Day 1 – July 25th, 2024
I arrived, after experiencing the horrifying reality of Netanya public transport (I missed two buses!) to Ben Gurion International Airport on 14:00. There, I proceeded to meet up with Yoav, who was waiting for me near the departures board. Our goal was simple: to pass the check-in and security areas in the quickest possible time.
A foreword on the TLV Terminal 3 check-in area
The Departures hall of Ben Gurion International Airport is noted to be one of the most secure in the world. This comes at the heavy price of having miserable waiting times throughout the airport, and having unfair security checks, to say the least. Looking even a bit nervous while waiting in the line for baggage drop-off could result in a questioning, and there have been numerous stories of passengers being unfairly treated due to the unfortunate reality of them carrying an Arabic first name. In short, our goal was to avoid messing with security as much as possible.
The Terminal 3 Experience
As usual for a summer weekday afternoon in Terminal 3, the check-in area was packed. Despite the war, risking flight cancellations abroad, hundreds of middle-class Israeli families were looking to soak in cold European weather. After we received our checked luggage tags from El Al’s automated luggage tag machines, and after waiting a sizeable amount of time in line, the clerk noted we did not have stamps on our luggage tags. Sadly, the employee providing said stamps on luggage tags was MIA, a fact we discovered twelve minutes too late. After handing our luggage without said stamps, we went on into the security area. This was my first time flying El Al, and I was completely lost in the eastern wing of the security area, due to my prior flights going from the western wing. We found a line for security screening, but it was a Business Class / Assisted Passenger line. It was then I remembered I carried a disability card with a line exemption, which allowed us to enter said Assisted Passenger line. The entire process took us 30 minutes, from train station to duty free.
The boarding, flight, and airport hotel did not have any major issues, and I won’t bore you with the fine details…
Day 2
We had to set our alarms early, due to us having to catch an early train to München. Sadly, we ran into a problem during our morning preparations. We got one room key while we checked into the hotel, and due to me having to finish packing my luggage for departure, I accidentally locked Yoav out of both the room itself, and the elevator to our floor, due to it also requiring a keycard. The issue was taken care of, and we proceded to board our train. The journey was mostly pain-free, but the train did stop for maintenance for a prolonged, excrutiating time…
A Day in München
After arrival in München Hauptbahnhof, we were pleased to find our hotel right near a central U-bahn station, and our rental car pickup. The hotel had a pretty weird self check-in process done via computer, but due to it only opening on 14:00, we left our luggage and went to see some cars.
Upon departing the U-bahn near the headquarters of BMW, Yoav quickly got tired from the walk and wanted to get one of these e-scooters which always seemed to litter the floor. I told him that it was impossible for me, due to me not having roaming in my data plan, and wanting to avoid paying by card when possible. He begrudgingly agreed to skip the scooters, and scolded me for not having a data plan.
The museum has been fantastic, featuring various cars, motorcycles, and engines from BMW’s backlog. Some of the more interesting exhibits include the peculiar Isetta microcar, a wall containing a significant amount of motorcycles, concept hydrogen-cell vehicles, and a section featuring BMW’s time owning a Formula One team. I particularly enjoyed the E30 3-series, which, besides the fact my father owned one back in Belarus was one of my favorite cars ever, and the Z8, as seen in the James Bond franchise.
Next on our iteniary, was looking at fish in the nearby aquarium over at Olympiapark. While having lunch at the park consisting of sausages and beer (because of course), our experience was disturbed by a bee flying by us and lingering near our table. When that ended, Yoav was buzzed from the pint of beer and smoking 3 cigarettes back to back. At the aquarium, we were especially fascinated by the shark exhibit, and I spent most of my time there shooting long-exposure photos of the aquariums (it made the water smoky!).
After this we were tired, and we retreated back to our hotel room, which, for some inexplicable reason, had no way to conceal the shower!
A Lesson for a Lifetime
For supper, we wanted to eat something “German” yet again. A quick search in Google’s reviews led us to a novelty Bavarian-themed restaurant. It was quite cozy inside, with the waiters wearing lederhosen and drindl, to match the theme. We both ordered Viennan Schnitzels. Due to us enjoying them we obviously wanted to tip. We requested a bill, and Yoav wanted to pay for the meal by card. After he told the waitress to add a higher than usual tip, he put his phone on the payment terminal. Then it struck us: we were overcharged by 30 whole Euros! I told him to use cash when possible, especially in restaurants. That way you just put the exact cash amount on the table, and leave.
We both went asleep quite early, knowing tomorrow will be difficult; we would finally get our rental car and start our drive to Berlin!
Photographic accompaniment available on killer.pics