Germany Trip Part 2: Munich

Well, in my typical blogging fashion, I’m way behind.  My last entry was on August 27^thand we finally moved into our house on September 1^st(which was also our 10 year anniversary) and with that being said, I’m just now settled enough to get caught up!  Everything in the new house is finally complete and we’ve adapted to our routine nicely…so let’s get back to Germany!

On August 4^th we found ourselves boarding a train for the next leg of our trip in Munich.  We arrived early in the morning, dropped our bags at the very cool Art Hotel Munich and headed out for a busy day…very quickly I could tell we’d love Munich!! The city has a great vibe, the people are friendly, and it’s beautiful & clean!! Our first stop was the amazing Rathaus (City Hall) to see the famous Glockenspiel performance.  The Glockenspiel is a large clock tower on city hall that “performs” at 11am, noon, and 5pm each day in the summer.  This 19^th century Gothic tower has large copper figures that come out and perform a tournament while the tower chimes…the kids loved it! Think of it as a huge Coo-Coo-Clock.

Rathaus Clock Tower

Rathaus in Marienplatz

Glockpenspiel...hard to show in a picture.

While exploring the Marienplatz area we discovered the German Hunting and Fishing Museum and of course needed to go in according to Josh & Jake.  I have to say I was unsure this was the best use of our time but I was proved wrong!!  What a great place, the boys really enjoyed seeing all the old hunting weapons and learning about how people lived (Eva was sleeping) and I loved the architecture.  The museum was in a very unassuming old theater but inside WOW!! What beauty…it was all white, the moldings and details were fantastic, everything popped perfectly against the white.  As Eva awoke we found the great kids area, fun was had by all.  I love finding off the path places like this…even if I was hesitant to go!

Hunting and Fishing Museum Munich

Beautiful...right?

This museum continued to surprise me!!

Giant Fish outside the museum.

Pretzel anyone? Eva's lunch...

Munich marked the first stops in very memorable and famous churches, their beauty is just breathtaking.  I will never get tired of seeing churches/cathedrals and learning about their history.  First, Church of our Lady.  This is Munich’s largest church and dates back to the 15^th century, however, it suffered greatly during WWII and only a shell was left standing after bombings in 1945.  Amazingly with great effort this church was rebuilt in its original simple and unassuming style using as many remains from the rubble as possible.   Second, St. Peters Church, Munich’s oldest church dating back to 1180!!  And these architects loved Gold leaf!! The alter speaks for itself…



Church of our Lady



Amazing Crucifix, the simplicity speaks for itself.



Amazing ceiling, wish I'd centered the photo...



Loved the burning prayer candles.



St. Peters Church



Alter at St. Peters

And a day in Munich would not be complete without a walk through the Viktualienmarkt , a great open air market selling all the yummies you can imagine…we loved the olives. Finally ending in the ever famous Hofbrauhaus!  Single handedly the world’s most famous Beer Hall, built in 1897 and the location where Hitler took control of the tiny German Worker’s Party in 1920.  We enjoyed great traditional music, food and of course Beer! Very fun place, and beautiful too!

Yummy!! Viktalienmarkt.

After getting food/beer find a table and enjoy this perfect smmer day!

The famous Hofbrauhaus!

The interior of Hofbrauhaus.

What to order?

Beer...

Perfect end to a great day in Munich!

Day 2 in Munich marked a trip to the Dachau Concentration Camp for Josh.  This was a trip needed for his research and cultural immersion, and for human experience in our opinion.  However, with children ages 6 and 3 we decided I would not go, for reasons that need no explanation.  So the kids and I headed to the Hellabrunn Zoo which is one of the world’s largest zoos, it was a great day! Sadly, no pictures because Josh had the camera at Dachau and let’s face it a zoo’s a zoo!! But if ever in Munich the zoo is well worth the trip…fabulous day!! Josh’s trip to Dachau will have its own post…

After each having great days, respectfully in very different ways, we headed to the beautiful English Garden and the Chinesischer Turm Biergarten (Chinese Tower).  We settled into this huge outdoor park for a nice dinner under the chestnut trees while the kids played on the park.  It was a great way to spend our last summer evening in Munich.  Until next time Munich…we love you!

Chinesischer Turm Biergarten, live traditional music being played from the second level.

We found a beautiful old Carousel in the park, built in 1900.

 

Waiting to ride the Carousel.

Naturally she picked the "Princess" carriage!

And with that we head to Nurnberg...

Germany Trip Part I: Garmisch

On August 2nd we headed out for our first European trip by traveling to Germany.  This was our first “real” Train trip and I have to say we really enjoyed it. Not only is it easy to travel by train but we had lots of room to move about and liked seeing the Austrian and German countryside as well.  However, by the end of the day poor Jake had come down with a stomach bug and was sick, he’s such a trooper and never complained and made it to the bathroom every time!!  YUCK! We felt horrible but there was nothing we could do…just love on him. Thus the name “Super Trooper” was coined…he was nothing short the entire trip!!

 Watching a movie on the train to Garmisch.

