Post script

After we wrote up the blog last evening we headed off to Marienplatz again to grab some dinner. Well, when we got off the subway there was tens of thousands of people, and as many police!!!! We can only assume that Munich won the football yesterday as there was much chanting, singing and drinking going on. What a sight and atmosphere.

It snowed again overnight. We're really surprised after such a warm day yesterday. This morning there is a thick blanket of pure white snow outside again. Very pretty, but Paul wants to be sure our plane will fly out! Don't think there's any chance of it being cancelled. It's stopped snowing now.

So, that's it for now. We've got the day to fill in as our flight doesn't leave until 9.40pm.

A day in Munich

We slept in this morning and about 8.30 woke to the sound of sirens - not something we've heard or seen much of on this trip. Unlike Rome where it's the norm!! I looked out our hotel window to see dozens of police vehicles screaming to a halt and personnel pouring out of them. We are opposite the main train station, and also a big police station as well. They didn't seem to be in a big hurry, so I figured it wasn't a terrorist alert!! Anyway, when we were ready to go out for the day we headed over to the train station, and just as we were buying our tickets there's this huge commotion and we looked up to see hundreds of young guys and an equal number of police!! A lady was able to tell us that there was a big football match on today - Munich v Basel and these were testerone driven fans (my description!!) on their way to the match. She said there'd be 1,1000 police on the trains with them. Quite a sight to see so many armed police in any one place.

We headed off to a new plaza today - Odeonplatz. What a treasure trove that proved to be! The Catholic cathedral was breath taking inside - Baroque style. Very ornate. We then came across another Christmas Market with a difference. It had stalls depicting different christmas, fairy tale stories etc. The best/funniest was the animated talking reindeer!! The photo you'll see can't possibly convey what it was like. Very, very amusing. There were lots of wee kindergarten children visiting and it was all very cute. Timing was good as they were only just opening up.

From there we walked up to the English Gardens which we'd viewed from the bus last week when they were under a foot of snow! We didn't go too far in as the snow has melted and it was mushy and muddy. The weather today has been so warm. Last week when we were here it was -12 deg overnight. Today it was probably +15 deg and sunny.

From the Gardens we headed off to find a shop that Paul had sourced before we left home. Wouldn't you know it - another huge flurry of speeding police cars ended up right in the street we needed to go down! It was obviously something at the University. We eventually got through and made it to our destination - only to find the shop was no longer in existence! Oh well - it was a good walk with plenty of sidewalk action.

This will probably be our last post before we start our long journey home tomorrow night. Unfortunately, I've now caught the cold too which is a bummer with travel. I'm not great at the best of times, let alone with sore throat etc.

It's been a wonderful trip and we hope you've enjoyed our travel tales.

Mary - I look forward to catching up with you. Probably Sunday night.

Love to all.
Marie & Paul xx

A day at the shops!!

We woke this morning to no rain and no snow and even eventually, some blue sky here in Munich. We'd come across a brochure for a Shopping Outlet Village in the outskirts of the city, so set off to get there by train and bus. Typical of us, when we changed from the train to the bus, we headed off in the wrong direction. It wasn't until we got to the end of the run that we realised what had happened. Never mind - we got to see the local surrounding village and it filled in the time until the next connecting bus!! The village was hugely under snow. It must have been really heavily snowing there last night. The ploughs were out, and around the shops they were constantly shovelling. It was a huge shopping complex, mostly high end designer outlet shops. The Lindt chocolate shop did well from us!!!! Sandy would have been in shoe heaven.

Marc - re the "cloaked ones" - conspicious by their absence. We've seen very few. In fact the airports would have been the only places, and hardly surprising when flying Emirates.

We've just come back from the Christmas Markets again. I wanted to see them at night - all very pretty and very crowded. Christchurch will seem like a little village when we get home.

Just a few photos from today's shopping outing.

BMW cured him!!

This morning we headed off to our scheduled tour of the BMW Plant. Paul was pretty excited, and despite a difficult night of coughing he was bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning. What a fantastic place. Before the tour started we spent time in the customer hall where brand new cars are on display, and on a floor to which we did not have access, private customers were placing their orders!! Alas, not us!! The Plant tour lasted two hours and took us through from where the metal is first pressed to make the panels, to the robots assembling and painting and the humans doing the finishing touches. It was definitely a "no photos" zone, but we were allowed to take them in the customer hall. Part of the entertainment there is a crazy young lad racing a BMW motorbike up and down the staircases!

Marc & Wendy - the chicken farm was battery. They get them in at six weeks old and kill them off at 14 weeks. Not nice. I swear I won't touch chicken for a while!!!

