#Erdnußflips

[greenbagjosh]

Day 2 - Innsbruck early morning walk and tram ride, Garmisch, Marienplatz, Ulm and Stuttgart

Thursday, 7 September 2000

Buongiorno!  Grüß Gott!  Bonjour!  

Hello and welcome to the 17 day journey of September 2000.  

Today is 7th September 2000.  Yesterday may have been a nice sunny day but from evening to overnight that changed.  As on Tuesday the 6th September, about 4 PM, my train crossed into Brennero and it became cloudy as we went down the mountain to Innsbruck.  There was no noticeable precipitation until at least some time during the night.  I managed to go to the SPAR grocery store in Igls prior to the rainfall.  

I think I woke up around 3:30 AM, since I went to bed around 8:30 PM after watching the news on TV.  It would be at least four hours until breakfast would be served, and I could not sleep any more.  I turned on my radio to the local ORF FM station.  It played German-language soft rock, or "Schlagerrock."  One song I remember was "Fliege, weiße Adler" by Nadine Norell.  Before the 4 AM news, it played an instrumental part of Swedish singer Meja's "Beautiful girl".  I recorded about fifteen minutes more until I decided that I could not go back to sleep and needed to get out of the hotel.

It was about 5 AM, it was showering a bit along the Badehausstraße, not too bad to go for a walk with an umbrella.  I had some trouble with the front door.  It used a skeleton key, which I am not particularly good at using, but I managed to lock the front door before I walked down to the Bilgeristraße.  On the video I took, I made a comment about being so happy to find the Erdnußflips that I enjoyed in Summers 1997 and 1998, the peanut flavored Cheetos-shaped corn puffs.  Along the way I found a milk vending machine, that would sell milk either by the half liter or full liter, and you would have to bring your own container.  For a liter, it cost maybe 90 cents.  There was also a sign for an on-premise potato vendor next door.  The bus stop Patscherkofelbahn, the approximate location of the 1964 Winter Olympics for men's downhill alpine skiing, had a bus scheduled to leave about 5:45 AM, that would be still at least half an hour that I would have to wait.  When I crossed Lanserstraße which went to Lans maybe a few miles east of Igls, I was in the east part of downtown.  

I stopped at the Tiroler Sparkasse to have a look at the day's exchange rates.  Since it was already September 2000, and Austria signed up to switch to the Euro in January 2002, exchange rates were quoted in Euro, and there was a US Dollar rate to the Schilling, about 15, which is much better than 13.73 to the Euro.  This was a time when the US Dollar had more value than the Euro.  This would prepare me for what I could expect when I went to Munich to withdraw money in D-Mark and hopefully also Swiss Francs.  I had a bit of an "optimistic" feeling then.  And if you watch the video, you can see a shadow of my umbrella, when I am looking at the exchange rates.

I walked along the Hilbert Straße to Patscher Straße which went down to the southeast city limit with Innsbruck with Vill in between.  At the intersection of Hilbert Straße and Patscher Straße was something like a goose, duck, turkey or chicken, that might have broken loose from its enclosure.  I remember reading as a child the story "Churkendoose", so this could have been the great-grandchild.  It flapped its wings in order to dry off.  The sun would not come up for at least two hours so the fowl across the street was not very easy to see but I videotaped it flapping its wings.  

I walked down Patcher Straße to find a bus stop to wait at.  I went as far as the Gluirschegg stop.  The bus picked me up and honored my previous day's day pass as it was good for 24 hours.  I went as far as the Landesmuseum tram stop, and transferred.  I did manage to get a ride through Innsbruck's city center.  I did not visit any of the museums until the 10th February 2012, and there is one in particular I want to return to, namely Das Tirol Panorama, which is up a hill from the Bergisel tram stop.  I did have a stroll through downtown Innsbruck, up to Maria Theresien Straße, and the weather had stopped raining.  It was close to 7 AM and the bus line J was due to arrive to take me back to Igls.  The sun was in the process of rising.  Innsbruck and environs are in a mountainous area, so even if the sun rose at 7:15 AM, you might not notice it until at least 7:45.  

