Good Bye Germany

Day 9 - Munich to San Francisco to Sacramento

On my last day in Germany, my flight doesn't leave until 4 pm and I am going to get one last sight in, so Naomi and I take the tram to Schloss Nymphenberg. The former summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria is located in the west part of the city in the middle of one of Munich's most beautiful parks. Five generations of Wittelsbach rulers were involved in the construction of this Baroque castle in the 16-1700s.
It was a nice way to spend my last morning in Germany, and apparently since the city was sad to see me leave they had a parade right by my hotel to wish me farewell.

I really enjoyed Germany and hope to come back again with the family. This country is very easy to travel around but it is not cheap. The transportation is abundant, the people are friendly and helpful with my terrible German, and most of them speak English. It was helpful that we were often with a German colleague for most of our meals. The food was good, but there was so much meat, gravy and potatoes. I didn't know you could serve it in so many different ways. I was craving vegetables all week. The espresso is amazing, and they drink it all day long - breakfast, mid morning, after lunch, mid afternoon, and after dinner. I am going to have to wean myself off all this caffeine when I get home. And when you drink coffee - you sit! No to-go cups here; people take the time to relax and enjoy their drink and their company. Really the whole pace of life is more relaxed. I could really get used to it. In fact we had some challenges scheduling meetings since most people take at least 3 weeks of vacation just in the summer (and women get 2 years of maternity leave - what a nice focus on family life).

But, now I get to go home and see my boys! A 12-hour plane ride to San Francisco and then I have a 3 hour layover to wait for my little prop plane to get me to Sacramento. I will not be doing that again - I will just drive to San Francisco. It is so weird to fly for 12 hours, leaving at 4 pm and still arrive at 7 pm, chasing the sun.
Every inch of my body is sore and tired, I never stopped moving and did not get enough sleep all week. All I need is a big hug and kiss from my family and I will be all better.