Extreme Layover: Munich

Party Over Here
I’ve never had so much fun at an airport gate before: I was lucky enough to be a passenger on the inaugural flight from San Diego to Munich. I’d been looking to burn these Lufthansa miles for years, but the pandemic came along, and then, well…you know the rest of the story. There were already so few international flights from San Diego (three to be exact) and Corona Virus knocked it down to zero. It was so good to see them slowly return, including this new SAN-MUC flight.

The party at the gate included an accordion player complete lederhosen, free pretzels and ginger beer, and an official ribbon cutting by airport staff and some of the Lufthansa corporate players. They actually brought the captain in from the aircraft to slice the big red ribbon. I’m always excited to be at the departure gate in general – but the music, festivities and special ceremony just amplified my enthusiasm. I even made it on the news: Look Mom, I’m on TV!

Across the Pond
The flight was great: business class, complete with champagne before takeoff and fantastic in-flight service. They even offered pajamas to us biz passengers. It was a shame I couldn’t take them with me – I was traveling with just one backpack for this ten-day, around-the-world journey. I had zero real estate to part with in my luggage.

After the food and drink came the slumber. The lie-flat seats were fantastic and our flight experienced very little turbulence. I slept so well that I completely missed breakfast. I awoke with just 50 minutes left on the flight and was on the ground before I could even fully awake.

Let’s go to Munich!
Still in a daze, I made myself over to immigration. The officer had a chuckle when he realized I was going into town for just a few hours. I’d landed at 1:35PM and would need to get to the airport with plenty of time for my 8PM flight onward.

Next, it was over to “Left Luggage” to store my bag – too heavy to lug around town. Then, I grabbed a taxi to take me into Munich. 80 Euros? YIKES! I would’ve taken the train but didn’t want to miss my 3:30pm appointment. At least this was a very nice taxi (Mercedes Benz), complete with charging cables, bottled water and comfy seats.

Soon, I was being dropped off at the Marienplatz (Our Lady’s Square) where I’d meet the Archduke of Duckionary, the honorable Arthur C. De Tourneau, for a lunch meeting. Duckionary is a micronation located inside Austria. The Archduke and his Minister of Foreign Affairs (who may or may not have been Arthur’s mother) had taken the train into Germany just to meet with me. I was honored!

We’d have lunch at Schneider Bräuhaus and sign a treaty between our two nations. Oh, you didn’t know that I was “The Sultan” of Slowjamastan? You better read up on The Republic of Slowjamastan HERE. Please don’t judge me.

Short but Sweet
I don’t think I realized how tight my connection was until I was already downtown. My next flight would leave at 8PM and it was already approaching four – and you should really be at the airport at least two hours before an international flight…and even that’s cutting it close. I hated not having more time to spend with the Archduke and his staff – especially after they traveled all this way – but I could not miss my flight. We wrapped up lunch and I was on my way to the train by five. The S-Bahn took me right into the airport where I passed security with only about ten minutes to spare before boarding. Talk about tight – wow!

I would have loved to spend more time in Munich, but I was so happy to see some beautiful buildings, devour some fantastic food (and drink), and spend time with such great people. I’ve been to Germany three times now yet have never spent more than a night there. I really need to make it a point to spend some real time there.

Check out my Extreme Layover in Frankfurt HERE.