Day 01: From Munich to Schäftlarn

Date	Dec 3rd, 2022
Route map	Route trace
Today's distance:	15 miles
Total this Camino:	15 miles
Total 2022 Caminos:	355 miles
Total All Caminos:	1635 miles
Lodging:	Hotel Schlee @ $80
Total Lodging:	$ 110
Planes:	$810 Rochester -> Munich -> Rochester + $75 checked bag
Total Planes:	$ 885
Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 3 S-bahn to Isator
Total Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 15
Food:	$ 30
Total Food:	$ 55

Meaningful Moment

I had an event of great personal satisfaction this morning. 

I was in the Munich subway station, waiting to buy a ticket. In front of me two young men who were speaking Arabic and we're having trouble figuring out the ticket vending machine. 

They asked me for help. I was able to help them get the ticket because of my experiences yesterday with the subway system. 

I felt good being able to help somebody who needed a stranger to step up.

Random Thought of the Day

One of the little joys on this Camino is my ability to use German. It's a little example, but I ordered my coffee and paid the bill without having to resort to English or having the waiter write out the amount.

Have decided that if I want to rest day, or I want to modify the route I take, or even skip stages, that I will be perfectly comfortable with that decision. In the past I've been a little more rigid about following the Camino path.

On the Road / Notable memories

First 7 miles hour under foot. Stopped for my first trail coffee in Germany. I miss these mornings of long hikes with a coffee rest stop.

 Six more miles to go to the hotel. 

A few weeks ago I started wearing compression socks as part of my daily life. 

Completely different feeling while hiking. Feels like, expectedly, constant pressure on the toes. I'm hoping that at the end of the day, My feet feel less tired achy than on past hikes.

This is what other people have told me they have experienced.

I would say today was rather unremarkable. Certainly beautiful sights. 

The sky has been cloudy all day, just like in Rochester. I'm hoping that changes.

But the weather today was perfect for hiking. Temperature was in the mid-30s, which I prepared for in terms of clothing. Although it was cloudy, there was no rain nor snow.

The terrain was mostly flat with some rolling hills towards the end.

The hotel I'm in has not the best Wi-Fi. It does not reach the room, so I'm sitting in the restaurant, taking up a table because it's where I have to sit to get the signal. So anyway I'm having another coffee. :-)

Amusing story. My German instructors told me that the people here can be direct. 

After dinner, when my server brought the bill, he asked me directly if I wanted to add anything, meaning a tip. So I said sure. 

Then later I went back to the table because I forgot my room key. 

He calls me over and jokingly says, " In Italy we say strong legs, weak head. " 

I'm guessing because I walked away and then came back. 

So I said to him in German, " Today I walked from Munich to here. Tomorrow I walk from here to Hersching. I have strong legs. " 

I smiled and he laughed.

	Starting my Camino in Isator, Munich
	The first half today followed the river Isar.
	It was a pretty urbanized setting for quite some miles.
	First I thought it was a castle, but then I found out it was a church.
	Halfway done in time for coffee break.
	Small chapel that I came across.
	Towards the end of the days and still following the Isar River.
	As far as I can tell, my hotel is the only one in Schäftlarn and it has the only restaurant.

Day 00: Rochester NY to Munich Germany

Day 00: From Rochester NY to Munich Germany

Date	Dec 1st - 2nd, 2022
Total 2022 Caminos:	340 miles
Total All Caminos:	1620 miles
Lodging:	Wombat Hostel Hauptbahnhof @ $ 40
Total Lodging:	$ 40
Planes:	$810 Rochester -> Munich -> Rochester + $75 checked bag
Total Planes:	$ 885
Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 12 S8 arpt to main train sta
Total Buses / Trains / Taxis:	$ 12
Food:	$ 25
Total Food:	$ 25

Meaningful Moment

On the S-8 Strassebahn train, I struck up a conversation with a German couple. They helped answer a couple of questions about my train ticket. It was a great introduction to arriving in Germany. They recommended one or two places for me to get something to eat: white sausage aka ”Weisse Wurst".

My confidence continues to grow .

Took a long walk looking for the start of the Munich Camino. Found it. Had to ask several people for help. Of course in German. 

Then walked to Thierschstraße, seems to be a typical neighborhood in this part of Munich which by the way is heavily urbanized.

Then I took another trip on the subway, with the usual problems of trying to understand the transportation system. But again I just kept asking people for help, in German of course again lol, and was able to get my way back to my hostel. Now it's time to get a shower and get some rest.

It's been a long day

Random Thought of the Day

10:00 am. What can I say! I'm in Munich Germany.

***

3:00pm. Finally getting to lay down in a bed and close my eyes for a little bit.

8:00 pm. My rest day is about over. Tomorrow I will start the Munich Camino. First day is about 12 mi. Most of the day involves walking alongside the Isar River. Made a reservation at a hotel. 

On the Road / Notable memories

Leave home: 10:00 am

Arrive airport: 10:15 am

Thru security: 10:35 am

Leave Rochester: 12:00 pm. 

