Munich: Notes from Monday

A few notes from our first day in Munich, Germany:

• Suzan and I arrived in Munich about two hours behind schedule. The flight left Atlanta late due to a light that should not have been on prior to take-off. I’m not sure if the problem was fixed by fixing the part, or removing the light bulb, but we were on our way after repairs at the gate.
• The headwind on the way to Germany was a little weird … flights to the east typically have a tailwind. Somewhere around Halifax we hit “light chop”, which caused many of the passengers to experience “light inconvenience”.
• Suzan likes her new SanDisk Sansa MP3 player. She listened to it over the entire 9 1/2 hour flight and there was still life left on the battery.
• Delta is nice to fly on international routes. I’m glad they are making money again, and am a little spoiled by the option of a direct flight to many parts of the world.
• Munich Airport is easy to navigate. Passport control and baggage claim went quickly.
• The Germans have trains … trains that go places you want to arrive at, unlike MARTA.
• We’re in a smaller hotel, but it’s cozy and close to the office (pics & details later).
• Munich is sprawling, with a large suburban population. Like Atlanta, most of the “metro” population lives outside of the official city limits.
• Good Italian food is easy to find here, like the place the local office manager recommended for lunch.
• I got the short, short version of why the tax structure between EU countries is complicated. It also explains why so many people get stopped at the Swiss border with suitcases of cash in the trunk. That still doesn’t make the IRS a better option.
• Roast Pork + Beer = Tasty. Our friendly local office staff knows where to eat.

Once my co-worker Robert shows up, we’ll head to the office and start Day 2 of our German expedition. Brian has to be ready to earn his paycheck on Wednesday.