On the bus between Leopoldstraße and Bergisel, a woman boarded the line J bus and did exactly what no passenger should do - be standing so close to the safety line at the front door, and speaking to the driver.  The driver did not seem to mind much.  I offered the lady the front seat next to the front door, but she declined.  I sat there until the bus arrived at Patscherkofelbahn in Igls.  The bus went up the hill to Vill, going through downtown Igls past the SPAR grocery store and the Tiroler Sparkasse and ended at Patscherkofelbahn.  By that time, it was 7:35 AM and about time for breakfast at the Pension Oswald.  I put my video camera in my room and came down to eat breakfast, the first one of the vacation.  Breakfast included bread rolls, hard boiled eggs, butter, cheese, sliced meats like ham, salami, and some locally produced jams, plus coffee and orange juice.  After breakfast I took a bath in the bathtub, which is strange for me as I usually take a shower.  While packing up, I turned the radio on and heard an ABBA cover version of "Souper Trooper" performed by the A-Teens.

I think about 9:45 AM I was ready to check out, and turned in my key and paid about US $45 for the night including taxes.  I went down with my luggage to the Patscherkofelbahn bus stop for Bus Line J and Landesmuseum where I would have to walk a couple of blocks to Hauptbahnhof.  It would not leave until at least 10:15 AM.  The bus was half full at the time, but when the bus got to Altes Rathaus (Old City Hall) Igls, many people boarded and I was cramped until about Sillpark.  The bus reached Landesmuseum about 10:40 AM.  I made it to the Hbf just before 11 AM.  There were no trains to Munich until 11:45 AM.  I boarded a Regional Express that went by Innsbruck-Allerheiligenhöfe, Scharnitz, Mittenwald, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, and Wolfratshausen, before reaching Munich.  The ride was nice.  When the train reached Scharnitz at 12:45 PM, the last station in Austria before crossing in to Germany, the train car had stopped right in front of the restaurant that I ate on Sunday 7th June 1998, I had a Bürgermeisterschmaus plate with a half liter of Gösser pilsener and Almdudler that tastes like carbonated green tea.  That was a nice comfortable place to eat before ending my birthday weekend and going back to "home" in Munch.

About 12:50 PM, the train crossed into Germany.  I had my video camera running and saw the border crossing and "Freistaat Bayern" sign.  That was my first ever video footage in Germany.  The train stopped in Mittenwald.  I thought there would be customs formalities, but only the conductor came to check that my Eurail Pass was still valid and that I had entered in my usage dates correctly with a pen - either blue or black.  Then he said "Dankeschön, schöne Reise" and left.  It took about two hours after leaving Garmisch-Partenkirchen, for the train to arrive at Munich Pasing, so sometime about 2:47 PM.  Pasing is a major transfer station west of Hbf.  And not too far from the Hacker-Pschorr brewery, one of the breweries that is allowed to sell their beer at Oktoberfest which was less than two weeks away from the story setting.  The S-1 has, since the opening of the "Neufahrner Spange" near Aying, served as one of the two S-Bahn lines between Munich and the Franz Josef Strauß International Airport.  The other line, S-8 has its own hub, at Ostbahnhof.

The train arrived at Hbf about 3:05 PM.  I had to put the black sling bag in a locker and take the backpack with me.  Then I had to buy a MVV day pass for the U Bahn.  I had the radio with me, so I could make sort of an audio recording of being on the set of the 1985 German-language film "Sugarbaby" by Percy Adlon.  In particular between Odeonsplatz and Münchner Freiheit.  I had a reason to go to Münchner Freiheit, as I had to exchange an expired indentification card for another one that I could use in most of Germany and maybe also in the rest of Europe for a fee.  The bank I went to, would give only D-Mark, and I knew of another bank in downtown near Marienplatz, who I thought, would give Swiss Francs, as I had managed to withdraw in Summer 1998.  When I reached there about 4 PM, I was disappointed to see that the Swiss Francs were switched for Spanish Peseta.  ????????????  The bank teller told me that since the Euro was in force, the bank had to remove the Austrian Schilling and Swiss Franc ATMs.  I had enough D-Mark to last me a couple of days, but not as many Swiss Francs.  Disappointing.  But I had to go on.  Before that, I had to call the Hotel Stern where I was staying, that I would arrive about 8 PM that evening.  They said they would wait for me.  It would be about a two hour train ride to Stuttgart via Augsburg, Günzburg and Ulm.  In the meantime I walked around Marienplatz.  The toy museum was open, so they had their five bells and a cymbal machine running but I think the bells were out of service as only the cymbal was playing.  Otherwise you would hear five cowbells in descending tone before a cymbal crash.  I have a recording of it working properly from late May 1998.