Once in Garmisch we settled into our amazing little hotel, The Hotel Rheinischer Hof.  With only 34 rooms and still family owned it had the type of charm one would imagine in a small town at the base of the Bavarian Alps.  We were greeted by name each time we entered and had every need met, there is nothing like good service!!  After getting Jake a sprite and allowing him to rest for several hours he was eager to get going so we ventured out for a great evening to explore Garmisch and eat dinner.

View from our room, beautiful mountains.

So happy Jake was feeling better!

First of many Beers in Germany!!

We really enjoyed exploring Garmish and I especially loved seeing the traditional Bavarian Achitecture. The homes and shops are just beautiful with their handpainted murals and endless flower boxes...took tons of pics but here are a few expamples.

City Center

Traditional Bavarian Home

One of the many shops. 

Loved the antlers displayed outside local homes.
  

Day 2 we headed out to explore the beautiful Michael-Ende-Kurpark.  What a great place to walk, relax, feed fish and just run around.  It was a good way to start the day and make sure Jake was going to be OK, and he was! Very Thankful.

Beautiful Michael-Ende-Kurperk

Feeding fish is always fun.

Walking with Daddy!

Next on the list was a visit Olympic Park, home of the 1936 Winter Olympic Games.  It was a beautiful stadium and is currently still used for skiing competitions. Interestingly enough the 1936 games were organized by the sports office of the Third Reich as Hitler was in power. Josh & Jake were able to travel 1236 meters up the mountain via the Eckbauer-Bahn and had a great time.  I stayed down below with a sleeping Eva and had a coffee in the cool mountain air!!

The jumps are unreal!! Crazy, actually!

Olympic Stadium...can only imagine the Third Reich flags flying in the winter of 1936.

Riding the Eckbauer-Bahn

View from the Eckbauer-Bahn...storm rolling in.

And finally, the highlight of our time in Garmish, the 61st Garmischer Festwoche.  This is like celebrating Oktoberfest in Garmisch and what a fun experience!!  We had a great time watching the German bands play music and loved the traditional dancing. The food and beer were yummy and the kids had fun at the carnival. The best part was celebrating with about a thousand people verses hundreds of thousands in Oktober! If you are ever in Garmisch the first week in August this is a must!!

Having fun...well, Eva is questionable.

The tent before it got crowded!!

Loved watching the children dance!

ADORABLE!! Little boy in Lederhosen.

We loved our visit to Garmish and really look forward to going back in the winter to ski.  It was a great and relaxing way to start our busy trip thorugh Germany...up next Munich!!

Let the Adventure Begin...

Ok, so clearly I’m behind with this blog but moving overseas proved to more difficult than I imagined, not it a bad way, I’ve just been so busy trying to figure out our daily life, needs and logistics so it’s been hard to stay on top of things.  That being said, I feel I can get caught up now!  So I will take you back about a month...

First things first, Goodbyes NEVER get any easier!! Our final 8+ days in Monterey were spent with dear friends Pam and Larry Bell (and family) who so graciously offered for us to move into their guest house prior to or departure and we are forever grateful for the memories made! What a blessing they are as friends, mentors, and parents!  They made everything so easy for us, really the greatest gift we could have been given. And as you can imagine we left with very heavy hearts…all of us, it’s just never easy! But lifelong friends are never far from your heart!

Celebrating 4th of July with the Bells.

Swimming everyday while at Pam & Larry's!

Josh & Jake learning to split wood with Larry!

Our Adventure began around 4:45 am on July 12th when we arrived to the very small Monterey Airport in 2 cars and unloaded….8 very large suitcases, 2 car seats, 1 stroller, 4 carry-ons, 1 Mom, 1 Dad and 2 kids and we were looking 18hrs of travel in the face…not even sure what I was feeling, I think disbelief that we were really moving to Austria! (Big thank you to the Bell’s for getting up at 4am to take us to the airport in 2 of your cars!)

If there were ever a perfect travel day we had it!! Everything ran smoothly with no significant delays, literally off one plane and on to the next…it was great! And our kids are just flat out AMAZING travelers!!  Seriously, yet another blessing and we are very thankful for their flexibility.  We arrived in Vienna at 8:30am on July 13^th where we were greeted by Embassy personnel and Josh’s predecessor.  We were immediately taken to our corporate apartment and were thrilled by its beauty and location!! It’s very European and as a designer Iove it!

Our Apartment Building.

Love the bedrooms! They all basically look the same.

My favorite room...the office!

 Now several weeks in we are settling nicely, learning our neighborhood and how to navigate the city.  I feel good about using the U-Bahn (subway) and the S-Bahn (street trolleys) and actually don’t really miss driving.  I love shopping my local markets and stores and adore the Coffee shops!! It’s a totally different way of life and one we are welcoming with open arms!!  Vienna is a beautiful city and the Architecture simply takes my breath away daily.  The people are a bit reserved, however, friendly and willing to help when asked and will speak English when they can.  So here’s to the Adventure!!

Eva walking the neighborhood streets.

Neighborhood streets.

In continuing the adventure we have just returned from a trip to Germany.  We wanted to travel before school starts!! Yes, we are crazy and exhausted but stayed tunned for posts about our trip city by city....Until then CHEERS from Vienna.