The Johnsons do Bavaria

The last leg of the trip....München!

So on the way from Füssen to Munich, Rick Steves recommended we stop at this Monastery about an hour outside Munich. Considering that Rick hadn't led us wrong the whole trip, we did this. This place is called Kloster Andechs and the monks have been brewing beer since the 1200's. We walked into the church and went to the 'cafeteria' which was packed. It was raining and gross outside but the entire place was full! We had a hard time finding a table. We finally found one in a corner outside next to a table of younger people all in dirndl's and lederhosen....welcome to Bavaria.  Katy got the traditional helles bier and I got an apple beer that was delicious. We also got some traditional Bavarian food. 

Dad's haxe and kartoffelsalat are in the back and Katy and I shared a giant bretzel, a weißwurst and some paprikafrischkäse. Suuuuuper lecker! It was a great pit stop to wait out the downpour that happened once we got there. 

We rolled into Munich and found our apartment, met with the owner, Martin and settled in. It was a nice place about 10 minute walk from the closest trains and 1 minute to the tram. 

Katy and I walked to a grocery store to buy some things for breakfasts for the few days we would be staying. 

Katy and Dad were both really wiped out but I really wanted to go see the city, It was Saturday night! So I convinced them and we found the closest train and headed to the city center. Once we got off the train, we immediately heard cheers for FC Bayern and saw tons of fans. We had no idea what was going on but figured maybe there was a game or something. We kept walking and eventually hit Marienplatz where there was a giant rally for FC Bayern because they had just won the Bundesliga Championship. Big deal. There was music, drunk people everywhere and it was basically a giant party at the city hall. Apparently we had just missed the team who came out on the balcony and greeted everyone. 

It was madness. 

We walked on a bit and found a quieter place to sit and have a beer. We also got some dessert :)

 We meandered our way back to the train and back to the apartment. What a way to see Munich for the first time. 

The next day Dad and I set out early to Dachau. We went to the memorial site of the concentration camp which was truly an experience. We got there around 10 and went into the museum first which was housed in the building used for intake and all that, sort of a headquarters. There was so much information there that when we walked out, it was 1:00! It was bone chilling to see the shower rooms, the rooms where the prisoners first came and got their heads shaved and everything. They had comparison pictures of what it looked like then and also testimonies of all the rooms we walked in. It was certainly hard to hear the words of the awful things that happened in the very room we were standing in. We walked around the grounds as it was pouring which gave the site a whole different look. It was hard to imagine having to stand there for 'roll call' while it was raining as hard as it was or snowing or whatever the weather conditions were. It's one thing to learn about the horrors that happened there but it was a completely different experience to see it and imagine what really happened. It made things come to life for me and I was deeply saddened seeing it. 

These words also seem a lot more cruel now that I understand them.

We were supposed to meet Katy at Marienplatz at 2:30 and 45 minutes later after a silent ride back from Dachau, I met her where of course, she was annoyed we were so late, rightly so. It was still raining and  after explaining the situation I asked her "what do you want to do?" Her response- "Well, I need a beer" Of course I didn't reject the idea after the things I had learned that morning so we wandered over to the famous Hofbräuhaus which is very close to Marienplatz. It was of course packed and we wandered around to find a table. 

We each got a liter and some things to snack on. Katy went on a spargelsuppe binge during her stay in Germany so she got some of that. 

We hung out there and chatted about our visits to Dachau, she had been a couple years prior. We also pondered on the horrors our Grandad must have seen since he was there as a soldier about a week after it was liberated. 

A fun fact about the Hofbräuhaus is that the "regulars" get to lock up their bier steins and keep them there. Although it is conceived as a place just for tourists, and it is full of them, it appears there are also regular Bavarian guys that come and enjoy drinking their hofbräu out of THEIR stein. 

There's a little room off to the side where they are locked up and a sink so they can wash it before and after drinking. My kind of bar. 

There was also a table of what seemed like locals sitting near us and they were playing some sort of daring game because they were nothing but laughs and one had to come over and say something to Katy about FC Bayern and knowing nothing about beer. I couldn't get all of it, he was clearly embarrassed and speaking a mile a minute. Fun nonetheless. 

When we left the Hofbräuhaus the sun was out! It was a beeracle!

We walked towards the train and into Marienplatz and the glockenspiel was spieling so we stayed and watched it. Overrated I must say but as far as moving clocks go, its impressive. If for nothing else, for it's size. 

Katy and I in front of the glockenspiel.

