Travels with L (and sometimes Z & F)

Sunday, June 8, 2008

More Munich

We've been doing a lot of walking through Munich. Public transportation can take you just about anywhere you want to go in and around this city; however, most of the sights I've photographed below are within walking distance of our hostel. Here are some images of what we've been up to these past few days and what we've seen...

Sunshine over Munich as seen from atop St. Peter's tower...

The gateway to Marienplatz...

Typical street...

The city hall...

Dachau...

Zach's cousins who live in Munich...

Inside the English Garden...

The Chinese Pagoda in the English Garden...

Drinking a beer at a biergarden in the English Garden...

Friday, June 6, 2008

Munich

We are spending our last few days in Munich before flying home on Monday. Right now we are hanging out at a very noisy and busy hostel next to the main train station. We've been visiting all the sights in the city and have plans to connect with some of my cousins tomorrow. Munich is wonderful. It is full of colorful people, many tourists, music, and lots of beer. The three weeks we have spent in Europe have been more than wunderbar. I couldn't have asked for a better trip. I can't say enough about how terrific it has been to be back in my old stomping ground. We have seen so many beautiful places and visited my relatives and many of my friends (in three different countries, at that). We've seen my old schools, my old house, my hang outs... We've eaten some wonderful German food - although Zach was a little perplexed today when a plate of raw beef appeared in front of him. (Hee, hee. He's never heard of the Bavarian delicacy before. Needless to say, I ended up eating it, and I got him some weisswurst instead). The only thing that has surprised me is how much less connected with wifi Germany, Austria, and Hungry are than places like Japan and even Mexico. Thus, I have not been able to update the blog as often as I would have liked. However, I have taken hundreds of photos and will share some more of them with you later. For now, here are a few images of what we have seen in Munich.

Getting ready for the opening of Sex and the City...

Me in front of the Rathouse waiting for the Glockenspiel to begin...

The city center from the Frauenkirche tower...

Inside the tower...

The intricate facade of the Rathaus...

View from the tower...

Zach trying to decide what kind of beer to order...

More to come later...

Friday, May 23, 2008

Bavaria

We made it to one of the most beautiful spots on our planet: Bavaria. The first two days of our trip were drizzly and cool, but yesterday the sun came out and the temperatures are expected to soar over the next few days. We have a comfortable and spotless room in a little hotel in the town of Benediktbeuern, right at the foot of the Alps. We have some friends there, and we're using the place as a springboard to visit the surrounding areas. When we picked up our rental car at the airport in Munich, we lucked out and were upgraded from our original VW to something more appropriate...a new black Mercedes! How cool is that?! So, we've been tearing around the countryside checking out various sightseeing spots...

Here's Z with our wheels...

Here's the chapel on the farm where the German side of our family used to live...

Hinges on a barn door...

Typical Bavarian architecture...

Colorful meadow...

The world's most famous castle...Neuschwanstein...

Mad King Ludwig's hangout...Schloss Linderhof...

Sweet baby cows...

Typical village scene...

Painted house in Garmisch...

Another painted house...

The Walchensee...

Visiting with friends...

The view from our hotel balcony...

Sunday, May 18, 2008

One more trip

On the 21st we leave on the last leg of our travels. We're heading to Germany, Austria, and Hungary so that Z can meet his relatives and visit the areas where his grandmother grew up and where I spent my teenage years. I'm also looking forward to introducing Z to some of my old friends and letting him feast on the fabulous German cuisine. I'm not sure how our internet access will be where we're going, so I've posted some links of some of the places we'll be visiting. Check them out if you'd like...

Here's where my cousin lives and where Z's grandmother was born:

http://www.muenchen.de/home/60093/Homepage.html

Penzberg is the town where our family had a farm:

http://www.penzberg.de/

Here's the town where Z's grandmother went to boarding school:

http://www.spotlightgermany.com/articles/garmisch.htm

Here's the village I lived in:

http://www.marquartstein.de/

Here's where Z's great aunt lives:

http://www.reitimwinkl.de/de/index.html

Here's the area where Z's great uncle lives:

http://www.maps-of-austria.co.uk/map-of-burgenland.htm

Here's where some of my cousins live:

http://www.webtourist.net/hungary/szombathely/tourist-information.phtml

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Home

The other day I took a stroll around one of the new parks in our hometown, San Ramon. From the top of the hill you get great views of the surrounding hills and neighborhoods. It's been such a dry winter and spring that the hills are already turning golden brown. Here are a few images...

The new park - it has a ramp going all the way up to the top of the hill - very accessible...