Hot. Munich style.

The past few days have been rather uneventful. Ron and Angie left on Thursday, very early in the morning. We have missed having them around, but they missed this serious heat wave thats hitting us. We went for a run, then went for a quick shopping trip, then off to the Munchner Haupt to keep Paul busy so that he would sleep during the Eurocup Semis.

Paul was exhausted! So we put him to sleep and then transferred him to his stroller when it was time for the game. We went down to our favorite restaurant, which wasn't that crowded considering it was Germany that was playing. It was a sad game to watch. What can you do though? Italy just showed how well they can play, I still fee like Germany should have won.

Friday was spent trying to stay cool and engaged in a shopping contest. We walked around downtown quite a bit, then came home and watched tv! Instead of soccer :) Unfortunately, it was a hot night and nobody slept well. We woke up early today, facing another hot day.

The glorious Isar

Yay!!

Those are tree roots behind me.

Ok, so I know I am complaining of heat when most of the US is engaged in a terrible heat wave, but the difference is that there is no AC. When it is 90 degrees here, there is no escape. We are on an upper floor apartment, so the effects are compounded. So when I complain about heat, I realize it is nothing compared to what some of you are suffering, but at least you have someplace to go ;).

After gathering our groceries for the next few days, we headed out to the Isar to find some relief from the heat. We didn't have to wander far! We stumbled upon a pretty crowded bank of the river and settled in for a few hours. It was glorious! Cold water, entertained baby, and a way to chill out, literally. I look forward to having many more afternoons that way.

Now another Greek salad and digging in for another hot night. On the positive side, my best friend will be here soon!!! :)

And in a side note-the book Wildwood was a real find, it was epic. I am looking forward to the next book in Meloy's chronicle. :)

Happy Belated Father's Day!

The dads walking in their lederhosen

Today was our Father's day. A bit late, but still nice. We went down to the Englischer Garten and brought a ton of picnic snacks. Paul was totally entertained by a playground with a water spout, and it was gorgeous weather.

We did dress up in our German gear! I wore my Bavarian dress, and the boys all wore their lederhosen. It was fun, and I didn't even notice anyone giving us funny looks. :)

My wiggly little man.

We took a stroll in the park then headed home. Stopping of course to feed some eager ducks and a couple of swans. I was afraid they may eat Paul's toes!

Now Ron and Angie are packing, and Donnie and Paul are playing, and I am trying my hardest to stay awake for the soccer game (I almost wrote football!!).

Paul's favorite-feeding ducks and swans

It's been so nice having Donnie's parents here, we are really going to miss them. I think Paul won't know what to do with himself. We've really appreciated all they've done for us and their good company! Safe travels tomorrow, Strothmans! 

Rainy Races and the Port of Morrow in the Reeperbahn

Post-Race, soaked, sore, and happy.

So after a whirlwind of Bayricher tourism, Donnie and I left Paul with his grandparents and set off on an adventure to Hamburg. We flew out early Sunday morning from Munich and arrive in Hamburg in time to pick up our race packets and run the Hella Halbmarathon. It was amazing how smoothly everything went. We caught every train, we arrived at the race early. There was no stress at all. Unfortunately the weather was not friendly to us. It rained the entire time we were in Hamburg.


The race started in the Reeperbahn (a really shady part of Hamburg) and wound through the streets of downtown. I've often thought that being a runner has its advantages when traveling because you get to see so much more than if you just walk the streets of a city.  There were a lot of people in this particular race, and the streets were very wet, so I didn't get the full feeling of Hamburg from just the race. We ran by all the sights, which was good because it rained the rest of the time we were there. Donnie ran really fast, despite the yucky weather. He finished in 1 hr 55 minutes, and I was 10 minutes behind him.

NH Hotel in Hamburg

Rathaus in Hamburg.

After the race, we were cold and tired, and there wasn't much of an after party, so we headed out to our hotel in Altona. It was a cozy NH room and we slept most of the rainy afternoon away. We ventured out for some food, but after that I was asleep before the soccer game had ended. But I did wake up to see the penalty shots (silly England).

