So, Munich. Everyone knows about Munich. It is VERY touristy. The locals HATE tourists (non-Catholic ones especially), though, so don't expect any friendly Germans here...I mean, even less friendly then usual..ha!
We started out, as usual, at another campground. The funny thing about this particular campground is there was a surfing competition going on. Yes, surfing. You can see in one of the pics. http://troesterfamily.com/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=4975
It was pretty cool to watch. The kids really enjoyed it. It was also pretty funny to see some of the surfers looking, well, like surfers...bleach blonde hair, sometimes dreds...it's weird to see that removed from, say, California!
Anyway, the first thing we did was go to the Munich Zoo. We actually biked there. It started off raining that day and so the first stop at the zoo, the petting area, was incredibly disgusting. The kids didn't really notice, but I sure did!
The zoo was interesting. Especially the pelicans they dyed pink and labeled "flamingos". Yeah. There were also a lot of frisky monkeys. This, of course, proved to be very interesting to Katie. Kai told her they were playing doctor, which I am not sure was the best thing to say...but she just kept going around saying, look, they are playing doctor! I mean it was really really gross. Pretty much monkey porn. Monkeys are just GROSS. They are either doing "that" or fighting.
The zoo is where Ben said his first real sentence, too. Katie wanted to go on a horsey ride and Ben said, "I ride neigh neigh, too, Mommy!". Up until this point it was one or two words here and there...it's funny but Ben's language explosion was in Germany! So, of course we had to let him ride the "neigh neigh"! He LOVED it and said, YEEHAW the whole way around. TOO CUTE!
Oh, it was also in Munich that I discovered "ethnic" cuisine, such as Chinese and Italian is NOT causal fare as it is here. We tried to get Chinese to find it was reservation only and then at the Italian pizza place we ended up at they were VERY formal and none to happy to see people with kids. Apparently in Germany people just don't eat out...and if they do they don't bring the kids. It was a pretty uncomfortable experience...after that we ate at the campground snack bar, which was actually pretty good.
Now, Munich proper. I mean, really, it is nothing special. It is SO touristy you just feel like you are at a theme park. We walked around, but there's not much to do and I had already been there once...pretty much once is all you need to get the gist. There are WAY better places in Germany, I can tell you that...like the town I mentioned in my last post!
And, yes, that is a beer vending machine you see in the last photo!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Stranberg
We stopped in this town on our way to Munich. We were looking for something to do, and came across a sign for a water park. We were all about the water parks while in Germany. However, we did need to eat first, so we got out the bikes and off we went.
The town was cute, like most German towns. A little more modern then some we had seen, probably b/c this was West Germany.
Trying to find food was always interesting. I have mentioned before how German cuisine doesn't really vary, so really it is about finding a place that looks nice, over finding a place with food you want.
We biked around the town for a while, and came across a really nice playground. What I do remember about this playground was a British family who was sitting near us. ENGLISH SPEAKERS! They had a daughter, probably around 2 or 3, that I tried to force Katie to play with since she refused to speak German. The little girl was a bit too young to really engage in play, though, I guess, and Katie wasn't really into me trying to force her to play with a particular child anyhow.
I also stood close enough to these people that they could hear me speaking, b/c I was really craving conversation...with anyone...other then Kai. Didn't happen, though...ah well.
After a little playtime we headed to the water park, and chose to eat there. The water park was very cool. It was waterfront, so you had the option of using the lake for swimming, as well as the kiddie area and inside pools. I am telling you, this is something I wish would catch on in America...these water parks things. They are AWESOME! Not super huge, so you can pretty much put one anywhere, but so great to have around! The kids had a lot of fun.
As you can tell from the pics, the kids are looking pretty chub-a-rific at this point. That's what a diet of carbs and sprite will do to you...
After leaving the water park we took to the bikes again and pedaled to the church in the pics. There is a story about it, which I forget, so I will ask Kai and update the post.
I should also add that this town was pretty well to do. Kai told me that a lot of German celebrities had homes there, and on our bike ride to the church we passed A LOT of gated homes, and even saw a television station filming at one. Pretty cool. The lake adjoining this town was beautiful, too. It would be a great place to retire...if we were rich...ha!
The town was cute, like most German towns. A little more modern then some we had seen, probably b/c this was West Germany.
Trying to find food was always interesting. I have mentioned before how German cuisine doesn't really vary, so really it is about finding a place that looks nice, over finding a place with food you want.
We biked around the town for a while, and came across a really nice playground. What I do remember about this playground was a British family who was sitting near us. ENGLISH SPEAKERS! They had a daughter, probably around 2 or 3, that I tried to force Katie to play with since she refused to speak German. The little girl was a bit too young to really engage in play, though, I guess, and Katie wasn't really into me trying to force her to play with a particular child anyhow.