Arrive Charlotte NC:1:40 pm. Seamless flight. Departure gate to Munich not 100 ft away from arrival gate. Excellent. No terminal transfers.

Leave Charlotte NC: 4:45 pm

Arrive Munich Germany: 7: 20 am 12/02/22

Clear customs and immigration: 8:00 am

S-8 Strassebahn Munich main train station: 8:30 am

Hostel: 09:30 am

Can't check in until 2:00 p.m. but I can leave my backpack in a storage room. Had a chance to wash my face and brush my teeth.

****

At Rochester airport: Man, I love my TSA PreCheck. Pretty long line when I walked up to security, but I pretty much went to the head of the line, through like a breeze including scanner and everything.

At Charlotte airport. 

Made my reservation at the Munich Hauptbahnhopf Jugendherberge. I've got a bunk bed in a six-person room with a private bathroom. It's about 5 minutes from the train station, which is good. I should be in downtown Munich by 10:00 a.m., but check-in is no sooner than 2:00 p.m. According to the online reading, I can leave my bag at the hostel before check-in, that means it's about 5 or 6 hours that I won't have to carry it around waiting for the desk to open.

	Leaving Rochester.
	Just forwarded the plane in Charlotte, and the instruction card has German for me to practice with. Basically, if you're in the emergency seat and can't handle it, tell a flight attendant. Lol
	First impressions of Munich. What I saw as I exited the subway station.
	Text
	Walking around outside of the altstadt which is the old part of the city. So this was a typical apartment house from what I could tell in the newer sections.
	My first meal in Germany have happened because I got lost, but came across a tapas bar.
	Karlsplatz. Coming back from a stroll for something too eat.

Questions for Reflection

Date	Nov 30, 2022
Total 2022 Caminos:	340 miles
Total All Caminos:	1620 miles
Planes:	$810 Munich -> Rochester -> Munich
Total Planes:	$ 810

Meaningful Moment

I was watching Season 2 of Babylon5 (The Fall of Night). The dominant theme of the episode, not including the coming Shadow wars, were the questions:

Who are you?

What do you want?

Perhaps these are good topics on which to reflect while I meander along the southwest of Bavaria.

***

A couple and a coffee. 11/24/22. I'm sitting in downtown Summit NJ at Boxwood Coffee. I look out the window and see a young woman with two good-looking dogs out front. A young man walks out of Boxwood with two coffees. He gives her one. She smiles and the four of them walk down the street. 

"How can one's heart not melt at such a simple sight of affection?" ... I feel contentment at this moment. 

Random Thought of the Day

"Who are you?"

Tuesday (11/22/22): Realizing that I need external activities in my life. Just three days out of a full college load, and I am getting bored stupid. At least, I have a dog to walk.

Thursday (11/24/22): Seeking to be at peace with the decisions that I've made. Not as dramatic as it sounds because I am relatively satisfied with my life. But I suppose it is human to always wonder - as I sit in Boxwood Coffee in Summit NJ on Thanksgiving Day, spending the holiday with my partner's family.

"What do you want?"

Tuesday (11/22/22): To matter, which I do - to my partner, to my son, d-in-law and grandkids, siblings, mother and acquaintances. 

Thursday (11/24/22): To matter (still). This morning I took Gimli - 85 lbs of Chocolate Lab joy - out for a morning walk. What is it about a dog that makes one feel better?

Bavaria Report

Of the next eight days, six are projected to be rainy. Two are projected to partly cloudy. I think that I need to verify all my rain gear.

Established a personal connection to Munich. I didn't realize that some I know lived in Munich. She gave me the address and I will look it up and get a picture. Turns out to be on the way out of Munich at the start of the Muenchner Jakobsweg.

Day Minus 1

The weather here in Rochester is just grey and more grey with rain. It pulled down my mood.

I made it to a morning gentle Yoga session at the YMCA, and then headed back to the Y in the afternoon for a weight session.

I had to get out of the house. I took Gimli (85-lb Chocolate Lab) with me so we could walk in the park also.

I am unsurprisingly blase about this upcoming trip -- tomorrow. Maybe it's the weather. Maybe it's a more general sense of needing something - something outside myself.

***

Deb and I spent a quiet night binge-watching three episodes from Season 3 of Babylon 5. Really helped take the edge off my pre-flight anxieties. ;#)

What do I Want?

Having been retired just over three and one-half years now, I may have finally hit that part of being retired that realizes that I need a reason to get up in the morning. 

When I wake up, it doesn't normally matter whether I stay in bed or start moving. 

In the Navy, we had the term "ROAD" which meant "Retired on Active Duty". That is basically just putting in the days / weeks / months / years to get to 20 years active service and a guaranteed 50% pension. You don't try very hard, but do make sure to do enough to stay out of trouble.

I feel like I'm in ROAD status, in the sense that I am just moving through the days ... without a mission to fulfill.

I shall, in Germany, reflect on what I want to do with the public part of my life, the part that needs to be socially meaningful.