Germany - Oktoberfest

All those who know me know that I am not a beer drinker. However, it would stupid to come to Germany for the first time during Oktoberfest and not check it out. Elke was very excited to intruduce me to it. And since I had already bought my dirndl with Sigrid, I was fully prepared to go. As it happens, Patrick was the only one in our group who did not dress "appropriately."
In the Photo: Me, Elke's friend Julia, Elke's boyfriend Martin, Elke, Martin's friend Martin.

In the morning before we left Elke's apartment, Elke's boyfriend Martin offered to show me Lake Starnburg while we were waiting for the others to arrive. He drove me to the lake and we walked by Sisi's impressive summer residence. However, it was quite foggy by the water, and we were only able to see a few feet past the shore. Still, it was an enjoyable activity for the morning, and I was happy to get to know Martin a little better. I was so pleased that his English is so good and that we were able to communicate well. He tried very hard to make me feel comfortable while I was there. Elke's and Martin's friends Julia and Martin did not speak English well, and Elke and Martin were such good sports acting as translators throughout the day. (I approve, Elke--Martin's a very nice boy.)

Though it started out foggy in the morning, by the time we got to Munich the sun had come out and I felt a little overdressed in my tights and boots. I may even have gotten a little too much sun that day. (Coming home from Germany with too much sun?!? Who would've thunk?)

Martin participated in a couple of the games and was successful in winning his girl a little stuffed animal. Good job!

Martin was also kind enough to make sure I got to see inside two of the huge beer tents at the Oktoberfest. They were packed! We chose to eat lunch at one of the picnic tables outside instead.
No, I did not have any beer, but I did try my first Spezi. It's a cola-orange Fanta mix that is very popular. I am not a fan of cola, and I wasn't a fan of Spezi.

Patrick, Elke, Martin, and Julia went through an attraction called "Psychedelic." I love this groovy photo of them. (Julia didn't make it in the photo, so we used a stand-in.)

We walked around most of the Oktoberfest, and were able to see one of the horse-drawn beer wagons.

Oktoberfest is huge. There were lots of food stands, carnival games, and amusement rides. Not just little amusement rides, but full-sized roller coasters. Four of us chose to ride the ferris wheel.

I had not been on a ferris wheel since I was a kid. We had a good view of the grounds. Holy smokes! There are a ton of people there!

The ferris wheel had enclosed carts. I found that I was wanting a little more thrill--some wind in my hair at least. He really didn't want to do it, but I managed to talk Patrick into riding the high swings with me.

Again, we had a great view of the Oktoberfest. And I felt the wind in my hair. Aaaah. Fun!

We had been walking around most of the afternoon, but walked a little more to the center of old Munich where we go a bite to eat before taking the train back to the car. I love the flowers on this building.

Sigrid swears that I can pass for a Bavarian in my dirndl. Unfortunately, as soon as I open my mouth it's clear I'm not from around here. I did have fun dressing the part though.

Germany - Salzburg With the Family

Pit and Patrick drove down and met Sigrid and me at Elke's house. From there we drove together to Salzburg, Austria.

The first thing on the list of things to do in Salzburg was buy some Salzburger Mozartkugeln ("Mozart balls"). They are special chocolates for those with sophisticated taste. In other words, they are made with dark chocolate and include marzipan in the filling. I am not that big of a fan. However, Sigrid introduced me to another chocolate made by the same folks called Mozarttaler. These are milk chocolate discs with a greater chocolate to marzipan ratio. I am a fan of these. Pit and Sigrid sent me home with about three bags of the balls and two bags of the discs. Don't tell Mark and Marianne, but I only gave them the Mozart balls and kept all the discs in my house. In fact, I think I'll eat one now. Mmmm.

We walked down the well-known Getreidegasse, a street known for its old iron signs.

There was a festival going on the weekend we were in Salzburg. There were some dancers performing in a courtyard.

We enjoyed stopping and watching them for a bit.

We walked through old Salzburg, making our way up and up and up to the Festung Hohensalzburg (the "High Salzburg Fortress").

We spent quite a bit of time touring the fortress. I thought this was an interesting door, and took a picture for Marianne, who loves edelweiss.

The fortress is on a hill in the middle of the old city. On a beautiful day like the one we enjoyed, you can't help but snap a photo from every angle.