I also stood close enough to these people that they could hear me speaking, b/c I was really craving conversation...with anyone...other then Kai. Didn't happen, though...ah well.
After a little playtime we headed to the water park, and chose to eat there. The water park was very cool. It was waterfront, so you had the option of using the lake for swimming, as well as the kiddie area and inside pools. I am telling you, this is something I wish would catch on in America...these water parks things. They are AWESOME! Not super huge, so you can pretty much put one anywhere, but so great to have around! The kids had a lot of fun.
As you can tell from the pics, the kids are looking pretty chub-a-rific at this point. That's what a diet of carbs and sprite will do to you...
After leaving the water park we took to the bikes again and pedaled to the church in the pics. There is a story about it, which I forget, so I will ask Kai and update the post.
I should also add that this town was pretty well to do. Kai told me that a lot of German celebrities had homes there, and on our bike ride to the church we passed A LOT of gated homes, and even saw a television station filming at one. Pretty cool. The lake adjoining this town was beautiful, too. It would be a great place to retire...if we were rich...ha!
Um, yeah
Kai has been lazy with the picture posting. To give you an idea of how slow we are with things, in July 2004 we moved to NC and videotaped our journey down. Kai is still working on editing and putting together a watchable video of that. So, clearly, things that happened in 2008...well...maybe they will be completed by the time the kids enter college....MAYBE.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Oh, the hops...
So, Kai did put up a series of pics from the hops region we visited. I don't know much about hops, so I really have not a lot to say about it.
We did stop at a hop museum, but I stayed in the RV with the kids while Kai went on the tour. The best pic is the one of the breastfeeding mother that pretty much says if you don't drink beer your boobs and baby will be unhappy. Love that.
After the tour we ate lunch at the museum restaurant. As usual, they didn't have too much variety, so I ended up with a salad (I was craving a vegetable at this point anyway) and the kids had some schnitzel we told them was chicken nuggets. I am telling you, German cuisine just does not have much variety...
And really that is about it for the hops part of it. I am sure Kai could go on and on about it, but I just have no clue, nor do I really care...haha.
We did stop at a hop museum, but I stayed in the RV with the kids while Kai went on the tour. The best pic is the one of the breastfeeding mother that pretty much says if you don't drink beer your boobs and baby will be unhappy. Love that.
After the tour we ate lunch at the museum restaurant. As usual, they didn't have too much variety, so I ended up with a salad (I was craving a vegetable at this point anyway) and the kids had some schnitzel we told them was chicken nuggets. I am telling you, German cuisine just does not have much variety...
And really that is about it for the hops part of it. I am sure Kai could go on and on about it, but I just have no clue, nor do I really care...haha.
Neuschwanenstein
Kai finally put more pics on the website, so I figured I would update here.
This campground was probably the best one we stayed at. They had a gorgeous lake, albeit too cold for me to go in, and really cool showers for the kids. Yes, that's important!
It was pretty cool and rainy the couple days we spent here, but there were some breaks of sun. We were able to take a few good bike rides, and rode to the castle on the first day. It took us 2 days to actually visit the castle. Why you ask? Because even though we planned it out really well, time wise, we missed our tour on the first day. We blame it on the busses going to the castle. You can walk up, but not with 2 young kids. We were told a bus would come to get us and we would arrive in plenty of time. Didn't happen.
We did attempt to get there...waited in the pouring rain for the bus, but when we finally reached the top of the hill (and got stampeded by people trying to get on the bus, at whom Kai had to scream in order for us to disembark!)we realized there was no way we could get inside in time. The bus drops you off at a point where you still have to walk 15 mins to get to the actual castle. Yeah.
I was NOT a happy camper. This was one place I really wanted to see and I was pretty po'd we didn't make it that first day. Thankfully Kai allowed us to go back the next day, which is big since we had to rebuy tickets and Kai is pretty, uh, frugal.
We ended up driving the RV and parking the next day, just to make sure we gave ourselves enough time. It still caused me a lot of anxiety, though, b/c Kai bought tickets for an early tour and I wasn't convinced we would make it in time...again. THANKFULLY, we did. It was nice and sunny the day we went, too, so that was better then the day before at least.
Now, for those of you who don't know, this is the castle Disney used as inspiration for Cinderella's castle. It is pretty famous around the world. I do have to admit, although it was beautiful, I was expecting something bigger. I don't know why. Not that it isn't big, but for some reason I thought it would be this imposing figure on the landscape...nonetheless it was still very cool.
