Despite the foul snowstorms that buried much of Germany and the Netherlands today, thereby forcing the cancellation of both of his original flights, I managed to rebook Son of Mr. Bali Hai on Lufthansa to Chicago, then on to Minneapolis, where Mrs. Bali Hai will pick him up later this evening.

He was a most excellent travel companion, and I will be sorry not to have him by my side for the rest of my visit here in Munich. He tromped willingly with me through many museums and sites of historical interest, and was usually game to sample some of the more exotic foodstuffs that Bavaria has to offer, although he did not opt to try any beer, despite the fact that he's legal in Germany.

We also spent a most pleasant evening with Dieter, the host of Orangeguru. We ate at a restaurant off the Viktualienmarkt, then took a cab over to a restaurant called Waikiki to sample the tropical cocktails. We both had Mai Tais to start, followed by a Zombie for me and a Caipirinha for him. All 4 drinks were expertly mixed, very tasty, and quite strong. I'm pretty sure that the bartender used to work at the Munich Trader Vic's.

Anyway, I'm on my own for the next week, so I'm planning to hit a few more bars and jazz clubs this weekend, as well as sample a few glasses of hot Gluhwein at the Kristkindlmarkt that just opened downtown today. Quite a few of my students are out-of-towners, so I expect to do a bit of socializing with them too.

...und Tschuss!