in a disney movie

After our night of debauchery with the Bavarians we headed to Neuschwanstein castle located about 2 hours from Munich. I would like to make a note that taking a two hour train ride after the night we had was definitely not our best idea but nonetheless we made it and were stoked to see the castle that inspired the Disney princess castles. This may or may not have been the reason we wanted to go. 
So let's just say Neuschwanstein was all it is cracked up to be. Surrounded by mountains the off-white castle stands out amoung all of the greenery. The best part of the whole thing was standing on Marienbrucke, looking out at the castle with a flowing waterfall underneath. Postcard worthy photo op I tell you. But these pictures I have barely do it justice. Here they are anyways. 

first glimpse

your average bavarian viewpoint

dreamlike. i swear. 

disney princess anyone?

casual

waterfall

sarah gave me a lesson in camping

drinking some waterfall water

a usual day in europe

This is possibly what perfection looks like. No not me. The castle. Duh. 
We spent such a long time on the Marienbrucke gazing out at the castle and the surrounding area. Later Sarah and I climbed down to the waterfall (where we soon realized I am not nearly as capable of doing such a thing) to get a little taste of the water. yum yum yum. I think this was also the time we discovered sarah lives for danger. Yes danger, not the wilderness. (writers note: most likely no one will understand that. but I am too lazy to explain. sarah and mel can explain). xo

munich 2.0

After three days in London, Mel and I met up with Sarah, the final person in our Euro-travelling trio. I often like to refer to her as the twin attached to my hip when we reside together in Kingston. This isn't as creepy as it sounds. Point is, we were all finally together and ready to start the trip we had been planning for what felt like ever (it was more like a year, but that's a long time right?). So it was off to...

Munich!

I was so incredibly excited to go back to this city. My girls from Scotland were jealous that I was soon going to be holding a litre mug and a massive pretzel in my hand, so I obviously had to drink and eat even more for their sake. We spent the entire first day and night moving from one beer garden to the next. Exactly what you should be doing in Munich. We became immediate friends with some lovely Bavarian men at Hofbrauhaus who took us around for the evening. There could not have been a better way to start off our Euro trip. 

Did I mention that they were in lederhosen? Because they were. It was super cool. Also how is it possible that in that last photo it was near 9pm? Take me back to litre mugs and bright evenings. 

a bavarian experience

If there was one word to describe my time in Munich it would probably have to be...beer. But actually. That's really what sums up our entire time in this wonderful German city. And when I say beer, I mean lots of it, in the biggest mugs I have ever seen. It provided endless entertainment at first, and then it just became normal, which is not good because we will forever hold all beer expectations up to our Munich experience. We visited a variety of beer gardens including the second largest in Munich with the capacity to hold 7000 people (and I think it was almost the full the day we went). So fascinated with the litre mugs we decided to get a Hofbrauhaus one from the Chinese Tower beer garden. I actually ended up coming home with 2 of the mugs...but thats a whole separate story. 

Our first

In awe

Viktualienmarkt

Bratwurst, sauerkraut and beer = so Bavarian

Augustiner

And if you are wondering, yes we did do a few other things besides sit in beer gardens (although most did consist of eating but oh well). We enjoyed the biggest pretzels I have ever seen, ice-cream and various food from the market (including the largest pickles we have ever seen). But the best thing we did in the city was decide to do Mikes Bike Tour. It lasted about 5 hours and allowed us to see everything we needed to in the city with our handy dandy tour guide Rob filling us in on everything we should know. Now let me tell you I have never seen a city so dedicated to bikers. Which was a good thing for us considering bikes seem to have special privileges when riding through the city (aka we ring our bell, people/cars move). It was awesome. And by far my favourite activity of our entire trip. 

Bike tour!

Theatine Church

Massive pretzels

Englischer Garten

Angel of Peace

New Town Hall in Marienplatz

Viktualienmarkt

I had the most amazing time in Munich! I am so glad that I am headed back there at the beginning of June with some friends from home. More beer, more bratwurst, and more pretzels. When did my life start to revolve so much around eating?
This was the end of our time in Germany and then it was off to the lovely and beautiful France (even more delicious food to eat - are you starting to see a pattern). xo

a mixed feeling

The next stop on our adventure was Berlin. I was really eager to visit this city after what I had heard about it. The history and politics nerd in me was crazy excited to absorb it all. After leaving and thinking about it I can honestly say that the city has a mixed vibe. On the one side it has an artsy, vintage vibe that is very likeable. We had tons of fun scrounging through stores for hidden treasures. On the other side it is somewhat depressing. The immense amount of history and the impact that it had on the city continues to live in the grey buildings and the vast amount of museums and memorials. It is safe to say that a few tears were had at the Jewish Memorial Museum. With all this said Berlin was the most unique city we visited. Its obvious diversity and overwhelming past make it a must see!

Brandenburger Gate

Dom

Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe

Checkpoint Charlie

We visited the Brandenburger Gate which was left in a desolate no-man's-land when the Wall was built. Since the Wall's dismantling it has become the scene of the city's Unification Day and New Years Eve parties. The gate also faces one of Europe's most famous historic squares, Pariser Platz.

Just around the corner is the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe that had a significant impact on all of us. It is a 19,000 square meter site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field. It's intent is to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent an ordered system that has lost touch with human reason. I think that this potentially had the greatest initial impact on me over the course of our trip. 

We also ventured to Checkpoint Charlie, the name given by the western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between the East and West during the Cold War. It represented - for some east Germans - a gateway to freedom. 

Part of the Berlin Wall

Remaining section of the Wall

I think my favourite part of Berlin was getting to see the East Side Gallery. It is 1.3km section of the Wall near the centre of Berlin. Approximately 106 paintings by artists from all over the world covered this memorial for freedom and make made it the largest open air gallery in the world. I loved seeing the different interpretation of freedom and the feelings after the taking down of the wall. Plus the paintings itself are outstanding. 

Berlin was the perfect way to start out time in Germany. It satisfied all of our historical, amazing beer, and interesting nature notions about the country. But then it was off to Munich, a totally different side of Germany. xo