Germany
Altstadt

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    • Day 2

      Bejeweled

      February 19 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 46 °F

      This is the skeleton of Saint Munditia, the patron saint of spinsters, jewels cover her naked bones. In her hand she holds a glass container filled with dried blood, a relic of her martyrdom. She is believed to have been matryed in 310 AD, beheaded with a hatchet. Her remains have been here since their transfer from the Roman catacombs in 1675. She was kept hidden in a wooden box from 1804 and put back on display in 1883.

      In the little glass case above Munditia, is the skull of Saint Erasmus, the patron saint against intestinal ailments.
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    • Day 10

      Neuschwanstein Castle

      September 13, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      We met up with our tour group at the main train station, a brief walk of about 5 minutes from our apartment. We set off about 9.45am on a coach for the 2 hour drive southwest of Munich into the heart of Bavaria, the land of the happy cows - reputedly the happiest in the world. The Bavarians celebrate their cows at a festival, which happens to be tomorrow. The villages have a parade with some of their cows, and the children make flower garlands for them. No doubt they also drink a lot of beer.

      We also learnt about the tradition and history behind the maypole. Each town has a maypole, and each year a new one is built and painted (white and blue). It also depicts pictures (the tradition began at a time when many people could not read) of all the services available in the town, e.g. butcher, blacksmith, tailor etc. The maypole is prepared in April from a newly cut down tree, and erected in the centre of town on 1 May to celebrate the end of winter and the approaching summer and harvests. There is also a rivalry between villages, where they try and steal each others maypoles, and so it is a carefully kept secret as to where the pole is hidden. If a pole of a rival village is stolen, then the village must provide food and drink to those that stole it, and those that stole it must return it and help the villagers erect it. These Bavarians are a crazy lot. In these villages all houses must be built in the same style, no exceptions.

      Neuschwanstein Castle is very close to the Austrian border, and situated in the lovely town of Hohenschwangau, perched high up on a crag surrounded by gorges. The castle looks quite magical, and it inspired Walt Disney when he designed both the castle in Snow White, as well as the logo for Disney. We were lucky to have a beautiful day - clear blue sky and sunshine, which really added to the castle’s charm. On arrival, we were split into groups, and we were lucky enough to be allocated unto Sarah’s group. We first went off to grab lunch, which we ate on the forefront of lake Alpsee. After lunch, we walked around the area a bit before heading up to the castle.

      Ludwig ll had spent much time in the area as a child and teenager, as his father had built a castle (Schloss Hohenschwangau) in the town as a summer home for the family). Ludwig and his younger brother Otto spent most summers in this area, and his mother loved tracking through the surrounding alps, not a common practice for a queen in the 1800,s.

      Ludwig II was known as the fairytale king, the Swan King and the mad king, but he was loved by his subjects. He ascended to the throne at the ripe old age of 18, after his father died of Cholera. Ludwig had not been close to his father, and so had no real idea of what it meant to be King. His idea of a King was based on how they had ruled in Medieval times, which did not work well in the 1860’s as he was a constitutional monarch who had to answer to the parliament, and did not have absolute power.

      Ludwig had several passions as a young man - music, painting, poetry, opera and architecture. He formed a close relationship with the German composer Richard Wagner, who was 30+ years older than Ludwig. His favourite opera was Lohengrin by Wagner. He saw it for the first time at the age of 15, and fell in love with the story of tragic love - Wagner’s operas appealed to the king’s fantasy-filled imagination.

      Wagner had a reputation as a political radical and philanderer who was constantly avoiding creditors. He and Ludwig became close, but Wagner’s perceived extravagant and scandalous behaviour in Munich was unsettling for the conservative government, and so he was forced to leave Germany. He settled in Switzerland and was supported by Ludwig from afar.

      Ludwig had homosexual tendencies but, as a devout Catholic, he denied his true feelings, although he did have a number of close friendships with men and he never married (he was engaged to his cousin Sophie but couldn’t go through with the marriage).

      Ludwig became a recluse, avoiding contact with people as much as possible. He was very sensitive and creative and really hated Munich, and so avoided going there at all costs.

      Ludwig built three fairytale castles and had plans for a further four. He had gone into debt personally to build these castles to the tune of 7 million dollars. In fact, he did not get the interior of Neuschwanstein completed - only 6 rooms are complete and we toured them today. They are over the top and ostentatious, and reflect Ludwig’s recession into a world of fantasy and isolation.

      Ludwig was declared mad by the parliament, placed under house arrest and was dead at 40. Mystery surrounds his death. He supposedly drowned in Lake Starnberg, along with the head psychologist who had been instrumental in declaring him mad without having ever examined him (it was all based on information provided by government officials). His death is still a mystery 150 years later. There are a multitude of theories about what happened, but most of them are just pure speculation.

