Munchkin Fun in Munich

The day was jammed packed and we ended the day with a one mile walk in the rain at 2300. The Singleton munchkins are dog tired and are ready for bed. We've taken our hot shower in the Barbie Doll House shower and have packed for our next road trip. We will fill in the details tomorrow if we have Internet. Off to Dachau and Rothenburg in the morning.

Monk & Bavarian Style

Today was a leisurely day with our first driving destination to Andechs, home of a very old monastery and some of the best barley pop. The small town seemed to be mostly a rural farming community about two miles from a large lake. The church was built on the highest hill of the town, and by the time we arrived the visitors parking lot was almost half full. We walked up to the church and explored the exterior and a couple of the adjoining buildings. Then we ventured into the small church and were totally amazed at the decor. Our thoughts were geared toward modest since it was originally a monastery. Elegant paintings and a massive gold alter. Stopped to say a prayer and thank God Almighty for the beauty of His work. It seems like most of the churches we've visited have been a true work of art. A venture into the religious side of the souvenir store was next and we saw several rosaries and crosses and all kinds of history information the church. A couple of purchases later and it was time to eat. As I mentioned last night the menu selection was already decided...ham hock, sauerkraut and a dunkel beer. We ordered one hock and it could have easily fed four! Oh, it was so tasty, yes all of it. Our son Jake asked us to get him a special brew from here, so after wrangling the language barrier we convinced the cashier to allow us to switch the variety pack with only one flavor. However, the brewmeister wasn't as keen on the purchase, but after a brief scowl and a huff we got our take away as ordered. Next destination, Munich...and it involved a brief stint on the A95, an autobahn. Laura was thrilled to be driving and only let one Porsche pass! While Google provides driving directions, they don't always work when the street you are seeking has several name changes. Needless to say, I pulled out the map app on the old iPhone and followed the blue route. No hitches to hotel destination. Since we've been gone over a week, we took some of he afternoon to do some laundry. We all managed to pack for the is trip with one carry-on suitcase and one small pack. So, a time out for laundry is a must, thus one of the reasons we chose our hotel. They offered self-service laundry right in the hotel. In fact we are completing a second load now, and I hope some other guest doesn't need jeans and shorts more than us. Better go check the dyer now now! In between laundry duty, we took a walk to the city center and made our way to the market and the world famous Hofbrauhaus, former royal brewery of the Kingdom of Bavaria. Quite a place...between tourists and locals the place was full, even had a "Umpa" band playing. Took time to people watch and have a brew. Can't imagine the frenzy during Octoberfest! May have to make another stop tomorrow night. Tomorrow we will be touring the BMW museum and production plant. Chase is jacked! Afterward we plan to take a Segway tour of the city, it should be a fun day for all...remember I said you had to mix in teenage things. Off to fold clothes and get another night's sleep on one of Europe's definitions of a bed!

