Munich, Germany

 Tony had a quick trip to Munich for work last week.  It was his birthday, so I decided to tag along.  No need for him to celebrate alone! With only one day to explore, I decided to get an overview of the Old Town with a small walking tour. Our guide was hilarious, which was great since I was hanging with him for two hours. I haven't fact checked him, so if my notes with my pictures are incorrect, blame Timmy (or my forgetful brain)! Here are a few of the things we saw on our tour:

This courthouse was completed in 1897. I actually found that pretty "young" for European buildings. 

Karlstor on Stachus Square: One of three remaining "gates" in Munich's city walls.

More than 80% of the buildings in Munich's old town were destroyed during the war. During the restoration, they did their best to salvage any parts of the building. Here is a good example of how they blended the "old" with the "new". Munich attempts to keep restoration as true to form as possible. Timmy even saw them using hand cranked drills.

Frauenkirche: Church Of Our Lady

First construction took place from 1468-1488. The towers of the church remained standing after the war, but the rest of the church was destroyed. Nothing is allowed to be taller than this church. Pope Benedict was the priest here. 

The graveyard next to the church was moved as the city expanded. Some of the gravestones were then placed on the side of the church. 

According to Timmy, the sculpture on the side of this building represents a man who was commissioned by the King to create a ring for the Queen. One day the man entered the tower to work on the ring, but it was missing. The King executed the guy. The next day, the ring was discovered in a crow's nest that had fallen from the tree. Don't know if it is true, but I think it is funny...and very unfortunate for the jeweler. 

Neues Rathaus: New Town Hall

Completed in 1905

Hundreds of visitors gather to witness the glockenspiel.

You, too, can join the crowd at 11 and noon (and 5pm March to October).

St. Michael's Church

King Ludwig II is buried in the Royal Crypt here. He wasn't a very popular king and his death remains a mystery. 

After my tour and after Tony's meetings, we met up to celebrate his birthday. 

Here we are at Hofbrauhaus.

Inside Hofbrauhaus are long picnic style tables where you sit with anyone. 

There was live "German style" music. I was really tempted to have them serenade Tony with "happy birthday", but I refrained. 

We finished the day with an amazing dinner at Ratskeller. The restaurant was in a basement. I appreciated how they had backlit windows so that you didn't feel like you were in a dungeon! 

Until Oktoberfest, Munich...

 

Prague, Czech Repbulic

There was another holiday last week, so Tony and I took advantage and traveled to Prague for a few days...along with a few thousand other folks. (I am starting to rethink the whole "traveling over a holiday" idea.) Once again, we walked our booty's off.  I had NO idea that Prague had so many hills! It did make for some beautiful views, though! 

I am embarrassed to say that other than asking a few friends who had been previously about their trip, I did very little research about things to do in Prague. We had an amazing time, though! And now I have a long list of things to do when we return!

Old Town Square...Founded in the 12th Century

St. Nicholas Church at Old Town Square (1273)

Church of Our Lady before Tyn has the oldest organ in Prague (1673).

The Astronomical Clock is a very popular tourist spot!

I couldn't figure out how to share the video, but there are several things that happen at the top of the hour...

....including a skeleton ringing a bell. 

There was quite the crowd to watch it all go down!

We stopped by an Irish Pub in the square to "cheers" our friends, Jim and Laurie. They came last September and gave us this Czech Koruna to have a beer on them!

I loved that there were still markets going on!

That evening we took a boat tour on the Vltava River. This is a picture of the Charles Bridge. Construction began in 1357 and was completed in 1402.

The city was beautiful lit up at night!

The next day, we walked up to the Letna Overlook with views of the Vltava River and Old Town.

We rewarded ourselves with a beer after that climb!

Pilsner Urquell is the world's first known pilsner originating in Czech. Apparently the same recipe has been used since 1842. 

From there we walked to Mala Strana for some lunch and up to the Prague Castle (built in the 9th Century). The clouds and the rain started rolling in, so I didn't get the best pictures. Next time!

St. Vitus Cathedral is located on the castle grounds.

From the castle, we walked back down to the Charles Bridge. This is one of 30 sculptures that have been carved to decorate the bridge. The sculptures were carved between the years 1683 and 1928.

We had planned to walk over the bridge to Old Town, but the police had a different plan. No idea what happened, but we had to turn around. The rest of the sculptures will have to wait until our next trip. 

Looking down on the Certovka Canal.

We eventually made it to the other side and watched a beautiful sunset and saw the castle lit up at night.

The next day was the Prague Marathon....

....And we drank beer as the runners that finished passed us by!

We eventually made our way over to the finish line. We saw young, old, people in tuxedos and Darth Vader (May the 4th be with you). These three buds caught my attention as they held hands going across the finish line. Made me think of Ellis and his friend, Birch. They just finished a half marathon and have thoughts of a full marathon next year. If they go through with it, I hope to be there. 

Enjoyed hanging out with these two rockstars that actually did run the marathon. Kate (pink sweatshirt) insisted I wear her medal. I was so excited to pretend! HA!

See you next time, Prague!

Vienna, Austria

Easter Weekend

Tony and I, along with our friend Emile, made our way to Vienna for Easter weekend. I had my first Schnitzel. You won't see a picture of it because it was just "fine". We actually tried two..you won't see a picture of either. We also tried the Sacher Torte. No thanks. So basically you'll explore Vienna with me as we walked our booty's off, exploring churches and hitting the Easter Markets.  

BUT FIRST...we stayed a night in Krakow to see their Easter Market:

Rynek Glowny with Tony and Emile

I believe this is called Oscypek. It is a smoked cheese, wrapped in bacon and grilled. AMAZING!

The best "sausage dog" we had all weekend. 

The next morning,  we were off to Vienna. Emile may travel with us reluctantly from now on as it was quite a long walk to our first stop:

Schonbrunn Palace

These were real eggs that were painted beautifully!

In my opinion, Krakow won.

From the Palace, we made our way to the Burggarten Park. This area used to be the Emperor's Garden, but is now owned by the state. 

The Mozart Statue is on the grounds of the park.

With all of the walking, it was time to stop at the Palmenhaus Cafe that overlooked the gardens.

St. Charles Church: I look forward to coming back to this spot at Christmas.

The next day, we visited St. Stephens Cathedral. Mass was going on at the time and the music was breathtaking! We spent the rest of the day touring Easter Markets and the streets of Vienna.

St. Stephens Cathedral

Organ pipes in St. Stephens

It was really incredible!

Am Hof Easter Market

Altweiner Ostermarkt= Old Viennese Easter Market

The eggs were all over at each market. Some were wooden, but most were real eggs that had been drained.

Another beautiful church!

Strandbar Hermann

Strandbar Hermann was basically a beach on the edge of the city.

Sacher Hotel: A really cool spot with the largest chocolate bunny I have ever seen and also the worst chocolate cake.

I add this photo only to make fun of us for flying. We are a four hour drive away from Vienna. When I laughed Tony asked, "Do you want to drive?" From then on I kept my laughter to myself because, NO, I hate driving. And before you ask, this was a last minute trip and EVERY train was booked. 

I plan to be in Poland next year for Easter Monday so that I can write about the Smigus-Dyngus celebration. Do yourself a favor and look it up!