I LOVED my Vacation!

Okay, now that I'm back from my vacation and I've caught up in other areas of my life, it's time to blog about the vacation. I thought I'd be able to do it while actually ON the vacation--but we were so busy that I just fell into bed every night by the time we were back in the hotel! So, better late than never!

First stop: Munich, Germany

We stayed in a building that is on the historic register. (Hint: that's another way of saying "no air conditioning.") However, it wasn't all that bad not having an air conditioner, even though we arrived in the middle of a big heat wave. We got lucky with some evening rain, one cooler day, and a day in the mountains. It was a charming hotel, and the staff was great. The location was even better, as it was a residential area. Locals sat around us at the neighborhood cafe, where we had breakfast a few times.

Hotel Laimer Hof--highly recommended.

These are some of the buildings around the hotel. The neighborhood was charming. We learned, however, that much of Munich was bombed at the end of WWII, and so many of the buildings are reconstructed. That doesn't change the charm, in my opinion!

Eating breakfast near our hotel after arriving in Munich very early in the morning. They had
menus in English, but it was still a trip to try and order everything!

After breakfast, we picked up our very good friends, Bart and Susan, literally threw our stuff at the hotel, and hopped a local train to Munich's city center for a pre-arranged segway tour. Now, I had never been on a segway and had no idea how they worked. After signing away all of our rights and liabilities (making Bart the risk manager MORE than a little nervous!), we took our segway-riding lessons and took off to tour the city. I'm going to share just a few of the many photos we took that evening in a three-hour ride. But suffice it to say that we could never have seen all of these sights on foot, and not even some of them from a tour bus or a car since they were off the beaten path. Other than my near-collision with a tour bus and a driver who had had it with all the tourist foot traffic, it was a pretty enjoyable time! Even Bart gave in and enjoyed himself as well! I hope you enjoy some of the sights that Munich is famous for and some sights that it is less well known for!

 

Angel of peace; overlooks the city and the river

Locals enjoying a summer evening on the sand bars in the river

Only place in the world that I know of where you can surf without an ocean!
These guys take their surfing seriously--you have to be "invited" and
approved to join them inn this difficult and somewhat dangerous feat!

A former Nazi building...most of Munich was destroyed by the end of WWII, so
much of the town has been rebuilt and/or restored.

City gate to the Marienplatz--an old public town square

The New Town Hall--I guess "new" is always relative!

The clock tower adjoined to the town hall, where the famous Glockenspiele is installed

The Glockenspiele up close--the figurines joust and dance 2 times a day, 3 in summer.

 We weren't in the square when it was time for the Glockenspiele to play, so our Segway tour guide, Achem, did the whole dance (or spiele) for us! I don't know why, but these were just too funny not to include!

   

After that astounding rendition of the Glockenspiele, we returned our segways and went searching for supper. We ate just off the Karlsplatz in Old Town in an Augustiner Brauhaus. Jet lag had taken over, so I won't share those lovely pictures, but we had good schnitzel and potato dumplings in an authentic Bavarian atmosphere. Good ending to a good day!  --I have lots more to share, so watch for my upcoming posts!