Category: Trip

Munich

Today we caught this train to Munich: 

 
The trip was comfortable as we zipped along in first class, but about an hour out from Munich I got motion sickness which ended up lasting for hours! 

 
Our hotel is adjacent to the station and very comfortable. KLS and I got an upgrade into a very fancy room with all wood floors and ceiling and strange wall decor: 

 
We didn’t have any plans for the afternoon (the train took about 3 hours) and K, B and I explored the downtown while J went to the park and dad did a tourist bus trip. 

 
That’s in a department store. Both B and I posed here, and young children had to wait their turn! ๐Ÿ™‚ 

 
Munich has a large pedestrian arcade surrounded by many old-style buildings (the originals being destroyed in the war). The weather was hot and the crowds plentiful. One particular attraction is the Rathaus (town hall) with its beautiful architecture and decoration. 

 
The front of the building has an animated display called ‘the glockenspiel’ that runs thrice daily. We were sure to check it out. 

 
The crowds were massive… 

 
And B was spellbound: 

 
Or maybe he had just drunk too much for lunch!

Speaking of which… 

    
 
Those pictures show decreasing levels of professionalism ๐Ÿ™‚

To end this post, a shot of me rubbing Juliet’s (superheated!) boob for good luck: 

 
And the striking interior of the Marianplatz underground station: 

 
It was another full, tiring and fun day ๐Ÿ™‚

Bankfurt

I woke at 2 am this morning. Perhaps not a good sign with regards to jetlag! I couldn’t sleep though, so lazed around until the (superb!) breakfast buffet at 6:30.

Dad was arriving at midday, so KLS, BS and I headed to the Frankfurt zoo while JBF hopped onto a train for a day trip to a nearby city on The Rhine. 

 
Frankfurt Zoo is quite good for such an old zoo in the middle of a major city. While some of the large animal enclosures (such as for the hippo) are sad relics of a bygone era, others – including the excellent nocturnal house and aquarium – are worth the admission fee alone.

In particular we loved the following exhibits: 

   
The first are garden eels – tiny and beautiful eels that hide in the substrate and just poke their upper halves out to feed. The other is of course the cuttlefish. Both animals were displayed wonderfully in big crystal clean tanks that really gave us a good look!

After the zoo we headed back to meet dad via the river. 

 
Yes they seem to have picked up the ‘padlock on the bridge’ habit here too!

In the late afternoon we cruised that river for an hour and a half, seeing Frankfurt (at least the river front) for several miles in each direction. Many drinks were drunk and many laughs had! 

   
Conveniently the boat left from a dock right at the same fair we visited yesterday! Once again we enjoyed the many dining options ๐Ÿ™‚ 

 
Another find day that seemed to whizz by very quickly. Tomorrow we’re leaving Frankfurt for our next destination, but I have to say I’ve found this city quite charming and a good introduction to Germany overall.

Summer In Berlin

I’m been experiencing the ennui of one not on an overseas vacation, so it’s time to remedy the situation. Therefore, with great pomp and ceremony, later this week we will be going to Germany!

neuschwanstein-castle

This is of course no sudden decision. This trip has been in the late-planning stages for some weeks, the early-planning stages for a couple of years and the distant-planning stages for a lifetime. I do of course have Teutonic blood in my veins, and it’s time to return to das Vaterland and reclaim my throne!

But this is no solo trip! I will be traveling with a company of four others: Kristin, Bernard, Jim and Alois. Starting and ending in Frankfurt, we’re going to do the whole country in style together – from castles to beer-houses – wearing our German last names (yes, even Jim) with pride. Here’s our route:

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Very little is planned! We’ve booked out hotels and our trains, as well as a coach trip to Castle Neuschwanstein (in the picture above), but the rest of the adventure is an open book. I suspect there’ll be a lot of this though:

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I estimate there will be about 24 hours in total of rail and coach transport during our two week trip. To keep morale high as we ride the rails, I have prepared a ‘German Travel Quiz’ for Bernard. 25 fiendish trivia questions in five topics await him! He only has to score 60% per topic to win up to five prizes, but if he loses he will forsake his ‘escrow prize’ (in other words, I’ll keep it). If he gets at least 60% on every quiz he will win the ultimate prize, but if he fails even once he’s going to give me his handheld computer from the 1980s. Maybe. We’ll see ๐Ÿ™‚

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This promises to be a memorable and epic vacation. Needless to say you can – and should – follow our travels here on this very blog!