Marienplatz

While I was in Munich took the U-Bahn from my Hotel to Marienplatz which was a short distance from the Holiday Inn Munich Leuchtenbergring.

The Hotel is very good value and when I stayed in late April the rooms were about 72 USD a day.

After taking a walk around the beautiful Marienplatz I took a short ride on the U-Bahn to the Deutsches Museum.The Museum has a strange name since it is a Science and Technology centered exhibition. It includes every aspect of Science and Tech that you can think of and is worth your time.

The Marienplatz area of Munich is a geographic and cultural center of Munich and is a good starting point to any visit to the area.

New York

In New York for a few days the weather was beautiful used Reward Points to stay at Grand Hyatt which is next to Grand Central Station and then stayed at the Intercontinental near Broadway.

By using Rewards points from Hyatt and IHG I paid for one night so the total for 4 nights cost me less then 500 USD

New York City is expensive so you need to learn about the various Rewards programs if you wish to visit without hurting your wallet.

I booked the Grand Hyatt so I could just walk out of the Hotel and grab a train on the Metro North to the Hudson Valley.I went to Beacon to visit the various Art Galleries in the area.

It is not a expensive trip for a journey of about 100 minutes it varies in price based on what time of day you travel.The price is between 23 to 45 USD

The trip alone is worthwhile since almost the entire journey is along the Hudson.

After I arrived back in New York I visited the High line and then Hudson Yards.

The High line is about 1 1/2 miles long and more then 30 feet above the sidewalk and is a fun experience.You can either visit downtown or visit Hudson Yards.

A beautiful train ride from Grand Central Station

From the High Line a view of Hudson Yards

A view from my room at Intercontinental Hotel

Neuschwanstein Castle

You take the Train from the Main Train station in Munich……. the trip takes about 2 hours.The trip is pleasant not spectacular but a nice way to spend 2 hours.

When you arrive at Fussen the closest town to the Castle a Bus is waiting for you outside the Train station it is about 3 USD but included if you have a Bayern ticket.The ticket can be purchased online or at the train station it is about 28USD and can be used anywhere in Bavaria including Saltzburg for almost 24 hours for any type of public transportation.I used the Bayern ticket to go on the U-Bahn to the

Munich central station………. it was used to go to Fussen and then showed it to the driver for the 30 minute ride to the Castle.You arrive at the bottom of a hill to get to the Castle which has its own shuttle to the top……. are you tired yet ? This is a long trip and a lot of people are making a buck from this Castle especially Disney.

But you get your reward when you start to get a view of the Castle and of course you pay again if you decide to go into the Castle.Although the views of the area are nice I think just walking around the area and getting a view of the Castle and the area is more interesting.

My suggestion is to arrive early and try to come in off season.Even though it was late April it was still busy.Also it was about 45 F or 7 C not a Beach day.

How to get a Boarding Pass to Mars.

This is an article from The Verge………………

Now’s the time to get your name on NASA’s next mission to Mars

It’s that time of the year again, when NASA gives you the opportunity to “ship” your name to another celestial body. This time, the destination is Mars, and the shipping service is NASA’s future Mars 2020 rover, which will be headed to the Red Planet in — you guessed it — 2020.

The rover’s primary mission is to get us closer to answering that fundamental question: did Mars ever host alien life? The robot is equipped with tools and instruments that will help scientists figure out if the planet may have hosted life in the past. On top of that, the rover will also be drilling and collecting samples of Martian dirt. It’ll then leave those samples on the ground, where they could potentially be picked up someday by another spacecraft and brought back to Earth.

And while the Mars 2020 rover is doing all of this, your name could be along for the ride. If you send in your name sometime before September 30th, NASA engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory will etch it onto a silicon chip with an electron beam, and then the rover will carry it on its journey. The names are going to be pretty teeny, though — about one-thousandth the width of a human hair. That’s small enough so that more than a million names can be included on a single chip as big as a dime — but big enough for any Martian microbes to read (only kidding… Martians can’t read).

NASA has provided this opportunity for members of the public before, when it landed the InSight lander on Mars in 2018 or when it sent the OSIRIS-REx spacecraft to the asteroid Bennu. And just like any seasoned traveler, you’ll get a boarding pass and “frequent flyer” miles. Seeing as how the InSight travelers got about 300 million miles from their trip, the Mars 2020 folks are poised to get some serious points, too. Unfortunately, it seems doubtful Delta airlines will accept them.

Oxford

After going back to London made a quick trip to Oxford.It is a great day trip from London since it is only about a 1 hour journey from Marylebone train station.

When you arrive at Oxford there are many buses stopping at the train station.Since I needed to get back to london in a short time decided to take the tourist bus that covers the entire city in about 70-80 minutes.It costs 20USD but you can save about 10 percent by using a Viator promotion code that you can find online.

