Bavaria 2016

Sleeper Train

6/27/2016

As part of our European adventure this summer, Derek and I decided to give the kids the experience of a sleeper train. They had an incredible time. Me? Not so much. It was definitely not as nice as I remember from my college days of backpacking around Europe. Maybe it was the ridiculously hot train car or the extra firm "bed" or maybe my standards have changed a bit in the last decade. Nevertheless, I am glad we did it once. I am even more glad that we are only doing it once!

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Munich

6/27/2016

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On our last day in Bavaria, we headed into downtown Munich to get in as much of the remarkable city as we could. We walked around the city centre, saw some remarkable churches, and watched the clock tower chime noon. Derek and I both reminisced about the Munich we remembered from over a decade ago and sought out some familiarities. We found quite a few things that had remained unchanged, but the city has evolved substantially in the last ten years.

About half way through the day I had a pretty bad migraine, so while I napped in the rental car, Derek took the boys through the BMW museum. They loved it and were very excited to tell me all about their adventures when they returned to the car. They even drug me back into the showroom to give me a few of the highlights of the experience.

After the BMW factory, we returned the rental car and strolled through Munich to the Hofbrauhaus—a brewery that has been around for 500 years. (Don’t worry, the boys had fizzy apple juice.) After some traditional (vegetarian) German food and delicious brews, we headed to the train station to catch our night train to Amsterdam… but that’s another post.

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Neuschwanstein Castle

6/27/2016

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You know that castle featured at the beginning of every Disney movie? The one that is front and centre at every Disney theme park? My family got to see the castle those castles were based on. Neuschwanstein Castle, or “New Swan Stone,” was one of the main inspirations for the Sleeping Beauty Castle and the Cinderella Castle. It is located about 2 hours outside of Munich in a small Bavarian town called Hohenschwangau. It was commissioned by King Ludwig II, but was never finished due to his mysterious death in 1886. At that time, only about 1/3 of the castle was complete and the king had nearly bankrupted Bavaria.

The king had eclectic style and a deep love of music. Famed composer, Richard Wagner, stayed at Neuschwanstein on multiple occasions and is said to have influenced the design of the castle's interior.

In addition to seeing the world’s most famous castle, we also saw the castle King Ludwig II grew up in located right across the valley. The Hohenschwangau Castle is a fully complete castle whose original construction dates back to the 12th century and had been at least seasonally inhabited since the 1400's.

After Kind Ludwig II's death, it was also turned into a museum to make up for the debt accrued by the king.

The castles are only viewable with a tour, and, thanks to one of our students in Abu Dhabi who lived in Munich for several years, we knew to book online in advance. The tours were crowded, and a little rushed, but nevertheless informative. I am glad we got to see both castles and learned so much about Bavarian history.

Derek may argue that the best part of the day was the drive through Bavaria over historic winding roads, though pastures and forests. On the way home from the castles, we stopped at a German cheese house and a little patch of strawberries where the boys got to pick a few for a snack. It was a beautiful day in Bavaria!

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Legoland Deutschland

6/22/2016

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On our first full day in Germany, we fulfilled a promise to the boys. Instead of discovering Munich or going on a tour of Bavaria, we loaded the kids into a rental car and drove for nearly two hours to go to Germany's Legoland.

They had a great time, so it was totally worth it. They both thought the adventure ride where the boat drops down the waterfall was the best ride. They got to drive Lego cars and go on several roller coaster rides. Legoland was a fun way to start our five week trip!