Germany (3): Munich

Our final three days were spent in the beer capital of Bavaria--Munich! All the miles we walked around exploring the city allowed us to burn off at least most of the beer we drank--"prost"!!

After checking in to our hotel, we rented wheels from Mike's Bikes and rode around the city centre and the English Gardens. We loved how the city is so organized and bike-friendly! We stopped to watch the surfers practice their skills at the river and admired the Chinese tower with its beer garden below. (I nicknamed it the "beer pagoda"!)

The next day we took a tour to visit Schloss Neuschwanstein, the most famous of King Ludwig II's castles and the model for Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle. Transported by bus, we arrived at the castle late morning and were given 45 minutes to explore the small town and eat lunch. Then, following our tour guides, we walked up the steep hill, which was more challenging than I'd anticipated, but nothing the Dewhirsts couldn't handle! Almost at the top, we stopped to view the castle from Mary's bridge, which afforded spectacular views of the schloss and the valley below.

Upon arrival at the castle, we only had to wait a short time for our reserved time slot. We wandered through the fairy tale castle on our tour, learning about the life of eccentric King Ludwig II and his obsession with Mozart. The views from all balconies and windows more than made up for the dark interior rooms. Sitting pretty at the foothills of the Bavarian Alps, this castle was truly magical!

We spent the last day exploring Munich central. We first visited the Marienplatz, location of the city hall (called the "Rathaus") and watched the glockenspeil display. We also took a peek inside the gothic style churches of Peterskirche and Frauenkirche. Unfortunately, the steps leading up to the top of the twin steeples was closed for maintenance, but the stained glass and ornate detailing were quite stunning.

After, we bought tickets to view the extensive treasury collection at the Residenz Munich. Checking all our bags, we stepped inside the vault with our audio guides to view costly treasures from centuries past. We left quite famished, and so enjoyed lunch at the shady beer garden at the Viktualienmarkt, followed by girl-shopping for dirndls. (We'll look super authentic at Oktoberfest in Texas!) After, we hopped back to the Residenz to view the palace rooms themselves. Stunning and elaborate, this was sensory overload at its finest!

 

To end our vacation as proper tourists, we ate dinner that night at the famous Hofbrauhaus. While the live band played tunes and the barmaids hoisted pretzels and beer, we ate our fill of traditional fare and I drank a "mas" (big one!) just to see if I could. =) "Prost" to our holiday in Germany!

Germany (1): Stuttgart

Our recent holiday in Germany (in transit from Malaysia) was exciting and fun, a wonderful first taste of Europe for the Dewhirsts! It charmed us with its beautiful landscapes, filled us with its amazing foods, and enlightened us with its rich history and culture.

Arriving in Stuttgart after flying red-eye, my sister-in-law Rebekah greeted us at the airport. She led us by train to her charming 4th-floor apartment, graciously hosted us for three nights, and became our tour guide for food and fun. Danke!!

We first visited the Württemberg Mausoleum, built as a memorial to Catherine Pavlovna of Russia (1788-1819) and formerly used as a Russian Orthodox church. It sits majestically on the top of a hill surrounded by vineyards and overlooking the Neckar River. From there we wandered down a country lane and enjoyed a traditional German lunch (complete with beer and prosecco . . . "prost!") at an outdoor cafe. My son discovered his love for tarte flambée ("flamkuchen"), an South German dish composed of thin bread dough covered with crème fraîche, thinly sliced onions, and lardons! Later, we enjoyed Turkish food while catching up with my brother-in-law Keith.

After enjoying pastries (and pretzels!) from a local bakery in the morning, we took trains to visit Burg Hohenzollern, ancestral seat of the Prussian Royal House and the Hohenzollern princes. Standing with pride at the top of a hill, this beautiful castle welcomed us with its stone turrets, its truffle garden, and its winding entry up cobblestone paths. The tour allowed us to view the many lovely rooms as well as the treasury, including the king's dazzling crown. After the tour, we enjoyed lite snacks in the summer beer garden. To complete the fairy tale (think Cinderella!), we literally had to run down the hill to catch our bus. Thankfully, we made the last bus of the day to the train station, whew!!

We spent the next few hours strolling thru the charming town of Tubingen. Straight out of a storybook, this delightful town was full of colorful houses and shops selling everything imaginable. We enjoyed fresh cherries and listened to music in the marketplace, my son found a coin shop, and I bought some gifts. Our day ended with a quiet train ride back home (as we dozed) and yummy Italian.

On our last day in Stuttgart, we visited the Porsche Museum. We learned about the history of the company, marveled at the beautiful cars, and posed beside "Sally", the blue Porsche from Cars. We then lingered over lunch and beer at Carls Brauhaus, overlooking the town square ("Schlossplatz"). After, we walked around exploring (and digesting), found a super fun city park with a tall view tower and zipline playground, then enjoyed a leisurely Greek meal while our kids played at an adjacent park: perfect!

Germany (2): The Black Forest

From Stuttgart, we traveled by train to the small town of Triberg in the Black Forest. Unfortunately upon arrival at the tiny station, we found ourselves stranded. Walking to the hotel I'd booked wasn't feasible (due to steep terrain, drizzle, and lots of luggage!), and without wifi, we couldn't look up the bus schedule. We called a number for a taxi, but they hung up on us after realizing we didn't speak German. Finally, we "asked" (using lots of gestures) a kind woman to help us call our hotel and send a taxi to get us. Thankful to arrive, we checked in to our 2-bdrm suite at Best Western Plus and enjoyed a lovely German dinner in the hotel's restaurant.

Excited to explore this charming village, we welcomed the first day with a lovely morning hike at Triberg's famous waterfall. Our kids played at the base playground, and we bought nuts to feed the chipmunks, though sadly there were none. We ate pizza for lunch then browsed thru shops along main street. Our favorite was the Haus der 1000 Uhren, famous for its hundreds of cuckoo clocks in every style imaginable!

The next day was a bit rainy, but we didn't let that stop our fun! We sailed through the trees on a high ropes course, then warmed up inside while exploring a bit of history at the Black Forest Museum. My kids had fun seeing the clockmaker's workshop, feeding euro to the model train, exploring the mining tunnel, and making their own music on a barrel organ. After, we hopped down the street to enjoy a slice of the original, world-famous Black Forest Gateau at Cafe Shaffer--delicious!! (Our kids were asked to enjoy chocolate instead, as the cake is infused with large amounts of cherry brandy.)

Our late afternoon snack left us feeling full and sleepy, so we headed back to our room to enjoy some downtime. The view from our balcony was enchanting, and while kids stayed inside, Adam and I enjoyed the cool evening with wine and a good book. Later, we walked down the steep hill in search of dinner. Traditional favorite dishes included spätzle, schnitzel, and goulash, and the fresh river trout was truly amazing!