Tschüss

We said goodbye or as many Germans say familiarly, tschüss, to Germany today. There was a bit of an issue getting Evangeline’s carseat on board the plane, but we managed with persistence (It is much safer for children to fly in their car seats on aircraft). The flight was fairly uneventful, probably because the girls slept through most of it. P started getting fussy in the passport line so we were shuttled to the front of the line. I’ll make a mental note to pinch her in long lines from now on (wink, wink).

Mum met us at the Shoreham train station and we walked back to her flat. The weather was lovely so we took a stroll over to the beach and checked out the houseboats along the way. It was a nice lazy afternoon.

One Final Cologne Visit

We caught a train to Frankfurt’s Central Station after checking out of our hotel. We were early for the train I was aiming for but saw an earlier train heading to Köln and hopped on it. Unfortunately we didn’t realize it wasn’t Cologne’s main station and ended up in Dusseldörf. Not a big deal as we were able to catch another train heading back into Cologne.

The familiar spires of the Dom welcomed us back to where we started our German-Swiss journey. It almost felt as if we were home.

Since we now had E with us I had booked us into an apartment instead of a hotel for the extra room. What I’d failed to realize was the check-in was just outside the main train station but the apartment was a mile down the river near the chocolate museum. So off we headed, Cory with 35 pound E in the Boba Carrier, his backpack and a suitcase and car seat and me with P in my Ergo carrier, a backpack, and a car seat. Let me just stop and say I am amazed our luggage/car seat covers survived all the wheeling over cobblestone streets! Both girls slept on our long walk. We arrived just as they were finishing preparing the place for our one night stay.

We settled in for a bit then headed across the street to the Lindt’s Chocolate Museum. It was not nearly as enjoyable as I had planned. E did not sleep well or long enough so she was in meltdown/hyperactive mode. We quickly chased her from room to room. Cory stopped to take photos of some of the informational plaques. I was especially interested in the information on Ecuador’s cocoa production since we’ll soon be living there. The museum, situated on the Rhine River with beautiful panoramic views, was interesting, especially the area where you could witness the actual chocolate production process. They also had tastings. Delicious! You could even special order chocolate bars with your choice of additions, like candies, dried fruits, and nuts.

They had a cafe that served some decadent desserts. We ordered a slice of a chocolate cake that was layers of chocolate mouse and chocolate sponge cake atop a thin cookie crust. WOW! I also got a few things in the gift store for gifts and personal enjoyment.

That evening I decided we would venture outside the tourist district in search of Schnitzel the size of your head! From the advice of Trip Advisor we headed to Bei Oma Kleinmann. I was aware that it was difficult to get a table without a reservation so I was hoping that showing up early would help us get a seat. We took two trains down towards the University district. When we walked into the small pub we saw all the tables had reserved signs. I asked if they had room for us. The waitress looked as if she’d say “no” but said we could take one of the reserved tables as it was not needed for 30 more minutes. I had studied the menu and decided I wanted the Schnitzel Westfäliches (topped with 2 fried eggs) and Cory ordered the Jäger Schnitzel (with a mushroom gravy). About 10 minutes later out came Schnitzel that hung off the edges of our dinner plates nestled atop fried potatoes! They were delicious, but Cory preferred the gravy he had in Frankfurt. I give it top ratings though, very worth the train rides!

E at the Schokolade Museum
Making a personalized candy bar order at the Schokolade Museum
The schnitzel at Bei Oma Kleinmann’s
Spaetzle for E
Green Beans for P
E’s favorite method of travel

Frankfurt and Revisiting the Rhine

Frankfurt is the nearest large city to where Cory lived when his father worked in Germany. That is why I added it to the travel itinerary. The plan was to visit the area he had grown up in, but time did not allow this. Instead, on our first day we decided to take in some sites in the Römer area of Frankfurt. We headed out after a nap. I hadn’t realized it had cooled down quite a bit and therefore hadn’t dressed myself or the girls appropriately, so first stop was buying cheap tops for me and E. The area was ok but certainly not the most beautiful scenery seen on our trip. We got a few photos in the plaza and on one of the bridges (the locks are placed on the bridges here by couples) over the Main River before it started to rain. And rain it did. Cory had to put E in the carrier and I had P in mine. We ducked under building awnings as we ran back to the train station. We stopped to eat and wait out the rain. Of course, the rain let up while we ate and started back before we finished.