Kind Ludwig, who built the castle, died before it was finished, and it still sits unfinished, so we didn't get to see as much castle as I had hoped. The inside was gorgeous, though, and I tried to imagine, while walking through the halls, what it was like to live during this age and to live in a castle...
The castle is themed after songs by Wagner, a close friend of the king. We weren't allowed to take pics inside, unfortunately, but the depictions on the walls and all the carvings and such were pretty breathtaking. Or maybe I am just a sucker for a castle.
Katie loved it, too, and was convinced a real, live princess lived there. It was cute.
After the tour Kai and Ben went to a bridge they have in order to see the castle from the other side. Katie was done by this point, though, so I stayed back with her at the bus depot. I do regret not going to the bridge a bit, though, especially after viewing Kai's photos and seeing how awesome it looked from that side, but I took one for the team. I am sure we will be back one day, when the kids are actually old enough to remember!
I figure if I ever had to live in Germany, this would be the perfect town. It is small and quaint and in the shadow of a castle. Doesn't get much better then that.
This campground was probably the best one we stayed at. They had a gorgeous lake, albeit too cold for me to go in, and really cool showers for the kids. Yes, that's important!
It was pretty cool and rainy the couple days we spent here, but there were some breaks of sun. We were able to take a few good bike rides, and rode to the castle on the first day. It took us 2 days to actually visit the castle. Why you ask? Because even though we planned it out really well, time wise, we missed our tour on the first day. We blame it on the busses going to the castle. You can walk up, but not with 2 young kids. We were told a bus would come to get us and we would arrive in plenty of time. Didn't happen.
We did attempt to get there...waited in the pouring rain for the bus, but when we finally reached the top of the hill (and got stampeded by people trying to get on the bus, at whom Kai had to scream in order for us to disembark!)we realized there was no way we could get inside in time. The bus drops you off at a point where you still have to walk 15 mins to get to the actual castle. Yeah.
I was NOT a happy camper. This was one place I really wanted to see and I was pretty po'd we didn't make it that first day. Thankfully Kai allowed us to go back the next day, which is big since we had to rebuy tickets and Kai is pretty, uh, frugal.
We ended up driving the RV and parking the next day, just to make sure we gave ourselves enough time. It still caused me a lot of anxiety, though, b/c Kai bought tickets for an early tour and I wasn't convinced we would make it in time...again. THANKFULLY, we did. It was nice and sunny the day we went, too, so that was better then the day before at least.
Now, for those of you who don't know, this is the castle Disney used as inspiration for Cinderella's castle. It is pretty famous around the world. I do have to admit, although it was beautiful, I was expecting something bigger. I don't know why. Not that it isn't big, but for some reason I thought it would be this imposing figure on the landscape...nonetheless it was still very cool.
Kind Ludwig, who built the castle, died before it was finished, and it still sits unfinished, so we didn't get to see as much castle as I had hoped. The inside was gorgeous, though, and I tried to imagine, while walking through the halls, what it was like to live during this age and to live in a castle...
The castle is themed after songs by Wagner, a close friend of the king. We weren't allowed to take pics inside, unfortunately, but the depictions on the walls and all the carvings and such were pretty breathtaking. Or maybe I am just a sucker for a castle.
Katie loved it, too, and was convinced a real, live princess lived there. It was cute.
After the tour Kai and Ben went to a bridge they have in order to see the castle from the other side. Katie was done by this point, though, so I stayed back with her at the bus depot. I do regret not going to the bridge a bit, though, especially after viewing Kai's photos and seeing how awesome it looked from that side, but I took one for the team. I am sure we will be back one day, when the kids are actually old enough to remember!
I figure if I ever had to live in Germany, this would be the perfect town. It is small and quaint and in the shadow of a castle. Doesn't get much better then that.
Monday, August 25, 2008
A few interesting facts about Germany
1) Every man, woman, and child are required to own a pair of Crocs. Seriously folks, never in my life have I seen more of these shoes in one place. I didn't know know they were such an international sensation.
2) socks must be worn with sandals. This, to me, defeats the purpose of sandals. Why not just wear sneakers year round, then? I don't remember seeing one person, young or old, wear sandals with bare feet. It weirded me out.
3) Germans do not coddle their children. I think they push them out and then say, hey kid, you're on your own. Well, not really, but I did notice that kids did things a lot younger then you see in the US. Parents let their tiny toddlers play alone on playgrounds, didn't give much attention when their children started crying, and they even let their kindergarten aged children walk to school...ALONE. Also, we saw a lot of young kids, I am talking maybe 3, on bikes without training wheels. I never once actually saw a training wheel. I think they mostly use these balance type bikes over there, which are just bikes with no pedals, and so the kids learn early on how to stay on the bike and then don't need years of training wheel help. German children def seemed to grow up quicker then those over here.
