Shivering in the Odeonsplatz
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Posing at Munich's Maypole |
24 June: Day SixHighlights of the Day:
We said goodbye to Switzerland, stopped in Austria for lunch, and arrived in Munich, Germany.
We had only been in town a few hours, but we had accomplished shopping for Birkenstock shoes, strolling the market square, and relaxing in the beer garden with a Radler (it's a beer mixed with sprite) and a pretzel as big as our face! There were several teen girls in the tour group with us, and on the bus many of them were talking about getting Birkenstock shoes while in Munich. Rebecca thought this was a fun and useful souvenir, so we made it one of our first stops in town. The idea was so popular with our tour members that at least half of the group ended up shopping for sandals at the same time. We then relaxed in the shade at the beer garden in the Viktualienmarkt. We squeezed into one of the shared tables next to an older local couple. Even though the only German I can speak is a hardy "yah," we managed to connect with the couple. They admired Rebecca's choice of new sandals and they wished us merry travels. Many in the group decided to meet up and head to the famous Hofbrauhaus beer hall later that evening. Rebecca and I decided to grab some quick snacks at a grocery store to eat before the beer. We were cooling off in our hotel room munching on our strawberries and other snacks. Rebecca picked up a strawberry and said, "Ew, what is that?" and plucked off a grayish small blob from her strawberry. We both leaned in close to the blob, and to our surprise, it started moving! It was a tiny slug that had hitchhiked onto our strawberries. We were both completely grossed out and we couldn't finish the strawberries. It has, however, become a really good story. "Remember in Munich, when we found the slug on the strawberries?" We then met several members of our group at the Hofbrauhaus where we clanked beer mugs and cheered "Prost!" with the locals, literally. The local man we shared a table with seemed less than thrilled to be sitting with us. We sweated as much as we drank beer and were so grateful that ALL our rooms had air conditioning tonight. Our last adventure of the day was figuring out how to work the shower in our bathroom. European plumbing can be so challenging sometimes. |
25 June: Day SevenHighlights of the Day:
You know you are in Bavaria when your day starts and ends with pretzels. The weather had finally given us a reprieve with slightly cooler temperatures and some rain. The Residenz Palace was the perfect reprieve from the rainy morning. We used Rick's easy to follow tour in the guidebook. We found the Palace to be just as opulent as Versailles without the crowds!
Rebecca thought going to the Hard Rock Café for lunch sounded like fun. While I know it's not everyone's cup of tea, Rebecca and I have had some fun times at various Hard Rock locations. Another important tip for traveling with kids of all ages is letting them make some of the decisions! The weather was starting to clear up so we decided to walk to the museum quarter. We had been told that admission was reduced on Sundays, but when we got there we figured out that the museums were all free admission for the day! We first strolled through the Alte Pinakothek with the older paintings. Then we crossed the street to the Neue Pinakothek. We hadn't gotten to see the newer museum on our last visit and I'm so glad we stopped there on this trip. There is nothing like getting to see Van Gogh and Monet on an almost daily basis! The only way to end a day in Munich is at a beer garden. Travis had arranged for our group to meet and walk together to an authentic beer garden. This place didn't cater to tourists so we felt like we were getting a real experience. It was also rather intimidating to go through the food and beer lines deciphering what we were supposed to do and not look like idiots! We were brave and figured it out! We all enjoyed that even though the My Way tour doesn't have formal group activities, that Travis provided several optional times for us to have fun together. |