The next day was kind of a long one. There was more rain so we decided to take the car back in the morning and make our way to the Deutsches Museum. It's a bit outdated but interesting to learn about how all kinds of things are made, a.k.a. my dad loved it and Katy and I were real bored. However, it was a great thing to do on a rainy day. We wandered around and most of the signage was in just German so that meant a lot of looking and not a lot of reading, which was fine with me. At this point in the trip I'd had my share of museums for a while. 

We were staying near the Paulaner Brewery and Katy and I walked over there for dinner that night. It was fancier than we thought but the food and beer were delicious. We sampled a couple Bavarian things and everything was delicious. 

German meatballs (I always forget the name), wursts mit sauerkraut, and the best käsespatzle I've ever had.

After we left there we decided to do a little bar hopping and ended up in a cocktail bar with the craziest cocktail list ever, about 15 pages! The bartender chatted with us and it was cool to watch him make drinks. We went to about 3 more places on our walk home and got in around 1. That was our big night out. Nothing crazy but it was really fun to explore with Katy. 

We went to the BMWWelt the next day and looked at some awesome cars and then walked over to the Olympia park. I would have liked to wander around a bit more but it was cold and we were all tired. 

That night Katy and I ventured around near the Hauptbahnhof and found a nice Italian place. We sat outside for some delicious pasta, which I had been craving, and some beers. We decided that we wanted to try all the main brands of beer in Bavaria. We had Hofbräu, Paulaner, Franziskaner, Hacker Pschorr, Löwenbräu, Augustiner, and Andechs. I don't think I'm forgetting any.... We're both fans of weißbier but we tried to taste everything we could. One of the beer capitals of the world, why not. Dad later joined us and we had to move inside because it was so cold. The inside was so fancy with chandeliers and fancy tables but it was basically a nice pizza place. Dad later ordered a pizza that we both thought he would have trouble eating but it turns out, he's a pizza champion of sorts. 

Our last day there was the best day. We FINALLY had sun and so we did a bike tour recommended by Rick Steves and it was awesome. The tour guide was great and very cool and we got to see a lot that we would have missed otherwise. 

We started in Marienplatz 

We saw the statue of Bavaria and dad for to be a part of the reenactment...he's the Lion. 

We saw a very cool old church across from the palace of the Bavarian royal family. All carved marble or something. So beautiful. 

Of course, the Isar.

The English Gardens. 

We stopped at the Chinese Tower biergarten for lunch which was enjoyable. We got to eat some yummy wurst and get a liter of beer. We all sat together so it was nice to get to know some of the people on the tour with us. We sat with 2 Australian couples that were traveling around together. They were headed off to Croatia the next day. 

The surfers on the Isar. 

We saw a lot more but I don't remember all the details about everything so I'm not going to post about them but lots of history and culture. The tour took about 4 hours and it was so nice to see the city from a bike. 

Our last stop was a nice part of the Isar in the garden.

After the tour we walked around and did some souvenir shopping. We went to the Viktualienmarkt, an open market in the middle of Munich with a cool biergarten. We walked into the English gardens a bit more which was really nice and Katy and I got a beer and we all sat on the river and enjoyed the sun and the water. 

A side note: here is an example of how different Bavaria is from the rest of Germany. 

here is a maibaum in Ahrweiler

aaaaaand in bavaria

....weirdos. 

We stopped by the Hacker Pschorr haus for a beer and to rest our feet and enjoy the sun. 

We finished the day by randomly stopping at this burger place, beLicious, near Rosenheimerplatz to get dinner. Mostly because Katy had to pee and it ended up being an awesome decision. The chef was American and the waiter was really cool and chatted with us for a while. I also had a big crush on him. We sat there and hung out for quite a while and it was a really great place to end the last night in Munich. 

It was a really nice trip as a family and although there were times where we may have wanted to kill each other, we had a great time together. It is a memory I will always cherish and of course it was wonderful to be with family after 9 months of unfamiliar faces. We made the best of the rain and basked in the sun when we had it. 

Of course, I couldn't leave Bavaria without my very own dirndl....

Prost aus München, meine Freundin. 

Johnson family Vacay week 2

SO as to be continued....
We left Ramersbach Saturday morning and went to the Nürburgring to watch Florian race and afterwards they had their first currywurst! Both enjoyed it. After that we set off towards Münster. The drive was a lot longer than it should have been but we finally got there and the hotel was lovely. There was a cute garden that Dad and I went for a walk in and it seemed that it was kind of secluded in it's own little woods. We ventured into the city center to walk around and get some dinner. It was such a cute little city. There were TONS of bikes everywhere, the public transportation isn't so great so everyone rides a bike! There were bike paths all over and it is a fairly younger town with lots of students. I really enjoyed the one night we were there.

This was the awesome tree tunnel bike path next to the french restaurant we ate at. 