The next day we decided we would try the Rhine cruise again since the lost wallet made our initial cruise rather unenjoyable and short. We got up and had breakfast. I left the camera battery and E’s entertainment (an iPod) plugged in to charge. At the end of breakfast I realized we had to rush to catch the train. I ran upstairs to get our stuff while Cory stayed downstairs with the girls. We got to the nearby station in time to get on board and rode to the central station. As we found the correct platform Cory asked me if I remembered her iPod. Uh Oh! I forgot that AND the camera battery! Cory decided to try and make it in the remaining 15 minutes back to the hotel to retrieve the forgotten things. As fast as he ran, he missed the train by a few minutes so we decided to take a later cruise and caught the next train. The day was intermittently cloudy causing the boat ride to be cool on occasion, but mostly it was beautiful with lovely scenery quaint little towns, vineyards and remodeled and ruined castles. The cruise is available going up or downstream of the Middle Rhine (the middle portion of the river, extending about 120 km). There are over 40 castle ruins visible, some which have been rebuilt as well as a ton of vineyards growing white grapes, mostly to make my favorite wine, Riesling. We ended the cruise in Sankt (St.) Goar, a charming little town, and had some schnitzel. The train ride back to Frankfurt even took us through Ingelheim, the town of the lost and now funt (found) wallet.

Oops!

Well, I’ve leveled the playing field. Cory may have lost (and retrieved) his wallet but I got us to the rental car place an hour after closing (for the entire weekend). Yeah, I totally forgot the place closed at noon and didn’t reopen until Monday. Renting this car was the whole reason we lugged two car seats to Germany and Switzerland and why we were to stay at our current place for the entire weekend. It was how we were going to explore Schwarzwald (The Black Forest) on our own. 

This morning we left Lucerne earlier than planned putting us into Freiburg, Germany at 12:55 pm. We got to the train station and of course the rental car place was not nearby. Google directions said for Cory to take a bus for 3 minutes and then walk for 23 minutes in a serpentine fashion but we decided to pay €18 for a taxi. We loaded up and secured the girls in their car seats for the ten minute ride. The man dropped us off, unloaded our stuff, we paid, he left, we then realized, in the middle of nowhere, that we were SOL. I called the rental car number…blah, blah, blah in German then it hung up on me. I called our hotel which is 30 minutes from Freiburg in Rust and in broken English she said go to the train station and ask at the information center.

We decided to see if we could find a bus back to the train station so we walked in the direction Cory had seen one pass. We passed an elderly woman using a walker and Cory pulled out some German asking how to get to the train station. She said a bunch of stuff, gestured a lot, Cory nodded and thanked her and she walked away. Apparently he didn’t understand everything but felt we were on the right path. We quickly came across a bus stop but could not make heads or tails of it. Pretty soon the little old lady came back by us and told us we needed to go further. Then this 90 year old (I’m not exaggerating here) woman led us not just to the bus/tram but on it and all the way to the train station!!!! While on the tram another woman saw we looked lost and offered in English to help us. She pulled out her handy iPhone and found the correct train and bus we needed to take. So here we are at Rust/Europark. Don’t ever let anyone speak ill of the Germans! 

Auf Wiedersehen München!

Today we leave on a 4 hour train ride for Switzerland. Our time at the castles Saturday gave us a taste of the Alps and the desire for more. But I will miss Munich. Funny, when we got here I was thinking I’d made a terrible mistake booking us here for 4 nights. Our hotel is old and not the loveliest of hotels but it has a friendly staff (except the bartender that refused to fill 2 cups with ice for Cory tonight) and is just steps from the hauptbanhoff (central train station). It is also a few steps from a seedy strip club, but we won’t talk about that.

In the afternoon after our tour of Dachau we went to another beer garden. Cory got another currywurst and a pretzel and orbatz (“German pimento cheese) and I had a knodel, a delicious baseball-sized dumpling covered in a brown gravy. No photos yet again but in my defense I was afraid it would rain on us so I hurriedly ate.

Last night we headed down to the Marianplatz, an old section of Munich with shopping, restaurants, cathedrals, fountains, intricately carved buildings and many street musicians. The more I saw, the longer I wanted to stay to learn more about the history of the city and the symbolism of the statues and carvings.

In the morning before our train we head back through Marianplatz to the Viktualienmarkt, a daily market where you can buy fruits and veggies, lots of meats, flowers, breads and pastries, souvenirs, etc. I had Meusli mixed with milk and yogurt for breakfast. I would’ve liked it tons more if it had been made with something other than plain yogurt. And was that buttermilk? Very lip-puckering!

