Our Last Evening in Munich

Well, Monday was our last day in Munich. The weather cooperated which was great - not as warm, as we'd have liked but sun, even if it was cool, trumps rain and cloud any day! We walked much of the route our bus tour took Sunday and this time we got to take pictures. What struck us most was that this city has lots of open space for parks, squares and gardens. The Englischer Garten here is about the same size as New York's Central Park even though the city is much smaller.  Also, there are so many pedestrian zones that, in spite of having to dodge and be aware of the many bicycles, it is a city that is great for walking.  As the day wound down, we returned to our hotel to get organized for Mena and Trev's departure - backing up photos, etc.  then, we headed over to Marienplatz for a glass of Prosecco in the sun.  Then, shunning the more touristy spots, we went to a small restaurant we had found not far from the Hofbrauhaus.  The Weinhaus Schneider was exactly what we wanted - cozy (sehr gut Gemutlichkeit), friendly service (freundlich) and good food (gut Geschmeck).  So, we dined on Wiener Schnitzel, spareribs and pork medaillons with white asparagus, salads and red wine.  The owners were lovely and it was a perfect way to spend our last evening together.

 
Bon voyage, Mena and Trevor!

Viel Spass and a Sacrilege in the Hofbrauhaus!

One thing Trevor really wanted to do here in Munich was go to the Hofbrauhaus for a "pint".  So, we wandered - or rather were swept along with the throng - into this very famous beer hall late Sunday afternoon.  As it is a holiday weekend, the place was packed although it probably is most of the time anyway. So, the first challenge was to find a place to sit and that is much easier said than done.  We really lucked out when we spotted some seats at a table where there was a couple dressed in traditional Bavarian costumes and four other guys. We asked if we could join them and the minute they found out we were Canadians, we were "in"!  Next, of course, we had to order something to drink. Well, apparently there are no "pints" at the Hofbrauhaus so Trevor got his beer in a 1 litre mug that was almost too heavy to lift. How our tiny waitress who could not have weighed more than 115 pounds managed to carry six or seven at a time was lost on us. Not being serious beer drinkers, Mena and I decided to order Radlers, something like a shandy made with beer and Sprite or 7Up. We asked for a small one and, well, that wasn't on.  Max, our new Bavarian friend, explained to me something like you can't order a small drink after 5 pm. It's against the law. I think I probably misunderstood him but was perfectly clear was that we'd have to order 1 litre ones. I couldn't imagine drinking that much and neither could Mena so we committed the ultimate sacrilege in this famous beer hall:  we ordered glasses of wine. Man, we were guffawed at by the Germans sitting with us!  However, as the hours went by (yes, hours!), we had so much fun singing, drinking, and talking with our new found friends (Max, his wife Paula and some guys from Sauerland up north) that they seemed to forgive us.  All seemed to be in awe of Canada so we were very popular!  And, Trevor saved Mena's and my reputations by having a second beer, German size!  Max whose dream it is to visit Whistler was almost moved to tears when Trevor gave him his Whistler Brewing Co. cap.  It was, as they say, viel Spass (lots of fun) in the Hofbrauhaus!

Winding Down

Well, the wonderful feeling of "three more sleeps, two more sleeps, one more sleep before I start my vacation" has been replaced by "one more sleep before I fly home". My inner gypsy is so NOT happy. Of course, for Mena and Trevor, that is not the case. Tonight they take the night train to Venice to continue their adventures.  I'm envious. Not sure if a crash course in blogging or future Internet connections will let them continue to tell their tales or not.

Yesterday we left Fussen, drove to Munich and dropped the car off. We'd logged nearly 3000 km!  The weather here was reminiscent of our first days in Berlin - very cool, windy and wet!  That didn't seem fair either. We did a two-hour bus tour of the city which at least kept us warmer and dry. Of course, it also provided zero opportunity for photos!  Through the foggy and drip-covered windows, we managed glimpses Olympic Park, the buildings of the BMW Museum, and Nymphenberg Castle, as well as many of the city's squares, parks and ornate buildings. It all looked interesting but would have been glorious in the sun. Hopefully, Monday will bring better weather!