      After touring the furnished rooms of the castle, we decided to walk up to Marienbrücke to get a different (most spectacular) view of the castle. After that, we decided on the recommendation of our guide Sarah to hike down through the Gorge to get back to the bus. This was fantastic, with great views of a waterfall and different aspects of the castle. This took us about 50 minutes, but was worth the effort.

      The other spectacular sight we witnessed today was people paragliding off the alpine mountain situated behind and way above the castle, the weather conditions were perfect.
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    • Day 11

      High on a hill........

      September 14, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

      Today we are spending the day with family. My father’s side of the family still live in Germany, and today Anke was our guide along with her daughter Anna. Last year we caught up with Anke’s parents in Hamburg (her father is my dad’s cousin), and her brother Folke and his family but, as Anke lives in the south of Germany, we didn’t get the chance to meet up with her.

      Anke and Anna picked us up from our apartment this morning, and we headed southeast to Zugspitze, Germany’s highest mountain. We drove through several lovely Bavarian villages on our way to Zugspitze. We have been very fortunate with the weather again, as today was sunny and warm, although we knew it would be chillier up on the summit.

      We arrived and parked, and made our way up the mountain in a huge cable car or gondola 🚠. The trip was very quick and smooth. At the top of the mountain we were standing at 2,962 metres above sea level. The facilities are very good, and you have a range of viewing platforms to look at the amazing 400 plus mountain peaks in four countries - Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy.

      After checking out the views from all aspects of the viewing platforms - part of which meant we crossed over into Austria - we stopped for lunch at Panorama 2962, where the views were spectacular - possibly the best we will ever have at a restaurant. We had some traditional German fare for lunch, which was delicious and Ian tried a local limited release wheat beer that he thoroughly enjoyed.

      Following lunch, we caught another cable car to Gletscher - down the other side of the mountain. Here we found a small church, more restaurants, more stunning views and a toboggan run. This particular toboggan is called a zipfelbob, and was designed by a Bavarian. Anke, Anna and Ian had a couple of turns. I decided not to as I didn’t want to chance reinjuring myself.

      It was great to spend the day with Anke and Anna we had so much fun up on the mountain, and it was a spectacular place to visit.
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    • Day 11

      Mastering the Zipfelbob

      September 14, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

      The pictures say it all - Ian attempts to bobsled down the run. He does very well remaining upright, and incident free for the run. He reported back that he took on quite a bit of snow! Down his shirt front, and in his shoes, we weren’t properly dressed for this activity, but there were people in sandals and skirts giving it a go.Read more

    • Day 14

      Goodbye Munich - Hello Brussels

      September 17, 2019 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

      Today was a transit, or largely lost day, travelling from Munich to Brussels. We have really enjoyed our time in Munich, especially catching up with family. Anke was so hospitable, and a great tour guide, and it was lovely to meet her kids Anna and Max. Hopefully we will keep in touch - Anke and I have said we will make a concerted effort!

      We packed and left our apartment about 10.30, and poor Ian had to carry the cases down 4 flights of stairs, as the elevator was still out of action. Thank goodness the elevator was working last week when we arrived. We made our way to the HBF (main station), purchased tickets to the airport, found the right platform and waited for our train. It takes about 30 minutes to get out to Munich airport on the train, and is an easy trip, as the German trains are well designed with plenty of room for suitcases and nice wide aisles to walk down.

      Check-in only involved a bag drop off, which was quick and easy. The biggest issue for us at the moment is going through security - when we left London and went through the body scanner, we both had to be patted down in places a stranger shouldn’t be touching! Ian also copped a very thorough bag search. In Munich, I was fortunate to only get a very light “pat down”, however Ian once again was patted down to the third degree, and then he removed his shoes which then went back through the X-ray machine. He has decided he will remove his shoes from the start on our next Security check to see if it makes a difference.

      We wandered around Munich airport, had some lunch and then waited for our Lufthansa flight to Brussels. We boarded on time and left on schedule. It is only a short flight, equivalent to the Melbourne to Sydney flight, however we ended up getting in late, as when the plane was coming in to land the pilot suddenly aborted the landing and picked up speed, and had to circle around to come in to land. The pilot told us the reason for this was that during their first approach they were coming in too fast (according to Lufthansa standards)!