Bavaria in castle-style

Like the past few mornings it was up early for the breakfast buffet and hit the road. Today we hit the German autobahn, so Laura drove and Lance was the navigator. About 45% of the route was via the A8, so Laura did a fine job of staying up with the lead dogs...only two problems for this stretch: (1)truck traffic after a Euro holiday is unbelievable; (2)no matter where you go there is always road construction. Anyway, we still make 120 kms in well under an hour. The rest of the route (more direct, but not the fastest) was made via a 2 lane highway, and mostly all rural. We thoroughly enjoyed the scenery! We arrived in Fussen without any major navigational issues, except missed our last roundabout by 90 degrees,only one street off. With an early arrival we could not check in, so we embarked on the castle adventure, Neuschwanstein. Not a bad drive to the tourist parking lot, only 5 Euros and a 300 meter walk up the slope to the ticket center. We had reservations, so no waiting for our 1325 pickup of the tickets for a 1425 tour. We grabbed a brat and beer and began our hike up the mountain. While fairly steep, we made it to the castle entrance in 10 minutes (just like the sign said). For those that may want to see this castle, you can opt for a bus ride at 2,80€ rt. We took some photos out the exterior and patiently awaited for our candid shot with the castle in the background. Can't imagine the chaos during the peak tourist season. Around 1400 (we're already getting used to the Euro style of time and money) the rain came. Funny, that is the same time it hit Salzburg yesterday. Fortunately both times we had a covering to stand under, and today we had our trusty $5 travel umbrella and Dollartree ponchos! Boy are we prepared or what. At 1420 tour #477 was announced, so we made our way to the turnstile with tickets in hand. Promptly at 1425 we were able to punch our ticket, and so the Enlgish speaking tour began. We learned that only 1/3 of the castle was finished and King Lugwig only lived in the castle for 172 days upon the completion (same third). The architecture and paintings on the wall were magnificent and the work work was beyond comparison. The detailed wood work in the master bedroom took over 4 years to complete. Another grandeur room was the throne room, perhaps a tad ornate with a tile mosaic floor that had over two millions pieces and aa chandelier that weighed over 2000 pounds! Even the kitchen was the size of our house! The tour inside was well worth the scare on the autobahn, the wait in the rain and impatience of all the tourists. Since no photos were allowed inside the castle we bought a few photos of the interior for a memory and to share. Being near the top, we decided to walk further up the mountain (rainwear and all) to walk on St. Mary's Bridge. This bridge is made over a gorge that is ~300-400 feet deep (something to google). Even though it was raining it was worth the 15 minute hike up the mountain to get another georgous vantage point. Hopefully, the photos will be ever so telling (even cloudy and rainy). With photo op capitalized we made the trek back down the mountain and arrived at our Peugeot at 1600. Off the see the quaint town of Fussen. We chose a slightly different route and upon enterly the town from another way we soon realized we were in the heart of the old town, that has very (and I mean very) limited auto access. Not knowing exactly what part of town we had entered we decided to park as soon as could and explore. Didn't even make it out the auto when a merchant yelped in broken English "you can't park here!". I am sure in German he was saying something like what a stupid American! Driving slowly we weaver among the pedestrians for 2-3 blocks and. Aide our way back to a normal city street; and much to our delight we were only 4 blocks from our hotel. Whew. Now that our car was safely parked and we had a room in the inn, we headed back to the old town. After an hour of strolling we were all getting tired, so we thought we'd do take away (Euro for 'to go'). Finding a menu to please all of us was not so easy, but none of us were in the mood for the local cuisine. On the walk back we bought a slice of fresh cheesecake and carrot cake, then we found a small restaurant that made Gyros (good enough for the adults), but not for the teenager. He saw the iconic American fast food symbol near our hotel, so dad and Chase made a McCafe run. Even found a petro station that we could buy a cold beverage. Learned that grocery stores do not serve any cold beverages. We had a lovely picnic in the courtyard of our hotel and our bodies we so glad to be resting. Took hot showers and finished this post. Tomorrow brings an easier day, at least that's the plan...drive up to Andechs to visit the world famous monastery and have one of those monk brewed beverages with a ham hock! Then on up to Munich for a couple of days. Hope all had a wonderful Memorial Day holiday!

A short catch up...

Well, we have been on the run ever since Chase joined us in Vienna on Saturday night. Early breakfast and a venture of driving in a foreign territory. Even with plannned driving routs via Google, the instructions might as well have been in German! Really wasn't that bad but their signage and lead indicators are NOT very clear. With only a couple of snafus we made it To Hallstatt by noon and it was one of those postcard perfect sights. We'll try to give more details later, but a long weekend in a peaceful small town like Hallstatt should be on everyone's bucket list. After an overnight stay, we got up early and had a nice Euro breakfast. Our next stop was Salzburg, but on the 75-90 minute drive we stopped at a summer Rodelbahnen. We were first in line to buy tickets, but we let a few locals go first to see what was to be in store for us. Rodelbahnen, you ask...it is a luge like ride. You have a sled with one handle that serves as the brake; and you ride it down a metal track (perhaps like a tube on a water slide). You are pulled up the mountain backward by a chair lift that has a big hook. We hope to post a video as Chase filmed one of his rides with his GoPro. After a unique adventure we headed on to Salzburg...only one minor misdirection and we got into the city. Our room was ready early, so we unloaded the car and got our bearings. We spent the day visiting the old Salzburg and got to see almost everything we planned. Missed the Hellbrunn castle, but may stop by in the morning before we head to Fussen. Fussen is the site of the castle, Neuschwanstein that inspired Walt Disney's first theme park. Yes, the one we all see before every Disney movie. We've thoroughly enjoyed our first few days, but have made some "memos to self"...need a goof-off/veg day after day 5. Can't do Salzburg justice in one day, perhaps 2 would do. Have patience while driving in a foreign land and expect to get lost every now and then. Odds are your spouse hasn't been there either, so be kind. Mix in more teenage things to do, 'cuz how many churches and old buildings can one take! On to Germany!

Anticipating Austria...

