HOW SAFE IS MUNICH?

We leave the Westin Grand Munich tomorrow for Copenhagen.  The hotel itself is now more and more appreciated.  We walked around the neighborhood, led by my Blue-bar Pigeon and passed through a supermarket, where we purchased some suckling pig.

The season for those giant white asparagus has just started, and I'm trying figure out how to have a meal of them.  

The WGM is also convenient to the various transport modes taking you to downtown Munich.  This photo is to the city, and note that snow-topped mountain range.  Alas, we decided to just stick around the WGM for there are shopping areas and a nice market.  One of those been there and done that experiences.  For example, when I was here seven years ago, I caught the U4-Bahn into Odeonplatz and took the usual touristy photos.

Was led around by my Blue-bar Pigeon.

Saw an almost black tulip, which reminds me of where we will be in a few days.

Had a truly great lunch at Schuhbeck's.

Read the details and view my grilled octopus, truffles linguini and suckling pig.  The difference seven years ago was that the next day I flew United Polaris Class back the USA.  Tomorrow we will first go to Copenhagen for a couple of days, then to Amsterdam for a Tauck Tulip Cruise to Brussels.

Here is local a report that says Munich is one of the safest cities in the world.  So I checked.  The World Population Review has an annual ranking for 2024:

• #1    Tokyo
• #2    Singapore
• #3    Osaka
• #4    Amsterdam
• #5    Sydney
• #6    Toronto
• #7    Washington, D.C.
• #8    Copenhagen
• #8    Seoul
• #10  Melbourne
• #11  Chicago
• #13  San Francisco
• #14  London
• #15  New York City
• #16  Frankfurt
• #18  Zurich
• #23  Paris
• #24  Brussels
• #26  Barcelona
• #28  Dubai
• #29  Milan
• #30  Rome
• #47  Bangkok
• #55  Cairo
• #60  Lagos

A few observations.

• Will stop in nine of those cities on this global adventure:  those in BOLD print.  In another ranking, we will be stopping in 7 of best 10 cities.
• Frankly, I don't think DC, Chicago, San Francisco, New York, Hong Kong, Paris, Milan and Rome are particularly safe.
• I see Frankfurt at #16, but no mention of Munich.  
• But if Cairo is #55 and Lagos is #60, where is Munich?  So I thought I'd try a different kind of comparison.  What are the most dangerous cities in the world with respect to crime.

• 
  There are 333 entries, where #333 is UAE, #332 Taipei, AND #325 IS MUNICH!!!  These are the safest cities.
• #311 Singapore and #309 Tokyo.
• #1  Caracas, #2 Pretoria, #3 Durban, #4 Johannesburg, #4 Port Moresby (see my story of the time I went to Papua New Guinea), etc.  These are the world's most dangerous cities.
• I found it most interesting that Memphis is #11, Baltimore #15, Detroit #17, Albuquerque #20, St. Louis #27 and Oakland #28.  The World Population also has a list of the most dangerous countries, and guess what, THE USA IS AMONG THE WORST OF THESE!!!
• 
  So Munich, indeed, is safe.  Thus, going back to the ten most fantastic facts about Munchen:
• #2     BMW was born here.
• #3    Adidas designed vomit-proof shoes for Octoberbest.  Frankly, I don't see any difference.
• #4    Sunday is day of rest.  All stores are closed.
• #5    This is where Jimi Hendrix first smashed his guitar.

• 
  #6    Loves football, which to those in America who don't know any better, is soccer.
• #7    Is the river surfing capital of the world.
• #10  Beer saved the city from destruction.

How exactly did beer save Munich?

• In the 14th century beer trade was significant for the city of Einbeck.  There were 700 master brewers, produced so much that this beer got sold all over Germany.  Got particularly popular in the Bavarian court in Munich.
• During the 30 Year's War in 1632, a Protestant force of Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus encircled Munich and threatened to raze it.
• Bavarian Duke Maximilian I, however, negotiated a deal.  They leave for a ransom of 6000 gallons of Einbecker beer.

The story behind Octoberfest.

• The origin came when King Ludwig I married Princess Therese in 1810.
• But the Octoberfest tradition began in 1811 in the Munich fairground still used today, where horse races were the attraction, not beer.