After dinner we walked back to the car and Dad wanted a coffee so he stopped in the Starbucks that was about to close. The guy working noticed he was American and asked where he was from, Dad said Chicagoland and the guy had grown up and graduated high school in Antioch! It's such a small world!

The next morning was my game. Really rough but we pulled off a win by one goal. It was cool that Dad and Katy were able to come. After the game we set off towards Stuttgart. I slept for a while and Katy drove the whole way. It was a beautiful sunny day and the drive was beautiful. 

Katy driving the Benz

The amazing yellow Rapseed fields that were alllll over the place. 

Once we got to Stuttgart we settled in and connected with Iris. Katy and I walked around the area, we stayed in Mohringen which is a little bit outside the city. We found a nice biergarten and had a yummy greek themed dinner and our first south German weißbier. It was a nice night and we sat outside and enjoyed ourselves. 

Katy and our dinner. The swan was the weirdest version of saganaki I've ever had. 

We brought Dad back his first döner and he seemed to really enjoy it. 

The next day was a busy one even though we started off not knowing what to do. Tensions were high as we tried to get the car fixed (the air didn't work) and the Mercedes place in Stuttgart (also the biggest in the world) of course didn't have time for walk-ins. We tried to go to the Frülingsfest but it wasn't open yet so we brought the car back to the hotel and hopped on the train, public transit there is very easy. We went to Königsstraße, the main street in Stuttgart and the garden there was in full bloom with people enjoying the sunshine and nice weather so we did the same. 

After that we got some lunch there and headed to the Willhelma zoo and botanical gardens. We spent the rest of the afternoon there. There were lots of greenhouses, gardens and animals to see and we really enjoyed it until the storm couds started to roll in, at which point we thought we should get ahead of it. 

This botanical garden also has the biggest magnolia tree grove in Europe. We were about a week too late to see them all in full bloom but there were still a few with blossoms to appreciate. 

Katy and I then went again for another solo dinner and stumbled upon a hidden gem for sure. The Wichtel brewery, there are about 5 in Stuttgart we later learned. We had some delicious beers and one of the best pizzas I have ever had. Germany is now in peak spargel (asparagus) season and they mostly only have white asparagus. We got a pizza with spargel, hollandaise, and cheese on it and I almost died it was so good. 

We sat up in the balcony, above the brewing stuff which there are now just for decoration. The real magic happens in the basement. 

The next day we went to the Porsche Museum which Dad was really excited about and it was pretty interesting. I at least got to see tons of cool cars and take lots of photos for Bennet :)

and we got to sit in one. 

Dad was happy about that. 

Before leaving Stuttgart we stopped by the Harley Davidson dealer so dad could buy a shirt...of course. There happened to be a Mercedes dealer next door so we stopped and had them look at the car and of course, we had to take it to the airport and switch cars. Bye Bye Mercedes. 

After that mess we drove to Heike's in Tuttlingen, about an hour. We had some kaffee and kuchen when we got there and then went out on a little adventure to see some of the surroundings. 

We hiked up to this amazing view over this valley and it was really very cool. It made me want to go hiking and camping. 

At the far end there is a church ind monastry, which we also drove to, and some very amazing camp grounds and rock climbing areas. 

This was part of Jakobs weg that crossed through the valley on the monastery grounds. I think before I die I would like to follow parts of it. It seems like a very cool experience. 

That night we had dinner, Heike made some yummy spatzle and Katy Heike and I stayed up for a while chatting and drinking some sekt which was really nice. 

The next day we went to Konstanz and walked around, hung out and had some lunch, and Dad got to step foot into Switzerland so the trip wasn't alllll Germany. 

After that we drove over to Insel Mainau, basically flower island. It's a part of land that sticks out into Lake Constance and is a giant garden that smells amazing and is just about one of the prettiest places I've ever been. We were there in peak tulip season which was perfect and made for some amazing sights. Iv'e never seen so many flowers concentrated in one area. They had all kinds of colors and designs, it was amazing. 

us and Heike and Paul at the entrance. A flower made of flowers...

They had a sequoia walk which was very cool. 

A smetterlinghaus (butterfly house) with lots of pretty flowers as well. 

Some of the tulips. 

View from the highest point, If it were clear out you could see the swiss alps a lot better.

so many flowers, it smelled so good.

me, katy, paul and heike

dad enjoyed the lawn art as well....

After Mainau it was time to say goodbye to Paul and Heike and then we set off to Meersburg via ferry. We drove the car onto the ferry, got out and walked around a little, it was a beautiful day and afternoon. 

On the ferry. 

