Sarah and I flew into Munich, Germany (again!) on Sunday morning after spending a weekend in London. The above picture was in the English Gardens. Sunday was overcast, but the rest of the week has been sunny and wonderful - in the 80s!
I'll have to ask Sarah what the name of the yellow church in the background is .... We were cold on Sunday .... and tired! At one point, we laid down on our scarves and went to sleep! In the middle of the day in the middle of a public area!
Funny story: A lady in front of me on the street was wearing a shirt with a lot of different writing on it in different languages. In English, in big letters, it said: WHITE TRASH. Funny. I'm guessing she didn't know what it said ... ?
Pictures of the town center on a beautiful afternoon!
The sky has been amazing!
I never thought of Munich much - most people think of Paris or Rome, etc, when they think of Europe. I'm learning a lot about Munich, though, and realizing it is kind of the hub of Europe. I am very impressed with how clean and friendly the city is. I can understand why people love Germany!
Sarah and I had to keep eating on Sunday to get through the day!
Sarah and I actually shared the same cotton candy.
We also ate a pretzel that afternoon, sampled some other local treats, and had two (small) ice cream cones. So ... if you don't recognize me when I come back, I might be the one getting two airplane seats so I can fit ....
A midnight snack on Sunday as we tried to regroup our sleeping schedule.
I had brought these three paper place mats (one for Sarah's roommate Katie) and a pack of fun napkins. Apparently I pack really odd things. What, doesn't everyone bring this?
I had imagine whipping it out at a streetside cafe or on a picnic ...
Grapes, gerkin (cucumber), feta cheese, brie cheese, and .... hobnobs.
Random.
For breakfast the next morning I definitely wasn't making any better choices, but I was making great vacation choices! I slept in till after 9 and Sarah was already at work, so I walked down to a cafe and had this yummy
These European strollers are AMAZING. I thought about bundling up something in a blanket and carrying it like a baby back home so that I could get a free check-in for a stroller
And there are strollers everywhere!
I'm struck by how much everyone walks, cycles, etc. Even little kids younger than Simon are navigating the busy streets with their parents. I'm also struck by how much older the moms are, and by how the 'elderly' are so active walking around and using their bikes. It's a wonderful sight!
We stopped at a photo-store to print some pictures and mail home as postcards.
(I was really tired) and asked Sarah to help me sort out the pounds and euros. We were sorting them, and then I asked, "What's this?" Sarah inspected it more closely and said, "That's Chuck E. Cheese."
So, above, I have groupings of: pounds, euros, and one lonely Chuck E. Cheese token.
Why does the fruit taste better? I bought the best peach and nectarine at a roadside stand.
There are also two grocery stores in Sarah's neighborhood: Tingelmann's and Edeka. Sarah scored a great flat right in the middle of one of the nicest downtown neighborhoods!
I spied this delicacy on facebook. Our friends JD and Chrissy raved about this 'spaghetti eis' they tried in Munich. (They were here a couple of weeks ago) Sarah and I tried it and loved it!
Again, you might not recognize me when I come home ...
Town Hall. A moving story was being told on the glockenspiel about a joust.
Mac Store in Munich
Matt was proud of me.
In the middle of an upscale kinder (children's) store, there was a popcorn machine. You could buy freshly popped corn! I took a picture and emailed it to Simon.
We went shopping here.
There is a Tivoli theatre in Chattanooga ...
And this one was playing Slumdog Millionaire ...
On our walk back home from shopping I spied this garden.
I love what the Germans and English do with their little spaces.
I think smaller, more 'defined' spaces would be easier to decorate.
Flowers are everywhere - in gardens, small patios, roadside stands, windowboxes, public transportation. People seem to buy fresh flowers and take them home everyday!
Sarah and her roommate have two matching bikes.
Katie doesn't really ride hers much and has been letting me use it this week. One night we packed up a picnic lunch (nectarine, peach, pb and j, hobknobs) and rode bikes to Olympia Park. On the way we stopped at Nymphenburg Palace. Everything was so beautiful, but I'm going to take pictures another day of the park since we were there so late.
The swan growled at me. Seriously. Right after Sarah took this picture.
Can you imagine living within biking distance of this? Sarah jogs around here and to the Olympia Park. I took a video I'll post soon that shows the gigantic spread of this palace.
Another day ... another icecream cone (or two)
I might have to wear a name tag when I come home.
A snapshot of life.
On the table: ipod playing Hillsong United, travel stickers that I brought with me, and a postcard for my kids decked out with stickers.
My mom is keeping me updated with all of the cute things the kids are doing.