Port city

On Monday, we woke up early (cursed by having an early rising child), and we had a huge breakfast, then luckily went back to sleep. It was cold and still raining, but we decided to try to go and sight-see. After a few miserable walks through some pretty hard pounding rain, we decided to shop in a mall downtown. This entertained us for some time, and the rain faded for about a half-hour so that we could enjoy some sun on the Rathaus. It's funny because all of my pictures of the city are in sun, but we only saw it for a total of an hour the whole trip! I guess that's how coastal cities are, crazy weather.

We finally gave up, and headed back to the hotel. That night we went to see one of our all time favorite bands, The Shins, in the area of town called the Reeperbahn. I don't know much about it, but the Reeperbahn is famous for a few things, one the Beatles, and two, being a pretty shady spot. (If you've been to Hamburg, or heard about the Reeperbahn, I'm sure you catch my drift.) Luckily it stays light there until well after 10pm, so when we headed out to the show there wasn't too much nonsense.

Yay Shins!

The show was fantastic!! I couldn't have asked for a better way to see The Shins. I am posting some video of it, but it does little justice to the amazing band that performed. They played a lot from their new album, including a song called 40 Mark Strasse, which the lead singer explained was a song about when he used to live at Ramstein AFB as a child. It's cool that Ramstein has connected so many people over the years, including Donnie and I. :)


Anyway, needless to say, we were exhausted, and it was hard to rise this morning for our trek back to Munich. But we made it, and I've missed Paul like mad!! Ron and Angie will be going home soon, so the next chapter of our trip will start. I will be sad to see them go. :(


Here are The Shins as promised!! :)

Cartrips and a Castle

The past few days have been full of driving and seeing two of the most picturesque places in this part of Germany. On Thursday, we rented a car and drove to Rothenburg Ob der Tauber. I am sure most people who have been to this area of the country have seen this town. It is a walled city that has kept its medieval charm. I have been there a few times before, including the last time we were here and I was pregnant with Paul. It was fun to have him tour the city, but he was mostly interested in chasing the birds again.

On the lookout for birds in Rothenburg.

Happy boy.

We had a bit of a hiccup with the GPS and the Autobahn, so it took us 4 hours instead of 2 to arrive at Rothenburg, so our planned side trip to Bamberg was cancelled. No matter though. We wandered around the city, had a cute lunch in a little picnic cabin, and visited an epic Christmas store. Paul played in the park overlooking the city and then we drove home. He really has been quite a trooper when we take him to all these different places. He has his fair share of tantrums, but overall, when you consider that he's had very little routine here, he's in a really good mood most of the time. Very busy though, it's like he never stops moving.

View of the valley around the castle

View from bridge.

On Friday, we got up early and piled into the car again. This time we took the scenic drive to Neuschwanstein in the foothills of the Alps. Donnie and I visited this castle on our honeymoon, five years ago, in the snow, but we took the same road, and found the spot where we had a picnic lunch before touring the castle. It was fun to retrace our steps, and realize how much has changed since then.

We had some trouble with the road, so we were a little late arriving. It seems all the roads we had chosen to take those two days were closed, each time when we were within 23 km of our destination. It was comical, but so frustrating.

Playing around :)

Smizing.

We walked up to the castle, which was quite a hike, pushing Paul up the hill in a stroller. (It's a 20 minute hike straight uphill.) We were worried that Paul would have a breakdown like in the BMW museum, but he was really good during the tour of the castle.

Afterwards, we had a snack and played around outside the castle while Ron and Angie finished up inside. Then they walked Paul down the hill and Donnie and I walked another 20 minutes uphill to view the castle from a bridge across on the mountains. It was spectacular, the view was amazing.

From there, we jumped back in the car and jetted over to Garmisch. We were planning on going back up the Zugspitz, which we had done last time were were in Munich with Ron and Angie in 2009. However, the weather wasn't cooperating, so we wandered the streets, chased some birds and had a very hearty meal. Donnie drove us back to Munich in a mere 45 minutes (85km) and we made a quick trip to the store (since we had a car to carry groceries) and were home with enough time to put Paul to bed before the Eurocup!

