Germany (Munich)

Arriving in Munich had different anticipation than our previous cities.  We had family waiting for us!  When we showed up at our hotel Marilyn’s mom and brother Danny were awaiting our arrival.  As wonderful as all this time has been for the two of us, we were excited to see some familiar faces.  We didn’t want to waste any time, so we began our reunion at the Chinesischer Turm, a beer garden in the Englischer Park.  The Bavarian region is known for their beer gardens and beer halls (beer gardens you can bring your own food, not the case for beer halls).  We spent the night trying to catch up as best we could over large pretzels, sausage, and delicious German beer.  We could not have asked for a better return to Germany.

 

Danny and Judi had rented a car for the first few days, so the following morning we piled into the car and headed on the southern route of the ‘Romantic Road’ toward the Bavarian Alps.  The Romantic Road term was coined after WWII as Germany tried to revitalize its tourism industry.  It follows a series of picturesque towns through the beautiful Bavarian countryside.  Our first destination was Fussen, a city near the Austrian border where King Ludwig II had built a fairytale castle for himself.  His main advisor when undertaking the project was not an architect, but a play set designer.  It was a job well done because Disney actually copied it (as can be seen in Orlando).  As he also drained the royal coffers in the process, it is no surprise that he was deemed insane and forced to abdicate the throne.  Ludwig knew what he was doing though, as the huge number of tourists and high ticket prices suggested that the coffers have been refilled many times over.  Nearby was a more modest castle, the one that Ludwig lived in as a child (the one just wasn’t enough).  From the castles we continued driving down along the Alps, giving us fantastic views along the way.

The Fairytale Castle

The 'Other' Castle

 

The next and final day with the car we took the northern route of the Romantic Road, visiting three medieval towns.  Our first stop was Harburg, known for its castle.  This was quite different from the castles we had seen the previous day.  There were very few tourists and all the tours were in German, clearly catering to different audience.  This medieval castle was meant for defense, standing on a hill with high walls and was certainly not constructed by a set designer.  From there we went to Dinklesbuhl and Rothenberg ob der Tauber, two picturesque towns with lots of medieval architecture.

Harburg Castle

Rothenberg Town Square

Since we no longer had the car, and we were staying there we decided it might be a good idea to actually see the city of Munich.  We used our familiar walking tour as a way of getting to know the city.  We started in the center of the city, Marienplatz, known for its City Hall that houses the famous Glockenspiel, a musical bell show with moving models.  It was made clear to us by our tour guide that beer plays an important role in Munich’s history and modern life.  This city is probably most known for Oktoberfest where Munich’s population goes from 1.5 to 7.5 million.  People flood the streets and drink from the local breweries for a two week festival.  Beer gardens and beer halls are scattered all around the city, always filled with all types of people imaginable, drinking from 1L mugs. 

Munich Town Hall where the Glockenspiel is housed

Munich Cathedral

The beer! (and Dan)

Munich hasn’t always been so fun and lighthearted however.  Hitler nearly came to power even sooner here in the 1920s, when he staged an unsuccessful coup.  Munich proved to be his area of strongest support when he later took power with the Nazi party in the 1930s through a democratic vote.  It was also the beginning of the infamous Jewish pogrom, called Kristallnacht, where SS men began race riots in the streets, destroying Jewish property and synagogues.  About 20 minutes away by train was the first Nazi concentration camp in Dachau which we visited the next day.

Site where Hitler delivered many of his speeches in Munich

Dachau was in operation for the entire duration of the Third Reich, from 1933-1945.  In the first few years of operation it might have been considered tame as far as concentration camps go, mainly imprisoning political rivals of the Nazi party.  However as time went on and violence increased it became much more horrifying and bloody.  We knew that we wanted to visit a concentration camp during our time in Germany; however it was not an experience we would say that we enjoyed.  It was very powerful walking the grounds and learning the more specific history of what went on there.

Dachau wall and fence

 

Since this was our last day together we tried to cram in as much as possible.  After the draining tour at Dachau we returned to Munich to explore the Residenz, the royal palace.  This “house” was very impressive and overwhelming.  Each room was an incredible piece of art; however it became exhausting after a while due to the sheer number of rooms.  We were officially wiped after this day, however disappointed to see it end because we knew we would have to say goodbye.  