Such beautiful views.

A beautiful city.

And quite breezy in some places. Sigrid and I sat down for a minute in front of a window in the fortress wall. Here the wind will cool you down quickly.

You can see the fortress on top of the hill in the background.

On our way back to Elke's house we stopped by Chiemsee, the location of another one of Ludwig II's castles. By the time we got there it was a little too late to take the ferry to the island in this lake where the castle Herrenchiemsee is located. It had also started to cool down quite a bit. We walked along the shore of the lake for a bit before getting back on the road.

When we got to Elke's Pit discovered a problem with her table, and like a good dad he got right to work fixing it.

In this photo Patrick acts like he doesn't enjoy being doted on by his mother and sister (but we know he loves it!).

And so another day ends with smiles all around.

Germany - Castles With My Parents

On Friday (about two weeks ago) Sigrid and I drove down south of Munich to see the castles

Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. My parents also wanted to see these castles while they were in Bavaria, so we arranged a meeting. What are the chances?

My parents pose for me by Hohenschwangau (the yellow castle on the left). From here you can also see Neuschwanstein (the light gray Disney castle) on the mountain in the background.

I pose with my mom on our walk up to Hohenschwangau. From here you have a nice view of the village below.

I love this moment between Sigrid and my father. While my mom and I were walking the grounds of the castle before the tour started, Sigrid and my dad were deep in conversation.

I really enjoyed Hohenschwangau. I think because it is so close to the impressive Neuschwanstein, it often gets overlooked. But Hohenschwangau is a castle that was lived in. This is where King Ludwig II spent most of his childhood. I really enjoyed this castle. It was huge and impressive, but it had been a family home.

With not a bad view.

Neuschwanstein, on the other hand, though beautiful, strikes me as such a lonely castle. It was built to be a memorial, had rooms that were never meant to be finished, was not finished as much as it was supposed to be, and was lived in for only a matter of days before the king was arrested, sentenced to an insane asylum, then found dead days later in Lake Starnburg.

The view from Neauschwanstein of a childhood home with happier memories makes me even more sad for the lonely king.

My feelings about Neuschwanstein were a little mixed, but I enjoyed the day completely. I loved being able to spend more time with parents in Germany. And I really enjoyed learning more about this time of history in Bavaria.

Sigrid and I left my parents and started making our way to Elke's house near Starnburg. But first things first. I need food! We had not had time to eat anything (except for the chocolate stashed in my mom's purse) between our tours. And, it took almost an hour to walk from Hohenschwangau to Neuschwanstein, down one hill and up a mountain (and this after an exhausting bike ride the day before!). Needless to say, I was tired and hungry. We stopped at an authentic Bavarian restaurant (outside of the tourist-filled village near the castles), where I had my fill.

Shortly before we got to Elke's house, Sigrid drove me to an overlook where we saw a nice view of Lake Starnburg. It was a cloudy, foggy day (see, not every day was sunshine), but I can imagine what it would like on a beautiful summer day. What I loved about this spot was the cows. They were wearing cow bells around their necks, and it was such a peaceful sound hearing them ring as the cows grazed in the field at the top of this hill.

Germany - Biking Through Regensburg

Every so often after some early mornings, we would allow ourselves a little break to catch up on some sleep. The Thursday after our trip to Nuernburg was one of those days. Not only did I sleep in, I even stayed in bed another hour reading a book (in English--after two weeks of studying maps and guides and dictionaries and hearing and seeing mostly German, I was ready for some fluff). What a luxury!

The day was a little cooler and cloudier than most of my days in Germany, but still a pleasant day for a bike ride into Regensburg.


I went on a tour of the Thurn & Taxis castle while Sigrid bought a book and had an ice cream in town. I missed the live English tour by a day. (They discontinue the English tours for Fall/Winter.) So I joined a German tour with an pre-recorded English audio tour. Although I enjoyed the tour and learned more about the castle and the history of the family, I felt a little left out when the knowledgeable and lively German tour guide made the group laugh. My audio guide certainly never made me laugh. Yet another reason to learn German!

Sigrid met me back at the castle after the tour, and we took the bikes through the old city and along the Donau River.

It was a lovely ride--definitely something I would like to do again.