The game was fantastic, I think Germany will end up in the finals. We are hanging around town today, then Donnie and I will be off to Hamburg early tomorrow for our half-marathon and Shins! Then just a few more days with Ron and Angie. :( The days are flying by now, but I will continue to enjoy the weather, beer, soccer and fabulous company.

Waffles and other things.

So we went to Brussels on Sunday, which ended up being quite a journey. We started from our apartment at 5am and after trains, buses taxis and an airplane ride, we ended up at our hotel in Brussels at 2 pm. Paul was a trooper and slept for most of the transit, or watched the scenery through windows. I was happy to see how well he did, but when he is good for that long, it's hard to keep him happy after that.

A part of the Grand Platz

We arrived and after dropping our bags, we headed to the main plaza, which is spectacular. It is so beautiful, but you can never quite capture it in pictures. I tried many times, but it eludes me.

Then we searched out some food, which includes being harassed by food sellers. It felt like we were back in Turkey being ushered into every restaurant.

I think that the food in Brussels is one of the main draws. It is mostly French food, Donnie ate his fill of escargot, but it also incorporates all kinds of worldly flavors. Brussels is quite international, and we heard all languages and you can see the influence in the food.

After the meal, we headed on to see the Mannequin Pis. If you've ever seen the statue, you'd know it is not very impressive. But while we were standing there a maintenance man made the water flow straight out to where Paul and I were standing. Paul thought it was hilarious, I was amused also because I'd never seen how far the statue can actually pee. I wish I had a picture of that, but I do not. My hands were full of Belgian waffle. :)

So the Belgian Waffle in the States is something to be desired, but it is in no way equal to the waffles in Brussels. I had had them once before when I was abroad 7 years ago, and they stuck in my mind as one of the most delicious of the worlds foods. The waffles themselves are heavy and soft and the corners crunch with sugar. Then you can put whatever topping you'd like on them, cream, sauces, fruit, jams, ice cream. Even the smell and sight of them is appealing. Over the course of our stay I think I indulged in 4 waffles. That equals quite a bit of running that I never did while we were there. :)


From there, we headed back to the hotel where Paul proceed to trash the hotel room like a baby rock star. He ripped up paper, tried to break into the mini-bar, danced in front of the full length mirror and generally threw things around. Donnie and I were to tired to care, we just laid and watched and cleaned up later. :)

The Royal Palace

Angie volunteered to watch Paul while Donnie, Ron and I went out to find a place to watch the Germany game. We found an Irish Pub and settled in for the game. Cheap beer, and an awesome game made for a good evening. Unfortunately, it ended on a strange note when the Moroccan man we were sitting with wanted to discuss US politics. It was a pretty dramatic discussion that I would have rather skipped. But we made up for it by eating the most awesome Doner Kebaps and another waffle :).

St. Michael's Cathedral

Belgian Park

On Monday, Paul woke up early, then went back down for a nap shortly after, so we didn't start our sightseeing until after noon. We first went to the Cathedral, which is strikingly similar to Notre Dame, then headed to a park and onto the royal palace (which you can't go into).

Learning to navigate!

Paul was hungry so he headed off with Ron and Angie to find food and rest. While Donnie and I proceeded to ride the tram for 40 minutes in the wrong direction trying to see the Atomium. We were too tired to ride the tram for an extra 40 minutes, so we headed to the Grand Platz for some food ourselves. We stumbled upon an English pub and were delighted to eat chips and have yummy Belgian beer before heading back to the hotel. We met up with the rest of the family and off we went back to the pub for dinner. Paul fell asleep and we watched half of a soccer game before heading home to bed.

Not deterred by rain :)

Our journey home started at 5:45am the next morning, and after another adventure in all kinds of vehicles, we were back home by 3pm. We bounced right back out to buy Paul some Lederhosen (picture in the next post). We bought some picnic food and headed off to the Munchner Haupt for a picnic. It of course started to rain, so it was less than ideal, but a fun adventure anyway.