Today started @ 5:45am and we reached the tube by 6:20. We made it to the airport with time to spare as our flight to Vienna was scheduledtoff 9:50. Going through security wasn't too bad, comparable to the USA...TSA equivalents with the same lovely demeanor. Having only ventured on the arrival side of Heathrow, we were surprised by the mall atmosphere that you were forced to stroll prior to getting to your gate. It was quite a site and it was full of shoppers. Need any liquor, perfume or chocolates? The flight was ordinary, but we visited with a lovely British chap that traveled extensively. He shared a few tidbits with us and we reciprocated with traveling options in the good 'ol USA. Upon arrival we found customs to be a breeze, less than 5 minutes! But...the transportation into the center city was not so easy, we did not find too many English speaking people and all signage was in German. We knew the main train would get us to town, but where? We bought train tickets and took a 16 minute ride (that's what the brochure said) and landed in what is called "The City center". The building was under construction and there were no signs that indicated a bearing we could understand. Fortunately, 2 younger ladies that worked there gave us some directions and even looked up our hotel address. We hopped on the U4 for 2 stops and got off near a city park. Now where? Based on the Google map the transit ladies gave us we only needed to walk 10-12 blocks. Sounds easy once you have your directional bearings. We asked one street vendor, but the language barrier did not allow other than a point in a direction that sounded like go that way.....so we did. The two of us gambled and took off...and sure enough we made it to our hotel in less than 15 minutes. By now, the day was well into the late afternoon, but we wanted to get our bearings of Wien aka Vienna. After a quick change in to our shorts off we went to explore this famous and historic city. Being the adventurous sorts we decided to jump on the local tram system and give it a whirl. We lucked out and got on the right one, but didn't get off in the right place. We thought it might be fun to ride it for a bit to see some of the city but soon realized it was taking us far outside where we wanted to be. Lance convinced me to take a different train and we ended up on the interesting side of town....if you know what I mean. We soon got on the correct train to the area we wanted to go in the first place...thank goodness :) Upon arriving in the heart of Vienna we topped the tube entrance to see St. Stephens Cathedral, and it was dominating. Kind of reminded us of the Duomo in Florence from a size standpoint. Once inside the architecture was absolutely beautiful. The stained glass gave a red and blue hue to the entire sanctuary. Pics to follow as they did not charge and it was OK to take a photo. Being in the center square we strolled through the streets and found ourselves in Wien's version of Rodeo Drive in BH, CA. Brands of the who's who and no price tag! No time to shop so we headed onto the Hofburg Palace. What a grandeur building, not to mention all the other buildings nearby. What a gorgeous town. As we were walking back in the general direction of our hotel (not exactly how far away or the exact direction) we discovered an open market, but this one was two full blocks of restaurant on each side. Needless to say, we could not resist and chose a Viennese cuisine. Note: heavy influence of Asian cuisines which we found interesting. We tried a local brew, Grosser that Hit the spot. With a fine local meal and brew, we decided it was time to find our hotel. Without any native guidance we virtually walked right to it, not quite 15 minutes away. Got our Internet access going and brought you up to date. Important note here: Chase safely arrived in London and is now spending the day with big brother and sister-in-law. Life is good in Europe for us...more tomorrow.

The main attractions of London...

Fully rested and a cup of genuine instant coffee with a bagel, we began our morning catching the 'tube' to the main attractions of central London. We got off the circle line and exited at the Westminster stop...took the steps up to ground level and what do we see right in front of us?  Big Ben! Photo op for sure |(with have to post later).

Next stop Westminster Abbey, and yes another photo op, but our lens was not wide enough to get the whole church. We paid admission to go inside a church, seems odd, huh? No photos allowed, but the memories of a beautiful church will always be remembered. Even walked in just to catch a prayer vigil.

After our tour of the Abbey, we walked around the Parliament building for other angles of Big Ben and the beauty of the building. Across the street and on the other side of the Thames River was the London Eye (the big ferris wheel), but we only took photos. Not sure 30£ each was worth it!

We then ventured to the Buckingham Place and they were in the process of preparing for the upcoming Diamond Jubilee, the Queen's 60th year on the throne. The queen appeared to be in as the flag was flying. As we were leaving, a motorcade was exiting the Palace and Princess Ann was on her way to somewhere. (a bit of English news...Princess Ann is the only royal family member to have carried the Olympic torch thus far.)