I took the S-Bahn back to the Hbf and boarded the Intercity train.  It left about 4:50 PM.  It would stop at Pasing, Augsburg Hbf, Günzburg in the north Allgäu, Ulm, and along the Neckar to Stuttgart Hbf.  It was in Ulm about 6:05 PM, and I could see the Danube river as well as the gothic cathedral, it was one of the most gothic I had ever seen, similar to Gaudi's Sagrada Familia in Barcelona.  The train moved on to Stuttgart Hbf passing through Esslingen and Bad Canstatt, by which time it was about 7:10 PM.  The U Bahn underground subway station at Hbf, was like a two side-platform setup, with one big central platform and two outer platforms.  The hotel was at Metzstraße, so I had to take either an U1, U2 or U14.  I took the next U Bahn to Stöckach and changed to an U Bahn that would go to Metzstraße.  When I checked in, I put my luggage in my single room.  It had a sink but no toilet or shower, as it was down the hall.  At the Reitzensteinstraße, visible from my bedroom window, I remember there used to be a Citroen dealership.  It has since closed down and reopened as a used car dealership.

The hotel was still serving dinner, and I had a small gyros plate with a greek salad.  I was feeling very tired and then went to bed.  Breakfast would be served at 7 AM.  I think I went on another early morning adventure the next morning through Stuttgart.

I hope you will join me again in the next story, Friday 8th September 2000.  We will bring our country total to four out of seven.

Buona notte!  Gute Nacht!  Bonne nuit!  Good night!

[greenbagjosh]

Day 1 of September 2000 - Malpensa to Milan, Verona, Innsbruck

Wednesday, 6 September 2000

Buongiorno!  Grüß Gott!  Bonjour!  

Hello and welcome to the 17 day journey of September 2000.  

Today is Wednesday 6th September 2000.  I have arrived about 7:30 AM Central European Summer Time, about 9 hours ahead of San Francisco, and 6 hours ahead of Washington, Dulles, at Milano Malpensa Terminal 1.  This would be my second time arriving at this airport but not at the same terminal.  The terminal that I had previously visited with family was Terminal 2, and that was in June 1987.  At Terminal 1, I had my passport stamped with an entry visa to Italy, the black and red Schengen rectangle with twelve stars surrounding a capital "I".  The entry stamp was good for 90 days, in particular until about 4th December 2000.  Then I proceeded to the baggage claim.

Baggage claim took a bit of time to complete.  A Boeing 777 can carry many passengers, and if you are in Economy Class, your priority for luggage claims is low.  While I was waiting, I had the Aiwa radio out, and recorded a few songs.  The first was "Love Story" by awayTeam [sic] featuring Shirley Bassey on vocals, second was "I'm gonna get you baby" by Jocelyn Brown, third "Frena" by Carlotta, and by the time my checked bag came, the radio had almost finished playing "On a night like this" by Kylie Minogue.  I also recorded some of the baggage claim audio announcements.  

After I claimed my checked bag, I walked to the rail station where I had to pay about 15,000 Lire, about € 7.50, for a one way ticket from the airport to Milano Cadorna - near the location of the Last Supper painting, and the castle that I prounounced as Sforzeco, which is actually Sforzesco.  I think it was about 8:30 AM when I made it to the station platform, and the train had not yet arrived.  I boarded the train about 8:40 AM, and when I turned on my video camera, it was still on San Francisco time.  I managed to set it to the right time.

On this journey, I had a celebrity "offscreen companion", the longest of which was none other than Roberto Benigni, for the Italian and Ticino portions, so pretty much where Italian was the official language.  Arnold Schwarzenegger had a short cameo role for the Austrian side.  I did not have anyone for the French or German parts in Switzerland.  So in the videos if you watch them, Roberto Benigni will appear now and again, but only in the Italian-speaking regions.  

The train departed at 8:47 AM.  It went through a couple of tunnels, particularly through Busto Arsizio.  The conductor checked my ticket about 9 AM and told me that there was a scioperò in Milan.  A scioperò is a strike, and that day it would be for the metro and "passante" suburban railway system but not the train I was on.  At 9:08 AM the train arrived in Saronno.  Saronno is where they make amaretto, or almond liqueur.  They even make biscuits with the flavoring.  The train went to Bovisa station, the first station in Milan, and arrived at 9:19 AM.  I had been to Bovisa on 26th July 1998 while making a visit from my then-home in Munich to Zürich and Milan and back to Munich.  

