Once again, preparing in advance, I checked for WiFi locations in Munich. However, we're camping outside of "Zentrum" where all the connections are. As I've noted previously, some campsites have Internet kiosks (Paris, Avignon), so I asked as we arrived at the campsite here in Munich if they had a kiosk, and if not, if they knew where in the immediate (local) area I could find one.
The friendly and helpful young woman at the counter told me that they do not have any Internet connection (at least for the public) at the campsite, but that near the church about a kilometer away (and she pointed out the location and how to get there) there was a place with Internet. Whether it was an "Internet Cafe", a "Cafe with Internet", whether it had WiFi, or whatever, was unknown to the clerk.
We parked the van in its spot (not too far from the toilets, yet not to close to be bothered by traffic) about 50 meters from the Isar river, which flows along the east side of the old part of the city, plugged in and discussed whether or not I should search for the Internet this evening.
We decided: Yes.
On the chance that they had written back to us with information about where to find them, we needed to check our mail.
I left Debbie at the van and took the walk along the edge of the campground, which is also a park alongside the river to the nearest bridge and turned into town. The local teenagers were collecting crates of beer and carrying them to a spot beneath the far side of the bridge to... who knows what? The church was clearly visible about 30 meters away and I found the little cafe with no difficulty.
However
There in the tiny restaurant, near the bar, was another Windoze box, as usual. I asked the waitress about it and she explained that it was broken. I asked a few different ways to make sure I was getting accurate information, and her message did not change: "gebrochen ".
"Wo iss Internet?" I asked.
"Zentrum." she replied.
Great! That did me no good. I stepped out and looked around. Across the street was a delicatessen. I was still (barely) open. On the off chance that I had made a mistake and that there was another location that had Internet I asked the woman in the delicatessen. She was very helpful and even stepped outside to point to the cafe I had just left. Indeed, there on the front window in clear letters: "Internet" and "C@fe" along with Pizza and a few other offerings.
Disappointed, I started back down the street to an office that I had seen on the way up... Allround Service with "high tech" logos on the front. I thought that:
The woman who answered the door (Monica Nadal) heard my story, appreciated my plight and decided that since Monica pays a flat fee for her Internet access, it costs her nothing to allow me to use it.
Ordinarily Monica would not allow someone to walk in off the street and use the Internet connection. When it happens during business hours, it can disrupt the office's activities, and she does not want to "make a practice" of allowing strangers to wander in to take advantage of her connection.
As Monica started up her Windoze machine we spoke. I learned that she has a full service "simultaneous translation" business. I explained that I work for a small company that makes a multilingual word processor. She "complained" that these will (though not in her lifetime) put her kind out of business. I shared with her the old "machine translation" "joke" about the CIA translating the classic American idiom into Russian then back to English and getting: "The winner gets the spoils." She did not know the idiom (as I expected), but appreciated the story.
I was able to check my mail and learn that we would not be expected at Shabbat services the next morning (there was no message from the congregation
While I was at it, I explained what Debbie and I were doing and found the photos I had put online (which were not yet public) for the page: dressedingreen.html. I wanted to print the photos so I could ask at a Tourist Info office downtown where the intersection was. I showed the photos to Monica and her colleague, who were intrigued by the location, but could not identify it... they are both too young to remember 1945. Monica then went on to explain that it is good that people from "the victorious countries" come and visit Germany now and see how much it is changed. She also mentioned that her 95 year old grandmother had recently died and that as the family was going through her papers she learned that her grandfather (who died near the end of the war (before or after?)) had had some connection to Dachau that made Monica uncomfortable. It was unclear whether this was because he worked or was interred there.
In any case, as we parted I explained that I was also reporting on my experience trying to maintain the Web site and that I would be glad to "put in a good word" for her because she had been so helpful. She indicated that she expected read the Web site and keep up with our adventures.