Munich, Germany August 3-6
August 3, 2018
Arrived after a VERY long trip! The almost 6 hour drive was made much longer due to traffic and construction. We arrived at our apartment around 10pm. Maybe we're just becoming less tolerant of traveling because we've done it too much.
We visited the Koln Cathedral this morning and finished up around 2pm. 
A spire that fell off? Kids can climb on:) A and B at the grave of the 3 magi!
Nearly at the end of the bell tower!
We were lucky enough to be there when for some unknown reason to us, some guys were performing!
We stopped in Stuttgart at a park to eat and let the kids play. Wish we had arrived earlier so we could've checked out the Porsche or Mercedes Benz Museum. There are always so many things to see and do!
Our accommodations: This place is a real humdinger. It's kind of in a Z shape which makes it a little difficult to maneuver around. We have a shared toilet, too. With the hide-a-bed pulled out, we couldn't walk into our room without crawling under the table. We rearranged some furniture, but it's still a tight fit. When we pulled out the hide-a-bed mattress, there was a nasty stain in the middle. The sheets are not big enough for the bed so we kind of tucked two into each other. Our girls are great sports. Spencer declared it "disgusting" and wouldn't sleep on it. There is longish black hair everywhere - the couch, the floor, the scrub brush in the kitchen sink, etc. There is a galley kitchen with a shower at the end of it, logically. On the plus side, there is a refrigerator and two burners in the kitchen and a toaster, something we haven't had for at least the past 3 stays. All these different places make me more sure of what I want and don't want in a future home.
Saturday, August 4, 2018
We went into Munich today and saw the Glockenspiel at 12pm.
The kids watching the 1908 glockenspiel
Visited the German Museum, a science museum. I especially enjoyed learning about how paper was made - not with trees as in our young history in the U.S., but with old clothes soaked in lye. Learned more how mirrors were made. There was a cool presentation on liquid nitrogen that Dan really enjoyed. I know how to say "nitrogen" in German now. Not much else.
The kids liked the museum, but were so tired by the end of the day! Here are some of their favorite activities. 
Spencer in his lego house
We ate at a pizzeria with very different combinations of pizza - like shrimp and crab with lemon slices and a capris salad pizza. I'm definitely more of a traditional pizza eater I discovered.
Some very entertaining street performers!
Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Attended church in Munich in an English ward!!! We all really enjoyed understanding everything and being able to comment.
Went on a walk in the forest near our apartment. We met a gregarious German who showed us pictures of things he thought we'd care about - his new electric car, his solar panels, his sister's house, churches in the area that are a "must see", apps on his phone, etc. The forest was gorgeous and the weather perfect.
Monday, August 6th, 2018
We woke up at 5:30am to be ready to go by 6am so we could drive to the ticket office for Neuschwanstein. We realized our ticket reservations we made months ago were really for Saturday - 2 days ago! Dan sent them an email Sunday night and they very kindly changed the dates of our tickets as well as the time. We received this email on the 1.2 hour drive to the castle. When we happily realized we had time, we stopped at a German bakery and had a delicious breakfast! My favorite was a whole wheat roll I got. Talmage had a humongous pain au chocolat, the girls some cinnamon-like pastry and Dan a cherry cobbler. It was so delicious! Things in Germany are sturdy and well-built, down to their breads. I have never seen croissants as big as the ones we saw in Germany. The houses are big and sturdy like the people and the products. I love it. We loved the views of Nueschwainstein when we turned down the main road to get there.
We made it to Neuschwanstein with plenty of time to spare which meant we had time to visit the cool bridge.This is the classic picture of the castle, taken from St. Mary's bridge.
Bur I think the view on the other side of bridge may be even more impressive. Apparently, this was a favorite place of Ludwig as a child and we wanted to be able to see the gorge from his castle.
You're not allowed to take pictures inside the Ludwig II castles, hence no inside pictures. I was surprised how many huge, beautiful paintings there are on the wall - paintings of medieval heroes. He wanted the castle to celebrate not himself, but medieval heroes, many from Wagner's operas.
After Neuschwanstein, we headed to the very near Alpine slide. It was so fun, we did it twice!
We then headed to Linderhof, about an hour away. It was the most opulent house/castle I've ever seen. It was modeled after Versailles, but a hundred years later. Seriously fancy. Pictures are "verboden" but Dan was so overcome with the opulence, he took a few anyway.
