(Recommended by Larry - PStuyvsant)

Pension Schmellergarten (Garni)
Schmellerstraße 20
80337 Munich
Tel - 089/773157/764841 ~ Fax - 089/7256886
22 rooms with shower, phone
Parking area, 15 minute walk to Hauptbahnhof
Two blocks from Oktoberfest grounds
Near Poccistraße U-bahn station

(Comments by PStuyvsant) ...The drive to Munich is in a steady rain, and as I enter town the traffic also starts to pick up. I follow the main drag over to Nymphenburg Palace and on into the main part of town coming out at Donnersbrucke near the Bahnhof. So far so good...at least I haven't gotten an uplannned tour of the local residential streets and back alleys, unlike some previous trips. :0(

I soon pick up the Bavaria Ring, and right on cue end up skirting the 'Fest grounds. Even in the heavy rain the crowds are filing through the gates like business as usual.

At around 12:30 I arrive at the "Pension Schmellergarten" located on Schmellerstrasse, about two blocks from the fest grounds. I had previously stayed here in '98 and was lucky to nab a room by making a reservation back in February. Frau Kuhn remembers me and gives me the same EZ as before... color TV, small balcony, and facilities right outside the door, for DM75.

After settling in and relaxing for awhile I have decided to go to Plan B due to the weather. Canceling plans to head out to Dachau, instead I jump on the U6 and head to Marienplatz. As I exit the underground onto the square I am greeted by sheets of cold blowing rain and manage to take refuge underneath the cover of the C&A department store. The crowds are thin and it's clearly not a good day for running around outside playing tourist.

With no specific destination in mind I finally decide on the perfect rainy day diversion. I grab a day pass and start randomly riding streetcars all over town. It doesn't matter which one you take, or where it is going, because sooner or later you are going to end up either at the Hauptbahnhof, or Karlsplatz, and you get a great free tour of all the main points of interest while remaining high and dry.

After a couple of hours of this entertainment it is time for a cold one, so I pop into a small bierstube near the Marienplatz and proceed to unwind from what has turned out to be a rather tiring day, most of it behind the wheel.

Around 5:00 it is starting to get dark and there is virtually no one on the square. Looks like a good time to grab some rotwein and head back to the ranch and relax. As I leave the U6 stop near the Pension I catch the familiar smell of Pizza in the air. Passing a small pizzeria I decide on a whim to try the local cuisine just for comparison. I soon have a nice steaming cheese with ham and sausage under my arm and heading for the comfy zimmer.

I am soon chowing down on the goodies, and enjoying live coverage from the bier tents in living color on the tube. The wine is flowing and I am feeling pretty mellow, but looking forward to tomorrow as the plan is to meet up with Tooooobah and BobinHeidelberg for our own version of the Urach reunion.

Sooner than I am ready it is 6 a.m. and I am wide awake and wondering where the short night went, and should I have another shot of wine until time for breakfast? Nahh...it's too early for that...better wait another hour. :0)

Out on the balcony I survey the weather situation and see that it is overcast and quite chilly with a misty rain still hanging on. Looks like the weather gods are having a good laugh at my expense. But hey, been there, done that , and that's what umbrellas are for.

After a nice hot shower to shake off the cobwebs I stroll over to the Frühstück room two doors down to find I am the first to arrive. As usual, Frau Kuhn has laid out a marvelous buffet and I start loading up....soft boiled eggs, ham, cheese, jam, rolls with creamy butter, plenty of coffee, oh man I'm in heaven!

In a short time some of the other guests start dragging in, no doubt still feeling some of the hair of the dog that bit them. The Pension always fills up early in the year according to the Frau and I am glad I wrote in early. She is booked solid for the next two weeks.

Feeling somewhat normal, I decide to stick to today's plan and am soon on the U6 back to the Marienplatz. First stop is the Deutsches Bank on the corner of the square to unload the rest of my DM traveler's checks. The exchange desk is downstairs and I am soon counting out marks at the rate of 2.1 to the dollar. I am also in shock because I expected to be charged so much per check, or at the very least a flat fee. Not so, the lady at the desk says - no charge of any kind and I head out feeling lucky to have dodged that bullet.

