2016 July 28 — Les Petites Gourmettes

Munich (München)

by Linda Hopkins

Hi there! I had planned to be posting all along our #europeanvacation. Now, more than ten days in – it turns out that I should have taken advantage of the opportunity while I had it. That opportunity would have been during our stay in Munich or during the Switzerland land-tour portion of our scheduled Rhine River Cruise. The problem was, I really didn’t have a moment of downtime. I assumed that I’d have plenty of time and great internet access while we cruised down the Rhine River.

Wrong! The internet access has been spotty, at best. That red sad-faced icon is what I mostly see. We are now docked in Mannheim, Germany. Dave is off for a look around the city, while I’ve stayed behind. I decided this was my chance, maybe my one and only, to get a post put up.

Time is limited, so it will be a pictorial, for the most part.

We flew British Airways from Phoenix to London, changed planes, and arrived in Munich the next day. We were greeted at the Munich airport by Dave’s cousin, Hope. I’d never met Hope and Dave hadn’t seen her since he was a teenager. Luckily, they’d connected on Facebook a few weeks prior, so at least they recognized each other.

Hope took us to our hotel, The Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten Kempinski, in the heart of Munich.

The hotel is beyond lovely and the included daily breakfast is “just beyond!” I knew it would be when I spotted this adorable bicycle at the entrance to the restaurant!

The next morning, we were off and running with Hope and her charming husband, Nick. Hope, Nick, and their two sons, Dylan and Owain, have lived in Munich for the last nine years. We could not have found better or more gracious hosts and city guides.

Their knowledge of the city and country was more than we could have ever wished for. Nick and Hope showed and shared with us EVERYTHING! We thank them from the bottom of our hearts.