Today is a day of rest and recuperation, laundry and cleaning, and tomorrow we are off again! I think we are headed to Bamberg and Rothenburg ab der Tauber, then Friday we are off to Neuschwanstein. All of places which we've been, but some of our favorites. :)

In a sidenote, HAPPY FATHER'S DAY! We decided to postpone our celebration to this weekend since we had to spend Sunday travelling. We also had no access to internet while in Brussels, but you were on my mind all day, Dad! 


And Happy Birthday to my now 30 year old sister, Heather!! :) Again we spent your birthday travelling, but I hope your day was spectacular!

Beer Gardens and Playgrounds

So I think these two are synonyms. Beer gardens and playgrounds. But really there is one at the other. In whatever order you'd like to think of them. Paul really has a good time playing around at them, and so does Donnie. :)

Running around the Hirschgarten

Not Beer! Apfelschorle!

Yesterday we went to a beer garden/playground called the Hirschgarten. It is magnificent, but I still prefer our little Munchner Haupt down the street. At this particular garten, Paul could feed deer, run around in fields, and roll down some hills (with his dad). It was a fun day, wore Paul out. But unfortunately he did not sleep well last night.

So much fun at the Augustiner!

The Augustiner Keller

That led to a very late start today. We didn't leave the apartment until after 3pm and made our way to the Augustiner Keller. This is a beautiful beer garten right next to the main train station and Paul goofed around on their playground until late in the day. He loved playing in the rocks more than anything, and going down the slide of course.

Now it is late-ish and we leave for Brussels in the morning so wish Paul a better night's sleep and I'll update when I get a chance. :)

Touristing...

The past few days have been full of checking things off the list of things to see. On Wednesday, Donnie and I got up early and ran ten miles along the Isar. It was cold and rainy, but I thought fun! Our race is in about a week, so it was good to know we will be able to finish without trouble. The Isar is pretty inspiring to run next to. It is a little flooded right now, and charges down the riverbanks so quickly. Nothing like our little run next to Salado Creek. ;)

We continued the day at the Viktualenmarkt, which is truly a sight to see. I can't believe Donnie and I had never been. There was food (cheese, fruit, veggies, meat, spices). There were crafts. There was even a neat little beer garden in the center! Paul had fun chasing the birds around the platz and we had fun looking at all the beautiful stands.

We went from their to the Frauenkirche. I'd never been inside there either. I was looking forward to climbing up the towers to see all of Munich, but the towers were closed for construction. Oh well. The church itself is pretty magnificent, it's been a while since I've been in a European church like that and I've forgotten how beautiful they were. Paul fell asleep as we were walking through, so it was perfect. We didn't have to worry about keeping him quiet in a place that would surely echo. 

This is right after WWII. They reconstructed it well.

Following the Frauenkirche, we went shopping down the pedestrian zone. Angie bought a really nice drindle (green with a blue apron). She's going to wear it in SA too, I hope! And then we headed home for some homemade Spargelsuppe and greek salad. It was a very full and tiring day, but fun!

Yesterday, we got a late start, but headed down to the Olympic park. It was a beautiful day, sunny and cool. When we arrived we went to the BMW Welt, which is a wonderland of gorgeous cars. Donnie and I always talk about the time we'll go there to pick up our brand new BMW. :) 

Beautiful Park.

Then we went to the BMW museum, which Donnie and I have done on a previous trip. By then, Paul was pretty beat, so he didn't last through the whole tour and Donnie and I went to walk with Paul around the park. He fell asleep in his stroller, so we stopped for some food. Basking in the sun in that incredible park and eating more delicious food made us want to stay forever. 

Beautiful food.

 But days like that don't last forever so we headed back to our corner of town and went to the Munchner Haupt for dinner. Paul had a blast playing on the playground, he had it to himself! 


Today is another beautiful day, so we'll have to see what's in store. :) Definitely no more museums with Paul. He prefers being outside, or at least in a place he can run around. 

Paul's Perspective...

So I had this idea about what it was like to be Paul in Munich...

He seems to be enjoying it so much. He sleeps through the night, eats his fill of pretzels and kinder chocolate, and gets to roam around our little apartment basically freely. Life seems to be good.

