locker, stopped for drinks and a snack, and headed for the platform to wait on my train. Right on time at 22:09, we departed Hbf München for Hbf Berlin.
I settled in my room, typed up Thursday’s status, and then headed to bed for a very fitful night’s sleep – it’s kind of hard to sleep well on a train when you seem to be moving side-to-side all night (your body is perpendicular to the direction of travel).
Soon all of the stories from Berlin.
Auf Wiedersehen!
Just did a train trip too – ooooooo