A Residenz Dining Room

After Judi and Danny left, we had a few more days to look around Munich.  We decided to check out the Duetsches Museum, a science and technology museum.  One of us was clearly more excited and engaged while the other had to take frequent breaks (hmm who could that be?).  Marilyn did admit however that this was an amazing museum.  It had information and exhibits on everything you could think of, from aviation, to computers, to machine tools, to pharmaceuticals…. etc.  Our two favorite were the marine transport and aviation exhibits.  The marine transport area had extremely detailed models of different types of ships and boats as they appeared throughout history.  In addition they had some full size boats which had been cross-sectioned for viewing.  The same was true in the aviation section, except with planes and jet engines.  They even had a full size replica of the Wright brothers’ plane hanging from the ceiling!

Life size original and replica early flying machines

A scale model of an 1800s clipper ship

 

On our last day we decided to take the S-Bahn out to Freising, where Matt’s favorite brewery, Weihenstephaner, is located.  It is the oldest brewery in the world, dating back to 1040.  We hoped that we could get a tour, but were doubtful as it wasn’t a huge tourist attraction.  Unfortunately, this did prove to be the case; asking the receptionist about a tour elicited the simple response, ‘nein’.  Even though our tour did not work out, we had lunch there as the brewery grounds had several beautiful gardens and great views of the countryside from its hilltop vantage.  Another unexpected gem was the Freising Dom.  We could tell that some kind of church complex was perched on top of another hill in town and decided to explore.  Once we got up to the main courtyard we were presented with a large but seemingly plain cathedral.  The inside proved to be quite the opposite though, we both agreed it was the most impressive we have seen yet.  And if you’ve been following our blog, you know that we have seen our fair share of churches.  The inside of the church was beautifully decorated with paintings, but it was the dark basement chapel, filled with various relics and tombs that added to the allure.

Entrance to the brewery

Interior of the Freising Cathedral

We are currently on our way to Venice.  We have been saving up our pennies to splurge on our favorite food.  And it looks as though this is the end of our beer blog, bring on the vino!

Austria (Grunau Im Almtal)

About two hours northwest of Vienna is a small town, not found in any guide books and barely found on the map.  We decided to stop here because 1- it’s cheaper than Innsbruck and Salzburg and 2- we needed to a break from the cities.  Grunau seemed like the perfect option.  Our bus winded down the narrow roads to drop us off in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, between wooded and rocky mountains.  The hostel that we stayed in was very homey; it was run by a husband and wife who were more than friendly and accommodating.  Every night the wife would make an authentic Austrian dinner.  We were in the routine of making our own dinners, but we couldn’t pass up home cooked food.  The milk and eggs they used were fresh from his cousin’s farm down the road!  This was definitely the right place for us!

We rented bikes on our first full day and went off to explore the area and visit the Almsee, a lake we had heard was worth visiting.  The 18 km bike ride to the lake was not too bad considering we were in a mountainous region.  When we first got a glimpse of the lake we were a little surprised because it didn’t look like the pictures we had seen or anything too impressive.  However, as we continued around the lake we understood what all the fuss was about.  Behind the lake were these beautiful rocky mountains and the water was a breathtaking shade of blue.  The water in the lake was coming in from the mountains and was crystal clear…and extremely cold!  We read that the water was only in the lake for 10 days before it flowed into other rivers, keeping it very clean and chilly.  All around this area people drink straight from the rivers.  We were a little hesitant at first; however we were quickly converted because it was wonderful, refreshing water (and we clearly live by the logic of “everyone else is doing it”).  The only negative in this day was that as soon as we began the 18k back it began to rain very heavily.  It probably got us moving faster, but by the time we got back we were drenched and exhausted, ready for nice hot meal. 

On our other days we enjoyed hiking up to a waterfall, exploring the rivers and town, and venturing off to another lake up in the mountains.  We were able to get a little taste of New Hampshire, while discovering a beautiful new area.  Grunau had a nice mix of mountains and rolling green hills.  It is more of a winter town because there are more ski areas right around there and we talked about how fun it would be to come back during the winter (once we have replenished our funds).  As nice as this break was we, especially Marilyn, were excited to get to Munich where her mom and brother Dan were meeting us!

 

Austria (Vienna)

Having arrived in Vienna earlier in the day than we had expected, we took the train into the city center.  As we walked up the stairs from the train stop we found ourselves in the heart of the city.  We were instantly impressed with the amazing Baroque architecture that surrounded us.  As we walked around that first night we discovered beautiful park after beautiful park and beautiful buildings after beautiful buildings.  After only a few hours we were excited to see what else Vienna had in store for us.

