Pictures taken from my garage. Blocks represent the high water mark.
No mail today.
Shot from back patio. Pond is a little close.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Pictures from Fay
Pictures taken from my garage. Blocks represent the high water mark. No mail today. Shot from back patio. Pond is a little close.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Back in Hanau2 - Ireland trip and more
Added pictures, ran spell check and tried to catch most grammatical/wrong word errors.
It's Tuesday night and I'm back in Hanau, preparing to come back to the States. We only had access to an i-cafe on our first day in Ireland so I couldn't post anything over the weekend. I'll review what has happened since my last post on Friday in this posting. I've added pictures to the Neuschanstein castle and Eagle's Nest posts. Also, I've added a link to Ed and Shelly's blog. Their blog is pretty much the gold standard of blogs. They have some alternate viewpoints to my visit. The link is on the right side of my blog.
So Wednesday I hit the Eagle's Nest which was, without a doubt, the high point of the Munich adventure. I think the Munich leg worked out perfectly. The Munich time combined with the day trips was a great combo. The hostel deal was the right choice since I was flying solo. I was hardly there except to sleep and hang out at the bar late at night. It was a very transient clientele in the hostel. Most roommates didn't stay for more than 2 nights. The 2 cuties from Monday night only stayed for 2 nights. One of them had a boyfriend, who was also in the room. The other one, I hardly saw. There was one guy that was in the room the whole time I was there. He was kind of weird because he spent so much time in the room.
Every time I showed up at the room, he was there. Nice enough guy, but I'm not sure why he didn't want to see Munich. The other thing about the guy is that had a major case of B.O. Every time you go to the room, you're welcomed by a nice dose of European B.O. It was around Wednesday that I noticed the place smelled a little better. He must have taken a shower or washed his clothes.
Thursday
Thursday was my last day in Munich. I was to catch a train around 5-6 pm, putting me back in Hanua between 8-9pm. I just took it easy that day. Slept in. Ate breakfast at the hostel, then walked downtown to take a final look around. I decided to rent a bike to take a look at the outer perimeter of the downtown area. I pretty much had seen the historic center of the city multiple times, so I wanted to take a look outside of that area. The ride took me through the suburbs to Schloss Nymphenberg which is another of Ludwig II's castles. Next it was up to Olympistadt park, which was central area for the 72 Olympics. They turned it into a nice park area. Next rolled back over to the Englischer Garden and through what I would call the artsy/college area. This is a pretty cool area. There's basically a whole new city here that is very different from downtown Munich. Finally I rode for a while down the Isar river which runs down the east side of the city. The whole ride took about 3 hours. Weather cooperated until the end, when it started to rain. Got my last beer in Munich then caught the train to Hanau
Ireland
Shelly, Ed and I were heading to Ireland for a long weekend. We were flying from outside of Frankfurt around noon on Friday and coming back noon on Monday. Ed's sister, Tracy, who lives in Holland just over the German border with her husband Chris and family, was keeping Madison while we rolled to Ireland. Our plan for the Ireland trip was to tour the southwest area of Ireland which is suppose to be a very scenic area with classic Irish landscapes.
Friday
We needed to leave the house by 8am to get to the airport on time, so the day started early. All went fine with the flight over. Our arrival in Ireland was at Kerry county airport at noon. We rented the car and hit the ground running. First destination was the Dingle peninsula which is on the southwest corner of the country. This area was within an hour of the airport. Now remember, in Ireland, they drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. I started off as the driver. The left side of the road thing took a little getting used to, especially on right turns. Second thing, the roads in Ireland are terrible. They're generally two lane roads that are really sized for 1 1/2 cars. So that gets kind of interesting. When you start off, you have a tendency to stay extra close to the left side of the road, I guess because you think you're going hit oncoming traffic. Anyway, Ed and Shelly had a few good laughs at my expense when we first started out because I cut it close on the left side multiple times. Hit some bushes, came close to hitting a wall or two. Think I hit a cone in a construction area. So they're giving me this hard time and damned if at the first overlook do we see this car with the left side mirror shattered (wrapped with duct tape), a huge scratch\dent running down the whole left side of the car. I'm like "guys look at this.., give me a break !!!!". This was a common sight on cars the whole weekend.
So we're basically going to do a loop around the Dingle peninsula, check various scenic areas and possibly do some hiking.
It's Tuesday night and I'm back in Hanau, preparing to come back to the States. We only had access to an i-cafe on our first day in Ireland so I couldn't post anything over the weekend. I'll review what has happened since my last post on Friday in this posting. I've added pictures to the Neuschanstein castle and Eagle's Nest posts. Also, I've added a link to Ed and Shelly's blog. Their blog is pretty much the gold standard of blogs. They have some alternate viewpoints to my visit. The link is on the right side of my blog.
So Wednesday I hit the Eagle's Nest which was, without a doubt, the high point of the Munich adventure. I think the Munich leg worked out perfectly. The Munich time combined with the day trips was a great combo. The hostel deal was the right choice since I was flying solo. I was hardly there except to sleep and hang out at the bar late at night. It was a very transient clientele in the hostel. Most roommates didn't stay for more than 2 nights. The 2 cuties from Monday night only stayed for 2 nights. One of them had a boyfriend, who was also in the room. The other one, I hardly saw. There was one guy that was in the room the whole time I was there. He was kind of weird because he spent so much time in the room.
