You Go Nate!

Welcome Back! (updated!)

A year ago today I was enjoying the Andean sunshine in Quito, Ecuador with a few more days of South American exploring to go.
I returned home to enjoy a spring, summer, fall, and winter and finished my bachelors degree.
Now I am enjoying a blue Bavarian sky in Munich, Germany.

How did I get here? What am I doing? -The answers will come as you attend this blog.

Now, where to begin???

TUESDAY (Feb. 6th): I woke up early to finish some last-minute boxing at Mom & Dad's house. I took apart my Roland Keyboard for easy shipping at a later time, and then I was off...

I had packed a large suitcase, a big backpack, and a small backpack for carry-on. I was afraid my two big bags would be over weight because the only way I could measure their weight at home was to stand on an old scale and figure the difference from my own weight. The limit for United is 50 lbs. and I've heard many stories of people getting nailed for being even a pound over.
When we arrived at the airport, I said goodbye to Mom as she attended the car and Dad came with me into the airport in case I had to ditch an item or two. We weighed the bags on the scales at the curbside check-in and one was 50 lbs. exactly while the other was about 52 lbs. We went in anyway and after waiting in a short line we got to the ticket counter. I started going through the check-in procedures when the United lady asked us if we were the "Winder Dairy" Winders. Sure enough, we were. Her uncle worked at the Dairy some years back, or something. While talking to us, she didn't even bother to weigh my bags and sent me on my way. So far so good.

Security was a breeze and before long I was on a smaller jet headed for Denver. The flight was uneventful and an hour later I was in Denver waiting for my flight to Munich.

An hour's wait later I was on the airplane sitting on the aisle next to a nice guy, about my age, from Poland who had been visiting relatives in Colorado.

Flying Lufthansa made me think of Pres. Uchtdorf. Any airline that periodically offers hot towletts is a class act in my book.
The flight was nine hours with two meals (dinner and breakfast). After dinner I tried sleeping through "Michael Clayton" but was only able to sleep for about an hour. I watched the next movie, "December Boys" starring Harry Potter, and tried to sleep after that without much success. Not long after breakfast the sun started to come up and before long the wheels were on the ground and I was back in Europe after six years of being away.

Things couldn't have gone smoother at the Munich airport. No lines, my bags were the first off the belt, no customs hassles, and the worst I got was a grumpy passport guard who I guess didn't eat his Gutentags this morning.

I was out of the airport in a breeze and boarded the S-Bahn train to the city center. I found my stop and with one backpack in back another in front, and a suitcase in tow, I walked the three blocks to my hotel.

I'm booked at the Hotel Monaco. The staff is nice and the rooms are clean.

So that's it for now. I am jet-lagged as all-get-out (it's 11AM here but 3AM to my body), but I'm excited to be here. The order for the day today is to go exploring and just stay awake. Stay tuned for more updates soon!

UPDATE!!

I've been having some problems with the pictures. Click here for my photo album at Picasa, to see the latest photos!

It's now nearly 9pm now and I've had a very full day. After getting settled in my hotel room, I went out into the city to just explore. I took a lot of pictures and got to know the city a little bit better.

For lunch, I decided I'd better make my first meal in Germany a good one, so I found a typical German restaurant and ordered the roast pork with a potato-noodle ball. It was excellent!

After lunch it started to rain so I went back to the hotel to check my email and upload my new pictures to my computer. Soon, the sun was shining again so I went back out into town.

Now some might ask, "but isn't it lonely and a little bit scary being by yourself in a big city?" To which I reply: "there is a feeling of liberation and peace that comes when you realize that nobody in this city knows your name." I can't explain it, except that every once in a while, like right now, it does a body good to just be on your own. The anonymity is even more complete here in Europe, because I can blend in. When I was in South America, I was a foreigner whenever I went out onto the street, and everybody knew it. Not here (at least until I open my mouth to speak.)

I explored some more, took more pictures, got plenty of exercise, and got back to my hotel as it was getting dark.

I'm really tired now....

First impressions: Other than the casinos, the strip joints, the smoking, and all the beer, Munich seems like a very wholesome place. I like it.

So don't forget to check out the pictures from the last 24 hours.

Over and out.