Avoiding Pickpockets

If you spend any time at all perusing travel web sites and message boards such as Trip Advisor, Fodor's, Rick Steves, Lonely Planet, etc., you know that two of the most discussed topics are pickpockets and tipping. 

It's a sad fact of travel today that professional pickpockets of every age (including young children and the elderly) are active in most major cities.  You can run into them anywhere, particularly on mass transit and at key tourist sites.  These are crimes of opportunity, so your best defense is to minimize their opportunities by (1) being alert to your surroundings, (2) only carrying the valuables you need for the day, and (3) securing your cash and credit cards in a fastened inside pocket or money belt.

A healthy dose of skepticism is a valuable, if uncomfortable, asset for the modern traveler.  It's not natural for me to assume the worst about a stranger so this is an attitude I wear consciously, especially when I travel alone.  Like many others before and since, I was targeted on a crowded bus in Italy.  I foolishly left my cheap, old cellphone in an outside pocket of my bag for all to see.  Someone did and they took it; fortunately for me my lesson was learned with an item that wasn't valuable and was easily and quickly replaced.

Rick Steves has a good, short article on the topic on his web site:  Rick Steves Article

Meet Simone

Simone Brokmeier will be our tour director in Munich.  She'll meet us at the airport and stay with us until we head home.

She was born in Munich, lived in California for two years as a teenager, and she's also an English teacher.

You can read more about her on her web page here.

What's on your last minute list?

• Alert credit card companies and banks (if you will be using your ATM card to get cash) that you will be using the cards in Europe
• Make a list of numbers to call if credit cards are lost/stolen, carry one copy with you and leave one with someone you trust
• Send itinerary and flight info to family, put a copy in your checked luggage as well as carry on
• Send a link to this blog to family and friends
• Add international calling to cell phone plan
• Check the long-range forecast (www.weather.com or www.wunderground.com) and make sure you have appropriate clothing
• Check the camera batteries; put the camera manual in your bag and pack extra batteries or a battery charger
• Update voice mail and e-mail auto-reply message
• Charge device batteries (pda, iPod, mobile phone) and spares
• E-mail critical documents to your webmail account (for example, make a pdf file of your passport information page and mail it to yourself)
• Remove unnecessary cards from wallet (library, Metrocard, punch cards, extra credit cards 

Household stuff:

• Set heat and water heater at minimum
• Set lights on timers
• Turn off coffee pots or other appliances with automatic turn on
• Turn off ice maker
• Get rid of perishables in refrigerator
• Water plants
• Empty trash and clean kitchen
• Lock all windows and doors
• Power-off computer and other sensitive electronic equipment
• Return library books

Countdown to takeoff

Munich Restaurant Ideas

I've been researching restaurants in Munich, especially those within walking distance of our hotel.  We have two group dinners, on our arrival night and our last night, the rest are on your own.  There is a well regarded restaurant in our hotel but even that will get old night after night.

Here are a few I've come up with, along with the distances from the hotel.  You can click on the links to check out their menus.

Vegetarian, three-quarters of a mile:  http://prinzmyshkin.com/de/imprint.html

Sushi and noodles, three-quarters of a mile:  http://www.sushi-sano.de/

Fish, 1.1 miles:  https://www.fisch-poseidon.de/

Wine bar with Mediterranean menu, 0.6 miles:  http://weinhaus-neuner.de/#restaurant

Italian, 1.2 miles:  https://www.facebook.com/muenchenrefettorio/

Italian, 2.8 miles:  http://www.da-fausto.de/

Italian, 1.5 miles:  http://vinpasa.de/

Wine bar with European eclectic menu, 0.2 miles:  https://www.excelsior-hotel.de/en/restaurants-bars/geisels-vinothek.html

Hard Rock Cafe, 1.1 miles:  http://www.muenchen.de/int/en/restaurants/eating-out/hard-rock-cafe.html ;

Wine bar with Italian/European menu, 0.5 miles:  http://www.vivadihotels.com/en/hotels/bayer-89/ottantanove

American/hamburgers, 0.5 miles:  https://www.hamburgerei.de/

Save your feet!

We are now less than four weeks from departure for Bavaria - if you've bought new shoes for the trip now would be a good time to start breaking them in.

Weather

I've looked at the weather data for the past five years (2012 - 2016) in Munich to come up with some averages, as an idea of what we can expect.

One thing is for sure, we can expect some foggy mornings.  Two thirds of the days in my data reported some fog.

We can probably expect some drizzle as well, one third of the days reported rain but not a measurable amount.  In other words, don't forget a rain coat or jacket.

The average high temperature for the week we will be in Munich, over the past five years, is 53.3 degrees Fahrenheit.  The average low is 40°.

Here are the day by day averages:

5 Yr. Avg.	Temp. (°F)
Oct	high	low
22	53.4	40.6
23	51.8	39.4
24	56	41.6
25	56.2	39.6
26	56.6	41.6
27	49.8	38.4
28	49.4	37.2
Wk. Avg.	53.3	39.8