Every time I showed up at the room, he was there. Nice enough guy, but I'm not sure why he didn't want to see Munich. The other thing about the guy is that had a major case of B.O. Every time you go to the room, you're welcomed by a nice dose of European B.O. It was around Wednesday that I noticed the place smelled a little better. He must have taken a shower or washed his clothes. Thursday
Thursday was my last day in Munich. I was to catch a train around 5-6 pm, putting me back in Hanua between 8-9pm. I just took it easy that day. Slept in. Ate breakfast at the hostel, then walked downtown to take a final look around. I decided to rent a bike to take a look at the outer perimeter of the downtown area. I pretty much had seen the historic center of the city multiple times, so I wanted to take a look outside of that area. The ride took me through the suburbs to Schloss Nymphenberg which is another of Ludwig II's castles. Next it was up to Olympistadt park, which was central area for the 72 Olympics. They turned it into a nice park area. Next rolled back over to the Englischer Garden and through what I would call the artsy/college area. This is a pretty cool area. There's basically a whole new city here that is very different from downtown Munich. Finally I rode for a while down the Isar river which runs down the east side of the city. The whole ride took about 3 hours. Weather cooperated until the end, when it started to rain. Got my last beer in Munich then caught the train to Hanau
Ireland
Shelly, Ed and I were heading to Ireland for a long weekend. We were flying from outside of Frankfurt around noon on Friday and coming back noon on Monday. Ed's sister, Tracy, who lives in Holland just over the German border with her husband Chris and family, was keeping Madison while we rolled to Ireland. Our plan for the Ireland trip was to tour the southwest area of Ireland which is suppose to be a very scenic area with classic Irish landscapes.
Friday
We needed to leave the house by 8am to get to the airport on time, so the day started early. All went fine with the flight over. Our arrival in Ireland was at Kerry county airport at noon. We rented the car and hit the ground running. First destination was the Dingle peninsula which is on the southwest corner of the country. This area was within an hour of the airport. Now remember, in Ireland, they drive on the left side of the road and the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. I started off as the driver. The left side of the road thing took a little getting used to, especially on right turns. Second thing, the roads in Ireland are terrible. They're generally two lane roads that are really sized for 1 1/2 cars. So that gets kind of interesting. When you start off, you have a tendency to stay extra close to the left side of the road, I guess because you think you're going hit oncoming traffic. Anyway, Ed and Shelly had a few good laughs at my expense when we first started out because I cut it close on the left side multiple times. Hit some bushes, came close to hitting a wall or two. Think I hit a cone in a construction area. So they're giving me this hard time and damned if at the first overlook do we see this car with the left side mirror shattered (wrapped with duct tape), a huge scratch\dent running down the whole left side of the car. I'm like "guys look at this.., give me a break !!!!". This was a common sight on cars the whole weekend.
So we're basically going to do a loop around the Dingle peninsula, check various scenic areas and possibly do some hiking.
There was one hitch in the plan..... the rain. When we started out, it was a little overcast, but it looked like we were going to be okay, but as the day wore on, the weather deteriorated. In fact it seemed like every time we got out of the car, the weather would take a turn. Like one of our first stops on the Connor pass. We pull up to this scenic overlook area, look around, and take some pictures. We see some people hiking up the mountain, so we decide to try it ourselves. We do some hiking/mild climbing up a little rock area and discover a somewhat hidden lake tucked within the mountains. It was pretty cool. The view was impressive. But then the rain...and wind started. We kept thinking it was going to blow over, but it didn't. So we got some pics and made our way back to the car. Anyway, the day continued on like this. We saw some great scenery, but weren't able to get the best shots because of the weather. It was a fun day, we kind of laughed at the weather. We stayed in Dingle on Friday night in a B&B. Great little town. Had you're classic Irish pubs. Drank Guinness, Harp, Carlsberg and Smithwicks. 
Saturday 
Saturday we planned to do the Ring of Kerry, which is basically a route around another peninsula, only larger than the Dingle peninsula. As we made it around the peninsula, we veered off the normal Ring of Kerry route and went to an island on the coast called Valencia Island. There was an old slate mine here that had an massive grotto. Also on this island were some fossilized dinosaur tracks that were discovered on the rocks near the water, which was pretty neat. Beautiful scenery on this island. The weather was on and off. It was very windy at times. We did not make it all the way around the Ring of Kerry on Sat. We stayed in a little town called Sneem which was on the Kerry peninsula. Just one note that I can't emphasize enough, the people of Ireland are the nicest people you'll ever meet. There always very helpful and warm. We stayed at a B&B in Sneem. The B&B owner set us up with a nice dinner at Pub/Restaurant called the Blue Bull. Very good. Forgot to mention that it was Shelly's birthday on Saturday. She's 29! Again... ;-)
Saturday we planned to do the Ring of Kerry, which is basically a route around another peninsula, only larger than the Dingle peninsula. As we made it around the peninsula, we veered off the normal Ring of Kerry route and went to an island on the coast called Valencia Island. There was an old slate mine here that had an massive grotto. Also on this island were some fossilized dinosaur tracks that were discovered on the rocks near the water, which was pretty neat. Beautiful scenery on this island. The weather was on and off. It was very windy at times. We did not make it all the way around the Ring of Kerry on Sat. We stayed in a little town called Sneem which was on the Kerry peninsula. Just one note that I can't emphasize enough, the people of Ireland are the nicest people you'll ever meet. There always very helpful and warm. We stayed at a B&B in Sneem. The B&B owner set us up with a nice dinner at Pub/Restaurant called the Blue Bull. Very good. Forgot to mention that it was Shelly's birthday on Saturday. She's 29! Again... ;-)
Sunday
The plan for Sunday was to finish the Ring of Kerry, and play it by ear if we had additional time. The weather cooperated the most on Sunday. We finished the Ring of Kerry which kind of ends up in a town called Kenmare. We grabbed some lunch and decided to go ahead an book our B&B, actually the place we ate lunch, so we could have the rest of the day without having to worry about that. For the afternoon we decided to do a hike in a nearby park- Gleninchaquin Park. The park had a magnificent waterfall. Our hike trail took us below the waterfall, up the side then around the back and down the other side. It was a great hike. The weather cooperated. Behind the waterfall were two hidden lakes which were magnificent.
