We had the foresight to shop at the grocery store, stocking up on food for the long train ride home. Seven hours can make a person pretty hungry and thirsty. A manned food cart comes through each train car offering beverages or snacks, but none of it is mouth watering.
The train ride back gives me time to reflect on the week. It was spectacular even if it was overcast a few days, it never rained. It was cold, but not freezing. I had all good intentions of reading/editing/grading papers, but after the computer had high tea, that was not an option. Thus creating a double edged sword, this being the break, I had intended to get the paper monkey off of my back, but it seemed I would have that passenger for some time longer; however, it did give me permission to relax and enjoy my surroundings not wanting to rush through to get back to grade papers. A teacher occupational hazard exposed.
Lest I forget, I owe Budapesters a bit of an apology. They are not the only group of people that love to stand in the doorways of the metros, trams, or buses blocking entry to anyone who is unlucky enough to arrive after they do. It seems that the Germans are just as adept at it. They also love to push past on the escalators leading to the metro as if there is a personalize subway just them and they need to reach it before it gets bored waiting. It must be a people thing.
When it dawned on us that we had actually booked our rail ticket for a full 7 days, we kind of panicked. We generally go on short jaunts, so 7 days? What were we thinking? Ron investigated the castle tours, although there was no mention online about the October 31st closing. He had also checked out a possible side trip to Salzburg, Austria to see if the hills are really alive with the Sound of Music. None of that was necessary. We found plenty to do and we were busy from the time we left the apartment, generally by 9am until we returned at 10pm or later. As it is, there are still museums in Munich we did not get to that we would have liked to have visited. It is a rich city of culture interspersed with beer and pretzels.
It also was less expensive than I had anticipated. With each trip I start with great enthusiasm, but as the money goes flying out of my wallet, trepidation sets in. Our accommodation for the 2 of us, was 40 Euros a night including a grand breakfast. Due to some specials with the Hungarian train, MAV, the tickets were 58 Euros each way for both of us; for 116 Euros, we could not have flown for anywhere nearly as cheap.
Finally, thanks to my Press Pass, I did not have to shell out one Euro cent for admission to any museum or attraction, while Ron paid the concession senior fare. This too was a substantial savings.
Once home, back at the computer, it will be time to really get down to grading those papers signaling that the vacation is over and only a memory now.
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