August 20, 2021
Travel day 2
Feels like part of day 1 but technically is a different day
Given that my flight from Minneapolis left 7:20pm Thursday and arrived 1pm Friday, I think I can make a separate journal entry to cover the arrival in München. But first a word about the second flight with Iceland Air. Mask wearing was much better on that flight. Given the regulations all through the pandemic in Germany it may simply be that the people on the flight from Reykjavik were better trained in mask wearing. Most even managed to keep their noses covered and a flight attendant did actually chastise one passenger upon boarding who did not have his mask over his nose.
Now that we’ve covered that part, a word about entry and pass control. Iceland is a part of the EU so you have to go through pass control there prior to catching your connecting flight. Shortly before we landed in Iceland the flight attendants made an announcement about needing to fill out a form. What was not clear was whether or not you had or fill the form out if you were just catching a connecting flight. So I tried to fill out the form. It’s a crummy website not at all optimized for mobile phones. I was still trying to get it to send when I reached pass control. Turns out 50 minute layovers do not require filling out the form. I think I maybe had to show my vaccination proof and passport and that was it. Upon arriving in Germany I didn’t pass through pass control at all. I’m not sure if Iceland has access to the German database where I uploaded my documents or what. Honestly I’m not even sure if I had to upload my CDC card. I’d have to go back and find my copy of that form. I was expecting much stricter protocol honestly.
Now on to the more exciting stuff. I’m very pleased to say that my bike arrived along with my other checked pannier punctually and was one of the earlier suitcases to show up. The suitcase held up quite well and aside from the chain coming undone somehow at one of the quick links, everything was as I’d left it. Little scratched, but nothing damaged.
With that potential adventure passed, next up was finding a pay phone to call the hotel to send the shuttle bus to pick me up. I ended up viewing quite a bit of the airport looking for the pay phone. I finally found one down by the DB info center. Problem is I couldn’t figure out how to work it. I ended up begging an initially grumpy lady at the info desk to help me. She wasn’t supposed to call up hotels for people, but she had pity on this poor dumb American. The bus took about 15 minutes to arrive.
Once at the hotel it was operation reassemble the bicycle. This was easier said than done. Having left the kickstand home out of fear of being over the 23kg weight limit, it was a bit harder to put everything together. The kickstand gives quite a bit of stability while I’m assembling things. In the end I was at 22.3kg so I could have brought the kickstand. I regret that deeply now. It took longer than it should have to reassemble the bike. I had to rerun the chain after it came out of the top chain tube. I also ended up with filthy greasy hands because I didn’t have time to clean the chain before leaving. Without the kickstand to hold the back tire up off the ground I couldn’t test the shifting before riding off. Turns out I made 2 installation errors. 1: i misrouted the chain despite admonishing myself during assembly to keep a close eye on routing through the rear jockey wheels and 2. I didn’t get the derailleur mounted straight so the shifting was way off. The Allen wrench handle on my multi tool is a little short for the mounting screw. I had a really tough time getting it to mount flush. It seems ok now, but if I encounter an Allen key with a longer handle I’ll make use of it.
I opted to ride from the hotel near the airport to my hotel near the Hauptbahnhof in München rather than take the S-Bahn. The ride through Halbergmoos was pretty blah, though there was nearly always separate bike path. The Isar river flows near Halbergmoos on its way north from the alps. It also flows through München and since there is Radweg all along there, that’s what I opted to ride. I have ridden once before on my second trip when I stayed in the same place near the airport. It is just as I recalled it: pretty flat, unlaced with occasional very loose gravel, and with occasional nice views of the Isar. There were quite a few people out on the path, partly given that the weather is nice, it was right around commuting time of day, and it’s probably the only thing worth riding out of München. Once you hit the outskirts of München it does become a much nicer ride. I opted to take the West Bank into München and ride through the Englischer Garten. A lot of people out walking and cycling in the park tonight. I passed a couple of very full looking beer gartens, a volleyball tournament, some sort of Chinese tower, a couple scenic lakes, and some other park areas. Once in München it felt like it took forever to get to my hotel. Even so, the whole way I had safe bike paths along the roads.
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Once in München I had to make my way to the hauptbahnhof and then along the north side of the tracks to my hotel. My bike is parked and locked now in the basement parking garage and I am installed in a very cozy room. The bed is large but not overly soft. The bathroom is sufficient. They also somehow managed to squeeze a desk in here too. I will not burn many calories in this room though. I can roll out of bed straight into the bathroom on one side, or straight into the desk on the other.
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I had two other tasks to complete here this evening. The first was to get a German SIM card, especially now given that my American one has blocked my service. There is a Vodafone shop right on the edge of the Altstadt near the Bahnhof. They were open till 8pm so I walked VERY fast the 2.2km from my hotel to the store and just made it in time. They got me set up very quickly with a SIM card, though the price I paid is higher than their website. I think they may have a tourist price they charge. I wasn’t about to argue about it. I don’t have time to mess with it tomorrow. The other mission is to find a hotel room for tomorrow night. I did not book that night just in case something happened with my bike suitcase. What I did not bank on is how booked everything is. At the moment I still don’t have a room for tomorrow. I have one place left to check with and if they don’t email me back by the morning I will give them a phone call. I’d they are also booked then I will stay an extra night here in München and take the train to Brenner Pass on Sunday, ride to Brixen, and then hop the regional train to Bozen. I won’t have time to ride all the way from Brenner pass to Bozen with the train arriving around 1pm. I’m really glad I booked everything in advance save for this one night.
I also ended up not having supper yesterday, breakfast this morning, or lunch thanks to the time change and the fact that I did not want to remove my mask on the airplane. I ended up getting Asian takeout for supper plus a bretzel and a rosinenschnecke. I ate the baked goods walking back to the hotel. I made it halfway through the takeout before giving up and leaving it for breakfast. Now I am going to bed because I am exhausted.
Today's ride: 22 miles (35 km)
Total: 22 miles (35 km)
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