Mumbai, India. Sunday, 5th May 2019.
That time of the year again! Europe has become a habit. The destination this year was the Black Forest region of Bavaria and Baden-Wurttemberg, in beautiful Deutschland. The preparation for this trip was not without incident - the German consulate in Mumbai had rejected our visa application the first time as they were suspicious of our intentions in applying for a Schengen visa! It took a strong worded letter from me, followed by an interview at the consulate; before the authorities were convinced; and the visas were finally adorning our passports on 17th April.
Set off by cab at 13:06 and reached my cousin Usha's house at Malad in suburban Mumbai, in exactly four hours. Chit-chat, dinner with the Nabars, who as I have recorded earlier, are unrivalled for hospitality.
Muscat airport, Sultanate of Oman. Monday, 6th May, 2019.
Ola cab from Malad at 00:37 - a smooth ride to terminal T2 of Chhatrapati Shivaji International airport, Mumbai - reached in just 20 minutes. Check-in, security, Immigration were equally smooth but Costa Coffee eluded us this time as the restaurant
had shifted to somewhere near gate 74 and we had to board at gate 46. Instead settled for Starbucks coffee, dearer but better. Duly boarded the aircraft of Oman Air - flight WY 206 - at 04:30 and the plane with uncomfortable seats took off at 05:29, 19 minutes behind schedule. Landed at Muscat at 06:30 and passing through Security, found a place to sit opposite 'Kids Kingdom' shop in the airport's duty free. Brushed our teeth and are now settling in for the long wait for flight WY 123 to Munich.
Munich, Deutschland. Tuesday, 7th May 2019.
It is 07:23 at Munich. Have just finished my bath and am penning this in room no. 339 on the 3rd floor of Hotel Holiday Inn Express Munich East. The long wait at Muscat airport yesterday finally ended at 13:20 when gate no. 10C was opened for boarding. An amusing incident was the altercation that a passenger had with a lady security officer. She threatened him with dire consequences if he did not have a valid visa for Germany! Flight WY 123 (Airbus 330) departed at 14:30, late by 20 minutes. The 6 1/2 hour flight was marked by turbulence and the near absence of the aircon for the first 20 minutes. The reason forwarded by the cabin crew was that since the aircraft are sunbathing in the Omani heat, the aircon takes time to be fully operational! Clearly, their aircraft are outdated! The lunch-Chicken Biryani, sprouts, bun with butter and a delicious cake-pudding- was the redeeming factor of an otherwise boring journey where Urmila dozed for the best part and I watched the Marathi movie 'Savita Damodar Paranjpe' , the latter only to take my mind off the turbulence. We landed at a cloudy Munich 5 minutes before time, at 18:55. The views from the sky before landing - the magnificent countryside with its familiar maroon and yellow patches punctuated by thick greenery - were soothing and provided the reassurance that we were about to step into our second home. On alighting, we got our first taste of the climate - chilly! However, we were expecting this and were prepared.
It took a long time, including a short train ride ( a la Zurich Flughafen!) before we could retrieve our checked-in bags from another area of the terminal. Immigration proved to be a breeze, possibly because the officer at the counter was greeted by a "Guten Abend" by me. He flashed a spontaneous smile and asked me, "Do you speak German?" I replied that I knew a few words. He then asked us only one other question, "How long will you be here?" Bags collected, we purchased the airport to city tickets at a Deutsche Bahn(DB) machine, after an initial struggle. At the machine we found someone's credit card and taking it, handed it over at the information desk. The lady there thanked us for the good deed. Friendly locals guided us to the Bahnhof, which was bang opposite the Flughafen. Descended to the platforms by escalator - Urmila struggled with her suitcase - and I tried to validate the tickets at a machine, without success. I then realised that the tickets already had the time printed on them! How stupid of me!
