Munich Airport

I am in Munich Airport, waiting for check-in to open so that I can then drop off my bag and wait for my flight. Is waiting the thing to do?

Now, in my life I have been fortunate enough to see a number of different airports. From the run-down airport of Guatemala City, to the airport which was probably too small the day it was opened (El Dorado, Bogota), to a hurrican damaged Miami airport, to the cushy comfort of YVR. Munch airport, however, is something else. Forget all this German efficiency and order, it seems to have gone wrong here.

Things don't seem too bad when you first arrive. There is Terminal 2 for Star Alliance members and Terminal 1 for every other airline. Of course the metro takes you to Terminal 2. Oh well, I disembarked the metro and began following the signs to Terminal 1, easy enough. THere was one sign outside, then a few more inside. After a few minutes of walking, the trouble begins. All of a sudden you are confronted by TWO signs pointing opposite directions. You see, Terminal 1 has five different wings, not gates, wings. Each wing has its own gates, its own arrival area and its own check-in. Is there a sign anywhere telling you which airline leaves from which wing? If only we were so lucky. Better yet, some of the check-in desks are shared, so let's say you are looking for ClickAir (as I was), if their desk isn't open yet there is very little to tell you that you are at the right place. Now, one might think that a simple solution to this would be information desks. The Germans thought of this. They did, however, miss the crucial step of having someone AT the information desks. Anyway, the story ends up with me walking through three wings before finding an open information desk which told me ClickAir was in the fourth wing. I suppose I could have stopped and asked people, but your customer service plan shouldn't hinge on the kindness and knowledge of strangers. A sign would help.