Nymphenburg Palace, MUNICH

We noticed everyone was taking pictures inside this amazing hall with the murals, so Ben started shooting away. Seconds later, a guide rushed over to tell us "no flash" photos inside... OOPS!
Inside the "hunting house"
Brecon thought it was awesome :)

After our extensive 'stroll' through the palace, gardens, bath house, hunting house, and carriage museum, we took a refreshing nap in the van. Then we went back near the palace grounds to a very large and incredible museum. I believe it was a Man & Nature museum. Very interesting exhibits on rocks, dinosaurs, fossils, animals, heat sensors, five senses, etc.

From here we drove right into downtown Munich to watch and listen to the big clocktower. There was quite a crowd gathered around and we were glad that were able to see this amazing sight.

We found the car and a little local spot to grab some dinner. They weren't actually OPEN because the waitress and cook weren't there yet, but the owner said that he would make us something to eat. The sandwiches were delicious, and Ben ordered the spicy one, which was really spicy-hot and you very rarely get refills on your drinks. You can imagine how thirsty Ben was after that one. He has decided that he will always pack his own water from now on.

Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein Castles

This first photos are of Schloss Hohenschwangau, where the Bavarian Royal family lived. The Queen lived on the first floor, the King on the Second, and the 2 sons lived on the third. While we were not allowed to take pictures inside the castle, the view of the valley and lake below were spectacular.

These next photos are of Neuschwanstein or the "fairy-tale" castle. There are only 6 rooms that were completed on this castle and they were extravagently done. The woodwork in the Kings bedroom, the mosaic floor in the Great hall... fancy, fancy, fancy.

This is looking down from Marien Brucke (Mary's Bridge) and then across to the Castle. Apparantly this building was the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle. We were so glad we took the bus ride up this mountain, totally worth the 3.60E
Looking back at the first castle and the amazing viewWe took the mountain trail down to the parking lots and a hiker took our photo. We knew the bus ride was totally worth it when we saw a group of people really struggling and they were only 100 yards up the trail.

Back to School... back to school...

Cael must have been so excited for the first day of school because he was dressed and had eaten his breakfast an hour before the bus was scheduled to arrive. We had a fun morning, especially since now we have time to say goodbye to Daddy before he leaves for work... it is not nearly as early as he is used to leaving and we are all usually awake.

One thing I will not forget is how freezing cold it was. Of course we are all used to wearing shorts long into the year, but I'm afraid that tradition will not last long here. On the second day Cael was sure to put on long pants.

Bamberg Trip

We started this trip to Bamberg running.... at least the boys did. Our location allows us to drive about an hour and see something new everytime. Our friends had lived in this city and suggested it for a good day trip. Our little car really opened up on the autobahn, but there were still cars that were flying past us. That "no speed limit" idea is sure taken seriously here.
We were hungry right away and ate at this little "snack" shop. They had plenty of icecream to choose from, but we needed some substance. After filling up, we were ready to find the Marktplatz. Here is a photo play by play.

WHEW!!! That was alot of walking, hiking up the big hill (twice), maybe being a little too loud inside of 2 churches, "i gotta go pee" by the red flowers, making our way back to the car in the rain, finding a parking ticket TRIP!

... and even though we were exhausted we saw a really cool spielplatz (playground) with a zipline, swings, merry-go-round and slides that we just had to play on IN the RAIN!! So much fun to do and see how fast we could get that zipline going!

Our First Trip by Train

CULTURE SHOCK: anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, uncertainty, confusion, etc) felt when people have to operate within a different and unknown culture such as one may encounter in a foreign country. It grows out of the difficulties in assimilating the new culture, causing difficulty in knowing what is appropriate and what is not.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On Saturday we heard about riding the train into Nuremberg (one of the bigger cities about an hour away) and how fun it is to check out all the things this place had to offer. Getting on the train in our little town was no problem, there was one track and we all jumped aboard. We noticed our camera battery was low immediately after we had gotten on and so we didn't take as many pictures. Also, towards the end of the day when we had the best opportunity to take a picture of the whole city, the battery died and that was it. So our adventure began and the rest is a story of our first trip:

As soon as we got off of our train Ben and I stood there for a moment. We felt like we were lost, but we had only taken a few steps. Also we were at a main train station with about 30 tracks, how were we going to find our way home? Introducing "culture shock"... we stared at the arrivals and departures for about 15 minutes trying to figure out how we were going to get home. Well, we finally found out there was a train going back to our home every hour on the 35... so we decided it was safe to explore. We walked down the main street, turned and discovered the German National Museum. We spent the most part of our time there looking at castle replicas and armor and it would have been really interesting if we would have been able to read the information. But alas, we do not know the native language that well.

Next we found the Marktplatz, the downtown markets, restaurants, churches, and music. We grabbed some lunch and also bought some delicioius cherries from a fruit stand. They were tasty, but really made a huge mess all over the boys fingers and faces. We must have looked like quite a sight, but this was of course our first experience doing something like this. Looking around we knew that the big castle was going to be our next stop.

The climb and push up the hill was quite the workout, especially since the boys all wanted to be carried up or to ride on the stroller. But we somehow found the strength inside of us to make the final push. It was amazing! How could the people back then build something like this? Of course after finding the best view of the city, the camera died and then we were left to explore without documentation. We were pretty well spent and decided to find our way back to the main train station. A sweet couple translated the bus schedule for us and we took that back to our train. The boys all fell asleep on the ride back and we made it home, exhausted, but happy we had completed our first adventure.
 

We learned a few things from this trip. It is important to wear shoes that are appropriate for walking, flip-flops are not suited for walking miles in a city. Charge all camera batteries prior to departure. Pack the essentials, but nothing that is too heavy. Have an idea of what you want to see at the destination (sights, castles, etc). And last but not least... ENJOY the ADVENTURE!