The bus makes about 20 stops and you can get off and return whenever you want.

I paid about 17 USD for a return ticket from London so it was not an expensive trip.

Here are some Pics

Stratford-upon-Avon

Took the Train from Marylebone Station in London which takes about 2 1/2 hours

It was not a pleasant trip since that day on May 6 had many delays on this route.Every time a Train was cancelled I got off at a new stop and then a new Train was cancelled.At that point I made many new friends who faced the same issues so it was not a totally negative experience.

When I finally arrived in Stratford-upon-Avon after making some good bets on where I should get off and which Train I hoped would actually arrive I was greeted by old style English hospitality.

The Taxi driver would not take a tip and even carried my bags into the Hotel to the Reception area which was not easy to find.

I chose the Arden Hotel since they recently joined Hyatt and as a result I could use Hyatt rewards to get 2 free nights.

The Hotel was old and very charming that charm of course comes at a cost no Elevator.

I was taken to a room with a short group of steps with the wonderful lady at reception taking my bags to my room.

It had a great view of the Avon river and the Royal Shakespeare Company right across the street.

In the Bathroom was a old tub that is larger then many rooms in London or New York City.

It was late afternoon so I quickly went to take a walk to get a feel for the area.I also had booked 2 shows at the RSC so I had very little time to take a quick view of the area.

All in all the 2 Days were great I got out of London got some fresh air visited a lovely and charming city with people who are lovely and charming.

This is not only a great day trip from London but a nice place to stop for a few days.

The German Paradox

When I was in Munich I went to Fussen to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle and also Dachau the first Concentration Camp in Germany and Europe.

While I visited the Castle I thought about the split personality of the German character.The same people who brought us Goethe and the model for the Castle of all Disney properties.Also gave us the Final Solution and the killing of 6 million Jews also the killing of Gypsies and Homosexuals and mentally challenged people.

How can this be ?

How did a society of the highest culture in Europe and the World create in the most detailed way the ultimate killing of most of the Jews of Europe ?

Is there a flaw in the German character or does such crimes represent the ugliness that all human beings are capable of ?

After all the Italians gave our Civilization the Roman Empire its brutality and grand buildings,Machiavelli the Borghese but also the beauty and Art of the

Renaissance.These same people offered the World the Mafia and the Fascism of Mussolini.

But the Germans producing National Socialism and Hitler and the Holocaust

from the aftermath of the humiliation of the Versailles Treaty is unique in a brutality that could not be predicted even with the Prussian side of the German mind.

This question is easy to consider when walking through Dachau or any Concentration Camp and it is a question that many great minds will examine as time gives a better perspective to this period.

Katona Apartments

While in Budapest had a great experience with this property.They are in the center of Budapest and offer a clean and modern Apartment for one or several people.

You need to leave a 20 percent Deposit with PayPal but it is so worth it.

I had become ill in Munich and when I offered Virag the Manager and owner the other 80 percent he told me it is OK he will just try to rent the room for the 2 nights I had booked.

I am not receiving any cash or any payment from the owner I strongly suggest if you are in Budapest you consider one of the rooms they have available.

Virag deserves your support he is a good Property Manager.

http://katonaapartments.hu/

Paris

Do you need to say more……. Have family and friends so I feel at home.

Went to visit the louvre and the Orsay Museum and then took a ride on the Seine all in very bad weather with rain every few minutes.

But who cares it is Paris so life goes on you live you have fun.

This is a great way to feel the City, I was staying at CDG at a Ibis Hotel next to the Airport and took the RER to Chatelet Les Halle.A return ticket which includes all transport for the day cost 20USD

From Chatelet took a Metro Line 1 to the Louvre.

From the Louvre it is a short walk across a bridge to the Orsay Museum.I then picked up a Batobus across the street from the Museum.This ship makes 9 stops in Paris and makes it a great way to get a feel for the City.The Batobus is less then 20 USD.

You can book on Viator and when you are a new customer you can save 10 percent.This is true on any activity regardless where in the world you book.

Will add Photos

The South of Italy

The best way to visit the beautiful areas of Amalfi and Sorrento and Capri and Portafino is using Naples as your base.

You can use the Circumvesuviana train system from the Central station which stops in Pompeii and Sorrento from Naples and it only costs 2-3 USD each way.The only problem is they have no AC so be prepared by bringing water with you.

From Sorrento you can catch a group of Buses that will take you to a variety of cities.They are new and have AC that really works.These Buses are cheap about 3 USD but they can be crowded.I took a Bus to Amalfi and Portafino.

You can also go to Capri with a Ferry and either come back to Naples or go on to another city like Portafino.

You can find prices online for the different options available. I would rather not give a specific Company since it would appear I was getting paid for the recommendation.

The Hotels in any of the cities along the coast tend to be much higher then Naples so if you want to keep your costs low having Naples as your base will help your money go a much longer way.