You can take pictures of the outside, so we got a lot of those. The gardens are a treat to see!
Spencer at Linderhof View from the top looking at the front entrance
We made it back to Munich fairly late that night, but everyone agreed that it had been a super day!
Arrived after a VERY long trip! The almost 6 hour drive was made much longer due to traffic and construction. We arrived at our apartment around 10pm. Maybe we're just becoming less tolerant of traveling because we've done it too much.
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| Talmage at Koln Cathedral |
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| Pixel window |
A spire that fell off? Kids can climb on:) A and B at the grave of the 3 magi!
Nearly at the end of the bell tower!
We were lucky enough to be there when for some unknown reason to us, some guys were performing!
We stopped in Stuttgart at a park to eat and let the kids play. Wish we had arrived earlier so we could've checked out the Porsche or Mercedes Benz Museum. There are always so many things to see and do!
Our accommodations: This place is a real humdinger. It's kind of in a Z shape which makes it a little difficult to maneuver around. We have a shared toilet, too. With the hide-a-bed pulled out, we couldn't walk into our room without crawling under the table. We rearranged some furniture, but it's still a tight fit. When we pulled out the hide-a-bed mattress, there was a nasty stain in the middle. The sheets are not big enough for the bed so we kind of tucked two into each other. Our girls are great sports. Spencer declared it "disgusting" and wouldn't sleep on it. There is longish black hair everywhere - the couch, the floor, the scrub brush in the kitchen sink, etc. There is a galley kitchen with a shower at the end of it, logically. On the plus side, there is a refrigerator and two burners in the kitchen and a toaster, something we haven't had for at least the past 3 stays. All these different places make me more sure of what I want and don't want in a future home.
Saturday, August 4, 2018
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| Dan and the kids in Munich! |
The kids watching the 1908 glockenspiel
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| The BFFs in front of government building in Munich |
Visited the German Museum, a science museum. I especially enjoyed learning about how paper was made - not with trees as in our young history in the U.S., but with old clothes soaked in lye. Learned more how mirrors were made. There was a cool presentation on liquid nitrogen that Dan really enjoyed. I know how to say "nitrogen" in German now. Not much else.
The kids liked the museum, but were so tired by the end of the day! Here are some of their favorite activities. 
Spencer in his lego house |
| Talmage playing a hug |
 |
| Top floor of the German Museum |
Some very entertaining street performers!
Sunday, August 5th, 2018
Attended church in Munich in an English ward!!! We all really enjoyed understanding everything and being able to comment.
Went on a walk in the forest near our apartment. We met a gregarious German who showed us pictures of things he thought we'd care about - his new electric car, his solar panels, his sister's house, churches in the area that are a "must see", apps on his phone, etc. The forest was gorgeous and the weather perfect.
Monday, August 6th, 2018
We woke up at 5:30am to be ready to go by 6am so we could drive to the ticket office for Neuschwanstein. We realized our ticket reservations we made months ago were really for Saturday - 2 days ago! Dan sent them an email Sunday night and they very kindly changed the dates of our tickets as well as the time. We received this email on the 1.2 hour drive to the castle. When we happily realized we had time, we stopped at a German bakery and had a delicious breakfast! My favorite was a whole wheat roll I got. Talmage had a humongous pain au chocolat, the girls some cinnamon-like pastry and Dan a cherry cobbler. It was so delicious! Things in Germany are sturdy and well-built, down to their breads. I have never seen croissants as big as the ones we saw in Germany. The houses are big and sturdy like the people and the products. I love it. We loved the views of Nueschwainstein when we turned down the main road to get there.
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| Neuschwainstein nestled in the beautiful Alps |
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| Beautiful church on the same road as above |
We made it to Neuschwanstein with plenty of time to spare which meant we had time to visit the cool bridge.This is the classic picture of the castle, taken from St. Mary's bridge.
After Neuschwanstein, we headed to the very near Alpine slide. It was so fun, we did it twice!
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| View going to the top of the slide |
You can take pictures of the outside, so we got a lot of those. The gardens are a treat to see!
 |
| Dan and the kids pondering the beauty around them. |
Spencer at Linderhof View from the top looking at the front entrance
We made it back to Munich fairly late that night, but everyone agreed that it had been a super day!
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