Maybe I'll cut and paste some of the details from her emails.
The living room and bedroom. There's a separate bedroom Katie sleeps in. This room is great with lots of windows and the patio. There are doors that close to make it private so its like Sarah's bedroom is just huge and covered with windows. And, has the dining table :)
Everything is IKEA here, everywhere.
Sarah bought her couch/futon at one of the local IKEAS and had it delivered.
Even though Sarah has paid for internet the last two months, hers isn't working well, so we have to 'steal' some German's wireless. You have to be on the patio to get internet, or right next to the window, on the armseat of the leather couch. On the edge of the couch sometimes work, but the extra height on the armrest usually does the trick,
I am currently blogging at Batty's Barista, though. A coffeeshop with free wireless which is rare in Munich. I just finished skyping Matt through his ipod touch. He bought these headphones that make it where I can skype through the ipod if there is wireless so it's almost like having an iphone ...
Cute efficient kitchen in Sarah's flat.
I sat on the barstool and had breakfast yesterday morning.
This was my view:
If you look to the right out the window you see this cute residence. I watched someone watering their flowers.
This was my breakfast - a blueberry muffin leftover from a bakery in London, a cup of Earl Grey Tea, and some yogurt/fruit which wasn't in the pic but I thought I should include my whole spread.
If you look to the left out the kitchen window, this is what you see.
Do you see the steeple in the background? It's so charming to hear it ringing.
Sarah has been working to 1:00 in the afternoon everyday, with the exception of yesterday which was her long day: 8 p.m. I arranged to go on a tour of Neuschwanstein Castle. I had to be at the train station at 9 a.m. and we returned around 7 p.m - long day! The train ride was beautiful, and between watching scenery and watching "North and South" on my ipod (British love story I realize now why everyone loves it), the train ride went pretty fast.
There's lot of history to this castle, but I'm too tired to write it. Here's a paragraph from wikipedia:
Neuschwanstein Castle (German: Schloss Neuschwanstein, lit. New Swan Stone palace,pronounced [nɔʏˈʃvaːnʃtaɪ̯n]) is a 19th-century Bavarian palace on a rugged hill near Hohenschwangauand Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavariaas a retreat and as an homage to Richard Wagner, the King's inspiring muse. Although public photography of the interior is not permitted,[1] it is the most photographed building in Germany and is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations.[2]
Ludwig did not allow visitors to his castles, but after his death in 1886 the castle was opened to the public (in part due to the need to pay off the debts Ludwig incurred financing its construction).[citation needed] Since that time over 50 million people have visited the Neuschwanstein Castle.[3] About 1.3 million people visit annually, with up to 6,000 per day in the summer.[4] The palace has appeared in several movies, and was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty Castle at bothDisneyland Park and Hong Kong Disneyland.
I love my photo that was all misty and mysterious. Going to the castle there was a fair amount of rain but when we left it was sunny and hot. So, it was the best of both world, as far as seeing and experiencing the surrounding beauty in two ways. I was able to literally wring water out of my scarf, though ...
A view from outside one of the castle's windows.
I was a huge dork and hung out the long scarf I was wearing through one of the windows just for the experience. Now, whenever I see pictures of the castle, or see the castle of the Disney Icon that was inspired by this castle, I can tell my kids I hung a scarf out of one of the windows. Very princess in distress like ...
Outside the castle.
On the small bus we transferred to after our train ride, there was a family from outside of Nashville, TN, and two college students living in Chattanooga, TN. Small world!
Because of the rain, we had to ride a bus up the mountain, but we were able to walk down the side of the mountain afterward. Here is a view of that walk ...
This was last night, after I returned from the Neuschwanstein Tour and after Sarah came home from work. We rode the two bikes down to the only English Cinema in Munich (about a 15 minute bikeride.) We saw the opening in Munich of the new Harry Potter movie. Sarah is a big fan of HP, and I've listened to most of the books on audiotapes on long trips, so we both new the storyline of course but it was a great experience just to see it in Munich, ride bikes to the theatre, and ride home afterward (at 1:30 a.m.) Munich is a very safe city. There are always pedestrians and cyclists and cars out on the street, and there is a separate bike lane.
Harry Potter here we come!
The series reminds me of the Narnia series.
2 comments:
Love seeing it all, Amy! I had to lol when you kept referring to all you're eating. All I could think was, "Maybe we should pray for four seats?" Haha! It looks like you're having a great time. I love the area around Neuschwanstein. What a great vacation you're having! Thanks for sharing it with us.
sounds awesomely incredible!!! munich is so beautiful. *jealously emanates*
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