Later, when the rain had stopped, we wandered into the Altstadt (old town), admired Marienplatz and went to the world-renowned Hofbrauhaus for a drink (more about that in another post).  Three hours later, we went for dinner and called it a day. Hopefully, we can get some good photos Monday.  Besides, it is my last full day - and a holiday in Germany - and we deserve it!

In the Alps

Thursday, we left Hallstatt in Austria and headed for Bavaria (Bayern) and the Deutsche Alpenstrasse (German Alpine Road). Our first stop was Bertschesgaden which is mostly known for its proximity to where Hitler had Eagle's Nest in nearby Kehlstein.  Putting that aside, however, this is a pretty little town and a perfect place to start driving west on the German Alpine Road which takes you through some very amazing scenery on winding mountain roads. My mistake was thinking that our beautiful sunny day would be followed by similar weather the next so I didn't take enough pictures of the clear, snow-capped mountains, lush green valleys and charming Bavarian houses.  I could write my own description of this breathtaking drive but there is already a good one at www.germany.travel/en/leisure-and-recreation/scenic-routes/german-alpine-road.html. 
It is well worth reading. As we were running out of time, we left the route early and took a shorter way to Fussen which took us back into Austria near Innsbruck and through Fernpass to Reutte (A) and Schwangau near Fussen. We had an amazing view of the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany.  Both of our rooms at the Hotel Helmerhof have views of King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein Castle (perhaps as famous in North America for being the model for the Fantasyland Castle in Disneyland as anything else) and the surrounding mountains.  Unfortunately, both were completely lost in the low cloud by Friday morning!  So, we walked the 3.9 km to Fussen in the drizzle, visited a friend at Optik-Niebler (and scored some Sekt - sparkling wine - as his business was celebrating its 65 anniversary), then parted.  Mena and Trevor took the bus to visit Neuschwanstein castle and I walked back to the hotel to get caught up on "my chores".  Today was glorious so we drove to Oberammergau of Passion Play fame and we got to see lots more of the German Alpine Road. On the way back, we drove back through some of Fernpass again and this time stopped at a Gasthaus with an amazing view of Zugspitze.  We had lunch sitting on the terrace in the sun.  I had my new favourite treat, Kaiserschmerrn, a crispy fried pancake cut up and served with apple sauce.  Yum yum!  Not a bad way to end our stay in the mountains before heading to Munich tomorrow.

Who Says You Can't Go Back?

In the early 80's, I bought a book published by Sunset called Discovery Trips in Europe.  On its cover was a beautiful photo of a lake with a small village and a chapel. The photo was of Hallstatt, Austria and that photo has become almost iconic in that it has been featured on Austrian travel posters for years. Anyway, when I was in Europe back in 1984 I wanted to go to Hallstatt and replicate that photo myself. While I did go there, for some reason I didn't get to take that shot. I can't remember exactly why. Maybe, it was the weather or maybe it was just I couldn't find where it was taken; I just don't know. What I clearly remember was thinking that Hallstatt was beautiful. When I planned this vacation, I worked this village in the Salzkammergut Region not far from Salzburg and Bad Ischl into our itinerary. When I did that I wondered if it was as lovely as I thought it was. You know how sometimes your memory can play tricks on you and when you go back to somewhere you've been before, it just isn't as good as you remember? Well, in this case, yes, you can go back and it is even more stunning than I thought. We arrived here in this now UNESCO designated site midday yesterday when the sky was almost perfectly clear and the temperature was about 26'. We had a lovely lunch on the lakeside terrace at the Hotel Grunen Baum. Later, we just wandered around this little village enjoying is quaintness including all the wooden houses perched on the mountainside like, as someone said in the 1800's, little swallows birdhouses. We had a lovely dinner in the Brau-Gasthof, a building that has stood for hundreds of years and was a former brewery, hence its name.  And, oh yes, I got that photo!  It is the first one of the four below.  The others are of the setting on the lake and mountains, the market square and dinner at Brau-Gasthof.

