Ah, so as I sit on a train to Salzburg listening to my Sound of Music soundtrack (and getting very very excited!), we are surrounded by jubilant German football fans who are celebrating their win in the Euro Cup quarter finals last night. We have absolutely loved Munich – here's why --
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| Munich and Castle Neuschwans |
We arrived by train, a little late, as we had slept in a bit in the castle. We took the S-Bahn three stops to Isartoplatz and dragged our luggage a few blocks over the larger German block sidewalks and arrived at Pension Beck. Our hotel was pretty nice, great location and great price. We got settled in and set off to find dinner. I had read that there was a great restaurant in the middle of the English Garden so we decided to head North. The English Garden is the biggest city-owned park in Europe and is absolutely beautiful. Lots and lots to do from laying out nude to playing frisbee, to riding the equastrian trails, etc. After walking for a few minutes we heard the sound of rushing water and went to check it out. We discovered that not only was there a fast paced river running through the park, but that as it entered the park through a bridge the water was tumultuous enough that you could go surfing! There were about five or six guys in wetsuits taking turns leaping off the edge of the river bank, surfing the water until they wiped out and swam for shore while the next guy leapt out into the river. Awesome!
We found the restraunt we were looking for and enjoyed a traditional Munchen meal, and set out to explore the rest of the city. We quickly found one of the city squares – Marianplatz, took lots of pictures, found marzipan icecream for Beth (!!!), and made our way to the HaufBraus House – which did not disappoint. The beer hall was full of rowdy, good-spirited tourists along with a fun, more traditional German quartet.
The next morning we set out for Neuschwanstein Castle (yes, the Disney Castle). It was a longer train ride out than we had anticipated but proved to be well worth it. We got to look at more German countryside as we neared the Bavarian Alps. Upon arrival in Fussen we had to take a fifteen minute bus ride that was so full of people it was standing room only. We bought tickets for the English tour of the castle and opted to hike up the mountain to reach the castle (no horse drawn buggy for us, it's not as romantic as it may sound). As we reached the top we realized how beautiful the view was going to be when we reached the top. Our best pictures came from the windows of the upper floors of the castle. There were beautiful views of clear mountain lakes, snowy mountains, summer waterfalls, just Beautiful.
On the way down the mountain I think I had my favorite meal so far – minced pork (basically like a pork meat loaf) smothered in mushrooms and creamy sauce with “egg noodles” - although their version of egg noodles is very different from ours. We caught a bus to the train and headed back feeling very accomplished.
We got back into Munich around 7:30 and had a light snack and then headed to the HaufBraus house again for once last taste of Munich – only to discover that there was a German football game on and that the HaufBraus House was defnitely the place to be to watch this event! The cheers were deafening as the German team scored two points in the first half – the whole place (which is full of over a thousand people,) went crazy. We managed to inch our way to a table that had a good view of a TV and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and the excitemment.
Munich is one of the cities that has its own category – like St. Petersburg and Vienna. Each are cities that we could never begin to explore all of the museums and sights within one visit. We struggled with whether or not to spend Thursday exploring the city or making a day trip to the castle – although ultimately I'm glad we chose to go out into the countryside, but Munich is certainly a city to which we will have to return! Overall the city had a very laid-back, but cheerful feel to it and you certainly could sense the grandeur, pride and strength of the city from the majestic buildings that lined each street. Munich was a very classy yet welcoming city...
And now, as the Germans launch into another rousing song, I am going to drown them out with my Sound of Music soundtrack and keep my eye on the mountains that are growing bigger and bigger as we approach Salzburg! :)
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