There are several hiking trails to take back down and we chose one that included Partnach Gorge (about 4 hours start to finish). This was one of the most scenic experiences I've ever had, with many waterfalls and rapids, and a favorite of this trip. We all decided that we would definitely like to come back to G-P and then head south to Austria and Italy for more passport stamps and mountain views.
Chunky had hopes of swimming, but the Eibsee was packed and it would have delayed our arrival to Munich significantly. Part two was driving, a little over two hours, and arriving at our AirBnB. It wasn't a spectacularly pretty drive, but it was interesting as the nav system had us take an odd combination of back roads and the autobahn to a metropolitan area. Our AirBnB home was just inside Munich's city limits in the southeast. We were greeted warmly by the mother of the two daughters who rent their rooms out of their family home. Cecelia could not have been any nicer and the room was actually an apartment with seating area, kitchenette, 5 beds and a huge bathroom. Perfekt!
Part three was Munich's inner city. There was a U-Bahn (subway) station just a short walk from the AirBnB with city center stations only 15 minutes away. We took the U downtown and headed for the famed viktulienmarkt. I was really looking forward to grabbing street food and buying some trinkets, but it was almost 7pm and the kids wanted to sit down to eat. We decided to go to Hofbrauhaus so Sassy could be with her people. I had bought Sassy an authentic Bavarian dirndl as an early Christmas gift in Freiburg. Cecelia lent me one of her own drindls (for photos only, I didn't dare go out in it for fear of spilling food or splitting it open) and lent Sassy a blouse for underneath as we decided to buy at a later date and make due with a tee shirt. Cecelia was excited for us to experience the culture. Hofbrauhaus did not disappoint! It was bursting at the seams with people and we thought we were out of luck when I spotted a table of five older gentlemen, most dressed in lederhosen. Sassy asked in German if the three of us could sit at one end and they welcomed us in. Little did we know what an honor this was. Only one spoke a little English. Sassy did a great job of interpreting. All had beautiful steins - some engraved, others with enamel tops.They made fun of me when I ordered Radler, half beer half lemonade (shandy in the states but this is SO much better), and when I acted hurt they all toasted me anyway. They even bought us shots before they left. I received kisses from almost every one ❤️ We were surprised when they returned, cleaning their mugs and holding small locks. Then we noticed behind them were stein "safes". Evidently these are coveted spots for regulars and these gentlemen have a standing date at their reserved table on Monday and Friday evenings. I was so touched by their generosity that I prepaid the first round for their next meeting. Hope they are pleasantly surprised :)
Tomorrow is another day in Munich. Wir lieben Deutschland ❤️🇩🇪
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