Our first sight after arriving, part of Vienna's Museum Quartier

Statue near Museum Quartier, there were many like this!

The next day we decided to look around the city more by walking along Ringstrasse, an aptly named street which circles the Vienna city center.  Though we did not know much about what we were looking at, an informative museum and walking tour filled us in later in our visit.  Some of the most beautiful sights along the street included the Parliament building, the State Opera House, the Imperial Palace and its gardens, the Museum Quartier, City Hall, and Karlskirche.  Vienna is one of the most beautiful cities we have been to; its combination of ornate, welcoming buildings with lush parks and gardens really left an impression on us.

Karlskirche

Parliament

 

After we worked our way around the outside of the city center, we decided to head straight in and explore some of the sights there.  The main attraction is St. Stephen’s Cathedral, an enormous and beautifully decorated church which was originally constructed in the 1200s.  We have seen our fair share of churches and cathedrals on our travels, but this one was possibly the most impressive.  We were also able to climb the church tower for a few euros to get a great view of the city, as well as some good exercise!  Later we were able to see a very cool exact comparison panorama picture from the top of the cathedral tower, one taken in 1860, and one in 2008.  Not far from the cathedral were some other important stops including the Holocaust Memorial and the Spanish Riding School.  The riding school is very prestigious and features shows with the famous Lipizzaner horses (Brittany!) that sell out weeks or months in advance.  We were able to catch a glimpse as the riders led their horses out of the stables.

St. Stephens Cathedral

Inside the cathedral

Courtyard in Spanish Riding School

Rose gardens, Imperial Palace in background

Any half decent blog (not saying ours is) about Vienna needs to mention something about the famous Habsburg family/dynasty which ruled Austria for 640 years, their reign ending only due to WWI.  This family shaped Austria and particularly Vienna during their time in power.  They used strategic marriages to extend Austria’s influence throughout large sections of Western Europe.  With a few exceptions, the Habsburgs were well liked by their people.  Though it was not always the case, large portions of time saw tolerance of diversity, and as a result the arts flourished.  Beethoven, Mozart, and many others called Vienna their home.  In the late 1800s, the Habsburgs decided a city wall was no longer needed and financed the construction of the Ringstrasse and many of the beautiful buildings which lay on it.  The size and grandeur of the public buildings is actually a result of planning for a Vienna with 4 million people, although due to historical events has hardly ever reached a population beyond 2 million.

The Habsburgs were not without indulgence however.  We visited not one, not two, but three incredible palaces- one being the Imperial Palace, the other two being their winter and summer palaces.  Each was built in the Baroque style and featured expansive gardens and impressive statues and fountains.  The Imperial Palace housed a rose garden filled with hundreds of various roses.  When walking through this garden we were taken aback by the powerful scent.  On the expansive grounds in their summer palace we discovered ancient Roman ruins…that were constructed by the Habsburgs to emulate real ruins.  However, we were slightly disappointed by these palaces because they seemed rather quaint in comparison to our summer and winter abodes.

The Winter Palace

The Summer Palace

Inge and Gary's

Right around the corner from our hostel was a small, authentic Austrian restaurant, Inge and Gary’s.  We had two great meals in this cozy establishment.  We had our first taste of schnitzel here, alongside real locals.  Seeing the dynamic of Inge and Gary, as well as that of the locals gave us a better idea of the Austrian culture outside of the tourist areas.  Around the corner from here was a pub with at least 70 specialty beers.  It was fun flipping through the menu, seeing the imported beers that we had already sampled in our travels.

After a great time in Vienna we were looking forward to some relaxation away from the cities up in the mountains in rural Grunau Im Almtal. 

Czech Republic (Prague)

Our luck finally caught up with us in Prague, for it rained heavily on our first two days in the city.  We tried to still walk around and see as much as we could, but the rain put a damper on our experience.  It made getting around the city more difficult and simple things such as finding the correct tram stop became ordeals.  The rain was the heaviest during the first day so we decided to take refuge in a movie theater, seeing Bridesmaids.  Thankfully it was in English, with Czech subtitles.  Watching this mainstream American film was interesting because we felt completely removed from this foreign land, right back in the U.S.  The Czech Republic was our first stop where the language barrier proved to sometimes be troublesome.  Since once again we were staying outside the city center we ran into more people who did not speak English.  The Czech language has almost nothing in common with English which was different from the German or French we have seen which share many roots with English.  This was nice though, seeing fewer American influences, although this was fully made up for by the McDonalds’ on every block in central Prague.

