Munich

Munich was absolutely awesome. When I walked out of the Subway and looked up at the Rathaus-Glockenspiel. I was just in awe. It reminded me of the first time I went to Fenway Park and saw the Green Monster and a professional baseball field for the first time. Despite being 4 degrees Celcius, or about 40 degree Fahrenheit, there were tons of people walking around and eating outside.

Unfortunately we only had to eat and walk around a little bit. At the restaurant, there we lots of enthusiastic European football (soccer) fans. Rooting the Bayern Munich Soccer Club. I ate a pretzel, along with Milton Bear, and Cream of Mushroom soup. My friends dishes included wiener schnitzel, bratwurst, and sauerkraut.

One of the nice things about Munich is that it was one of the few German cities not bombed and destroyed during World War II so there any many old buildings and churches still completely intact.


Below are some pictures:

Right outside of the Munich Airport

Our hotel we stayed at in Munich during our 10 hour layover.

Subway

Marienplatz and the Rathaus-Glockenspiel

Milton Bear in front of the Glockenspiel #miltonbear

Love this sculpture.

These are mechanical figures that move on top of the Glockenspiel at 5:00 everyday. It reenacts two story from 16th century Germany.

It seemed like every other building in Munich had a clock. This a clock that had the signs of the Zodiac.

SHOPPING

Look familiar?

Lobster in Munich!

Recognize this store?

The Market

Milton Bear's Flight to Munich

Milton Bear enjoyed his flight to Munich. On the way over he had his dinner at midnight. He ate spaghetti while watching Star Wars. Each seat had its own entertainment system that included movies, music, and games. Milton Bear enjoyed playing the word games.


Milton Bear's Passport Stamped in Munich.

The flight to Munich

Before the flight, I met with the other teachers. I found out that Milton is very small compared to many other schools. In Reno, Nevada, there high school is 2000 students and they only have two computer labs. In Raleigh North Carolina, there school is over 700 students, three times the amount of Milton's Middle School.

Where the Heck is the Global Classroom?

Today in the Middle School, we created our portion of our spoof on "Where the Hell is Matt?" video. Here is one of my favorite outtakes.

Ready to Go!

Milton Bear is packed and ready to go. The adventure starts tomorrow. First stop Washington D.C., then onto Germany, Georgia, Greece, and back to the U.S.A.!

See below for a more detailed itinerary.

Georgia Student Questions

Today, I asked my students what questions they would like to have Georgian's answer.  Please add your own questions in the comments sections.

General

How long ago was it a country?

Are there any more cool restaurants, like the McDonalds in Batumi?

What is a traditional Christmas?

Does their hair look different than ours?

What kind of clothing do they wear?

What is the legal age to drink?

What's your most popular food?

How do you count, like pronounce numbers, and write them?

Do you have language classes?

Do you have dance classes?

What is the weather?

How many different species of animals do they have?

What sports do they play?

What do they like to do?

Do you have pets?

What kind of music do you like?

What are some traditions that Georgians partake in?

Who are some of your celebrities?

Has there been any major terrorist activity or threats lately?

What flavor donuts do you have?

What do georgians love most about Georgia

What is one of their traditional dances.

How to women often wear their hair?

What is your favorite place in Georgia?

Do you like American food?

School

Do you guys have recess?

Do they have dressed codes at the school?

How long it their school day?

What time do they start and end school?

What kind of classes do they have?

How is school different from our schools?

How does the curriculum differ from the states?

How strict are behavior rules?

What are classes like?

Are the kids in Georgia excited to learn English?

What holidays do you celebrate?

Other

What’s it like being a monk?

Itinerary

Before traveling it is important to give the people who you love and care about an itinerary of the place you're going.  Below is the list of hotels and my flights.

To be honest, I cannot believe the quality of the hotels I am staying at. They look absolutely amazing and thanks to the exchange rate to Georgian lari and the weak Greek economy I can afford to stay at places that I would not be able to afford in the United States. It is worth checking out the links to these hotels.

Exchange Rate:
Currently the exchange rate is from the dollar to the Georgian lari is $1 to 2.46 GEL. The exchange rate from the dollar to the Euro is $1 = .91 Euro. Which is the better value?

The one thing that is not obvious in the schedule below is that I will have the chance to visit Munich, Germany for a few hours before we depart to Munich. During this time, I will be visiting the Marienplatz and specifically the Rathaus-Glockenspiel.

Once we get to Georgia, the itinerary is pretty much set for us.

Here are the links to some of the places from itinerary:  Old Tbilisi, US Embassy in Georgia, Hotel Cruise to meet with people from U.S. embassy, and Shemoikhede Genacvale GMC Group.

When I go to co-teach in Akhaltsikhe, I will be visiting the local school and participating in panel discussions with teachers from around the area including some who teach at Armenian school. Here is my itinerary for Akhaltsikhe. When I am not in school, I will be visiting  Rabati Castle, Sapara Monastary, and Vardzia

If you're in New York City you can visit the Old Tbilisi Garden, a restaurant with Georgian cuisine.

Hotels

March 13 - 16

Rooms Hotel Tbilisi

http://roomshotels.com/tbilisi

March 16 - 23 Alkahltiskhe

Hotel Lomsia

http://www.lomsia.ge/index.php/en/

March 23 - 25

Rooms Hotel Tbilisi

http://roomshotels.com/tbilisi

March 25 - 27

Hotel New Guduari

http://www.newgudauri.ge

March 27 - 28

Coral Boutique

http://www.booking.com/hotel/ge/boutique-coral.html

March 28 - 30

Athens

http://www.attaloshotel.com

Flights

Friday, March 11, Burlington to DC departs at 2:46 arrives at 4:23

United Airlines, UA 6134 

Friday, March 11 DC to Munich departs at 9:55 pm arrives in Germany at 12:15 p.m. local time on Saturday, March 12

Lufthansa, LH0415

Saturday, March 12 Munich to Tbilisi, Georgia departs at 10:10 p.m. arrives at 5:05 a.m. local time on Sunday, March 13

Lufthansa, LH 2557

Monday, March 28 Tbilisi, GE to Athens Greece departs 5:15 a.m. arrives at 7:15 a.m. local time

Aegean Airlines, A3 0983

Wednesday, March 30 Athens, Greece to Munich, Germany departs at 1:10 p.m. arrives at 2:45 p.m.

Lufthansa, LH 1751

Wednesday, March 30 Munich, Germany to Newark departs at 3:50 p.m. arrives at 6:50 p.m.

Lufthansa, LH 0412

Wednesday, March 30 Newark to Burlington departs at 9:28 p.m. arrives at 10:46 p.m.

United Airlines, UA 3474