By the time that the train arrived at Cadorna, it was 9:28 AM.  It took about twenty minutes to get a cab, as the metro lines 1 and 2 were not operating due to the scioperò.  I managed to get a cab at 9:50 AM, and we went by Porta Garibaldi and Via Melchiorre Gioia to Centrale FS, central station.  We made it there about 10:20 AM, with enough time to buy a seat reservation for the 11:05 AM train to Verona Porta Nuova, where I would change to a train to Innsbruck.  In the meantime I listened to a few songs, "Sing it back" by Moloko, "Holding on to you" by Heather Small of M People and "Spanish Guitar" Mousse T remix by Tony Braxton.  At 11 AM I had the Tam Tam Network on, I think it was on 105.1 FM.  There was a news report, before they played "Toca's Miracle" by Fragma, then "Like an Angel" by Web as well as "Around the world" by ATC.  I really liked listening to Tam Tam Network when I was in Milan.

The train left about 11:05 AM.  I shared a compartment with American tourists, and not by choice.  I only had to put up with them until I got to Verona.  The train went eastbound and stopped only at Brescia and Peschiera.  If you see Lago di Garda, do not get off at the first stop Peschiera.  Stay on until you arrive at the larger stop. While the train was between Brescia and Peschiera, I listened to "Gimme some" by Jimmy Bo Horne, "Una questione di sguardi" by Paola Turci - Italian-language cover version of Faith Hill's "This kiss", and "I'm outta love" by Anastacia.  I think also “Wrap me up” by Alex Party

The train arrived about 1 PM in Verona Porta Nuova.  I had a tight connection to the Intercity train to Innsbruck via Trento, Bolzano/Bozen, Brennero and Innsbruck.  I made it on in good time.  I had a seat in the first class compartment, this time with Italians.  The train arrived about 3:45 PM at Brenner, the border between Italy and Austria.  At Brenner there is a very clear distinction as to where the border is, there is a big sign for Italy as "Italia", and one for Austria as "Österreich".  Brennero is where the Italian locomotive would be removed and shunted back to the Italian side, and the ÖBB locomotive would be added to the train to continue until about Kufstein at the German border, or maybe at Rosenheim.  The border checks were random.  The train went on to Innsbruck Hbf and arrived about 4:45 PM.  Roberto Benigni departed the train at Brennero and was replaced by Arnold Schwarzenegger who was going just from Brennero to Innsbruck.  He did not say much.  I did not see or hear him any time after arriving at Innsbruck Hbf.

My hotel was in the suburb of Igls, which was in the foothills of Innsbruck.  It was where the 1964 Winter Olympics were held, specifically the Men's Downhill alpine skiing events were held.  You can read more about this in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patscherkofel.  To get there you could take either bus line "J" or the tram line "6", known also as the Mittelgebirgsbahn.  The story about the latter is disappointing, especially with the most recent rolling stock.  The rolling stock that I rode the 6th September 2000 originally was from Bielefeld, Germany.  Also, at the time, tram line 6 was able to go from Hauptbahnhof directly to Igls.  Recently it was separated from the rest of the Innsbruck tram network, and operates only from Bergisel to Igls.  The German-language Wikipedia page mentions that line 6 was ended but now it runs on a Sunday schedule 7 days a week.  

I had to buy a 24 hour local transit pass.  It would be good as far as Igls Patscherkofelbahn cable car stop, the last stop in line J, and also for tram line 6 for its entire route to Igls.  When I took the line 6 to Igls, It kind of went on the southeast side of Innsbruck, and to Bahnhof Igls on Oberexerstraße.  I had to find the Pension Oswald on Badhausstraße 10 from there.  I had to wald down Lanser Straße to the Landesbank, turn east onto Bilgeristraße which eventually turned into Badhausstraße.  I checked into the Pension about 6 PM.  I put my luggage in my room, a single room with a bathtub but not a shower.  Breakfast would not be served until at least 8 AM.  I had to go into town to buy groceries.  There was a SPAR grocery store still open.  I bought some ice tea, Erdnußflips (something like peanut flavored cheetos), sliced wheat bread, lunchmeat and cheese, and also some chocolate.  I ate in my room, watched TV, some in German and some in English, listened to the radio, recorded "No more turning back" which I think was sung by Brigitte Nielsen and went to bed.  

I think I woke up very early, around 3:40 AM and in spite of the weather I chose to go on a morning walk.

I hope you will join me again in the next story, Thursday 7th September 2000.

Buona notte!  Gute Nacht!  Bonne nuit!  Good night!