Wrap Up

My last full day in Munich was a bit on the wet side. The rain came and went intermittently forcing me to seek hiding places where ever I went. My only real mission for the day was to hunt down some decent reading material for the plane ride home.

After some searching, I found an english language bookstore, logically part of the university bookstore system. So I headed back towards Schwabing for the rest of the day. Books are expensive in Europe! I should have planned ahead and borrowed something from Becca and Jan, knowing how much travel time I had in my near future. Even the supplemental book loaned to me by Paul didn't cover the duration of my stay. I picked up a copy of The Brothers Karamazov since it is a classic I have never read and it has lots of pages.

I did some window shopping for the rest of the day, ducking into stores when either interest of weather dictated. Somewhere in the neighborhood of dinner time, I ducked into the internet cafe to check out my dining options and to check in for my flight, forgetting that the first leg was Lufthansa. For dinner, I found out that there were some fine dining options, many of them pricey, despite proximity to the university. I decided on an Italian place having little desire to explore more deeply into Bavarian cuisine for fear of boiled calves head content. I found the best form of solo dining entertainment is eavesdropping without a doubt, especially when english speakers think their conversations are falling on non comprehending ears.

At the end of the evening, I headed back to my hotel to finish packing for my departure. I hoped my bikes were still sitting in the luggage room . . . In the morning, I found out that they indeed were. After breakfast, I rolled my show back out onto the streets and headed to the airport by S-Bahn. Thank goodness for trips without additional train/bus connections.

At the airport I was told by the Lufthansa agents that my bike bag was too big for the Munich airport and that I could not possibly check it. After much conversation on the subject the still insisted that I would have to go back to the cargo service operation and check it as cargo. They then realized I wouldn't have time to do that and suggested removing items from the bag. "Good idea, can I just check a $3000 frame or maybe a $1400 disc wheel, I know the luggage handlers will treat it with great care." They suggested that maybe I could carry on a wheel, but that wouldn't get the 6 kilo weight cut they were looking for because at this point it had become a concern of what the baggage handlers' union would allow.

The airline representative kept offering solutions like buying another bag and repacking things. He didn't know what to do with my request for some Euros to go buy a bag. Ultimately, he "figured out" how to get around the system, but would have to charge a fee for excess baggage. At this point I was quite happy not having to rapidly learn about the cargo system. I am sure that simply writing all of this down will result in the destruction of my bikes or at the very least a lengthy delay in the bag finding its way to the continent I live on.

Finally aboard the flight, which is quite empty I might add, I have been plowing through movies, doing some reading, drinking water and juice, and marveling at the lavatories that are downstairs on this plane. Lufthansa is slightly more civilized than United was for transatlantic flights, actually maintaining their alcoholic beverage service for free. At this point, I say screw the airlines and their stupid cost saving nonsense from fee for what used to be standard service to LED overhead reading lights that cast a deathly glow on reading materials. I'd have been ok with increased prices and a fuel cost excuse covering it all.

I have a three hour layover in Charlotte, almost enough time to head home for a visit in Chapel Hill, but not quite. I will do some more reading, some airport store browsing and some phone calling since I will again have cell service after three weeks of cell silence. Having the Blackberry on this trip even without service has been useful, at least for typing blog posts so I don't have to on the internet cafe's clock.