The plan for Sunday was to finish the Ring of Kerry, and play it by ear if we had additional time. The weather cooperated the most on Sunday. We finished the Ring of Kerry which kind of ends up in a town called Kenmare. We grabbed some lunch and decided to go ahead an book our B&B, actually the place we ate lunch, so we could have the rest of the day without having to worry about that. For the afternoon we decided to do a hike in a nearby park- Gleninchaquin Park. The park had a magnificent waterfall. Our hike trail took us below the waterfall, up the side then around the back and down the other side. It was a great hike. The weather cooperated. Behind the waterfall were two hidden lakes which were magnificent.
The hike was probably the high point of the Ireland trip which was only fitting since was our last day. We had another good dinner that night in Kenmare. The food the whole time was great. We generally stuck with traditional Irish food and it was always good. Shepherd's pie, fish-n-chips, etc. In the pubs, we stuck with Irish brewed beers, Guinness, Harp, Carlsberg, Smithwicks, etc. We gained a new appreciation for Guinness served in Ireland. It is very different than Guinness served in the States or even in Germany according to Ed. Basically, the Guinness served in Ireland has the consistency of a freaking milkshake. When the bartender pours it out of the tap, they fill the glass about 80% full, then set the glass aside to let the beer settle. You can literally see the foam/head settle in the beer. Once the beer has settled they top off the beer and hand it off to the patron. When you initially drink it, it is very thick and has a strong but smooth taste. As you get to the bottom of the glass, the beer taste different than it did at the start. Little more bitter, but still good. Drinking a Guinness is an experience. It's very good, but I couldn't drink it all night. It would be like drinking milkshakes all night.
It was a great trip with Ed and Shelly. We saw some great scenery, ate great food, drank great beer and met a lot of nice people. What more could you ask for? We laughed a lot at the weather and my driving. I ended up driving the whole time because I pretty much had the hang of things on Saturday. Which reminds me, when we returned the car to Avis on Monday, there were cars all over the parking lot with torn up left sides, missing bumpers, you name it. It was kind of funny. The lady at Avis said they get like two cars a day that are just trashed.
Monday
We woke up, had breakfast, caught some scenery at the Killarney National Park on our way to the airport. When we got back to Germany, the plan was to drive back to Hanau to drop Shelly off since she had to work on Tuesday. Then Ed and I would roll up to Holland (~3hrs) to Tracy and Chris' to pick up Madison. Spend the night and head back to Hanau on Tues.---Ed and I got to Holland around 8pm. We were able to catch up with Tracy and Chris for a while. I had met them at Ed and Shelly's wedding, but wasn't able to talk with them much, so it was great to get to know them a little. They have 3 kids and are very busy with and dedicated to family life. Chris is in the Air Force, stationed in Holland on a stint with NATO. Tracy and Chris are both good cooksas well. Had some of Tracy's great potato soup on Monday night, then one of Chris' omelets Tues morning.
Tuesday
Ed and I hung out a little with Tracy in the morning as we got Madison prepared for the trip to Hanau. We left around 11am. On the way home, we stopped of in Koln to see the
cathedral. This thing is enormous, like no church or cathedral I have ever seen. Ed had recommended stopping to see it since it was on the home. Good call.
Monday
We woke up, had breakfast, caught some scenery at the Killarney National Park on our way to the airport. When we got back to Germany, the plan was to drive back to Hanau to drop Shelly off since she had to work on Tuesday. Then Ed and I would roll up to Holland (~3hrs) to Tracy and Chris' to pick up Madison. Spend the night and head back to Hanau on Tues.---Ed and I got to Holland around 8pm. We were able to catch up with Tracy and Chris for a while. I had met them at Ed and Shelly's wedding, but wasn't able to talk with them much, so it was great to get to know them a little. They have 3 kids and are very busy with and dedicated to family life. Chris is in the Air Force, stationed in Holland on a stint with NATO. Tracy and Chris are both good cooksas well. Had some of Tracy's great potato soup on Monday night, then one of Chris' omelets Tues morning.
Tuesday
Ed and I hung out a little with Tracy in the morning as we got Madison prepared for the trip to Hanau. We left around 11am. On the way home, we stopped of in Koln to see the
cathedral. This thing is enormous, like no church or cathedral I have ever seen. Ed had recommended stopping to see it since it was on the home. Good call.
It's now Wed as I finish this entry. Leaving for the airport in like hour. It's been a great trip. I can't thank Ed and Shelly enough for everything they've done. I'm so thankful I got over when they were here. First, because I got to see them while I was here, but secondly, they've added so much to the experience. I loved everything, but it's been all the better to share and experience it with them.
Well, that's it. See you back in the States!!!!!!
Well, that's it. See you back in the States!!!!!!
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Back in Hanau -Eagle's Nest Review
Wrote this last night, but the laptop died before I could post. Didn't get the pictures loaded. We're in Dingle, Ireland now. More later. Ireland is rainy...
Okay, made it back to Hanau tonight. Caught the 6pm train from Munich. Got into Hanau around 9pm. De-briefed Shelly and Ed on the trip. Though, they were keeping tabs on me throughout Munchen (Munich) and Bavaria, as they had let me borrow Shelly's cell phone. So Ed and I were text messaging throughout. Let me just thank Ed and Shelly for their hospitality and everything the did to help me on the Munchen trip. Also props to Mark S, Regan, Susan, and Debi for their suggestions. The trip rocked. Also, thanks to Ed for recommending and setting up this blog. Great idea. Ed and Shelly have a blog which I will link to this blog. Anyway, continuing .....