      Finally we landed, and then had to walk a long way to collect our bags, and exit. My cousin Brigitte was there to meet us, as she had kindly offered to pick us up and drive us into the city. What a disaster that turned out to be! What should have been a 30 to 45 minute drive took 150 minutes. Every which way we went there was gridlock. Brigitte’s navigation system kept recalculating and rerouting us, but to no avail. To make matters worse, there were drivers that were behaving badly, trying to cut in, driving up the street on the wrong side of the road and then trying to push back in, blocking intersections etc. Brigitte said it was the worst she has ever seen it, and that’s a big call for Brussels - it turned out that it was caused by a car catching on fire in the centre of the city.

      We finally made it to a parking complex about 300 metres from our Airbnb apartment, and made our way over cobblestones to the Galerie de la Reine. This is part of the Galeries Royals Saint- Hubert, which were designed and built by architect Jean-Pierre Cluysenaer between 1846 and 1847. The galleries consist of two major sections, each more than 100 metres in length. The main sections of the Gallerie Du Roi and Gallerie de la Reine (meaning King and Queen’s Gallery) are separated by a colonnade at the point where Rue des Bouchers crosses the Gallery complex. This bend was included to make the Galleries feel longer and break up the repetition of arches, pilasters and windows.

      We made our way to number 10, and was buzzed in by our host. Unfortunately, we had to climb up 3 floors to our apartment and, once again, Ian carried both our suitcases. After meeting Sarah, who gave us a quick tour of the apartment (which is huge), we headed out for dinner to a favourite Italian place just around the corner, as we were all starving and in need of a glass of red! Especially Ian.

      We had a lovely dinner at Sole D’italia in Rue des Bouchers, consisting of wood fired pizza with an Italian red, after which we walked Brigitte back to her car before heading to the apartment to settle in. In the evening the Gallerie is lit up, which looks lovely. It is open 24 hours a day, but is patrolled by security guards so is quite safe. The supermarket had closed and so we haven’t bought any supplies - we will go out for breakfast in the morning and then grab some supplies for the remainder of our stay here. I love looking out the windows of the apartment at the beautiful architecture of the gallerie and the view out of our loo window is amazing.
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    • Day 10

      Munich

      January 1, 2020 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 3 °C

      3 nights spent in Munich was a lovely ending to 2 years of living in the UK. We got to explore the parts of Munich that we didn’t have time when at Oktoberfest the year before. We let off firecrackers, ate bulk pretzels caught up with friends and drank beautiful German beer!Read more

    • Day 6

      Hallo München

      March 4, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 0 °C

      Longish (5 hours), but comfortable, journey from Berlin to Munich. Sadly, my seat had no window, and the people in front were using the coat hanger thing, so couldn't even get glimpses out that small gap. One of my favourite things about train travel is watching the world go by - the changes in landscape, the differences in buildings, and the glimpses of people in different environments. But it did mean I got a good amount of reading done and finished my first book of the trip (The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferante).

      This hotel is very lovely. I think it's quite new (or newly refurbished if not new entirely). Beautiful wallpaper and some high-end touches, including a Nespresso (type) machine (sadly don't think that will give me booked water for my herbal teas) and a fridge and wider than normal single bed with three different types of pillow. And the receptionist was very nice and printed my Bologna Book Fair ticket, which I had forgotten to print before I left Stroud.

      I ventured out to look for food and wandered toward the old town (I'm pretty sure). I caught glimpses of a lot of beautiful old buildings so I am going to have a wonderful explore tomorrow. And there should be a bunch of photos tomorrow, I think.

      I'm also planning to go to a museum because it has a €1 entrance fee on a Sunday (have been avoiding them so far, because they're all charging over €20 and I would REALLY need to know there are things I want to see inside to pay that (on this particular trip, anyway). (Sidenote, we are so lucky at how many of our museums in the UK are free to enter - let's make sure they stay that way.)

      I went Italian again (definitely my default!) and was definitely a non-vegan day, as well. Spinach and ricotta ravioli and Tiramisu. I am pleased with how much I have been able to eat vegan, though. I hope I'm not fed up with Italian food by the time I get to Italy.

      And then I navigated myself back to the hotel, at night, without needing to check my phone once. I was especially proud of that, as I was constantly getting myself turned around in Berlin, even with Google Maps.

      Only here tonight and tomorrow night and then off to Italy.
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    • Day 62

      Day 62 - Munich

      August 17, 2023 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

      After breakfast, we made our way to the BMW Museum. We travelled via the U-Bahn, the underground rail network in Munich. It was a quick trip of only six stops, including a line change.

      The BMW Museum is dedicated to the history of the BMW brand and showcases some of the company's most iconic cars. It was a very different set up to the museum from when I was here in 2011. This year, BMW is celebrating 100 years of making motorcycles, so there was a significant display of motorbikes on display. However, there were still all of the BMW cars you would expect to see on display.