Boarded s8 and after a breezy ride, changed trains at Ost Bahnhof. Caught the s2 to Berg Am Liam, 2 stops away. At Berg Am Liam, as we descended the stairs from the platform, I asked a family who was also descending, the location of Neumarkter Strasse. The man looked confused but when I mentioned 'Holiday Inn' he brightened up and said, "Oh! We are also staying there. Just follow us." What luck! A ten to twelve minute walk in the chill brought us to the hotel. Checked in; room no. 339, rear facing. We asked for a change to the front. Being tired, we washed quickly, ate the 'savoury cum sweet' (the muffin was delicious) and hit the bed. A sound and deep sleep broke only at 05:00 this morning.
Now getting ready to visit the infamous Heinrich Himmler's concentration camp memorial at Dachau. More later!
Writing this entry in our room at 18:55. Earlier today, we had set off on foot for the Berg Am Liam Bahnhof, after a sumptuous breakfast. The talk on way to the station centred around how lucky were the people living here. This thought had been triggered on viewing the wonderful homes and the cleanliness all around. Passed the mandatory church (whose spire can be seen from our room) and clicked photos. At the station, we boarded the s2 for
Dachau. At München Ostbahnhof, the train emptied and had a lady not asked us to alight and board a different coach of the same train, we would perhaps have landed at some other place instead of Dachau! Enjoyed the ride, while Urmila dozed (the joint effect of a full stomach, the chill in the air and yoghurt at breakfast).
At Dachau we got on to a bright red bus (no. 726) for the Dachau memorial. The suburb was a pleasant one, reminding us of Salzburg, Herrenberg and Ettelbruck. Europe is truly
fascinating - though the cities and towns seem similar to one another, each has a unique character. The homes and avenues of Dachau impressed us; at one point we passed a broad road with a canopy of trees -maroon and green -covering it. It was a magnificent sight! Alighted at our stop with most of the other passengers on the bus and slowly made our way to the memorial. A shudder went down our
spines when one of the many information boards put up along the route informed us that prisoners had walked along the same road many, many years ago!
The camp itself was huge-buildings bordering all sides of a wide, open space. All the buildings have been reconstructed and the then maintenance building is now the museum revealing bone-chilling details of the fate of the prisoners at the hands of the ruthless SS. A few of the photographs were quite starkly revealing. On the opposite side of the museum building were the sleeping quarters of the prisoners. The bunks have been recreated but
one does not need to stretch the imagination to gather the terrible condition of the prisoners. We returned to Dachau station with a bitter taste in our mouths. We had just emerged from a dark chapter of this great country's history. May it never be repeated!
Missed mentioning that the majority of the visitors at Dachau were college students with their teachers - there were hordes!
The train from Dachau brought us to Marienplatz, perhaps Munich's most photographed and recognisable place. Before we could exit the station, we found ourselves inside a shopping complex, which led us further into a huge, 6-storeyed shopping mall. The confectionery counter was simply smashing - never had I seen so much variety of chocolate in one place! It was a true pilgrimage for a chocolate-lover. Found our favourite, Ritter Sport 250 gms. for a very reasonable price - Euro 2/49! Bought a few, including two new flavours in 100 gms. each.
Exited the mall, only to find ourselves in yet another familiar territory - the pedestrianised shopping complex closed to vehicular traffic. The buildings were magnificent, each seemingly similar to the other, yet actually different. Brought back memories of Vienna, Brussels and Luxembourg City. Made our way very slowly, trying to get as much sun as possible in the icy atmosphere. Found the iconic Haufbrauhaus, the oldest beer institution of Munich, indeed of Europe. The restaurant with plenty of old world charm is spread over a vast area on the first floor with a beer garden too. Ate half roasted chicken with mashed
potatoes, pasta egg noodles, coffee and the mandatory beer - Haufbrau original. The meal was wonderful!
Walked back to the Marienplatz shopping mall to search for a hairclip for Urmila. Entered a number of shops, including an exclusive Swarovski outlet, but couldn't find one. Went back to the huge store visited earlier and purchased a miniature jack Daniels, with a can of orange juice. A bit tired, we returned to Berg Am Liam by S4 and then took bus no. 109 which dropped us bang in front of our hotel. Rested. Did not venture out again; savoured the Ritter - Waffle flavour. The quality of Ritter's chocolate is unrivalled and unparalleled!