Our stroll along the St. James park to Trafalgar Square was delightful. Imagine a tree lined street with ponds, beautiful flowers and seas of green grass.  We enjoyed people watching, the Londoners during the lunch break.
Once we arrived at the square we saw the Olympic count down clock and inside the National Gallery we saw Van Gogh's Chair and Sunflowers famous paintings. Quick lunch break and then off to Cecil's Court aka Diagon Alley....the shopping hot spot for Harry Potter. (I picked up a things for a magic potion later...lol).

We still had a couple of hours before we had to meet up with our kids, so we thought we'd take in one more attraction. Looking at our trusty map we thought we'd take in Covent Garden. Now what are your thinking when you read Garden? Right, botanical. Wrong! This place is a giant marketplace, and it was a great find. We thoroughly enjoyed the local merchants and especially the people watching.

With our skilled tube riding down to a science, we made it back to the Islington area where Jake and Shayne live. Actually, we beat them home. Now we've freshened up and are heading out to enjoy some Indian cuisine in the Bricklane, not Bricktown |(the curry capital of London), one day of English food is enough!

Off to Vienna in the morning.

PS. We'll try to post some of the attractions we saw yesterday later this evening.

In the rack, so to speak

The time lag has hit the proverbial wall, and after a quaint English supper/dinner (yes a house pie was served) Laura said she wanted me in the rack. I didn't realize what she really had in mind! Photo to come...imagine a torture rack in the bloody tower. Follow up post: On our first day we spent 2 hours getting through customs and another 90 minute train ride to our son's flat. Shortly after lunch we ventured on the tube and visited the Tower of London, aka where we saw the "rack" and other interesting items of persuasion! We walked on the Tower Bridge which is much more aesthetic over the London Bridge (this is where you can sing one of those childhood songs). We then strolled up to St.Paul's Cathedral which offered a 15 Euro admission fee. What's up with the Brits charging got enter a church and then not be able to take a picture? By the time we finished visiting the church the time lag hit us both. We found the nearest tube and ventured back to Islington, home of the UK Singleton's. We found a local pub and had a pint before we made it all the way back. Go figure! After a quick shower we strolled to a local restaurant and had a lovely dinner, traditional British food. Actually it was good. Needless to say, by this time we were exhausted so we headed to the flat and crashed.

First destination...London

We survived the long trek over the Atlantic pond and the 90 minute venture through customs. Can't imagine the lines when the Olympics start! We took the Piccadilly line to Kings Cross stop, switched to the Northern line and went southbound. Do you knows which direction we headed? Trick question! One stop later and we walked to our oldest son's, Jake flat. He was kind enough to guide us, and we even stopped to get some pounds for the day. We're headed to central London to see the Tower of London, Tower Bridge and St. Paul's Cathedral. Hope to share photos later tonight. Cheers!

The List...

I'm one of those that always has a to do list; and yes it drives my wife crazy sometimes, ok most of the time. This is one of those trips that one needs a list just to make sure you have everything for an extended vacation. What seems odd though...a list for a carry-on and a backpack?!? Leave to an over organized, over eager, over thinker to have a list.

Well, the countdown is about 12 hours from now, so I better make my final list for tomorrow morning! Time for a movie and some relaxation.

Panic Packing Weekend

'Tis the time to play Santa, well sort of...making a list, checking it twice, gonna find out what's left to pack. Now, don't get ready to sing a carol, it's just May!

We're all reviewing our check-off lists for clothing, cameras, travel papers, booking docs and electronics (man...how do we get all the techy goodies and oh, all those charging cords in one litte carry-on?). Even double checking with all our friends and family that will be helping while we're on our trek. Already tired!

Need to get done, so we can rest up for the long flight.

All that planning...

This is one of those vacations that you spend a lot (and I mean a lot of time) planning. Where to go, what to see, transportation, hotels, venues to visits, museums to see, fun stuff to do, soak in the culture, and on and on. Well, we're near our departure day and we're close to having all the details worked out. The venture was a collaborative effort and we've coordinated all the details as family. I guess if something goes wrong or doesn't meet our expectations, we'll have to look in the mirror.

A shout out goes to my lovely wife that spent hours surfing for places to visit and places to stay. Also, a thanks goes to our son, Jake and his wife Shayne for all their help too. Among us, we planned a trip we're very excited about and can't wait to begin.

We hope to post regularly, but may have to wait until our return to post photos. Join us as we trek through central Europe...United Kingdom, Austria, Hungary, Germany, France, Switzerland and Italy.

Lance

As we are in our final preparation for our trip......the excitement is growing. It seems like we were just in the beginning stages and now we leave in 10 days.