      From the BMW Museum, we walked over the road to BMW Welt, a multi-use exhibition centre designed to showcase BMW automobiles, technology and services. We also enquired about the factory tour. Unfortunately, August is a holiday month, so the factory was closed, and there were no tours.

      We then wandered over to see the 1972 Munich Stadium. The Olympic precinct is still an active area, where the public uses the Olympic Swimming Pool, and the Olympic Stadium hosts athlete and football events.

      We then travelled on the U-Bahn to Marienplatz, which is in the Old Town of Munich. Here we caught up with Jenny and Dave. Our sister-in-law, Debbie, had told us that her sister and brother-in-law were also in Munich. It was nice to catch up with them and chat about our respective trips over dinner.
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    • Day 13

      Feb 4 - The Antarctic Exhibit

      February 3, 2020 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 7 °C

      No wakeup call this morning!! Rats, I was awake at 6:06 a.m. I was the first of our group down for breakfast - I ate in the lovely solarium where we dined last night.

      We have to be on the bus by 9:30 a.m. I got a load of washing in before we left - there are free laundry facilities here. More hotels need that feature.

      Our stop for this morning was the Antarctic Centre. Christchurch is one of five gateway cities for Antarctic expeditions . Lindsay was our guide.

      Antarctica is Earth's southernmost continent. It contains the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14,200,000 square kilometres (5,500,000 square miles), it is the fifth-largest continent and nearly twice the size of Australia. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages 1.9 km (1.2 mi; 6,200 ft) in thickness, which extends to all but the northernmost reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula.

      Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Most of Antarctica is a polar desert, with annual precipitation of 200 mm (7.9 in) along the coast and far less inland; there has been no rain there for almost 2 million years, yet 80% of the world freshwater reserves are stored there. The temperature in Antarctica has reached −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F), though the average for the third quarter (the coldest part of the year) is −63 °C (−81 °F). Anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at research stations scattered across the continent. Organisms native to Antarctica include many types of algae, bacteria, fungi, plants, protista, and certain animals, such as mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades. Vegetation, where it occurs, is tundra. Ongoing experiments are conducted by more than 4,000 scientists from many nations.

      Our first activity was a ride in a Hägglund, a tracked all-terrain amphibious Antarctic vehicle that’s been built to conquer the rough terrain on the ice. These vehicles were originally developed by Hägglunds in 1974 for the Swedish Army. We bumped and swayed over an obstacle course designed to simulate Antarctic conditions - steep hills, boulders, crevasses, and corduroy roads. Great fun, but definitely not for the faint of heart or the weak of stomach.

      Inside the building, we suited up in parkas and booties for a session in the Blizzard Room. Now, for a Canadian girl, standing in -8 deg C with a windchill factor of -18 deg C isn't exactly a new experience. Can't say I've stood around in those temps in shorts before, though. The point of it all was to show the effect that the ferocious winds in the Antarctic have on the temperatures. Lindsay must have no nerve endings in his arms because he stood there with us in short sleeves.

      Our next stop was to see a 4-D movie which is a 3-D movie with special effects like shaking chairs, water spray and fake snow. The photography in the movie of the Antarctic was fabulous.

      Our next stop was to see the little blue penguins. The are birds at this facility are ones that have been injured by getting caught in fishing nets or attacked by animals or even by humans. They are generally nocturnal creatures, so they were pretty placid.

      We are all now much more knowledgeable about this huge continent that serves to keep our planet rotating properly on its axis.

      For all you animals lovers that are following along, there was a Husky Dog exhibit outside. The story of exploration in Antarctica is the story of the husky. When the bitter cold and brutal conditions proved unsuitable for horses, explorers looked for a tough, intelligent and hardworking travelling companion. Huskies stepped up to the job and provided the main form of transport, pulling sleds for teams right up until 1994.
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    • Day 1

      Meghalaya

      February 14, 2020 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 5 °C

      My journey has finally gotten started. We are at the airport in Houston. Rickey saw this luggage cart to put our luggage on so we wouldn’t have to carry it throughout the airport. It was $6 and well worth it! But... the downside of that is we found out at the information desk that we couldn’t take the cart on the subway. A lady at the desk said it would take almost a mile to walk to our terminal. The airport is huge so it felt like we walked 5 miles. Rickey and I agreed we should get in shape lol. But the walk wasn’t bad. When we get to the terminal, we found out they wasn’t open until 2pm so we had to wait 2 hours to check in! So we decided to eat at Starbucks!Read more

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