Thursday, January 24, 2013

A mini road trip through Bavaria

After shaking our fists at the Glockenspiel, we said goodbye to Munich and hopped on the Autobahn, winding our way towards Konstanz. On the way we stopped at the base of Zugspitze but didn't take the probably faulty gondolas to the peak because of heavy cloud cover. But we did get gelato. We then pressed onto Schloss Neuschwanstein, the fairy tale - like but very real castle built by Ludwig II of Bavaria.

Also pictured are vast expanses of idyllic farmland and adorable Bavarian towns.

{here we go, Autobahn}



{alps}

{gondolas to Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany}



{Eibsee (the "see" part means lake) near the base of Zugspitze}



{into the woods}

{Francis caught all of us looking unimpressed}







{still honeymooning}

{familia, whatever that is in German}

{On our way to Neuschwanstein}

{didn't spring for the carriage ride, hoofed it to the top on foot}

{we were here}

{Neuschwanstein Castle}



{bitches be crazy}













{onto Konstanz....}

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

48 hours in Munich

I think I won some kind of award for the longest unplanned blog hiatus ever.

ANYWAY. After an early morning death march to the Barcelona airport we made our way on a pleasantly sparse Vueling flight to Munich. We explored Munich for two days. First day we arrived late morning and checked into our adorable hotel then hopped on the metro to Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial site. A self-guided tour of Dachau was very sobering and is highly recommended. The rainy train ride back to Munich was followed by city exploration on foot and German beer and cheer at Hofbrauhaus.

A surprising and delicious continental breakfast of American volume geared us up for a day of biking through Munich. The highlights were: Olympiapark, BMW Welt, and Englischer Garten where we hit the beer garden at the Chinesischem Turm. We finished off the day with a traditional German dinner and a cool walk about Marienplatz.

On the morning of day three, before setting out for Southern Germany Roadtrip 2012, we hustled back to Marienplatz tower to watch the rather disappointing Glockenspiel. Ah well, now we can say we've seen it.

Stay tuned for more of Deutchland and photos of the countryside shot from the passenger seat of a Citroen Picasso....

{something resembling sisterly love on the metro to Hauptbahnhof}

{bus to Dachau}


{Arbeit Macht Frei - Work Makes [You] Free}

























{Dad/Dachau}


























{perimeter security towers}

{standing between the rows of barracks}


{solemn}


{Francis inside the Mortal Agony of Christ Chapel, the first religious monument to be erected at Dachau in 1960}

{The Mortal Agony of Christ Chapel}

{circling The Mortal Agony of Christ Chapel}



{consulting metro maps at Hauptbahnhof where I had the best sandwich ever}

{cat nap}

{stroll to Marienplatz}



{Marienplatz tower}

{searching for a beer garden}

{found one. hydrating at Hofbrauhaus} 

{sisters at Hofbrauhaus}

{BEER}

{shroud}

{live music at Hofbrauhaus}


{Munich by bike! Taking a look around Olympiapark}


{Olympiapark pool}

{watching Germans swim n' stuff}

{Olympiapark water fun, hilariously entertaining}

{a quick stop at BMW Welt (World) where Dad had a midlife crisis moment}


{bike built for four}

























{BMW Welt}





{watching river surfers at Eisbach in the Englischer Garten}


{Konigsplatz}


{thinking about columns}

{bess frans}

{scale}

{Kaiser Ludwig Platz}


{photographing flowers at Kaiser Ludwig Platz. Phoebe is guarding the bikes}


{bombed}




{window pastries}

{evening stroll around Marienplatz









































































{tourists gathered to watch the Glockenspiel at Marienplatz}