'S' is for Schnell!

So I finally made my way into the city of Munich yesterday, in the pouring rain. I bought an umbrella and learned that the huge EU tax is included in the price of items and things seem to cost about the same (maybe slightly less given the US dollar's unfortunate position). My umbrella was 9,95 Euros, tax included. I wandered around Marienplatz, got wet, listened to some brass bands playing in the rain and then headed home.

To get home, I need to ride the Munich S-bahn. I think Munich is the only city I have ever been to where figuring out how much to pay is more difficult than figuring out which train to get on. The Germans have a beautiful, modern train system with whisper quiet super fast trains, and the most evil (dare I say the F-word, no not that one) ticket system ever devised. See, to ride the German trains, one must figure out exactly how many units of fare it costs. There is no one taking tickets, no information counters, you fold over the correct number of stripes and stamp it in the ticket machine. Every now and then however, someone will be on the train checking tickets. The fine for an invalid ticket is 60 Euros. Joerg says he thinks the Munich trains are funded by hapless tourists. I think he may be right.