Wednesday
So the plan for the Eagle's Nest was to catch the earliest train possible. I was flying solo on the one as well. There was 5:56am train I hoped to catch, but with getting in a 2am it might be iffy, so I wasn't going to buy the ticket until morning when I was at the train station. Berchtegaden is northeast of Munchen, takes about 3 hours by train. It's pretty close to Salzberg, Austria. B-gaten is the town/area where the Eagle's Nest is located. The Eagle's Nest, also called Kehlestein, is a lodge built right onto the top of a mountain. It was built by the Nazis as a gift to Hitler for his 50th birthday. It took 13 months to build with like a 24/7 effort. I think at least 8 workers died during construction. They basically had to build a road to the top of the mountain including 3 tunnels, then build the lodge on the top of a mountain.
So I woke up around 5:20 and didn't make the early train so I got the next one at 6:40. Got to the town of B-garten around 10-ish. You have take two buses to get to the landing area to go up to the EN. The second bus ride is extremely steep and it feels like the bus isn't going to make it up the hill. Moreover, with every turn on this road, it looks like the bus is going over the side. Little iffy for those who are scared of heights. Anyway, the bus drops you off at this landing area, where you then have to go down a tunnel to get to the elevator that takes you to the EN. The elevator/tunnel is not something the park built, this is what actually was used to get to the lodge.
Okay, made it back to Hanau tonight. Caught the 6pm train from Munich. Got into Hanau around 9pm. De-briefed Shelly and Ed on the trip. Though, they were keeping tabs on me throughout Munchen (Munich) and Bavaria, as they had let me borrow Shelly's cell phone. So Ed and I were text messaging throughout. Let me just thank Ed and Shelly for their hospitality and everything the did to help me on the Munchen trip. Also props to Mark S, Regan, Susan, and Debi for their suggestions. The trip rocked. Also, thanks to Ed for recommending and setting up this blog. Great idea. Ed and Shelly have a blog which I will link to this blog. Anyway, continuing .....
Wednesday
So the plan for the Eagle's Nest was to catch the earliest train possible. I was flying solo on the one as well. There was 5:56am train I hoped to catch, but with getting in a 2am it might be iffy, so I wasn't going to buy the ticket until morning when I was at the train station. Berchtegaden is northeast of Munchen, takes about 3 hours by train. It's pretty close to Salzberg, Austria. B-gaten is the town/area where the Eagle's Nest is located. The Eagle's Nest, also called Kehlestein, is a lodge built right onto the top of a mountain. It was built by the Nazis as a gift to Hitler for his 50th birthday. It took 13 months to build with like a 24/7 effort. I think at least 8 workers died during construction. They basically had to build a road to the top of the mountain including 3 tunnels, then build the lodge on the top of a mountain.
So I woke up around 5:20 and didn't make the early train so I got the next one at 6:40. Got to the town of B-garten around 10-ish. You have take two buses to get to the landing area to go up to the EN. The second bus ride is extremely steep and it feels like the bus isn't going to make it up the hill. Moreover, with every turn on this road, it looks like the bus is going over the side. Little iffy for those who are scared of heights. Anyway, the bus drops you off at this landing area, where you then have to go down a tunnel to get to the elevator that takes you to the EN. The elevator/tunnel is not something the park built, this is what actually was used to get to the lodge.
The view from the landing area was awesome. So I took some pictures there and then proceeded to the tunnel and elevator. The elevator is big enough to hold ~20 people stuffed in together. Maybe more. I think the elevator ascends ~100m to the lodge. The inside of the lodge is now used as a restaurant, so you don't spend much time in there, and there's no reason to....
When you get out of the lodge and look around at the mountains and surrounding landscape, you are awestruck. It is literally spectacular. I was so moved by it, I could feel tears in my eyes. No kidding. I know that sounds extreme, but your first look at this scenery is extremely powerful. And I just happened to come up on a perfect day at the perfect time of year when all the green had filled in on the mountains and landscape. It is absolutely incredible. The pictures I'll post won't do it justice. The lodge is built on one side of the mountain top. There is a path leading up to the other part of the peak.
You can just hike around anywhere you want. The pictures will show the landscape as well as the lodge. On the back side of the lodge you'll see umbrellas for the beergarden which is just an extension of the restaurant inside. Some might sneer at the use of the place as restaurant/beer garden. I think it's great. What better way to 
get the full effect of Baravia. Hike around the Bavaria alps, then grab a beer and snitzel.
get the full effect of Baravia. Hike around the Bavaria alps, then grab a beer and snitzel. 
Also, there is alot of sensitivity with the use of this place. All profits from the restaurant go to charity. Anyway, I spent like 3 hours up there, could have spent an entire day. It's just that cool, hiking around and enjoying the view. I will be back to this place one day. I'll get there at the crack of dawn at some point of lower elevation and hike my way up and just spend the whole day. I recommend the place to everyone, without exception. I'm glad I did this place after I did Fussen and the castle on Tues. That is all great, I recommend that as well, but the Eagle's Nest is just in different class. I'm wondering if there is much in the same class with the EN. It's definitely the greatest thing I've seen in my life. Anyway, you have the option to hike down to the landing area as opposed to taking the elevator/tunnel. So I hiked down.
