Spring Break

We spent our spring break visiting Europe. Our plan was to go to Paris for the week. The United flight I found routed us through Munich, and the layover was more than a few hours. So it felt like we actually were visiting Germany some, too. We had 8 hours in Munich and then were planning on staying overnight in Munich on the way home.

We had some issues with our travel. Our Airbnb apartment canceled the week before we were to arrive, so we had to find alternative lodging. Our flight from Paris to Munich was canceled and never replaced, so we had to talk the United people into letting us just fly from Paris direct to Chicago. We adapted and in the end had a good trip.

We stayed in a duplex flat up near Montmarte that provided us a terrace and a view of the city including the basilica Sacre Couer. It rained many days and that made the terrace not as useful as we'd hoped. The space was great, three bedrooms and three beds, perfect for our family. The neighborhood was actually filled with African immigrants so the feeling was different than we expected for Paris. In the end, it was a good space and the neighborhood has bakeries and markets so we were fine.

We saw the Louvre and the Museum of the Army. My daughter likes the art, my son the weapons. We took a bus tour to see many of the sights without having to walk in the rain. We ate bakery and snails and souffle. We saw the Eiffel Tower at night and the Arc de Triumph. We got to walk on the Champs D'Elysees because it was closed on Easter Sunday reserved only for pedestrian traffic.

We stayed at a hotel near the Arc for two nights with adjoining rooms. More of a hotel feel with no kitchen. It was nice and we could leave our luggage the last day, although I think we preferred the apartment space.

We flew back to Chicago and were upgraded to business class which was amazing. Nine hour flight in seats that go flat, with real food and champaign. I watched three movies and did some work to get back into the swing of things. The time went quickly, but we were tired when we got home and it was only 2pm.

Eight Hours in Munich

We arrived in Munich from Chicago at 9:45 am as scheduled. The arrival process is so simple; passport control stamps your passport and no forms to fill out. One of the best experiences entering a country. As we head through baggage claim feeing smug that we carried on our baggage and didn’t have to wait, my son realizes he left his phone on the plane. In the pocket. Where we told him not to leave it.

I stopped at the Lufthansa service desk and the nice attendant called the gate. After a few minutes, we learned they found the phone but cannot bring it out of the secure area. I had to go to the United desk to get a permissions slip to re-enter security and retrieve his phone. I left the kids and Terri with the baggage and headed off on my mission. 

The United desk was busy, but fine. The security was moderate. Back through passport control where they stamped my passport as though I was leaving Germany. Then off to the gate, where they had the phone waiting. Back through departing passport control where the officer was truly upset at the fact that I had been stamped to arrive and depart, and seemed to struggle with whether to stamp me as departing (again) or just leave my passport as-is. In the end, he called a supervisor and made a lot of seemingly disparaging remarks in German and just handed me back my passport.

Back rejoined with the kids, it only took me 30 minutes for the entire ordeal. In that time, Terri had figured out the best way for us to get into Munich. We left our baggage with a service and found the train station where we bought a family day-pass for 23 euro to get in and out of Munich. The train took 40 minutes and we were in the main square Marienplatz. We saw the church bells and little statues dancing around making music. We walked to the Victualzmarkt (sp?) where there were meat markets and foot stalls selling sandwiches.

We decided we wanted to sit down and eat. Rest. Access a civilized bathroom. So we found a place that ended up being quite expensive, but the atmosphere was nice and the food was very good. It was 6am body time and noon local time, so we ate steak and beef stew. The food was amazing, lots of meat and very good. The kids had me ask what the drinking age was because we had heard it was 13 and both kids wanted to try beer. Our server told us the age was 16 and the kids were much too young. Bad parenting moment early on in the vacation. I drank two beers and the kids had coke.

We walked the market and square a bit more; shopped some but the tired kept us from really enjoying ourselves. We were all so tired from having only a few hours sleep. We hopped back on the train at 2:30 pm and arrived in the airport at 3:15pm or so. We debated finding a nap pod (these are a thing in Munich airport) but nothing was near our gate.

I took Bella into the lounge so she could get juice and rest in a comfy chair, while Terri and Paul stayed by the gate. There are showers, but we didn’t have the energy to try the shower. I had both types of German beer they had on tap. They also had some desserts, but we had so much lunch I was hardly hungry.

After sitting a bit, it occurred to me that in Singapore I found nap room by exploring into side rooms that I initially missed. I took another look around and found the Lufthansa club had two private rooms with beds and a blanket to sleep. No door, just a curtain, but dark and private and perfect for Bella to get a nap. She knocked out while I put my feet up, and it was a good way to get a rest in.

Terri and Paul found chairs that were reclined for their own rest and relaxation. They charged their phones while reclining and drinking some caffeinated beverages to keep going for the next three or four hours to Paris. 

We boarded the plane. The good news was the Gold status allowed us to cut the (long) line. The bad news was they checked our rollaboard luggage. There was plenty of overhead space, and we could have taken them with us. But I had heard Lufthansa was strict with the weight rules, and if they weighed our bags each one would be heavier than 18 pounds.