Monday - August 6 Munich, Germany

Wow.....today is our last day of our exciting and remarkable European adventure........and what an interesting and fulfilling adventure it was. Over 4 weeks of extensive traveling, 3,665 kilometers (approx. 2,400 miles) of driving and now the end is sadly here.

As usual, we woke up about 8 AM, showered and headed off for our breakfast. The breakfast at this hotel was unusually extensive: choices of omelets, eggs, smoked fish, bread, rolls, cheeses, meats, jams, cereals, pastries, etc. After breakfast we headed out for the day, with a stop at an internet cafe to check our email (the hotel charged some ridiculous price for internet access). Our first major stop of the day was the Viktualienmarkt, which was quite near our hotel. The Viktualienmarkt is a famous Munich outdoor food market with many stands selling all sorts of fresh fruits, vegetables, spices, cheeses, meats, assorted lunch items and of course a beer garden. After perusing the market, having a wurst, and taking several photos, we decided to head a bit north of the center city, toward the area of the University (Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich). Rather than take public transportation, we decided to walk. Since the University was north of the Viktualienmarkt and was sort of adjacent to the Englischer Garden which we had visited and enjoyed yesterday, we decided to stroll through the park, rather than walk along the streets. Once in the area of the University, we saw the famous "Walking Man" a huge white sculpture (17 meters tall, 16-ton figure) in front of Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurance underwriter. After checking out the area of the University and stopping off at an outside cafe, we walked back to the "Pedestrian Zone" along the local streets. As we walked back along the Ludwigstrasse, we passed many rather interesting buildings that were obviously built hundreds of years ago. Once back in the center of town, we headed back to the Viktualienmarkt beer garden for a bratwurst and beer before going back to the hotel for a bit of rest. After resting up a bit, we were out on the streets again, taking in whatever we could see before departing for New York tomorrow. We had a small dinner and some weissbier at a cafe along the Marienplatz before returning to the hotel for the night. We returned to the hotel rather early because we had a bit of packing to do and knew we had a very long day ahead of us tomorrow.