The area below the Eagles Nest is called Olbersalzberg. It's where the buses stage for the ascent to the EN. Anyway this O-berg area was used for personal houses for some of the SS's top brass like Gerhing, Borman, etc. The place was like a mini-headquaters for the SS. So, because of that, there was an extensive bunker system built from each house to a main bunker. The houses were destroyed by Allied bombing, but some of the bunkers still remained. So, I checked that out after the EN. Then I went down to the lake Konigsee, which is the body of water in the shots from the EN. Caught the train from B-gaten a little after 6pm. Got back to Munich around 9pm. Went directly to the room and took a shower. I was a little ripe after that long day. I smelled like a European! Anyway chilled a street cafe/beergarden for a late dinner. Went to the i-cafe and put in last yesterdays blog.
The area below the Eagles Nest is called Olbersalzberg. It's where the buses stage for the ascent to the EN. Anyway this O-berg area was used for personal houses for some of the SS's top brass like Gerhing, Borman, etc. The place was like a mini-headquaters for the SS. So, because of that, there was an extensive bunker system built from each house to a main bunker. The houses were destroyed by Allied bombing, but some of the bunkers still remained. So, I checked that out after the EN. Then I went down to the lake Konigsee, which is the body of water in the shots from the EN. Caught the train from B-gaten a little after 6pm. Got back to Munich around 9pm. Went directly to the room and took a shower. I was a little ripe after that long day. I smelled like a European! Anyway chilled a street cafe/beergarden for a late dinner. Went to the i-cafe and put in last yesterdays blog.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Day Trips 1-Neushwanstein (sp?)
Okay, I´m back. It´s been a busy 2 days. Would be nice if I had a laptop to write stuff/edit pictures on the train. Which reminds me, I´m not going to post any pictures today. Going to wait til I get to Ed and Shelly´s tomorrow. I´ve had some issues where I´ve lost pictures when downloading at this i-cafe.
Tuesday
So I wake up early after hitting it hard the night before. Post on the blog, then roll back to the room for a little more sleep. My time and sleep are all out of whack. So Tuesday and Wed were planned to be day trip days. I was supposedly going to plan/scope those trips on Monday afternoon/evening. That went out the window with all the Bräu Munchen. So I was kind of winging it Tuesday morning. The day trips I was thinking about were Ludwig´s Castles, and/or Garmisch and/or the Eagle´s Nest, (Hitler´s lodge on the edge of a mountain). After running around a little bit, I hopped in with an organized tour to Schloss Neauschwanstein. It was the best option on short notice. This is the most famous of Ludwig´s castles and probably one of, if not the most visited sites in Germany. The Disney castle in based on this one. Anyway, the tour group was comprised of people from the hostel as well people from other hostels/hotels. The tour guide was a nice girl named Alice. Alice was born and raised in the States, but now lives in Munich as a professinal dancer. Anyway, the castle is near a town named Fussen in the Bavarian Alps which is about 2 hours southeast of Munich. We left about 10 or 11am, so it was going to be a long day. There was a nice American couple who presently live in Italy, that I talked with on the way there. Talked with Alice and the others too.
Basically the deal here is not only seeing the castle, but also hiking and checking out the surrounding landscape. These castles are tucked in the side of mountains/forests which are beautiful. This guy Ludwig II, who was king of Bavaria had like 4 or 5 of these things built. Anyway the tour went well. We saw the castle and did the tour inside, but we also were able to do a fair amount of hiking, which was great. The area is freaking beautiful. There is also this bridge that extends over the fiorde behind/above the castle. We went up to that and got to walk on it. I´m definitely scared of heights. I couldn´t stay on that the thing too long, especially with crowds. The freaking bridge was jammed with people trying to take a picture of the castle. It was almost ridiculous. No, it was ridiculous. I took my picture and got the hell off.
Pictures speak better than words on this one.
Tuesday
So I wake up early after hitting it hard the night before. Post on the blog, then roll back to the room for a little more sleep. My time and sleep are all out of whack. So Tuesday and Wed were planned to be day trip days. I was supposedly going to plan/scope those trips on Monday afternoon/evening. That went out the window with all the Bräu Munchen. So I was kind of winging it Tuesday morning. The day trips I was thinking about were Ludwig´s Castles, and/or Garmisch and/or the Eagle´s Nest, (Hitler´s lodge on the edge of a mountain). After running around a little bit, I hopped in with an organized tour to Schloss Neauschwanstein. It was the best option on short notice. This is the most famous of Ludwig´s castles and probably one of, if not the most visited sites in Germany. The Disney castle in based on this one. Anyway, the tour group was comprised of people from the hostel as well people from other hostels/hotels. The tour guide was a nice girl named Alice. Alice was born and raised in the States, but now lives in Munich as a professinal dancer. Anyway, the castle is near a town named Fussen in the Bavarian Alps which is about 2 hours southeast of Munich. We left about 10 or 11am, so it was going to be a long day. There was a nice American couple who presently live in Italy, that I talked with on the way there. Talked with Alice and the others too.
Basically the deal here is not only seeing the castle, but also hiking and checking out the surrounding landscape. These castles are tucked in the side of mountains/forests which are beautiful. This guy Ludwig II, who was king of Bavaria had like 4 or 5 of these things built. Anyway the tour went well. We saw the castle and did the tour inside, but we also were able to do a fair amount of hiking, which was great. The area is freaking beautiful. There is also this bridge that extends over the fiorde behind/above the castle. We went up to that and got to walk on it. I´m definitely scared of heights. I couldn´t stay on that the thing too long, especially with crowds. The freaking bridge was jammed with people trying to take a picture of the castle. It was almost ridiculous. No, it was ridiculous. I took my picture and got the hell off.
Pictures speak better than words on this one.
When I post pictures you´ll see how magnificent the area and the castle are. Next time I come here, and there will be a next time, I´m just going to go to Fussen for a day or so a do some hiking to check out the other castles.
