Munich with the Boys

I've heard Munich is a modernish, clean and fun city and one that I must visit in Germany, so I was excited to go. Although my departure for this 5 hour train ride came only about 5 hours after I arrived in Vallendar after a 6 hour journey through RyanAir from Milan. But I guess it was now or never. It was great because Oscar had his cousin who lived in Munich so we had someone to stay with. A first on this trip for me.

So the train left late, about 8, but it was a great ride down south right next to the Rhine River. It was beautiful to see the sunset along the river and highlight each little castle located on the hills on the way. It was crazy how many small castles there were dotting the hillside of the Rhine, way above all those tiny towns.  I watched till the glare of the night didn't allow me to see out the window anymore. (I also was feeing Bertan and I McDonalds ah! 2nd time in Europe so its ok).

So we got in pretty late and just had a beer with his cousin the first night. This is when I discovered that his cousin has the most ultimate salsa music collection I have ever seen. And it was all on vinyl! He also made me dance with him "salsa". But honestly I couldn't follow anything that he was doing and it didn't look like salsa lol. But it was still great to see somebody had a passion. So the next morning (spotted and awesome blue and orange 69 Porsche) we went out the the New City Hall to see the Glockenspiel. This amazing clock that at a certain time danced and jousted. Although kinda strange now, it was a great idea and I could imagine the crowds back in the day. It was such a nice sunny spring day outside. We went into a great church nearby that had the "Devil's Footprint" which I thought was a great story! We continued to walk around the town (my outfit looked like Sandra Dee lol) and discover small things such as another Juliet statue and chicken on a stick. Us 3 then grabbed some half liters of beer and hit the road. Checking out the places where Hitler used to have his speeches and drinking beer in public in front of a church. We posed with some lion statues that were just powerful. What has Europe done to us?

But it was great being with the two boys! We then wandered into the Hofgarden where a quant band was playing under the pavilion. It was great to hear that music fill the space. The Hofgarden was small and well organized with the State Chancellery at the top/ We saw the tomb of the forgotten soldier, ran about the garden and just enjoyed this sunny sunny day. Then it was off to the English Garden, a more disorganized but more relaxing and popular place. There were thousands of people out! We found a great spot to sit for a while next to the river waiting for Oscar's cousin. It was my time to roll around on the grass as I've always wanted. There was a perfect little bridge and stream and bicycles. Next the English Garden was littered with people finally able to enjoy the weather. Thousands! You would think the way people were dressed we were at the beach. So after some intense people watching we arrived at the Chinese Pavilion  Pagoda. strange..but it was PACKED! so many people having lunch and just chillin! So we got in line for the famous sausage and pints of beer. What a pint! What a lunch! I could feel my hear stopping! although my beer was awesome because it was mixed with lemonade. Then we walked on and discovered another pavilion. They had the largest pretzels in the world here. So we got 2 and half a pint and sat by the lake. It was a great afternoon! I also had a casual leiterhosen sighting, and a small fat pub sighting. awesome.

We  back down through the garden, saw fish on the grill and all the happy people. I also encountered an awkward conversation with Oscar's cousin's gf about her bring pregnant lol. I didn't have much to say about pregnancy since I didn't know much! haha Moving on we came out through the University area which was really cool. They had new and great trendy shops and then past the giant walking man and then eventually to the Triumphal Arch which seemed just like Paris. The main street was lined with beautiful displays of flowers.  Then we saw a gorgeous tree all lit up in lights in front of a bar, but we were falling apart. Soooo tired! I could have fallen asleep walking. So we hit a coffee shop but that didn't seem to help. we did make it to the Lowenbrau brewery though and had some terrible cheese with whole onions phew! Although it was cheap, but I'll never forget Oscar eating a small radish with the largest hunk of cheese I've ever seen.

