Breakfast here used to be spectacular. Alas, everything changes. It is adequate, still better than most hotels, but nothing like before. One change to the dining room is a separate area for Hilton "Diamond" members, which is a nice convenience because the dining room is very crowded with people walking about with their food from the buffet. There are visitors from many countries, many of whom don't have the same respect for personal boundaries that we are accustomed to in the US. In the first day I was almost run into numerous times, and Ron was crashed into by a lady near the chef station. You have to be vigilant!
After breakfast, around 10 AM, we were moved to a new "room" on the 4th floor. It turned out to be an enormous suite with full kitchen, living/dining area, separate bedroom and bath with both tub and walk-in shower. The little kitchen has every appliance imaginable, including a mysterious "Soda Stream" machine, that we have no idea what it is used for. There is a small fridge, micro-wave, dishwasher, and even a 2-burner induction cooktop. The living area is so spacious - what a wonderful treat!
As I was trying to leave the new "room" to meet Ron in the lobby, I discovered that the door weighs about 200 pounds. Trying to back out with my walker was a challenge; the walker seemed to be caught several times, and the door seemed to be winning the confrontation. By the time I got to the lobby, I announced to Ron, "I have expended all my energy". He declared that was a funny way to start a conversation. But, seriously, this is the heaviest door ever! And, it still doesn't keep out all the sounds from the hallway!
Outside the hotel, cars were backed up in the driveway, unloading area. We sat for about 15-minutes behind an unoccupied car. Eventually, the head Concierge, in his elegant Bavarian jacket with "tails" and Clefs d'Or (the Golden Keys), came out to schlepp bags out of that car. I don't think that with his elite designation, he would expect to be doing that mundane task. But, the driveway is obviously inadequate, and apparently the hotel is understaffed.
Leaving the hotel, we were caught up and trapped in huge construction wherever we tried to drive. It was unbelievable. At one point, Ron began turning across a couple lanes into a 1-way street. I was yelling, "ONE-WAY, ONE-WAY", and he pulled out (luckily no traffic coming) and managed to get back into the proper lane of traffic. We got caught in several spots, including near the Deutsches Museum (a block from the hotel, where a new tram or S-Bahn is coming), and around the Residenzplatz where, according to our Concierge, the biggest automobile exposition in Europe had taken place last month and was still being removed.
Our destination was the Hirschgarten near Schloss Nymphenburg. Construction and traffic everywhere made it more difficult than expected. The Nymphenburg district was our "home base" when we lived in Munich in 1974. Now, it has changed so much (even from our last visit about 6-years ago), that we had a difficult time getting around. Places I used to walk to such as Romanplatz and Rotkreuzplatz seemed totally unfamiliar.
We finally arrived at the main entrance of the Hirschgarten, and there was no parking area. Ron parked on a short street, and as we walked toward the entrance, I saw a sign on the corner that parking was forbidden. But, we proceeded anyway. The waiter said it shouldn't be a problem, that no one ever checks. The Hirschgarten claims to be the largest beer garden in the world. It can seat almost 9,000 people, and the restaurant, itself, dates back to 1791.
It was a beautiful day to sit outside. I ordered the rahmschammerl, a dish with a variety of fresh mushrooms, onions, a bit of speck, and sometimes a dash of cognac served with a semmelknoedel (a kind of bread dumpling). Ron had zwei-paar wiener with sauerkraut that he had been "hankering for". But, I don't know how anyone can eat FOUR hotdogs. 
There were so many sights to take in, including girls in flowing white dresses riding on bikes or on electric scooters. People of all ages and mobiity levels - and again, like in the dining room, much VIGILANCE is required.
We left the Hirschgarten, and returned to our car with no parking ticket in sight.
We drove around Nymphenburg, and finally found where our old apartment was on Stuberstrasse off of the Klein Kanal (which is now called the Biederstiner Kanal). It was a gorgeous neighborhood back in the 70's, and even more so now. A very poignant memory we have is of friends we met when we first moved there. We didn't know anyone, and Ron was brave enough to go around looking at the names on the doorbells of nearby apartments for people with "English-sounding names". No idea, why he chose an apartment across the canal on Zamboninistrasse. There was a bell labeled "Woods". That didn't sound like a German name, so he rang, and when someone answered, he explained that we were new in the area and looking for English-speaking, compatible people. He was immediately welcomed by Brian and Doris, who basically said, "Come on up". He walked up three flights of stairs to their "dachwohnung" (attic apartment), and that was the beginning of a good friendship. Brian was Northern Irish and Doris was German. They were truly some of the kindest, nicest people I ever knew. We got to know them very well, and when Ron was away working, they treated me like family. We walked the area with Patches, and later when their new baby arrived, we walked with the stroller and Patches, went to picnics on Lake Starnberg, and spent many hours together. I would go over and watch TV with them - saw my first ever Eurovision Contest, probably 1975. Later they moved back to North Ireland, and when I was visiting Dublin several years later, they came down to see me with the now grown child. Several years later, Doris wrote that she and Brian had been to an event and were dancing, and shortly after they sat down, she turned to look at him, and he was sitting in the chair, dead. I am so sorry I lost track of Doris. Anyway, there are a lot of sweet memories from our time here, but also several sad ones.
We returned to the hotel. Went briefly to the lounge, and then to our beautiful suite where I tried to transfer photos (a challenge for me), and work on the Blog. The hours and days go too quickly!
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