6 On Being Sick in Munich

Tuesday, July 5
Andy woke up choking on phlegm--grrrrrreat! But a shower helped him, and he was determined not to fritter away the day in that tiny room! However, we were in no great rush to be anywhere, which was a blessing after days of constant activity. I of course couldn't sleep in, regardless, so I finally got up and gathered my needle, thread, and pins and sewed the hem on the dress that Mark and Laura had bought me for the trip; I hadn't had time to do it before we left! Then on to the rest of the day. I figured out how to maneuver in the 2' square shower; I felt bad for Andy, who was clearly not in the minds of the architects of these European hotels. He did develop a workable system for himself; it's good he didn't have to shave his legs!




Our only mission of the day was to find the Dunkin Donuts! The address GoogleMaps gave us was confusing because it said Bayerstrasse, which was on the other side of the train station. But it was nowhere to be found along any of the city blocks nearby; it was like it totally skipped the number we were looking for. Finally, in the station itself, we asked the information person for directions, and she said, "Down two and left." Great, it was IN the station--but two what? Well, we found an escalator that looked promising, and it was indeed followed by second one, and when we turned left we saw--a whole mall underground! Kind of like at Crystal City. Before long we did find the Dunkin Donuts, our mission accomplished!

V for victory, not two donuts...

We ordered some iced coffee, and the lady said, "Oh, we don't have coffee..." What? She did manage to figure out what we meant--iced Americano--oh-h-h-h...Andy got a Boston Cream donut, but he said it wasn't really...it looked familiar, but it had dark chocolate and less vanilla, not quite so sweet, which I preferred, actually. Anyway, our day was complete; everything else was extra!




I had hoped to hunt down the Botanical Gardens, but Andy wasn't up to it. We wandered around a bit then ended up at L'Osteria for lunch, a very nice pizza/pasta place. I ordered off the German menu and actually got pretty much what I was expecting--success! It was a very good thin crust and had spicy pepperoni and basil. What was funny was that I had said we would share the pizza, so when it came to the table, this 18" pie had been cut in two and served on two plates, a half for each of us. Regardless--yum!

I could ALMOST eat half of my half...Andy is such a good helper...

However, I drank too soon after eating and had an upset stomach, so I went back to the hotel while Andy tried to hunt down some cold medicine. He returned without success (though he did find a large multipack of travel tissues which we used a LOT). He looked really pitiful, so I Googled a place to find him a remedy. Apparently all drugs, prescription or over the counter, are sold at the Apotheke, of which there are many. I found one a few blocks away, and I was approached by a knowledgeable-looking employee who asked what I needed; I said that my husband had a cold and needed a remedy, and she asked, "Do you want natural or (ugh) chemical?" I answered, "Chemical", of course! Anyway, she sent me to the OTHER side of the store, where that lady brought out some Wick (Vicks) Nyquil and Dayquil equivalents, which I purchased with no objection or judgment on her part.






There was a door out this side of the store, so I took it and was rewarded for my mission of mercy by a Starbucks! This one was actually good. The first one we had gone to, the day before, and yes, they are all over the place here, too, was in the train station; I attempted to use my Starbucks app there, and the barista disdained it, saying, "THIS is Germany; you can't use that HERE." Okay whatever; here is my card...it's good that the coffee wasn't bad...but today, at THIS place, they were even nice, too!






Well, Odette our travel agent will certainly hear about the quality of the hotel. No A/C, people fighting at all hours of the night, no screens, traffic noise--I found it kind of amusing, though, even at the time; it was kind of like My Cousin Vinny trying to get some sleep. But there was no harm done, even if we weren't in the best part of town. It was very convenient, though! We just weren't planning to spend as much time in there as we did.

I don't know if it's "feed a cold, starve a fever" or "chicken soup will cure it", but it was dinner time, and Andy wanted to get out of the room; so we went to the Wirtshaus, just two doors down from the hotel.

Andy had a wunderbar Munich schnitzel--it was about the best schnitzel I have ever had, dipped in an egg/horseradish/mustard wash before breading and cooking--delicious! I had wurst mit spaetzle and sauerkraut, both a bit salty for my taste but full of flavor and great texture. I also had a black currant juice that was amazing. Andy finished his food and felt poorly, so he went back to the hotel; I stayed because I was still eating and actually wanted some dessert. I had a weisswurst on the platter that was served with a sweet mustard that I think was my favorite of the four types; I felt only a little bad that I couldn't even eat half of what was on my plate. Besides, I wanted some strudel! The owner chatted after two huge parties came through--just to drink beer--and I told him how much I enjoyed the food and that it reminded me of my dad and his heritage, and he said in his thick German accent, "I am honored."





The owner/manager is on the left.

Andy's cold served in, shall we say, teaching me patience. I would have hoped that, especially in the close quarters, he would have covered his mouth with sneezing or coughing, but, oh well, such was not to be. And it might not have mattered anyway, but sure enough I did come down with it in the next day or two. I don't usually get a cold as badly as Andy does, but I did go through a lot of tissues!


I read that afternoon in 1 Corinthians about worldly wisdom--that is, God's wisdom seems foolish to men, but the "foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of men." It occurred to me that, even when we pursue God's wisdom, if it is through human, self-oriented, perhaps, motivation, it is not necessarily God's wisdom that we end up with. "Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifies." NLT's wording is good: "But while knowledge makes us feel important, it is love that strengthens the church."

Ah well, something to ponder drifting off to, well, probably not sleep, but rest anyway...