Keller
So, we get back to Munich between 7-8pm. Alice was trying to convince me to do her Innsbrook tour on Wednesday. But I had pretty much made up my mind to do the Eagles Nest on Wed. But first thing I wanted to do when I got back was figure out where the hell I was the night before. It was bugging me all day. Where was this Augustiner we hit, if it wasn´t Augustiner Keller. So I bolted out of the Haufbahnhof (central train station) on my cloudy memory of very industrial buildings and train tracks. Probably near the train station. Anyway, I head east out of the train station, wonder around a bit. AK is east of the train station itself. Anyway, it doesn´t take long to figure out where we were. There is actually another Augustiner on the opposite side of the train tracks from AK.
So, we get back to Munich between 7-8pm. Alice was trying to convince me to do her Innsbrook tour on Wednesday. But I had pretty much made up my mind to do the Eagles Nest on Wed. But first thing I wanted to do when I got back was figure out where the hell I was the night before. It was bugging me all day. Where was this Augustiner we hit, if it wasn´t Augustiner Keller. So I bolted out of the Haufbahnhof (central train station) on my cloudy memory of very industrial buildings and train tracks. Probably near the train station. Anyway, I head east out of the train station, wonder around a bit. AK is east of the train station itself. Anyway, it doesn´t take long to figure out where we were. There is actually another Augustiner on the opposite side of the train tracks from AK.
Augustiner something. I took a picture of it. It´s more of a hall as opposed to a beer garden. So after thinking about, I think we went to the Keller first then rolled over to the other place to meet someone for some reason.
So I did hit AK after all. But just to make Regan happy, I rolled back over to eat some pork and potatos and drank a liter. The place is freaking huge. It´s now using the outside "garden area". When Regan, Cheri, Ed and Shelly were there a couple years ago in October, they used an enormous cellar/hall since the weather was cooler. I´ll say it again the place is freaking enormous.
After the late dinner, rolled over the to train station to scope out going to Bergdegaten on Wed. It´s like a 3hr train ride. Got that taken care, then rolled downtown to check the city at night. Grabbed beer at the Glockespiel bar. That´s whatever. Then just grabbed another to walk around with. That´s the great thing about this city. First, you can buy beer 24/7. Two, you can walk around in public with an open beer whenever you want. That´s how I´ve been rolling. Just grab a beer and go. It´s awesome. The beer here is awesome. It goes down so easy, yet it´s got great body and taste. That´s quite a combination.
Well, it´s getting late, fill you in on the Eagle´s Nest later. But let me just say it´s the coolest thing I´ve ever seen in my life.
i`m sure there are gramatical/spelling errors in this post, it´s very late
After the late dinner, rolled over the to train station to scope out going to Bergdegaten on Wed. It´s like a 3hr train ride. Got that taken care, then rolled downtown to check the city at night. Grabbed beer at the Glockespiel bar. That´s whatever. Then just grabbed another to walk around with. That´s the great thing about this city. First, you can buy beer 24/7. Two, you can walk around in public with an open beer whenever you want. That´s how I´ve been rolling. Just grab a beer and go. It´s awesome. The beer here is awesome. It goes down so easy, yet it´s got great body and taste. That´s quite a combination.
Well, it´s getting late, fill you in on the Eagle´s Nest later. But let me just say it´s the coolest thing I´ve ever seen in my life.
i`m sure there are gramatical/spelling errors in this post, it´s very late
Monday, August 13, 2007
Munich - added pictures to this post
It's Monday, no Tuesday very early like 5am, little groggy, rolled over to 24hr internet cafe, details in a minute....
The Eagle has landed
Sunday
Ed cooked an awesome breakfast, bluberry pancakes, eggs, bacon. I think Shelly helped. Hung out for awhile in the morning. Watched little Madison play, what a cutie. The plan was for me to roll over to Munich. Going to Munich for 4+ days. Ed booked me a train ticket for Muni @ 1:30pm. Packed a weekender bag. Train trip was okay. Met a couple from Raleigh NC. They were cool. They were spending 3 weeks in Europe going to various destinations, started in London.---- Train trip was interesting from the standpoint of observing regular German people doing their thing. I haven't quite put my finger on it yet, but I definitely got a sense of the German personality, at least for people riding the train. It's weird it's like you can sense a different mindset here compared to the US. Almost like they're going through the motions of life, but in some manner without as much passion. More when I get a better fell for this.
Got into Munich around 5:30pm. Checked into the hostel- Wombats. Staying in a 6 bed dorm room. Hostel is right near the train station, just west of the city center. Threw my stuff into a locker and busted out to the downtown area. Had about 3 hours of daylight left and I wanted to get a sense of the lay of the land.--- Munich very cool. Obviously it's got that international, big city feel. In some ways, it reminds me of New York, but more international. Checked out the main sights Marinplatz, Residence, etc. Very cool. It's interested the way many of the older buildings are integrated into the regular city. In some sense it feels like things are built on top of each other. There was some festival/event on the Marinplatz -city center/gathering area. Hit the Hofbrauhaus which is the big tourist beergarden. Pretty cool. Got my first brat at the Marinplatz- awesome. Went to the Residence which used to be the residence for the "royal" family, now it's a museum. Very impressive. Went over to the Englisher Garden which is like their central park but 5X bigger.------ Munich is all about the beergardens. They're everywhere. So Regan and Cheri were here with Ed and Shelly a couple years ago and they found this beergarden called Augustiner Keller. Let's just say Regan really liked the place. Basically he said if I don't go to the AK, he wouldn't be my friend anymore. Ok Regan, I went down to the Augustiner Keller, but got there too late like 10:30pm, the place was closing down, it was Sunday night. I will say this, the place is freaking enormous. I'll get there again later in the week. Hit the internet cafe, then headed back to the hostel to the Wombar, which is the bar at the hostel. Wobats, Wombar, get it. Cool scene. You gotta love the hostel mentality. Everybody is all about seeing Europe.