• 
  Deaths, wars and the Pandemic have cancelled some Octoberfests.
• The attraction stimulated in 1896 the modern Olympic Games in Greece.
• The days were moved into mid September for warmer weather.
• Horse racing ended in 1960.
• Bratwurst was first sold in 1881 and glass mugs began to be used from 1892.

• In 1896 the 17-year old Einstein worked installing lights.
• Smoking was totally banned in 2011.
• Last year 6.5 million liters of beer were drunk  by a record 7.2 million visitors.  Of course, this is the largest beer festival in world.
• 
  The Octoberfest dates for 2024 are from September 21 to October 6.
• And if you're a long-term planner, Octoberfest in 2025 is from September 20 to October 5.

Walked 4068 steps.

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SOME MEMORIES OF MUNICH

Today is Nostalgic Tuesday for me in Munich, so I'll share stories from my stay here a little more than 14 years ago, and more.  I would say that Munchen (nowhere do you see Munich) is my favorite German city.  Note how far south it is, making weather here better than the rest of the country.   This particularly featured day was a time for Fasching, the carnival season.

• Carnival originally began as a pagan festival, and later became associated with the Catholic Church as a celebration the day before the beginning of Lent.
• During the main Fasching season in Munich, there are more than 800 balls, the biggest parties with thousands of people

One early example for this blog site goes back more than 14 years:

• 
  In 2010, this was my 600th posting since my blog began.
• I woke up in Munich only aware that I was to have lunch at the Hotel Konigshof.
• I began to walk around and found myself next to Marienplatz:

I don't think this is how people from Munich dress on a normal day. Most had costumes of some sort, and many, outrageously so. The police and security were standing in corners talking to themselves and not bothering anyone. Drinking on the streets was encouraged, and I saw a clown (Howdy Doody, actually) with a Jeroboam of champagne, and a few with only a Magnum, drinking out of the bottle. This was totally unexpected, and entirely memorable.

Well, the highlight was yet to come, for I had my best 4 hour lunch...in fact, most outstanding lunch ever, at the Hotel Konigshof. Considering that my second best luncheon was on Lufthansa, I would never have imagined that two German lunches would ever be at the top. I walked in not all that well dressed, for men were in suits and ties and women were fashionable...but the staff warmly welcomed my presence.

Not only that, but my table was the best in the house.  You can read the details, but toward the end of the meal:

It's coming to an end, for the braised beef shoulder was oozing with melted Goose Liver (most foie gras, almost anywhere these days, is from a duck...not this one) and Perigord truffles totally covering the beef. You can get these truffles for $1600/pound in America. The meat itself was nothing compared to the Chiang Mai Four Seasons Wagyu Beef, but, who cares with the topping. Oh, there was a wine, a Domaine Roger Perrin Chatenneuf du Pape, heavy bodied and perfect.

Not quite over yet. Finally, with citrus fruits, sherbert and a Pina Colada Foam, came a Mandelsheimer Schwarz-reisling Trestor Edalbrang (a grappa at 43% alcohol), and, because I asked what might be the best counterpart from Italy, I was served a Berta Roccenilno (trust me, the spelling might be off), a much lighter (and lot more expensive) grappa.

Switching to a friend from the past, Carl-Jochen Winter was the German sparkplug for the advance of hydrogen.  We shared many similarities.

• I wrote the initial legislation for hydrogen in the USA, which became the Matsunaga Hydrogen Act.

• 
  We were both professors who wrote books.  One of his publications is On Energies-of-change:  The Hydrogen Solution.  I cover hydrogen in SIMPLE SOLUTIONS for Planet Earth.
• I chaired the World Hydrogen Energy Conference when it was held in Hawaii in 1990.  He was chairman when WHEC went to Stuttgart, Germany in 1996.
• The 24th WHEC will be hosted by Cancun, Mexico from June 23-27 this summer.

• 
  He, and his wife Eva, spent some time as a visiting scholar at the University of Hawaii.  Eva and I--plus you need to add Iris Ovshinsky--had a fascination for blue flowers, so we formed a trio to share these memories.
• My wife and I stayed at their home in one of our visits to Munich.
• Alas, he passed away a year ago at the age of 88.