Once we got to Meersburg we settled into our hotel which was also very nice and had a lovely patio. We walked into the high part of the city then to the low to look for a good place to eat. We had a nice walk along the lake and finally found a place in a kind of secret alley almost. We had some delicious Bodensee fish and Katy and I got some Meersburg wine. 

At dinner

The pretty sunset on the lake. 

We got some ice cream and walked around a little before heading back to the hotel. Katy and I decided to stop at this wine cellar we passed and got a bottle of Meersburg red wine to go (how great). We walked back to the hotel and hung out on the nice patio and chatted until probably too late. We outlasted Dad by about an hour and a half. 

The town is kind of split in half by a hill and there are things on the walk up the hill but there is definitely a high half of the town and a low, lakeside half. This made for some good walking. 

The next day, the rain started. We had made a date with our first au pair, Iris, who came to us when I was 7 months old! She came and picked us up and we went to her town, the next one over, Uhldingen. It's small as well and there is a beautiful church there that she brought us to. After that we stopped by her apartment which was so cute and then went to her mom's for an amazing lunch. Her mom and step dad don't speak English so they were sort of looking to me to translate and it was really hard, especially because her stepdad has a really thick swiss accent which I could barely understand. I think I did okay. The lunch was amazing and we stayed and had some wine as well and Iris's sister, Claudia, (who apparently came to visit her while she was with us) came to see us as well. It was nice that she was so happy to see us even if we didn't remember her. After lunch we went to the city center and there was a Midevil times festival going on, Dad was very interested in that. We hopped on a boat that Iris had arranged and it was sunny for this part of the day which was really great timing, little did we know this would be the last time we would see the sun for a while.... The boat was nice and we got to have some kaffee and kuchen too. 

Katy and I with Iris

The boat leaving Uhldingen. 

After that we went back to Meersburg and Dad and Iris went to go see the castle there but Katy and I stayed back and relaxed. We said bye to Iris and then the rain started. We braved it and walked in the pouring rain down to a little Italian place for some dinner. After that we walked back up and Katy and I went to get a beer and hang out at the bar across the street from our hotel, which must have been the weirdest place in Meersburg but we sat outside and enjoyed hanging out. 

The next day we set off towards Füssen which should have been an amazingly beautiful drive but there were so many clouds and so much rain that it was really a bummer. 

Of course we still stopped a few places to enjoy what the view would have been. The fog did look kind of cool but I would have enjoyed seeing some alps. 

We got to Füssen and went to town and walked around for a while. It was very cute there, if it weren't rainy..... The town was cute and it was so gross and rainy that Dad decided I needed a raincoat and we got one on sale, of course I put it on right away and enjoyed being dry for the rest of the trip. I didn't know I'd be getting so much immediate use out of it. 

We stopped and had some kaffee and then went to the hostel to check in. It was Dad's first hostel experience which was funny, he enjoyed pointing out the "bed wetters" aka little kids running around. Katy and I ventured into town when there was a break in the rain and walked around looking for a place to get something to drink and something to eat. We found a great little place and got some wine and paella that was very good. Of course, we had to steal a fork so we could bring back some for Dad. The next morning we woke up early and the weather was of course, no better. We headed out to the castles and although the weather was awful, there were still a lot of people so it was great that Rick Steves had advised Katy to get tickets. We headed up to Hohenschwangau for our tour which was great. The tour guide was really informative and energetic, lots of jokes. Hihenschwangau was the summer home of the royal family of Bavaria, where Ludwig II grew up. The castle is very fantastical and romantic. It was easy to see where he got his inspiration for Neuschwanstein. 

After that tour we walked back down and then headed up to Neuschwanstein, not a hike for the faint of heart. 

walk down from Hohenschwangau

The walk was long and we sort of all separated since it was steep and rainy and we all kind of just wanted to be at the top. It was a nice challenge for my knees though. Finally we got to the top, ate our snacks we had packed from the breakfast at the hostel and waited for our number for our tour. There were some amazing views from up there. I'm sure it would have been nicer if there were no clouds but the mist gave it a whole different feel I think. 

We got into the castle and had our tour. The inside is really something even though only 13 rooms were finished before Ludwig died. Most of the castle actually never got finished, he had huge plans. He and his psychiatrist went for a walk in the woods and both mysteriously drown in a nearby lake, construction was then put to a stop as he was spending so much of Bavaria's money. Money that now has been probably at least tripled by the tourism the castle brings. After the tour Katy and I walked over to Marienbrücke (Mary's bridge) that has a great view of the castle and surroundings. Dad wanted extra time for the walk down so he didn't join us but it was very cool to see. 

After that we walked down a different way, through the forrest which was very cool and because of allt he rain the waterfalls in there were very beautiful. 

After we met up at the bottom we said bye to the castles and headed out towards Munich!