March 13th was my last full day in Munich and I still had not seen the sights of a Hop On-Hop Off tour. I was determined to walk to the tour’s first stop in the morning. And I did, it only took about 25 minutes. I recognized the area as being near the Hauptbahnhof – made me wonder about the length and cost of the taxi ride to the hotel. I presented the Hop On-Hop Off tour voucher and explained the mix up at Odeonsplatz. They honored the voucher and off I went on the city tour. There was a lot of construction going on along the tour bus route, so I could understand the route stop issue. I did see the “sights” but I was not moved. It was in some ways better than Berlin – I liked the architecture better and enjoyed the stories of Schwabing area – but it was not satisfying in some ways. That said, I did enjoy the city and thought that I just needed to give it a longer visit to grow on me. After all, though my hotel was near the Pinakotheken area, I did not go to any museums. The Ludwig Maximilian University and the Technical University of Munich  are in the area and have over 60 Nobel laureates as alums between them; the museums were likely worth the trip. I’d had a couple good meals – wild mushroom risotto! – with excellent service at Bar Uno. I would have made this restaurant/bar my home base if I were staying longer. (There’s something about having drinks and food in a place where the food and drinks are good AND the staff seems to be genuinely happy to be there.)

The next day, the 14th, was my departure day and the hotel staff suggested that I take a bus to the train station rather than a taxi. I caught the bus to the train station by turning left from the hotel, crossing the street and walking half a block to a city bus stop. The bus I caught ended at the main train station (Munich Hauptbahnhof), across the street from the Hop On-Hop Off bus starting stop. I could have taken the bus there days ago, seen museums in the Pinkotheken and saved myself a lot of walking. I have adjusted my Apple maps settings to give me proper walking/transit directions. Live and learn…