New years Eve, Erfurt.

I think that there is a real similarity between how the Germans and that Japanese operate. Both counties are known for their strict adherence to the rules, and a general cool demeanor. However, throw in a holiday, and all bets are off. Germans do not mess around with new years. We got off the tram at about 11:30, and watched as hordes of drunks descended upon the domplatz, or the cathedral square. Each group had somewhere between an arm full and a shopping cart full of fireworks.

For the next 2.5 hours it was like daylight.

At home with the Asa-nator

So one thing that I am too old for is back to back all night travel.

We flew into Munich and arrived on a Sunday morning, and then, since Erfurt was another 4 hours away by train, we decided to just power through and take the longer, 7 hour overnight train Sunday night so that we could arrive in time to hang out with Asa and Erika on Monday morning. This would have been fine if we had started off well rested, but coming off of jet lag and a day spent wandering in the cold, not do good.

We got to Erfurt about 7 AM, which anyone who knows my brother can tell you is simply to early to drop by his place. It is also too early to expect to check into a hotel room, so we dropped our bags at the front desk and wandered back out into the still-dark morning. Erfurt is nice in the dark, but not if you are dead tired and cold. We found a backerei and waited until the sun peeked out about 9. When we finally got to their place, Asa had gotten some eggs and coffee together and we had an awesome breakfast and caught up, and then promptly crashed and fell asleep on their bed for a few hours.

Winter in Munich

Munich was pretty but cold. We arrived early in the morning, made it through customs and then headed in to town on an immaculately maintained, spanking new train. We wandered around the city for a while and then walked through the Deutches Museum. Warm? Check. Time consuming? Check. Largest indoor exhibition of mining and mineral extraction through the ages? Check.

We also hiked up the stairs to the top of the tower to Saint Peter's Church, and admired the cold, but satisfying view.  The act of climbing the stairs had a nice warming effect as well.

This has been the first time that we have been abroad with a smart phone and data plan, and it has honestly been really nice. Navigating new cities is always hard, and particularly in Europe, where roads don't really trend to go just one cardinal direction.

Refreshment

After a looooong day and night of travel to Germany, Jennifer and I ate a super hearty Bavarian feast. Oh yeah, and some beers.