We rode up and over a bridge the trains use to cross the river. We were even lucky enough to have a train pass by us. That was quite a thrill to have a speeding train pass you by while you are meters above the river. Completely safe and a little exciting. A good combination. (The train looks like it's going slow in this picture. Trust me, it's fast. Sometimes my camera does a decent job of catching an object in motion without being fuzzy.)

We continued our bike ride on other the other side of the river and came back using another train bridge. From there we were able to see the first bridge. The climb up to the bridge was a little tough (we had to walk our bikes up for the last stretch), but the views were well worth it.

And though I was sore for day or so after our ride, this is a day I would love to repeat.

Germany - Taking the Train to Nuernburg

I am now back home, and I am still determined to record all of my experiences from my trip to Germany. I guarantee that I will continue to feel a sense of homesickness for Germany as I post pictures from my last week there.

On Wednesday, two weeks ago, Sigrid and I took a train to Nuernburg (Nuremberg). Our first stop was the tourism office where they gave us a city guide and a suggested walking route.
We walked through the Craftsmen's Courtyard at Koenigstor Tower, where there are small shops selling handmade glass, pewter, pottery, and more in a courtyard that is meant to remind you of the middle ages.

Nuernburg has a beautiful main street area, and I was surprised by how similar and how different these old Bavarian cities can feel at the same time.

Our walk down the Koenigstrasse took us to Lorenzkirche (St. Lawrence Church), which had very impressive carvings around the door.

We went to Nuernburg on a Wednesday, which is a market day. There were fruit stands, flower stands, cheese stands, craft stands, and cookie stands throughout the city. I love walking through the markets on a day as beautiful as the one we enjoyed. We were on a hunt for some good lebkuchen (a special German cookie). Nuernburg is know for their lebkucken, and there were many different stands selling them. We (Sigrid, of course) talked to a few women selling the cookies, looking for the best buy. We (me, of course) sampled some of the cookies and Sigrid ended up buying quite a bit for me to bring home to the families. Gary is a big fan of lebkuchen. Evidently, Brett likes them also. His mother made them often when he was growing up. And though Brett's favorite will also be chocolate chip cookies, and though the lebkuchen are a soft cookie with a lot of spices (they are a Christmas specialty), Brett still enjoyed the cookies I brought home. In memory of my trip to Nuernberg, I just ate and enjoyed the last lebkuchen while writing this post.

[Can you spot the dirndl in the picture below. I saw quite a few of them during my time in Bavaria. I would guess that I saw more during this time of Oktoberfest than I would see at a different time of year, but I'm not sure.]

I had never heard of "hops" before. Evidently I lead a sheltered life. I saw quite a few fields of hops from the Autobahn, and Pit explained that hops is (are?) used to make beer. I found the use of it in a wreath rather interesting.

This is the Fountain of Virtues (faith, hope, charity, courage, temperance, and patience, with justice on the top). It made me think of Anne.

Sigrid and I enjoyed a light meal outside at a cafe by the Hangman's Tower, overlooking this river--a very pleasant afternoon. Like Amberg, Nuernburg has its own pair of "spectacles."

I would recommend that you visit Germany when the sun in shining and the flowers are in full bloom. It certainly made my trip perfect!


One thing I enjoyed very much during my visit to Nuernburg was Sebalduskirche (St. Sebald Church). It was built around 1215 A.D., then destroyed like most of the city during World War II. Inside the church they had photos and poetry displaying some of the destruction and rebuilding of the church. I was struck by the destruction that the city endured. It made me feel so grateful for the relative peace that I have enjoyed in my own country. I recognize that even today this peace is not present everywhere. Our countrymen are risking their lives in other lands. However, I can go about my daily activities without fear of an air raid destroying my city and wiping out hundreds of years of history in a single day. I was very reflective as I walked through the church looking at the photos. I was sad, grateful, and hopeful at the same time.

Sigrid and I walked up the hill to the castle at Nuernburg. It afforded us a wonderful view of the city. Unfortunately, my camera's battery died and I forgot the spare. There was a beautiful little courtyard area with big shade trees. A perfect place for a rest and a little snack.

We had a lovely day in Nuernburg. I often thought of my friend and former coworker, Ute, who is originally from Nuernburg. Here's a picture for Ute. I loved being in your city! [Now I just need to find a way to get in touch with her again to share it....]