We headed to Zurich and took a street car out to the lake and had dinner in a beer garden. Tomorrow we’re off to Lucerne to meet my mom and to see E again. Oh how I’ve missed that sweet little troublemaker, but if she’d been with us I think I’d be ready to pack my bags and go home by now! Oh toddlerhood, how crazy you make me! 🙂

1. Fountain at entrance of Karlstor (Karl’s gate)
2. Fountain
3. Close up of fountain
4. Towers of Theatinekirche behind Michaelskirche
5. München monk
6. München monk
7. München monk
8. Altes Rathaus (Old Townhall) – Now a toy museum
9. Neus Rathaus (New Townhall)
10. Glockenspiel of the Neus Rathaus
11. Gargoyle inside courtyard of Neus Rathaus
12. Dragon adornment on a building
13. Small cobblestones side street
14. Viktualienmarkt
15. Flowers at the Viktualienmarkt
16. Seafood market
17. Seafood market
18. Hauling the empty beer bottles at a Munich Beer garden

Dachau

It was a somber visit to Dachau today. The extermination of 6 million Jews and many others is heartbreaking. I cannot imagine the torture they were subjected to. Please remember that while it is not occurring on the same scale there are many who are experiencing similar persecutions around the world. I’ll let the few photographs tell most of the story, but the devastation and heartbreak you feel while visiting a former concentration camp cannot be expressed in words or photos.

* the courtyard where prisoners had to line up twice daily for hours for roll call
* photo of roll call, if you can read the captions below the photo for survivor recollections
* standard prisoner issued uniform; cloth shoes, pockets were sewn into the pants but prisoners were not allowed to place their hands in them (even in the cold Bavarian winter)
* identifying patches present on the uniforms
* bunks
* the foundations of the 34 bunk houses that housed the thousands of prisoners at Dachau
* two of the 5 crematorium incinerators at Dachau (32,000 documented deaths and many undocumented more beyond that number)
* photo of many dead in front of the crematorium 😦
* memorial art representing the identifying patches worn on the uniforms
* never again/ nie wieder
* “the unknown prisoner” “To honor the dead, to warn the living”

Check out these sites for more in depth information for anyone interested:
Dachau Scrapbook
Dachau Memorial Official Site

We took this tour and would highly recommend James: In Their Shoes Tour

Bavarian Royalty for a Day

Today I went to one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. Built in the Alpine foothills on the border of Bavaria and Austria, it is a place that inspires fairy tales, literally. In fact, Walt Disney modeled Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty’s castle after it. Even the inside of the castle is decorated to pay tribute to the owner’s love of Wagner operas. The castle was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. He was also known as the Swan King or the Fairy Tale King.

The history of the castles, Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau, is fascinating as well as the story of Ludwig II. Both the castles are built very near to each other, Neuschwanstein looking down at Ludwig’s father’s masterpiece, Hohenschwangau. Hohenschwangau is also decorated inside with scenes of German fairy tales and Ludwig grew up playing in it’s picturesque gardens and surrounding forest, perhaps dreaming of his own fairy tale castle. Building of Neuschwanstein Castle was started on September 5, 1869 and construction ceased after Ludwig’s mysterious death in 1886. The King’s living space and the servants’ quarters had been completed and King Ludwig had only spent a total of 172 days living in his unfinished dream castle. The castle was open to the public as a museum 6 weeks after his death and has boasted multitudes of visitors since. Thankfully, because of it’s secluded location, it was not damaged during World War II.

We also toured the gardens of Hohenschwangau and Cory swam in the clear and picturesque Alpsee lake. I waded in with Miss P to cool ourselves off too. We picnicked looking out over the lake and did a little shopping in the nearby shops. Cory and I have a tradition of collecting Christmas ornaments from our travels that we started on our honeymoon to the Biltmore estate. A beer mug and a pretzel were chosen to represent our time in Germany. I also picked up a charm for my charm bracelet (another tradition I’ve had since college). I’m seriously considering getting myself and the girls traditional German dresses but I don’t think I could convince Cory to wear lederhosen. Our final visit was a tour of the Neuschwanstein castle. It was a rigorous climb up the mountain, especially while hefting a 20 pound baby on my back, but so worth it! I hope I can get into better shape in the Cuenca mountains.

Today we are off on a somber tour of Dachau which is very fitting as I just learned of the death of a friend, James Major, this morning. Praying for his family!

