Today we departed Weikersheim for good, going southeast along the Romantic Road. We stopped in Nordlingen, 70 miles northwest of Munich, for lunch, where I joined Bill and Wendie at a charming restaurant. Well-- I guess all the restaurants we ate at (except for McDonald's!) could be described as "charming", so I'll try to limit the use of that word from now on.
We arrived in Munich sometime around 1:00 p.m.and unloaded our stuff at the Hotel Maria. This would be a four night stay. I had a rather cramped room with two or three other guys and a small bathroom (no bath, just a shower). We had the bathroom all to ourselves, however! This was the first time we had a television, so I enjoyed checking out German TV. There was a lot about Premier "Gorbatchev" (German spelling) of the Soviet Union-- oops, maybe they were Russia by then. Later on, I was treated to some rather questionable and downright pornographic viewing that would never be allowed on non-cable television in the U.S., even now (2009).
I walked downtown, not to see any of the normal cultural spots, but to shop at the World of Music, a store which had been recommended to me by one of my old college music professors. Much to my surprise, it was closed! It was Saturday and the store had closed at 1 or 2:00 for the day. This is unheard of in the U.S., but was not unusual in 1991 Germany. I had earlier been introduced to the fact that many stores closed two hours for lunch every day they were open, except of course, the restaurants. Many stores were never open on weekends.
Anyway-- I and a few others visited the nearby "Hauptbahnhof" (main train station) and I recall seeing a genuine male person leave a train, wearing liederhosen. I remember thinking the rather unkind thought that he looked like quite the "country bumpkin". I don't recall what else I did that day, except for a memorable two hours washing my clothes by myself. I wasn't actually by myself-- there were plenty of others in the laundromat. Unfortunately, none of them spoke English, so I couldn't get any help figuring out the washers and dryers. The reason they didn't speak English was because they all seemed to be guest workers from Yugoslavia (R.I.P.) and probably had enough trouble speaking German!
Finally, two more unrelated items:
1) Cigarette smoking in Germany (and Europe in general) seemed much more prevalent than in the U.S. In the same vein, cigarette vending machines and advertising were much more in evidence.
2) And on a very "personal note"-- The embarrassing medical problem I had been experiencing had pretty much abated by now, aided by the "Babypuder" and a switch from briefs to boxers. I would remember in future trips to allow my "nether regions" to breathe and not wear sweatpants for a prolonged period unless it was really cold !
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