4) No one goes out to eat. And if they do, their children do not come! Kai told me people just don't eat out in Germany. I attribute this to the lack of chain restaurants and the fact that all places pretty much have the same menu. Sausage and potatoes. Also, places that are super informal over here, like chinese places and pizzerias, are FANCY in Germany. We found this out the hard way when we stopped to eat at a pizzeria thinking it would be like it is over here. Not so much. And the waitress was none to pleased to have us there and, being German, made that known.
5) which leads me to the next observations. One that even Kai agrees with. Germans can be pretty rude. They don't try to mask their true feelings, have no sense of personal space and will push you into a wall if they want to, and just aren't socially friendly in general. We almost got caught in a stampede while trying to get off a bus over there b/c no one waited for us to get off before they got on...this caused Kai to scream out (in English?) STOP PUSHING!!!!
6) Germans need to wear more clothes...when it comes to swimming. I was pretty traumatized by one guy in a "bathing suit" at a campground we were at. The best I can explain it is it looked like a french cut speedo...with very thin fabric...and the guy was playing badmitton...not cool, not cool. Thankfully most of the kids and young people wear suits like you see here, so this too small bathing suit phenomenon should be on it's way out. Leave something to the imagination, folks. And that goes for the ladies, too!
7) you always hear how "everyone" speaks English in Europe. Well, they don't speak it voluntarily...trust me, it isn't as easy as people make out. I don't think I could get along without Kai. Even the dr we had to see for Katie didn't speak a word of it.
I know it seems like I am complaining a lot, which I am, but there were things I liked. I liked being able to bike everywhere, I loved all the sight seeing we did, since there really are some gorgeous parts of the country and lots to see, and I loved all the cute, city centers. And the fact that there are REALLY nice public pools everywhere! But, it is different over there, and I am just very American!
2) socks must be worn with sandals. This, to me, defeats the purpose of sandals. Why not just wear sneakers year round, then? I don't remember seeing one person, young or old, wear sandals with bare feet. It weirded me out.
3) Germans do not coddle their children. I think they push them out and then say, hey kid, you're on your own. Well, not really, but I did notice that kids did things a lot younger then you see in the US. Parents let their tiny toddlers play alone on playgrounds, didn't give much attention when their children started crying, and they even let their kindergarten aged children walk to school...ALONE. Also, we saw a lot of young kids, I am talking maybe 3, on bikes without training wheels. I never once actually saw a training wheel. I think they mostly use these balance type bikes over there, which are just bikes with no pedals, and so the kids learn early on how to stay on the bike and then don't need years of training wheel help. German children def seemed to grow up quicker then those over here.
4) No one goes out to eat. And if they do, their children do not come! Kai told me people just don't eat out in Germany. I attribute this to the lack of chain restaurants and the fact that all places pretty much have the same menu. Sausage and potatoes. Also, places that are super informal over here, like chinese places and pizzerias, are FANCY in Germany. We found this out the hard way when we stopped to eat at a pizzeria thinking it would be like it is over here. Not so much. And the waitress was none to pleased to have us there and, being German, made that known.
5) which leads me to the next observations. One that even Kai agrees with. Germans can be pretty rude. They don't try to mask their true feelings, have no sense of personal space and will push you into a wall if they want to, and just aren't socially friendly in general. We almost got caught in a stampede while trying to get off a bus over there b/c no one waited for us to get off before they got on...this caused Kai to scream out (in English?) STOP PUSHING!!!!
6) Germans need to wear more clothes...when it comes to swimming. I was pretty traumatized by one guy in a "bathing suit" at a campground we were at. The best I can explain it is it looked like a french cut speedo...with very thin fabric...and the guy was playing badmitton...not cool, not cool. Thankfully most of the kids and young people wear suits like you see here, so this too small bathing suit phenomenon should be on it's way out. Leave something to the imagination, folks. And that goes for the ladies, too!
7) you always hear how "everyone" speaks English in Europe. Well, they don't speak it voluntarily...trust me, it isn't as easy as people make out. I don't think I could get along without Kai. Even the dr we had to see for Katie didn't speak a word of it.
I know it seems like I am complaining a lot, which I am, but there were things I liked. I liked being able to bike everywhere, I loved all the sight seeing we did, since there really are some gorgeous parts of the country and lots to see, and I loved all the cute, city centers. And the fact that there are REALLY nice public pools everywhere! But, it is different over there, and I am just very American!
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