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Europe 2016

August - September 2016
A 23-day adventure by Sheldon Read more
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  • TravelerEurope 2016
    1
    Day 6

    Friday - Nuremberg!

    August 19, 2016 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 22 °C

    So somehow we managed to wake up at some ridiculously early hour on Friday morning to catch the five hour train to Nuremberg. Very comfortable, even though we were pretty much zombies at this point. (*TESSA* I risked my guts by ordering a dish from a german menu without knowing what it would be and a dumpling soup arrived. I was so happy!) We also enjoyed sharing our cabin with a couple of dogs, as it's common for people to bring their dogs on the train (which is legal too).

    Our hotel was a very short distance from the train station (and there is also a pub downstairs (*T* the cutest pub ever!!) which we took advantage of later). After a short time settling in, we did a walking tour of Nuremberg. It is a beautiful, picturesque city and Tessa couldn't keep the smile off her face the entire time. (*T* so much beauty, so much learning, so much frankonian pride and so many sausages - how could I be unhappy?!) We grabbed some beers and local Fraconian wines as well as the local speciality Rostbratwurst, small sausages served in threes.

    Following some shopping (*T* hellas yes, I bought a freaking amazing jacket) and a late three hour nap (in which we slept through our alarms), we headed downstairs to our hotel's pub for drinks and more meat than you could shack a stick at (*T* and gravy, sticky dumplings, etc. The highlight was a slow cooked peppered steak a lot like brisket. Let's face it, I'm here for the food). I had my first litre of beer of the trip, which will hopefully not be my last.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2016
    Day 7

    So long Nuremberg

    August 20, 2016 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    (*TESSA*) Today I became more aware of Nuremberg's role in the power base of the Third Reicht. The impossibility of doing justice to the Holocaust, and the tension between trying to achieve justice and moving on from war, is more apparent to me here. The home to Nazi rallies is reminiscent of a set from Mordor. The ferver of the people for their Fuhrer as shown in museums is frightening and repugnant. The loss to German culture is palpable, with Germans and others having taken so many Jewish lives, as well as Polish, homosexual, disabled and others' lives. What might Nuremberg (and the world) be like if German people hadn't radicalised and murdered so many Jewish people?Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2016
    Day 8

    Munich - Sunday

    August 21, 2016 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    (*TESSA*) I love Munich. The buildings are gorgeous, the multiculturalism reminds me of home and even the TGI-style Barvarian we settled for at dinner (due to a month's closure of our 1st option), was pretty ace. Wine goes down so smoothly here. Sheldon's face lights up whenever he can order beer at a litre at a time.
    We wandered, ate and visited sights, including the lux Residenz complex - home to various royals until the end of WWI. A relaxing day.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2016
    Day 9

    Munich - Monday

    August 22, 2016 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Boy, I have been slack in posting on our adventures in Europe. In my defence I was drinking at least 1.5 litres of beer a day in Munich so I was usually feeling a little snoozy by the end of the day.

    On Monday Tessa and I went to the Dachau concentration camp on a walking tour with a guide. As Dachau was the only concentration camp that existed from the beginning of the Third Reich to the end of the Second World War, it was interesting (if that's the right word to describe something so horrific) to see how the camp evolved over time. The picture of the camp that I've added below is a sculpture made in memorial of the victims of the camp.

    In the afternoon I went on a Third Reich walking tour through Munich with an Italian guide Sabine, who also happened to be a beer sommelier (beer expert basically - she gave some excellent bar and restaurant suggestions). We walked past places such as the Feldherrnhalle where Hitler's attempted Beer Hall Putsch was ended by Police gunfire in 1923 and the Hofbräuhaus where some of the early meetings of the Nazi party were held (it also has this cool section where regulars have their steins kept locked away for their personal use when they come to drink). After Hitler took power, the Feldherrnhalle became a shrine to the 16 men who died in the Beer Hall Putsch and everyone was required to give the Hitler salute as they went past, but there was an alley nearby that some people used as a shortcut to avoid giving the salute. It was nicknamed "Shirkers' Alley" and it now is a memorial to the German resistance.

    For dinner Tessa and I went to this lovely restaurant recommended by Sabine during the walking tour for a Bavarian Plate (bits and pieces of everything). The duck was basically the best I've ever had, just so much flavour!    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2016
    Day 10

    Munich - Tuesday

    August 23, 2016 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C

    Big day! First we hit Schloss Nymphenberg which was the summer palace for the former ruling Bavarian family, the Wittelsbachs. The whole palace complex and the rooms inside are just gorgeous. One of the rulers even had a room of beauties. He had appointed an artist to paint all the most beautiful women of Munich. Tessa loved the insight into women's fashion and styling of the time, albeit uneasy about objectification. Here are our two favourites of the room (Tessa's is the one with the cool hat).

    The grounds of the palace were massive. There were little ornate buildings for hanging out nearer the main lake and one with a bathing pool. There was also a museum for royal carriages and sleighs in the old stables. Tessa couldn't believe that actual royal carriages were even fancier than the ones in Disney cartoons.

    Afterwards we wandered over to a very large beer garden that served very large beers. The place was nice apart from a very grumpy German woman who was extremely unpleasant to Tessa when she tried to order some food, because Tessa had only limited German. That didn't stop us getting drunk and buying ourselves some lederhosen and a dirndl. No, there are no photos of us wearing these but we are planning to attend an Oktoberfest event when we return to Melbourne so stay tuned!

    Because we are tourists, we had to have at least one drink at the Hofbräuhaus (I was still drunk so I had to buy an overpriced stein too). From there we went to the Haxnbauer for some pork knuckle which was delicious. Then we went home and collapsed.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2016
    Day 11

    Prague - Wednesday

    August 24, 2016 in Czech Republic ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Wednesday began with another long train trip from Munich to Prague which we are getting used to by now.

    When we arrived we attempted to buy tickets for a tram from the station to our hotel but we eventually gave up due to confusion and took the easy option of a taxi. The hotel has a lovely view of the castle and the river and we ordered room service for lunch in our laziness. We wandered around the cobbled streets in the afternoon while enjoying an apparent Prague desert specialty.

    We went to a vegetarian restaurant for dinner which also had the option of an aroma dinner for breatharians, so the place was kind of kooky but the salad dinners were excellent (we needed a break from our constant pork knuckle and sausage diet). We finished up with a couple of cocktails at a bar around the corner where I had absinthe for the first time, properly served with water melted sugar and everything. It was nice, but I'm not sure I'll make it a regular thing.    Read more

  • TravelerEurope 2016
    Day 12

    Birthday in Prague

    August 25, 2016 in Czech Republic ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

    (*TESSA*) We had a bit of a night out the eve of our birthday so we slept spread out across two queen beds, air con on, in sheer luxury. The breakfast delivered to our room included cold baked beans wand warm yogurt, but we didn't care. The staff kindly sent us two birthday bottles of sparkling wine. I wrote thesis uninterrupted for a few hours as my birthday gift to me.
    We ditched our luggage and legged it up to the castle, avoiding an anti-EU protest on the way. We saw a little of what it would have been like living here before and during the war through a toy museum that included doll houses, farm and war scenes.
    After a couple of beers, aperol spritzes and a few kms walking in the wrong direction, we were crossing back over the hugely popular Church Bridge. We snoozed in a park, marvelling at the mini and huge dogs here, before heading back to our hotel for dinner.
    I was homesick for Melbourne's city grid, our kitty, friends, family and Clayton's Ping's dumplings - but it's hard to truely want to leave Prague.
    We slept on an overnight train to Krakow.    Read more

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