Also Wendy, Marc would be safe with you buying christmas decorations. The majority are what we can buy in Farmers, Ballantynes or The Warehouse - it's just that Made in China is spelt out in many different languages!!! The local German made wooden decorations etc are a real craft, but to us hideously expensive. To the South Africans they are an absolute fortune. But the atmosphere, the lights, the snow and the overall package makes for a truly magical scene.

We'll be on the watch out for Ashton. Thanks for the warning. We look forward to seeing you on Saturday.

Paul here: Some impressive statistics for those who like to be impressed by statistics - there are 9000 plant workers at the Munich plant and 9000 tech staff and that excludes the 600 robots. There are 900 units a day (there are 8 variants on the body shape for the 3 series we saw being made) and all 900 units are made to order - no stock is held.

Äll good things must end!

The tour is now over and we've made our way back to Munich by train from Zurich. Both these places are as bleak as!!! I found Zurich the coldest of all. Paul has picked up a cold so is a bit off colour today, but nothing a trip to BMW tomorrow won't fix!! Yesterday was another perfect day in Lucerne - a very beautiful place. Our day started early with a train trip up to the summit of Mt Rigi. It was stunningly beautiful. Snowing all the way up and then beautiful sunshine and diamond glistening snow as white as white can be. We then went by horse and carriage to a traditional Swiss farm for morning tea and a tour of the farm - not what we would call a farm. Pretty smelly too as the animals are housed in barns for the winter. I couldn#t wait to make a quick exit out of there. Then horrors to a chicken farm. Not nice. Put me off chicken!! The rest of the day was free for ambling around the city and shopping. Not much of the latter. Prices in Switzerland are horrendous. You don't get much for your Franc. Our travel companions were a great group - mostly Americans and just a few Aussies and some South Africans. We got on well with two young South African girls who were just delightful.

A couple of days...

What a "wow" time we have had these past couple of days. We left Munich in quite heavy snow early Thursday morning and headed off towards our eventual destination of Innsbruck. The highlight of the day was the visit to Neuschwanstein Castle. Think Walt Disney and the happpiest kingdom of them all! A spectacular sight and all the more fairytale like because of the amount of snow. We believe the news reports are saying Europe is getting crippled by it at the major airports. For us it is the biggest bonus! The sights are truly spectacular. Anyway, after the castle visit we headed to Oberammergau and a very famous Christmas Shop. What a gorgeous village it is. Everything has gone back to normal now after the end of the Passion Play. From there it was on to Innsbruck where we arrived in a snow fall. The Christmas Markets there were such a beautiful sight. We compare life here in everyday snow to what happens back home when we get a snowfall! Our city just about grinds to a halt. Here the snow is heavy, but they just get on with it.
Today we have arrived in Lucerne in Switzerland and regretably are almost at the end of this very magical trip. Our travelling companions have been a great bunch. All easy to get on with, and no hassles.
Hopefully we can now upload some more photos.

A snowy day in Munich

Well - if you come to Europe at this time of the year you can expect snow - and snow we've sure had all day. It adds to the atmosphere, that's for sure. For us, it has been a virtually free day to check out the Christmas Markets and surrounding sights and shops. Shortly we're off out for a local Bavarian dining experience. Now to some photos, which hopefully will give you a good idea of our experiences so far.

These photos are from Salzburg yesterday. We'll do Munich tomorrow once we get to Innsbruck and find an internet cafe.

A picture postcard perfect day

What a superb day it has been. We were on the road early this morning, leaving Vienna behind by 7.30am. The treat in store was Salzburg where we spent the majority of the day before coming here to Munich. Salzburg is truly beautiful and with all the snow it was a sight to behold. We've been fortunate that the weather cleared up, the sun came out and blue sky was everywhere. It would take too much here to even try and convey the beauty of Salzburg. Without exception, we've all expressed a desire to come back. Hopefully the photos will give you a taste. Until next post! Love, Marie & Paul

PS: Technical hitch! We've just discovered we can't connect the photo source at this internet cafe. It's quite an education here. It's a Turkish one and they're all sitting round smoking goodness knows what and burning incense. Hopefully tomorrow we'll find another cafe that we can upload the photos from.

Hi everyone
After a very LONG flight we finally arrived in beautiful Vienna on Sunday afternoon local time. The tour started almost immediately, just by way of orientation, then we were in bed by 6.30pm and I swear asleep by 6.35pm!! We woke to snow falling, just as we hoped. There's heaps of Christmas Markets, the biggest being outside City Hall. There's almost too much to choose from, and like most markets, the stall holders are desperate for our tourist Euros. We've had a long session of free time, so before we head back to the bus shortly, what better way than to update the blog. We're off to Salzburg and then on to Munich tomorrow.