The next day Oscar's cousin took us on a road trip south of Munich. It was great to be in a car! They were parked to efficiently in the lot, 2 stacked on top of each other! The drive was great but me and the two boys could barely fit in the back seat of the small car. After an hour we arrived in Tegernee, which reminded me of Lake Como. What a serene lake and I watched the ducks swim. We walked around and hiked a nearby hill overlooking it. Then we had some lunch/ice cream and the nearby brewery. It was so hot! After we headed back to Munich. It was so nice of them to take us around. Then we went out to dinner and had a GREAT Kebab plate with the best white rice I've ever had. Then it was off to the spa. Oh the spa. We. were. naked. haha its true! together. It was so hot in our first room, and I felt like I could breathe. The room was dark and wooden and had forest music with birds chirping. It also had great lights on the wall of green that resembled falling rain. great to watch! Bertan was sweating like he was about to die, because of all his toxins he has.  Every room was great. One was SOO hot I thought I was going to die, I kept watching the clock counting down our minutes. Then the steam room was full of naked people, and they love to be wafted with a towel. It makes the steam so much hotter. This guys  kept doing over and over and it was too much! I couldn't breathe when the gust of hot air came my way. We also got to spear honey all over ourselves. weird. The water to cool ourselves which was so cold but I enjoyed dumping in on Bertan's head. We swam in the pool which was fun. I still can't believe I did that naked.. hm...by the end we were so used to the heat is was enjoyable. I remember sitting with 10 naked people in the small wooden room thinking where the hell am I? lol afterwards we I got a crappy grapefruit drink to "hydrate me".

The next day was the BMW factory which was cool! And then touring Olympic Park which was not. It was outdated 1972, and it also was a cloudy rainy day. But the BMW factory was great to see some cars, ride some motorcycles and see some robots.  especially the small italian car. We trained back to Munich and had a great lunch in the market. Mmmm Pork Back, sauerkraut and something mashed..and Coke.

Next was the Deutches Museum which I really wanted to go to. Great aeronautics exhibit and space exhibit. The music one was my favorite along with the atom section. Great find for free I might add! At 5pm when it closed we walked around the outskirts of the English Garden and around a building I just can't remember. Then back down the famous shopping street.

Our last stop was the Hofbrauhaus. The most famous brewery in Munich. We went in kinda early, stalled at Starbucks, but we were too excited. We sat at a great spot in the mall hall, opposite a table obviously full of regulars. All men dressed up in German gear with their own private steins and sign. amazing. We sat next to a nice couple the Oscar talked to the entire time! haha. There was a great band inside.  I had about 2-3 1/2 pints and the boys had 4-5, I wanna say more though.  The boys ordered pork knuckle wow, and I had a sausage plate that I indulged in. I remember having a mouthful of beer, pretzel, sausage, and sauerkraut. I was going to die in heaven.  We all got pretty tipsy and it was a great time! (expect for when that guy tried to hit on me and Bertan went nuts haha). We were some of the last people to go, oscar, the drunkest lol.

The next day, our last day, we headed to the Glockenspiel to watch it dance. Great, but after 5 minutes of cramming my neck up I was ready for it to end. Then danced and jousted and finally the bird chirped to end the party. We trekked through the English Garden one more time with our luggage to see the "surfers riding the river" but no luck. Then it was back to Vallendar! 
Munich was such a pleasant clean city, my favorite in Germany by far.

A Trip to Prague

Prague I've been hearing for years is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I agree. It was a bit smaller than I expected, but it had this strange atmosphere to it. Gloomy at times. This was the first trip Bertan and I were on our own so I was super excited to finally travel somewhere other than Germany with him!

We arrived really lat eon Friday night. March 25th. So we just  taxied back to Galileo Hotel. There was no light to see anything. We arrived to find the smallest old woman to greet us and give us our key. The room was small in space but the ceilings were so tall. We had great windows that opened out onto the street. I loved it.