Monday
Woke up kind of late about 9:30 or so. Showered, rolled downstatirs to check on what Wombats offered for tours, etc. It just so happened that they were getting ready to do this free tour of Munich, like 2-3 hours. So I hopped in with that. Like 40 people from the hostel were doing it. Guy named Ozzie was conducting the tour. Anyway, I won't bore you with the play by play, but the tour was good. Gave good general overview of historic/downtown Munich.
The tour ended in at beergarden in the Englisher Garden called the Chinese Tower. Freaking huge place.
This is where the day got interesting. Sat down with some guys from the tour and Ozzie and started hitting the liters, Hessen and Summer Beer. Well, that's where things get kind of blurry. Stayed at the Chinese Tower for a couple hours. I know that. We busted out of there, caught the subway to get something to eat, unfortunately I don't know where.
Great food, just don't know where. I kept telling the guys we needed to hit Augustiner Keller. So after eating, we hit some beergarden in suburbs, I don't think it was Augustiner Keller though, something Augustiner, but not the Keller. We had to walk through some sort of downtown area where there were alot of office/business buildings. The buildings have such an "industrial" sort of look. Almost depressing the way they look. Anyway, stayed at this beergarden for a while and then somehow got back to the hostel and crashed. I'm thinking it was around 10 or 11? Woke up once when some new roomates came in. Two chicks. I think they're good looking, was half asleep. I'll know better tomorrow/today. Woke up early, I guess because I went to bed early.
Added pictures to this post. Couple historic shots. Twin towers are the signiture symbol for Munich. Big church in the middle of town. The yellow buiding is under renovation, but thought it was the billboard they put on the front was cool. Guys are surfing in a stream that runs through the Englisher Garden. Shots at the Chinese Tower beer garden and at the subway. Notice the hottie.
The Eagle has landed
Sunday
Ed cooked an awesome breakfast, bluberry pancakes, eggs, bacon. I think Shelly helped. Hung out for awhile in the morning. Watched little Madison play, what a cutie. The plan was for me to roll over to Munich. Going to Munich for 4+ days. Ed booked me a train ticket for Muni @ 1:30pm. Packed a weekender bag. Train trip was okay. Met a couple from Raleigh NC. They were cool. They were spending 3 weeks in Europe going to various destinations, started in London.---- Train trip was interesting from the standpoint of observing regular German people doing their thing. I haven't quite put my finger on it yet, but I definitely got a sense of the German personality, at least for people riding the train. It's weird it's like you can sense a different mindset here compared to the US. Almost like they're going through the motions of life, but in some manner without as much passion. More when I get a better fell for this.
Got into Munich around 5:30pm. Checked into the hostel- Wombats. Staying in a 6 bed dorm room. Hostel is right near the train station, just west of the city center. Threw my stuff into a locker and busted out to the downtown area. Had about 3 hours of daylight left and I wanted to get a sense of the lay of the land.--- Munich very cool. Obviously it's got that international, big city feel. In some ways, it reminds me of New York, but more international. Checked out the main sights Marinplatz, Residence, etc. Very cool. It's interested the way many of the older buildings are integrated into the regular city. In some sense it feels like things are built on top of each other. There was some festival/event on the Marinplatz -city center/gathering area. Hit the Hofbrauhaus which is the big tourist beergarden. Pretty cool. Got my first brat at the Marinplatz- awesome. Went to the Residence which used to be the residence for the "royal" family, now it's a museum. Very impressive. Went over to the Englisher Garden which is like their central park but 5X bigger.------ Munich is all about the beergardens. They're everywhere. So Regan and Cheri were here with Ed and Shelly a couple years ago and they found this beergarden called Augustiner Keller. Let's just say Regan really liked the place. Basically he said if I don't go to the AK, he wouldn't be my friend anymore. Ok Regan, I went down to the Augustiner Keller, but got there too late like 10:30pm, the place was closing down, it was Sunday night. I will say this, the place is freaking enormous. I'll get there again later in the week. Hit the internet cafe, then headed back to the hostel to the Wombar, which is the bar at the hostel. Wobats, Wombar, get it. Cool scene. You gotta love the hostel mentality. Everybody is all about seeing Europe.
Monday
Woke up kind of late about 9:30 or so. Showered, rolled downstatirs to check on what Wombats offered for tours, etc. It just so happened that they were getting ready to do this free tour of Munich, like 2-3 hours. So I hopped in with that. Like 40 people from the hostel were doing it. Guy named Ozzie was conducting the tour. Anyway, I won't bore you with the play by play, but the tour was good. Gave good general overview of historic/downtown Munich.
The tour ended in at beergarden in the Englisher Garden called the Chinese Tower. Freaking huge place.
This is where the day got interesting. Sat down with some guys from the tour and Ozzie and started hitting the liters, Hessen and Summer Beer. Well, that's where things get kind of blurry. Stayed at the Chinese Tower for a couple hours. I know that. We busted out of there, caught the subway to get something to eat, unfortunately I don't know where.
Great food, just don't know where. I kept telling the guys we needed to hit Augustiner Keller. So after eating, we hit some beergarden in suburbs, I don't think it was Augustiner Keller though, something Augustiner, but not the Keller. We had to walk through some sort of downtown area where there were alot of office/business buildings. The buildings have such an "industrial" sort of look. Almost depressing the way they look. Anyway, stayed at this beergarden for a while and then somehow got back to the hostel and crashed. I'm thinking it was around 10 or 11? Woke up once when some new roomates came in. Two chicks. I think they're good looking, was half asleep. I'll know better tomorrow/today. Woke up early, I guess because I went to bed early.