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BANGKOK TO DUBAI TO MUNICH ON EMIRATES FIRST CLASS

A 6:15AM pickup at the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, two hours in the Suvarnabhumi Airport first class lounge, first class flight from Bangkok to Dubai, then after two hours in the airline first class lounge, a second AirBus 380, largest passenger liner in world, from Dubai to Munich, a total period of around 20 hours.  Basically, we had to wake up at 4:45AM in Bangkok, and did not get to the Munich Westin Grande Hotel until 3:15AM (or 9:15PM Munich time--there is a 6 hour difference).

This was the ultimate in luxury, and a prime example of too much of a good thing.

• First, Emirates picks us up at our Bangkok hotel and drops us off at our Munich hotel.  Nice.
• The Emirates Bangkok first class airline lounge early in the morning has the full complement of food and drinks.
• First class on an Air Bus 380 features unlimited caviar and high end champagne/scotch, like Dom Perignon, Johnny Walker Blue and Dalmore.
• The TV screen is huge, video/audio selections immense and a door blocks you off from the rest of the plane.
• But why this dream itinerary was painful is me.  I drank and ate too much on the first flight.  By the time I got through the Dubai Emirates lounge, I was super satiated and had weary eyes, but did not want to sleep because I would miss this luxury.  It was, thus great, but painful.

So a few photos.  Champagne start.

First class has two showers.

The first course was caviar.  Note there are two types.  The blacker on the left and brownish to the right.

 

This dish alone would cost $300 in many restaurants.  Part 2 featured soup and salad.

But the Mr. Bates film, was a four-part series.  So I decided to skip this.  Later checked and Rotten Tomatoes rated it 92/94.  The problem is that every time you start something new, there is a 5-7 minute commercial.  I ended up going to a Joan Baez documentary, I Am A Noise, with RT of 96/85.  It was good.  The steak was also okay.

Note those three glasses of whisky.  Earlier on I had a taste test of, from the left, Dalmore, Chivas 21-year old and Johnny Walker Blue Label.  They brought a fourth, but this was a bourbon.

The wines were a Cloudy Bay Sauvignon  Blanc and a French Bordeaux.

Our plane landed on time in Dubai.

We were greeted as we left the cabin by an Emirates staffer, who walked us to the First Class Lounge.  We never would have found it.  It took several elevators, while bypassing two check-through stations.

I asked whether they had any connection to an American plug, and just behind me was a pole of anything you might want to charge.

However, there was no menu, just one of those QR Code systems.  Learned that the items included wagyu burgers, foie gras, etc.  The whiskies included Blue Label and Dalmore.  What you see is the end of the wagyu burger.  Better assortment of fine cuisine than most fancy restaurants.

Boarded our second Airbus 380 and ordered a Kir Royale.  The champagne was Dom Perignon

Then had a beer with an 8-year old Sauternes, plus movie snacks.

Arrived in Munich, went through customs, and waiting for us was the Emirates driver to take us to the Westin Grand, a large hotel with 627 rooms.  Thus, all went well with anything related to Emirates.  Turns out that a taxi ride to town would have cost us around $150, which we'll need to pay in a few days for our flight to Copenhagen.  Maybe Frankfurt is a better transfer option, for there is a Sheraton at the airport.

At this point everything went askew.  The room we got was too hot.  At 9:30PM we asked for another room, and this one too had a problem.   Turns out that every room has this defect, for much of Europe has a two-week period during a season change, and the air-conditioning system does not work.  We asked about an adaptor to link our American plug, and the response was to buy one in the lobby shop.  No where in the world was this a problem, for the hotel normally loans this device.  Had to purchase one for $16.

The shower was too tiny, like being on a cruise.  We were totally dissatisfied, so made up our minds to take the penalty, leaving this hotel and flying to Denmark early, depending on how good the breakfast buffet and evening cocktail lounge were here.  Well, breakfast was fabulous.  Not quite up to what we had in the Orient, but not bad at all.

So now we await how good the Club Lounge is to determine how long we stay in Munich.  We have unique reasons for doing what we do.

My pedometer showed 9121 steps.

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