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Written Wednesday

Another rewarding day, but with an unexpected ending. We are not setting off for Stockholm at the crack of dawn tomorrow, after all. We are staying in Munich. The reason for this is that the Lufthansa pilots’ strike has been extended and no one will be available to take control of Flight 2414, across the Baltic Sea. I was really looking forward to Sweden, but never mind. There are some advantages, the best being that Chris now gets two days of rest instead of one. He can attend tomorrow’s meeting by telephone instead of in person. We no longer need to buy Swedish Kroner. Tomorrow morning, we’ll be able to lie in, and not only shall I have time for a swim; I’ll also have time to wash some clothes. 

Tillyhaus

Unterer Graben

This morning Chris and Marcus left for work at 8 o’clock and I had a leisurely breakfast before writing my blog and reading the paper, since I had the whole morning to pack and check out. Leaving the luggage at the reception desk, I walked into town again, by yet another new route, this time over the Schiller Bridge, downstream of the others. The riverside looks quite countrified. Then I explored those corners of the Altstadt that I hadn’t yet seen. This time, I started behind the Neues Schloss; a former mill-house stands beside it, where they used the grind corn on demand to keep it fresh. The corn came down the river on barges. Opposite was one of the 19th century gun factories. Nowadays the castle is a Bavarian Army Museum, and within the walls with their Baroque clock tower is a formidable row of canons. I followed the street called Unterer Graben along the line of the former city walls. The houses there still have little turrets among the roofs. Because the line curves, I lost my bearings and had to refer to the map as I came down Proviantstraße, back to the centre where I browsed in a Dirndl shop without buying anything and then ate a Chinese buffet lunch with chopsticks. On my walk I had seen a Duke’s castle dating back to the 13th century, now a library, and the Tillyhaus on Neubaustr, where the Graf von Tilly died in the 17th century. The Parade Ground wasn't its usual self, being covered with Christmas market stalls at present, as are other parts of town. I had fun with my camera.

At the medical museum yesterday the receptionist had recommended I take a look at the Maria de Victoria Church, a very ornate one with an elaborate ceiling painting. I found it, went inside, and found it far too over the top in every sense for my taste, so backed out quickly without paying the statutory entrance fee and continued my wanderings along the quiet Gassen (narrow side streets) back to the Konditorei where my Ingolstadt explorations had begun, on Monday. The Stammkunden (regulars) were enjoying their afternoon teas there. In fact I was asked to move seats to accommodate them: a table of old ladies and a table of old gentlemen. I found their proximity very restful, but as I sat there, I went onto the Lufthansa website and found the unanticipated cancellation of our next flight. Sent text messages to Chris and arranged to meet him back at the Classic Oldtimer. He and Marcus turned up promptly despite the rush hour traffic, very pleased with the way their meetings had gone, then we all climbed into our rental car, the Peugot with its useless GPS screen, to head back to the airport where Marcus could continue his travels by train. The 70km drive was fairly nerve-wracking again; fortunately I was in the back seat this time. However, our reception at the car drop area was extremely efficient; with many garage attendants on duty, we were on our way with the transaction completed less than two minutes after coming to a halt.