A street on the western side of the city

Close up of the clock

Having been so impressed with our walking tour in Berlin we
decided to take one in Prague especially because both of us were less familiar with the history.  We started out in the Old Town Square which was very beautiful and housed a few sights.  One of the sights was the Astronomical Clock Tower that had a very unique clock that kept track of moon and sun cycles and the current month.  Every hour people crowd around it to see the ‘March of the Apostles’ where statues are mechanically moved and made to strike the time.  This was very impressive because it dated back to the 1400s and is the oldest such clock still in operation.  The designer of this clock was actually rewarded by the King of Prague by having his eyes poked out with hot rods so that he could not design another one.

The old town square

The clock tower

Many of the buildings in Prague date back much earlier than any other city that we have visited and looked to be surprisingly unharmed for the most part.  Our tour guide informed us that Hitler was so enamored by this city that he wanted to retire here, thus leaving the city protected in a way during WWII.  This was very apparent during our visit here.  Few buildings in the downtown were built in the last few hundred years, and unlike many cities in Europe, did not have to be rebuilt after the war.  Most also had a very unique façade, with intricate roof structures and attached statues and sculptures.  It was an interesting contrast to see an electronics store or a KFC housed in one of these buildings.

Great example of architecture in Prague

In the Jewish Quarter many synagogues remained, some having been converted into memorials for the Jewish people killed in the Holocaust.  Hitler did not have some of these synagogues destroyed because he wanted to keep them as a museum to show the extinct Jewish race.  We also saw the 15^th century Jewish Cemetery.  This was the cemetery that the architect of the Berlin Holocaust Memorial had mentioned as inspiration.  The ground of the cemetery was uneven and very high in some parts because of the number of people buried in such a small plot of land.  As the cemetery filled up, the Jews in Prague could not acquire any more land, and started to bury their dead vertically at this site.  There are about 12,000 burial stones, but it is estimated that it contains 3 to 5 times this number of bodies.

The Jewish cemetary

Prague’s most popular sight is the Prague Castle, the largest medieval castle in Europe.  The city is divided by the Vltava River and on one side sits the castle on top of a hill.  To get to the castle from the other side of the city you can cross a number of bridges, the most famous and most crossed by tourists is the Charles Bridge.  The bridge is very beautiful, with statues lining the sides, and it leads beautifully into the entry of the castle.  The vast number of tourists and caricature artists took away from the bridge; however it was impossible to take away from the impressive structures and beauty surrounding us.  The pictures are from when we returned to the bridge at night

View from the shore

Looking toward downtown (east)

Looking toward the castle (west)

We walked up the hill to the castle and on our way saw some beautiful views of the city.  As we continued we were a little unsure of where the castle began and ended.  The grounds of the castle are so large that it often felt that we were walking down ordinary streets lined with cafes.  The main building in the castle is the cathedral.  It is the main structure that you can see from all over Prague.  The intricate details were very impressive.   Each attraction in the castle charges an admission fee, however we enjoyed walking through the gardens and grounds. 

The cathedral inside the castle walls

When walking throughout the city we passed numerous signs for Jazz clubs.  We were unsure of why jazz seemed to be so popular, however we decided to spend one of our evenings at the Jazz Dock.  The Jazz Dock was an upscale jazz club right on the river.  There was one lead vocalist who was accompanied by a bass, piano, and drums.  We had a wonderful time enjoying great music.  This kept us out until about 1am, when we decided to head back.  On our way back we crossed the once packed Charles Bridge, now almost empty.  With the buildings lit up in the background we were blown away with how different and beautiful the city looked. 

Looking out from the fortress to the river

On our final day in Prague we felt that we had seen everything that we had wanted to and looked to our guide book for some advice.  There was one line about Vysehrad, an “ancient hilltop fortress with superb views.”  So we packed up our lunch, not sure what to expect and took the tram to Vysehrad.  With no signs directing us, we hiked up a steep hill to what seemed to be a fortress wall.  After eating our lunch in the shade, we explored the area.  We found this area to be a nice change for the bustling city.  There were many parks and a church on top of the fortress and great views of the city and the surrounding areas.  Prague has a lot to offer, however it did not appeal to us as much as some of our other stops.  Maybe this was just our specific taste because many people instantly fall in love with this city.

Looking down from the fortress wall