Added pictures to this post. Couple historic shots. Twin towers are the signiture symbol for Munich. Big church in the middle of town. The yellow buiding is under renovation, but thought it was the billboard they put on the front was cool. Guys are surfing in a stream that runs through the Englisher Garden. Shots at the Chinese Tower beer garden and at the subway. Notice the hottie.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
1st entry from Germany
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Departure
Regan, Cheri and Jackson were nice enough to take me to the Orlando airport for my flight over the pond. Flight was scheduled for 9:25pm and the Condor wanted me at the aiport 3 hours in advance. We left my house around 4:30pm. We got a little nervous when we first started off, because I95 was a freaking parking lot. But no worries, just a couple accidents and some rubbernecking. Traffic cleared up in about 20 mins. After dropping me off, the fam was heading over to Sea World for the evening. Thanks for the snacks Cheri!
Flight
I flew over on a German airline, Condor. It was a direct flight to Frankfurt which was awesome. The flight was full of German families with small childen, most likely returning from an Orlando vacation. Everyone was speaking German which was pretty cool. Aside from the courtesy English that the pilot and wait staff spoke, I didn't here a word of English. With the 9:25pm departure/12:35 arrival, my plan was to grab a bite at the airport before take-off, read a little on the plane, then crash for the night. Unlike some people, namely Reg, Ed and Shelly, I can sleep my a$$ on a plane. Plan was executed without a hitch!
Arrival
No issues on arrival. Passport check, customs were whatever. Cool walking through the airport taking in the German culture. Ed picked me up in the pimped out Beemer. Sweet ride. Rolled on the Autobahn to Hanau. Hanau is approx. 30 mins from Frankfurt airport. ---- Ed and Shelly know the drill on the whole jet lag/long flight deal. The plan was to go for a walk so I could stretch my legs, get acclimated and stay vertical. Shelly had the dogs ready as soon as Ed and I got to the house. Little Madison was taking a nap and would be fine while we walked down the street to a nearby trail.
After the walk we hung out, caught up and waited for the little one to wake. It's great to see Ed and Shelly (and now Madison). With them being in Germany, I've only seen them once or twice a year when they get back for special occasions. I last saw the fam this past March in Florida. And since then, little Madison has sprouted up and is walking too! ---- Once Madison awoke, Ed and Shelly had some nearby sites in mind show me.
First we rolled over to Ronnenburg castle which is ~20mins from their house. Great castle. Sits up on a hill in the rolling pastures of the country side , very cool.
We ate dinner at a great little restaurant at the castle. Awesome fried pork and weis beer. My first authentic German meal!
Next we rolled to Budingen (sp?) which is also in the general area of Hanau. This is a great little town with classic old style German houses and buildings. And of course, there was a castle. Stopped off at a nice beer garden and had some apple wine.
Great Day! Awesome welcome to Germany. Thanks Ed, Shelly and Madison.
Departure
Regan, Cheri and Jackson were nice enough to take me to the Orlando airport for my flight over the pond. Flight was scheduled for 9:25pm and the Condor wanted me at the aiport 3 hours in advance. We left my house around 4:30pm. We got a little nervous when we first started off, because I95 was a freaking parking lot. But no worries, just a couple accidents and some rubbernecking. Traffic cleared up in about 20 mins. After dropping me off, the fam was heading over to Sea World for the evening. Thanks for the snacks Cheri!
Flight
I flew over on a German airline, Condor. It was a direct flight to Frankfurt which was awesome. The flight was full of German families with small childen, most likely returning from an Orlando vacation. Everyone was speaking German which was pretty cool. Aside from the courtesy English that the pilot and wait staff spoke, I didn't here a word of English. With the 9:25pm departure/12:35 arrival, my plan was to grab a bite at the airport before take-off, read a little on the plane, then crash for the night. Unlike some people, namely Reg, Ed and Shelly, I can sleep my a$$ on a plane. Plan was executed without a hitch!
Arrival
No issues on arrival. Passport check, customs were whatever. Cool walking through the airport taking in the German culture. Ed picked me up in the pimped out Beemer. Sweet ride. Rolled on the Autobahn to Hanau. Hanau is approx. 30 mins from Frankfurt airport. ---- Ed and Shelly know the drill on the whole jet lag/long flight deal. The plan was to go for a walk so I could stretch my legs, get acclimated and stay vertical. Shelly had the dogs ready as soon as Ed and I got to the house. Little Madison was taking a nap and would be fine while we walked down the street to a nearby trail.
After the walk we hung out, caught up and waited for the little one to wake. It's great to see Ed and Shelly (and now Madison). With them being in Germany, I've only seen them once or twice a year when they get back for special occasions. I last saw the fam this past March in Florida. And since then, little Madison has sprouted up and is walking too! ---- Once Madison awoke, Ed and Shelly had some nearby sites in mind show me.
First we rolled over to Ronnenburg castle which is ~20mins from their house. Great castle. Sits up on a hill in the rolling pastures of the country side , very cool.
We ate dinner at a great little restaurant at the castle. Awesome fried pork and weis beer. My first authentic German meal!
Next we rolled to Budingen (sp?) which is also in the general area of Hanau. This is a great little town with classic old style German houses and buildings. And of course, there was a castle. Stopped off at a nice beer garden and had some apple wine.
Great Day! Awesome welcome to Germany. Thanks Ed, Shelly and Madison.
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