It's the small things

Last Friday I flew to Munich (Salt Lake to Atlanta, Atlanta to Munich). Because of my status with Delta, I received a complimentary upgrade to Atlanta. However, the bigger problem was the flight to Munich. I know I sound like such a whiner, but that is a really long flight (9 hours) to be stuck in coach. So, on Wednesday of last week, I called Delta to see if I could use my SkyMiles to purchase an upgrade. Nope, my ticket wasn’t in the right class, so no upgrade for me. A friend from work was traveling with me and overheard my conversation, so he thought he’d give it a try. He was told that he could use miles, but a better option would be for each of us to purchase an upgrade on the day of travel (if available) for $150. Totally worth it. So, bright and early on Friday morning (we’re talking about 5:30) I walked into the Crown Room at the Salt Lake City airport ready to purchase my upgrade. Sorry, ma’am (I’m not ready to be a ma’am), you were given incorrect information – there is no way, no how you can upgrade your flight. When Bill got to the airport, he tried, too. Same end result. He couldn't even use miles, now. Since each person told us something a little different, I thought I’d try asking again in Atlanta. Still the same end result (NO), but again, different information. After so much rejection, Bill and I were resigned to the fact that we would be in coach. However, when the gate agent scanned our tickets, much to our astonishment, a neat little upgrade ticket printed out - one for each of us. We didn't even ask this time. I was high-fiving Bill – the gate agent was excited for us, he high-fived us. It was quite the moment. I think the surprise made the upgrade that much sweeter.

We arrived in Munich Saturday morning, stayed in Munich Saturday night and then took the train to Innsbruck on Sunday. We arrived in Munich early in the morning, and even though our hotel rooms were ready, it’s my rule to try and stay awake as late as possible and then try to sleep through the night in order to reduce the amount of jet lag. So, Bill and I walked around Munich for a few hours – until both of us were ready to drop. I’ve been to Munich before, so I saw some of the same things (which I still LOVE), but we saw some different things, too. It’s a beautiful city.

Asparagus must be in season - there were asparagus stands EVERYWHERE

Theatine Church

Since neither of us spoke German, we couldn't quite figure out what this statue was for. We assumed it was for the fallen soldiers from Munich during the wars.

Beautiful skyline

One of my favorite sites in Munich - the Glockenspiel. There's quite the show when it strikes 11 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m. (I think it's 4 p.m.)

Frauenkirke (Church of Our Lady). There was scaffolding on the other tower, so the picture isn't quite what it could have been

English Gardens. It was amazing to have this tranquil garden in the middle of the city. My German friend, Rolf, told us that we were lucky it was cold and rainy - evidently nude sunbathing is quite the past time in this park.

Bill's first real German beer

OK, these signs were ALL over the English Gardens. We couldn't quite understand - were only women allowed to walk here? And only then if they were holding on to their daughter's hand? A little chauvinistic, if you ask me. My German resource, Rolf, wasn't sure what these meant, so I went on a quest online. Evidently these signs simply mean "pedestrians allowed." But only women pedestrians, right?