On our first day we went straight to the Old Town Square. Starting at the top of the street by the National Museum, it was very exciting to see the path lined with stores and people, and of course food carts. We stopped to have a fried cheese sandwich, a Prague staple. It was alright. Next, I couldn't deny the most bright red sausage I have ever seen. I should have, for it did injustice to my stomach later on.  We stumbled pass the sex museum and finally entered the Old Town Square. I was excited to see the 600 year old Astronomical Clock that was still working! The square was fabulous. Showcasing the most famous spires of the Church of Our Lady before Tyn. The buildings were amazing, something I have never seen before. Such dark and gothic colors, aggressive. Or maybe it just was the pointy spires. Our first day was quite gloomy which made the first look at the St. Charles Bridge creepy. The statues on the bridge looked weathered and gloomy. But this added to the presence of them I think. It was great to finally be able to walk across the bridge and admire every saint and patron saint protecting it. I love how the statues displayed bits of gold! A man playing the accordion and the bridge band did it all justice.

Onward we passed the Franz Kafka tribute. A bust of him mounted on a street corner. He was born here! I was also very pleased to know that Prague was the inspiration for The Metamorphosis, which makes total sense given the gloomy and sad theme of the book. Just like Prague today. It was also the first book I ever read in college, ENC101 so it has a special place in my heart. Next we discovered the Jewish Quarter. Prague has the highest Jewish population in all of Europe. The gravestones were all mushed together because nobody had the decency to bury these people properly. They were only allowed to be in the area "dedicated" to them. Next DINNER! We went to a highly recommended restaurant close to the hotel. It was such a small local place. We started with stuffed peppers full of feta cheese. OMG.  Next the Czech Pan. A bacon lover's delight and one the heaviest things I have ever eaten. Bacon and Gnocchi in such a thick sauce. It was lit underneath with fire. Delicious, could barely finish. But soon after I had some terrible vodka to pre-game with and I was lucky enough to see it again. lol The worst thing I have ever thrown up. Last, we went to visit the largest club in Central Europe. 5 stories high! It was such a dirty sweaty nightclub full of Czech teens. But very interesting. Each floor had a different theme music and we even were able to go to "Black Music"!..an actual sign. We visited the laser light room where it was a small room with mirrors and a crazy lazer show theme to classical music like Beethoven. So awesome. We even caught "I had the time of my life" in the disco room.

The next day was much sunnier so we decided to climb to the Prague Castle. It was a beautiful climb showcasing the orange rooftops of Prague. The castle entrance was great and then we were able to see St. Vitus Cathedral. It had one of the most beautiful insides I have seen in any European church. The stained glass was great. (bertan has his favorite picture here).  We decided to climb ANOTHER cathedral but this was way worth it. The up close view of the spires was magnificent and the view of the St. Charles Bridge from up top was unforgettable.  Then we had some lunch. A Giant Pork Knuckle. The noise of its fat squishing as I poke it will haunt me forever. At least we had a cute little table.

Next Bertan and I played in the Park next to castle. Did some rolling on the grass. It was so much fun. We walk up the hill and got another great view of the city of 1000 spires. We tried to count them all, we I tried. We stumbled upon a Magical Cavern. Only 5 Coronas. Of course. It was so creepy. It was like a husband a wife who had a obsession with mystical creatures and turned their house in to a colorful cavern with strange painting of horses and fairies on the walls. It was like walking into A Neverending Story. We were the only ones there, besides two men sitting on a couch giving out complimentary sangria. Pass. Although it was one of the most unexpected interesting places I have ever been. We then crossed the St. Charles Bridge just as the lights turned of. Magical. The real appeal of city. Now I can see the true shadows of the statues guarding the bridge and watching over us in the sunset. Accompanied by a violinist it was unforgettable. Just what I had been waiting for. The lights sparked off the bridge, off the castle, and onto the River.
Then we went to U Fleku. A beer hall recommend on my 1000 places to see before you die. Great place. Dark dark beer and 11%! Horrible shots of who knows what liquor. But great beer and atmosphere. They did have the most adorable old man accordion player.

The last day was so sunny and blue. We walked around a but more and discovered the "Dancing Building" built in inspiration of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. We then took a boat cruise which was so nice. We were able to go under the St. Charles Bridge. Although the cruise was extremely slow. It was nice to see Prague from "a different view." And get some sun!  After the cruise we had a crazy craving for chinese. Found some and ate it outside our hotel like homeless people, and we were almost late to our flight. I guess Chinese could be a good reason to miss a flight.