Hi from Kingsford Smith Airport

Hi,
Paul here: we've arrived at Sydney having left half an hour late. Arrived bang on schedule.
Couple of hours to fill in, so what better way than to fill you up with trivia! Had a very rough landing here. Marie says there'd better be no more of those!
Will update when we get to Vienna.
Cheers
Paul & Marie

Planning the trip

Here's where we are going on our trip. We fly into Vienna and finish in Zurich.

BMW confirmed our reservation for a factory tour of Munich welt on Monday, 06 December.

So it's all go!

BMW Factory Tour- Munich

Oh! look what I found ...

Christkindlmarkt - Another adventure!

We depart Saturday, 27 November 2010, at 5:00 pm. Arrive Sydney at 6:20 pm non-stop. Depart Sydney at 9:45 pm. Arrive Dubai, 28 November, at 05:20 am non-stop. Sunday, 28 November, depart Dubai at 09:45 am. Arrive Vienna at 12:50 pm non-stop.

Then we join the Christmas Markets Tour:

Christkindlmarkt of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland

Day 1 (28 November) - Arrive Vienna (2 nights) Welcome to the Austrian capital city, Vienna, at this festive time. There is time to relax before enjoying a Welcome Drink with our Tour Director and fellow travellers. Hotel: Hilton Danube

Day 2 - Vienna sightseeing and Christmas markets. Our sightseeing tour with a local guide includes a drive along the Ringstrasse with views of the Hofburg, the Parliament, City Hall, and the State Opera House. Then there is time to visit Vienna’s ‘Christkindlmarkt’ in traditional decorated wooden huts which display handmade wooden toys, local gingerbread and warming ‘Glühwein’.

Day 3 - Vienna – Salzburg – Munich (2 nights). A scenic drive along the Danube Valley brings us to Mozart’s Salzburg, where the Christmas markets are held in and around the ancient Cathedral. Our guided walking tour shows us the Mirabell Gardens, Mozart`s birthplace and the Old City. Then we drive through fairy-tale Christmas landscapes to the Bavarian capital of Munich, with its festive Christmas markets and bustling beer-halls. Hotel: Hilton Munich City.

Day 4 - Munich orientation and at leisure. Our orientation shows us the Hofbräuhaus, the Marienplatz, and the ornate Glockenspiel on the impressive town hall. Then time at leisure to browse through the stalls at the Christmas market and maybe visit one of the famous beer halls of this hospitable and charming city.

Day 5 - Munich – Neuschwanstein Castle – Oberammergau – Innsbruck. This morning, with views of snowcapped mountains, we drive to visit Neuschwanstein, the most extravagant of King Ludwig’s castles. Then to Oberammergau, where the Passion Play was performed in 2010, and on to Innsbruck, where, after an orientation tour, we have time to enjoy the Christmas Market in the Old Town Square. Hotel: Grauer Bär

Day 6 - Innsbruck – Liechtenstein – Zurich Christmas market – Lucerne (2 nights). We head westwards to Vaduz, the capital of Liechtenstein, before entering Switzerland and reaching Zurich the financial capital. Time to visit the lively indoor Christmas market before continuing on to lakeside Lucerne in central Switzerland where we spend the next two nights. Hotel: Schiller

Day 7 - Lucerne orientation and at leisure. This morning our Tour Director shows us the poignant Lion Monument, the covered wooden Chapel Bridge and the Jesuit Church, before there is time to shop for Swiss watches and chocolate. Tonight, we all enjoy a festive Farewell Dinner with wine together with our Tour Director and new found friends.

Day 8 (Sunday, 05 December) - Lucerne – Depart Zurich. This morning there is a transfer to Zurich airport, as you return home full of the joys of Christmas! Rail travel to Munich.

From 05 December to 09 December, we are visiting Munich. Marie brought Fodor's "Munich's Twenty Five Best - what to see, where to go, what to do", which lists the BMW Museum Tour as must see! Maybe a BMW Factory Tour, too?

Thursday, 09 December Depart Munich 9:40 pm. Arrive: Dubai at 6:30 am, Friday 10 Dec 2010 Total Flight Time: 5 hours 50 minutes (Non-Stop).

Friday, 10 December Depart Dubai 9:05 am Arrive: Christchurch at 3:15 pm, Saturday 11 December 2010 Total Flight Time: 21 hours 10 minutes (2 stops).

Quote unquote

Like all great travellers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen. ~ Benjamin Disraeli

The question is not what you look at, but what you see. ~ Thoreau