Although still overcast, at least the rain has stopped and the square is filling up with crowds. There are numerous vendors setting up their stalls, flowers, souvenirs, the usual stuff. I stroll over to the DomKirche for some photos, then head up the Fußgängerzone for some window shopping. After checking out Woolworth's and C&A I head over to my next destination...the Hofbräuhaus.

The little platz has really changed over the years. The Platzl used to be just a hole-in-the wall hotel where I first stayed many years ago. It is now a large, modern, facility and rumor has it Val has been known to patrionize the place and it's bar, but then that's only hearsay. Planet Hollywood still occupies a place of prominence right on the corner and draws the younger crowd.

Although it is only 10:00 I notice groups of people coming and going at the front door of the bierhall. I figure they are probably employees just arriving, or the cleaning crew just leaving, and stick my head in the door to find the place is already half full.

I grab a table near the back of the place and am soon swilling on a litre mug like some kind of lush. Hoping that both my mother and the rest of the Stammtisch won't think too badly of me, I proceed to imbibe with the rest of the patrons as is my obligation as a tourist to their fair city.

I know I have to go easy, tough as it may be, because in just a few hours I am to meet up with the Motley crew at the Oktoberfest. The band shows up promplty at 11:00 and the show is officially underway. After a pleasant couple of hours it is time to head out and I am pleased to see that the rain has stopped and it is now only partly cloudy. Maybe we will get lucky after all.

The plan is to meet Tooooobah in front of the Hacker bierhalle at 3 p.m. Bob had e-mailed me a couple of weeks earlier confirming he was also coming down from Heidelberg and would meet us there. Around 1:00 I head over and spend the next two hours combing the place from top to bottom, including a visit to all the major bier tents. It is surprising at how sparse the crowds are this year. Last year at this time it was so crowded they had already closed the doors of the tents at this same time of day, and you usually have to fight your way down the midway. Not so this time around, for obvious reasons I'm sure.

At 3:00 sharp I show up at the Hacker and there is Jim, looking every bit like one of the locals. Within a couple of minutes Bob shows up, and promptly informs us he has a table at the Augustiner tent ready and waiting for us. Bob is with two of his friends and soon we are seated and ordering up the first round of "eine Maßes".

For the next several hours we have a great time reliving the Urach meeting, swapping travel stories, and planning for the next meeting in Urach in '03. Our table is ideally situated near one of the exits, not far from the bandstand, and we have the luxury of a cool breeze the whole evening to keep the sweat factor down to a minimum.

Four rounds of eine Maßes later.... Bob informs us he has to head to the Bahnhof to catch the train back to Heidelberg. For him, tomorrow is another work day (ouch!!) and he won't get home until around midnight (good luck Bob). Jim offers to buy me dinner if I want to head back to town with him (thanks Jim), and soon we are all wobbling outside to find the midway almost void of crowds, and it is only 7 p.m.

With handshakes all around we part company and Jim and I catch the U-bahn back to the Marienplatz. We head over to one of his favorite establishments the Haxnbauer am Platzl where he orders up a large dish of pig's knuckles, and I have a schnitzel the size of a dinner plate. A few more biers to top off the evening and we are feeling no pain.

Finally, around 10:00 we decide to call it a day. Jim has one more day in Munich before heading home, and I am back on the road tomorrow heading deep into Bavaria for my next farm stay.

It's been a great day, with good friends and good bier. What more could you ask for?

After another all too short of a night it is once again time to load up and hit the road. Having packed the night before it doesn't take long to load up the car, take a brief stroll around the neighborhood, and make a final appearance at the breakfast room at 8:00 sharp. Some Aussies who are backpacking through Europe are already there and we strike up a conversation. They have been out all night, having closed down the bier tents and apparently ended up in some all night bars in the area. Ahh..if only I had the stamina of youth.

After paying up the bill and bidding Frau Kuhn farewell, and a promise to return again in a couple of years I hit the road. Knowing I will be fighting the morning rush hour traffic I am soon dodging and weaving with the rest of them as I fight to keep sight of the blue Autobahn signs to Salzburg. It is slow going, but within an hour I am on the A8 heading Southeast toward Chiemsee.

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