Guten tag von Deutschland!!! Good day from Germany!!! Thanksgiving day meal in Austria and a short train ride across the border brought us to Munich, Germany (München to the locals). As it was Korey’s decision day, and of course having to follow the Michigan tradition, we found ourselves at a local pub watching the Detroit Lions v. Philadelphia Eagles with about 200 hundred Germans and tourists. Some of which were also rooting for the Lions! It was a winning night for both the Lions and us, as we filled our bellies with German sausages and NFL!
The next day we met up with another friend from Baltimore, Kevin, who recently was stationed to live in Germany for his work with the military. Thank you Kevin for your service!!! We quickly found ourselves exploring downtown Munich, and found our way to the famous “Hofbräuhaus”, where liter beers and sauerkraut with a side of meat made us almost converse in full German sentences! Kevin was the best at navigating the menu, as he "sprechen quite a bit if ze German".
Throughout the day, we traversed in and out of the many quaint German Christmas Markets, wandering in and out of wooden booths holding hand-made German handicrafts. What an amazing Christmas spirit in this city! Our favorites were the storefront windows, one of them depicting an entire woodland winter wonderland, with small and large woodland creatures automated to move in different ways, depicting various winter activities (Ines’ favorite were the raccoons descending a cliff in Lederhosen, and Korey’s favorite were two foxes, one trying to pull the other up a steep cliff mountainside). Korey thinks it’s important to note that one cannot visit a German Christmas Market without drinking German Gluhwein, a heated mixture of red wine, sugar, and rum (optional, especially for the lady). This note is also in the blog to remind Ines that she did in fact not only partake in the Gluhwein, she drank too much of it and slept 15 hours into the next day.
The next day was spent touring the Bavarian Motor Works (BMW) Museum and the Olympic Park, where we ooh’ed and ahh’ed our way through hundreds of German precision autos and motos. We followed this adventure with a return to the Christmas Market, but only for moderate consumption of more Gluhwein, as the real activity of the late afternoon was Korey and Ines ice-skating in the middle of Munich, with German music playing in the background, surrounded by thousands of Christmas lights. Korey survived without falls, while Ines only fell once on her way off the rink (so close!). All the little German kids were laughing. We both survived with nothing more than sore ankles (and maybe a bruised ego for Ines). We all agreed that the favorite part of the ice-skating adventure was the miniature Zamboni that came out to smooth the ice, preceding to break down mid-way, have a group of what only can be German engineers come out to fix it it no time, getting everyone back on the ice on time. Gotta love that German engineering!
Kevin and Korey had an even more memorable evening that night. A boys sports night with back to back Michigan team games, complete with Korey losing Kevin and returning to wake Ines with only Kevin’s jacket and phone in his hand (it turns out Kevin was safe and sound, taking a nap nearby. He couldn’t stand to watch MSU win the Big Ten East Division…). With Ines rested and Korey and Kevin lacking sleep, we climbed into Kevin’s very own Mercedes, another German precision auto, and zoomed our way onto the Autobahn to arrive in Heidelberg (and in half the time estimated by google’s navigation). As Kevin sped up to over 125 mph we began to feel the wind in our hair (Korey’s especially now that its so long), Ines kept stating she was precious cargo and needed to have a safe driving experience.
Heidelberg is a special place in Germany and one we all recommend is a must visit. Tucked into the heart of the Black Forest of Germany, with a river running through the town, old European architecture, and winding cobblestone streets, we were enchanted. We sat down to a light snack that turned out to be akin to a full thanksgiving dinner (in a building hundreds of year old with frescos on the ceiling and walls). We then walked up to the top of Heidelberg’s very own castle, the most impressive of any we have seen to date on the trip. It had acres of gardens, intricately carved into the mountainside, with parts of the castle intact, some that had been restored, and some that still showed its battle scars. We pontificated on how the war scars were obtained, and whether any of us living in that time would have enjoyed much more glamorous of a life than cleaning chamberpots. Korey then sang Lourdes, “We’ll never be royals….royals”…. Trust us, nobody wants to hear Korey sing...
Our journey with Kevin ended in Kaiserslautern, aka K-town, Kevin’s home, where we happily broke down and ate Germany’s very own version of Pizza Hut and finished the night watching American Football (afternoon for you, night for us). Thank you Kevin for your amazing hospitality!!!
Things we learned, 1) When you buy the Gluhwein, remember to return the mugs it is served in (worth 5 euros each) and you won’t end up having to mail home $100 worth of “souvenirs”, 2) We have a new found respect for hockey players and figure skaters, not to mention Zamboni personnel! and 3) Wind in your hair on the autobahn in a german precision auto is a must do bucket list item.
A little chilly in Munich, but didn't stop our Christmas spirit!
The Christmas was almost overwhelming...
Great times at the Hofbrauhaus!
Bavarian Motor Works finest. Imagine this guy on the Autobahn.
A custom wood-paneled speed boat made by BMW (think we liked it more than the cars...)
Ice skating in the center of Munich!
Action shot. What you can't tell is Korey was just trying to look as cool as the young kids zooming all over.
Ines makes a lap safely! Decent camera work by Korey following behind. We'd also like to add that no children were harmed in the making of this video.
Looking up at the Heidelberg Castle from our hike starting point
From the castle gardens overlooking Heidelberg at dusk
No comments:
Post a Comment