*Cory and Miss P on the train to Füsee
Cows seen for the train. The one on the left had freshly calved! An exciting sight for us veterinarians!
Hohenschwangau
Swan Fountain, Hohenschwangau
Garden terrace, Hohenschwangau
Lion fountain, Hohenschwangau
Cory cooling off at a small fountain in the Hohenschwangau terrace garden
Alpsee lake
Alpsee lake
P and I cooling off
Schwangau as seen from Neuschwanstein Castle
Neuschwanstein Castle
Neuschwanstein Castle

München

Today we took a bike tour of Munich. Our tour guide with Mike’s Bike Tours is a very comical Aussie named James. I think I would’ve liked and retained a lot more history if my history teachers were more like him. I will say Coach Hemphill in middle school and Coach Koch in high school kept things interesting, but the years in between are a blur.

It was a sweltering 95•F today. Ugh! I left Texas to get away from the heat! I wish I could say the baby loved the tour but she screamed most of the time we rode. But we stopped frequently and I was able to calm her in between. Of course, she passed out the last 5 minutes of the trip.

We saw many interesting sites today and stopped at some beautiful buildings and monuments, had a refreshing dip in a river (well Cory did while I nursed P), had lunch in the Chinese beer garden, and even saw some naked sunbathers. It was interesting to learn that many buildings in Munich are not that old because so much was damaged during the war. But many buildings were rebuilt according to the original plans. The English Garden was a beautiful park that the locals seemed to thoroughly enjoy. We even saw some surfing (no kidding) in the river. The beer garden was great fun. There was traditional German music, beer, men in lederhosen and delicious food. Cory had the currywurst (sausage covered in a tangy curry sauce – not our favorite) and I finally had a pretzel with Obatzda (a delicious cheese mixture). By the end of the day my ideas of Munich have changed. Maybe this isn’t such bad city after all.

Castles tomorrow! I gotta get up early so Auf Wederesen for now!

*Miss P chillin’ in her bike seat
Hofbrauhaus
Beautiful Bavarian buildings
King Ludwig I statue – Ludwig said the statue made him look fat, old, and ugly and as if he was using the bathroom. He forbid it to be placed in public. It was erected after his death.
Our tour guide having fun with the tourists
Theatinekirche
Inside of Theatinekirche, beautiful white carvings
My beer and pretzel
Chinese beer garden tower
Surfing
Our tour group

All Aboard

We spent most of the day sampling western Germany’s vast train system. Just to keep us on our toes most trains were running late but we made it to Ingelheim and the lost wallet has been claimed and there is not a cent missing. Thank God for sweet little gray-haired German ladies that remind me of my grandmothers!

We also figured out how to locate the first class trains. I purchased first class tickets for us since we were going to be predominantly using the train. On some trains you even get beverage and food service. Cory is going to have a beer and I just finished my complimentary snack bag of Gümmi bears.

We were able to have Berliners for breakfast, basically a plum jelly-filled doughnut. No pictures though but I don’t anticipate those being the last of the Berliners on this trip.

We are currently on a train to Munich and will be staying there for the next 4 nights. On the agenda is Dachau, Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, and a bicycle tour of the city. We did a bicycle tour of Barcelona and loved it. I highly recommend them when visiting big cities early in your visit. That way you get an idea of the layout of the city and can determine what sights deserve a closer look. The tour guides are typically from English speaking countries and have a great knowledge of local culture and history. They are also great persons to ask where the best places to eat are. I have fond memories of tapas and paella in Spain thanks to our tour guide.

Cologne

Our day started very early. The taxi driver met us at 5 am to take us to Gatwick airport. Oma kept E and they will meet up with us next week in Switzerland. As much as we miss our little girl, it has been nice to make it through today with no tantrums! We arrived in Cologne, Germany at 9:30 am.

This is the first time I have traveled out of the country and not had a working knowledge of the primary language. It makes me a bit uneasy. I have had to rely on my husband and I typically like to be the one in control. It’s hard not understanding a word of the language!

We left our luggage at the hotel and went to the Köln Dom, a large cathedral whose spires dominate the skyline. It was magnificent. Building began in 1248 and ceased while still unfinished in 1474. The original plans were later discovered and it was completed in the 1800’s. it sustained many hits during World War II but did not collapse, perhaps because the allied troops did not want to destroy it as it served as an excellent landmark from the sky.

We went out for dinner last night. Cory had weinerschnitzel and I got a pork knuckle (appetizing, I know) with mashed potatoes and sauerkraut. The knuckle was huge, the sauerkraut slimy and soft! Total disappointment as I like crispier sauerkraut. Maybe I just like the American version of it? We made 4 sandwiches from the leftover meat and still threw some away!

We also visited the German-Romansch museum. Such awesome history! It’s hard to fathom how far and wide the Roman Empire stretched!

Auf wiedersehen