A Gem in the Slovenian Mountains

I had never heard of Bled until a couple of people back home told me I had to go there if I was going to Slovenia. Both said it was one of their favourite places in the world. I thought they must be exaggerating but added it to our itinerary. So, yesterday, we drove about 3/4 hour north of Ljubljana to this small town in the Slovenian mountains. At first, I wondered what all the fuss was about. The  first buildings we saw were quite modern concrete affairs and the hotels were big with no charm.  Then, we drove around a corner and in front of us was the lake, the castle on the hill, and the little island in the lake. WOW!  It was breathtakingly beautiful. Our little penzion called Pletna has only five rooms all with balconies facing the lake. We walked the 2 km along the lakeshore into the small town.  We were amused along the way by a mother duck pushing her 9 very little ducklings into the water for likely their first swimming lesson.  Sitting on the terrace of a restaurant called Vila Preseren (yes, after my new favourite poet) the lake's edge, we enjoyed a lunch which included Blejska Kremsnita, Bled's delicious version of a vanilla slice.  Did we feel guilty about that?  Absolutely not because after it, we walked, or rather climbed, all the way up to the castle and later walked the 6 km around the lake. The path up to this castle is very steep and included about 250 stairs. We were rewarded with stunning views which made it totally worthwhile.  Our only thought was that we should have been given the €8 entrance fee as a reward rather than have to pay it!  The castle grounds include several cafes, restaurants and wine bars as well as a small but very informative museum. We then went back down to the lake - so much easier - and continued around it. I kept telling myself to quit taking pictures along the way but I couldn't stop myself.  This is truly "eye candy"!  Now, is Lake Bled the most beautiful place I've ever seen?  Probably not but, man, it sure is up there!

Ljubljana - A Paradigm Shift

I want to start this blog by talking about the Slovenian national anthem. Unlike many national anthems (not that I am an expert!) which celebrate a nation's battles (the American Star Spangled Banner), its monarchies (Britain's God Save the Queen), or an uprising (France's La Marseillaise), Slovenia's takes a different slant. Consider the words from one of its verses:

God's blessings on all nations

Who long and work for that bright day,

When o'er earth's habitation

No war, no strife shall hold its sway;

Who long to see

That all man free

No more shall foes, but . . .

No more shall foes, but neighbours be. 

The reason I am raising this, aside from the fact the words resonated with me, is that the man who wrote it, France Preseren (1800 - 1849), was from Ljubljana. As we walked around this town with our private guide, Marijan (a very informative and talented guy who works for Rick Steves) made the point to us that this city's statues and memorials don't celebrate wars or conquests but rather the arts with most statues being of poets, musicians and such.  It seemed an interesting shift in the usual paradigm to me.  I could also go on about the huge influence the architect, Josef Plecnik, had on enhancing this city's beauty but that would take far too long and, besides, there are books about it!

We spent two and a half days exploring Ljubljana.  The overview Marijan gave us and the fact that it is very manageable in terms of size made our experience here very enjoyable.  It is a university town with many faculties focused on the arts. Naturally, this also makes it a lively town filled with young people.  We took the funicular up to the castle, walked along the river, visited the cathedral, went to the market and spent time relaxing in bars and restaurants. The people were always helpful and friendly.  For example, on Saturday when I asked a server at a restaurant where we could watch the FA Cup final, he pointed to a bar down the way (Casablanca) and then gave me three vouchers for free drinks there. We had lots of fun and the fact that Wigan beat Manchester City was a bonus!  Later we ate at a charming little restaurant called Marley and Me and, again, there was nothing to complain about.  The food, service and prices were great,  The next evening we returned, as much to get out of the rain as anything, and watched the Canada - Czech hockey game.  It was another good time - a different but again very good waiter (Zdani replaced by Alan) and our team won again!  One  place I would recommend to go is a restaurant/bar/club called Neboticnik on the rooftop of one of the buildings. From it you get spectacular views of the city and its surroundings mountains.  Monday we moved on to Bled in the Slovenian countryside but took with us great memories of this gentle and architecturally-rich town.