MUNICH, Germany

Chinese Tower

Steins, locked up in the Hofbrauhaus. Customers can leave their personal steins for use on their next visit.

While sister was here, we planned a little surprise trip down South, if you will. :) J & I had not yet been to Munich, Bavaria or Austria, so we planned a little trip to see the aforementioned. 

In Munchen, or Munich as we Americans know it, it was recommended that we take a bike tour with Mike's Bike Tours. We spent 4 hours exploring the gorgeous city of Munich on bicycles. Seriously in love with back break cruisers. I need one, stat! We biked all about and had lunch mid-tour at the Chinese Biergarten. I had currywurst (one of my favorite things to eat in Germany!) and we tried obazda, a Bavarian specialty, a cheese spread topped with onion rings and usually served with bread or pretzels. I washed all that down with a delicious Radler! The size of those beers are crazy! In the English Garden (basically Munich's Central Park), there were people surfing. The water that flows from the river is pushed underground, feeding all the fountains in the park, and comes out at a certain point in the park, causing it to be pressurized enough for people to catch waves on.

After our bike tour, we walked about and shopped a little in the center of the city, before heading back to the hotel to freshen up a bit before dinner. Where does one have dinner in Munich? A brauhaus, of course. We decided on one of the oldest and best, according to many. Hofbrauhaus Munchen. We might have ordered obazda again, you know, just to make sure it really was good. ;) For dinner, I had the sauerbraten (marinated pot roast) served with a bread dumpling and cranberries and I ordered a side of sauerkraut. I love that stuff! For dessert, we ordered the apple strudel and the Kaiserschmarrn. I don't honestly have a translation for Kaiserschmarrn, other than bread something that was very tasty, served with raisins, sugar and applesauce. (I feel I should mention, there were 4 of us, I just don't post photos of everyone, as I don't want to invade their privacy by posting photos of them all over the internet.)

I like Germany and living here provides some amazing travel and life opportunities, but it wasn't until this trip that I really loved a city in Germany. Munich is definitely one of my favorite cities, yet. 

Stay tuned for the rest of our Munich trip and a couple of late posts from the Riviera and other things I am behind on. ;)

Our local area..

The other weekend, J & I spent the day in our local area. 

We started out in Kaiserslautern, to [window] shop and browse all the new stuff the stores are bringing out (Fall is coming :)) And, to just enjoy the atmosphere and the gorgeous day. I really love being able to do things that anywhere else might not feel quite so special, but being in Europe makes it that way. I am thankful to be able to experience every single day here, even when I really miss my people back home and wish I could be around for so many things. :) Nevertheless, we are here and we are taking advantage of all the opportunities that present themselves. 

After our little excersion in K-town, we decided to head to base to do a couple of errands and we caught the Italian eis man who drives around the area and serves, well, ice cream. I have only had ice cream from the Italian ice cream once, right after arriving in Germany. It was a hot-for-Germany day, so we decided to have some. I got one that is named for an Italian candy bar containing coconut & hazelnut in a vanilla ice. J got coconut.

After our before lunch treat, we went to have lunch at the little sports grill we like on base. They serve mean fried pickle spears. I love their pulled pork sandwiches, so good! I always order mine with a side of their chipotle sauce they normally put on their chipotle burger. I don't like ordering burgers here, they do some weird seasoning thing and it's definitely not what this Texan is used to. I think it is also the one thing here I don't like eating. :) So, I order the pulled pork sandwich with the sauce and it's awesome! Yum!

The Eiffel Tower, sparkling.

In the evening, the lights on the Eiffel Tower blink and twinkle, so the tower appears to sparkle. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. 

Sorry for the quality. The iPhone video is better than nothing, though. :)

A Day out in Frankfurt.

J & I took the train to Frankfurt this weekend for a little day in the city. We enjoyed shopping and scoping out the sneak peek of fall fashion. I scooped up a cute little [faux] leather, fitted biker number for the upcoming season. Eeek! We found a little store with tons of gummies, we didn't purchase any but they looked quite tasty! 

We enjoyed lunch at Conrad's, off the shopping area on Zeil. I had a turkey breast with curry sauce and exotic fruits & jasmine rice on the side. J had a yummy baked potato with chives and a salad. And, we each had an espresso to finish. When in Europe, right? ;) 

I also found a fun little store that is all HELLO KITTY! I love Hello!

I love exploring this country and Europe as a whole. It sometimes feels so surreal, but above all, I am so thankful.