So I decided while we were out touristing this week I'd try to take pictures from what he sees, from his stroller, on Daddy's shoulders and running around in his shoes. From doing this, I've found that Paul gets to see a lot of legs, churches are not so interesting to babies, and a ride on Daddy's shoulders far exceeds a ride in the rickety stroller we have here in Munich.

Nevertheless, Paul's attitude is great and he's enjoying the family time I'm sure of it. :) Also, I've never seen him so well-behaved as on the U-Bahn. Maybe the movement of it keeps him happy. But I do feel bad for all the legs he has to see, it's not easy being surrounded by a forest of pants.

A little bit of rambling

The past day here has been rather uneventful, besides of course my treasure finding. We took up half the laundromat doing our clothes, and they still didn't get completely dry. :( But at least they don't smell now. :) We've been having unusually cool weather here in Munich, which is nothing to complain about except that I only packed 2 long sleeved shirts, I've been getting creative with my wardrobe, but it really doesn't matter.

We did find the sweetest little pub/restaurant down the street from us. It is not expensive and shows the soccer games out in their beer garden on a projector. We went their for dinner last night, and Paul was relatively entertained by the place. The food was good, and the Augustiner beer was cheap, so we may do our next Germany Eurocup game there. It is literally down the street.

In other food news, I still have had no Doner Kebaps!! Yikes! Perhaps for dinner some night this week. :)

So Donnie and I have been running daily. We've found a sweet little park down the road about a mile, and it has a 2km loop in it. Our street running is so hard on our legs and joints that we're mixing in the trails with the street runs. We both noticed being slightly more out of breath than usual, so we looked up the altitude in Munich and in fact it is 1000 feet higher than SA. That explains it! :) We thought it was all the food. ;)

Since yesterday was completely domestic, I've made a list of the things I want to see in Munich. If I can see one or two of these every couple days, I think we'll have made a dent on the sights to see here. And those of you reading this who have suggestions, please add to my list. ;)

In no particular order:
-Olympiapark
-Residenz (we've been here, but the parents have not)
-Modern Art Museum
-Schloss Numphenburg
-Deutches Museum (again we've been, but Paul might get a kick out of it)
-Peterskirche (and others, Angie really wants to see churches)
-Viktualenmarkt (Can you believe we've never been??)
-BMW Museum (possibly the most fascinating museum)
-Asamkirche
-Starnberger See (only if it warms up!)

And of course the list goes on...but my rambling is done for now. :)

Treasure in a bookstore

I can't believe my luck. I was in a bookstore waiting for Donnie to get his phone fixed in the Marienplatz and wandered up to the only corner of English books. Sitting there on the table was a book written by Colin Meloy! Hooray, not only do I have a bit of summer reading, it is by my favorite artist!

Check it out on Amazon!

Yum!

Goulasch Suppe and Kuche!

Yesterday started off to a slow start, we didn't go running until 11:30am! It was so cold and rainy we only did five miles. Our half-marathon is in less than two weeks so we have to step it up! It's just so hard on your bones running on the hard concrete sidewalks. There is a nice little park down the street, which I think we will explore today.

Apfel Strudel Medley with Vanilla Sauce!

Paul fell asleep when we got home, so we hung around the apartment and cleaned up while he slept. I think I'll need to find a book to read for times like that because this space is so small, there are limited things to do. When he woke up we headed to the Marienplatz to meet Mikaela, her sister and boyfriend for yummy afternoon snacks. I should have run farther because that food was so delicious, and I love that even sweets are not too sweet. The food here is so good, so different from home in a way I can't really describe. But even with all the good food, there are no fat people. It's amazing to look around and see all kinds of fit people eating and drinking all the time, and never seeming to show it in their bodies. I hardly see people exercising either, but of course we haven't made it out before 9. :)

Walking in the Englischer Garten.

After that, they took us to the Englischer Garten! Donnie and I have been to Munich five times together, and we've never been able to actually locate the garten, which is really silly since the park is one of the largest urban parks in all of the world. It was fun  to walk through, we saw all the classics, bike riders, runners, frisbees, dogs, tightrope walkers, naked people...lol. Ron and Angie loved that. I thought it was just too cold for that, but I guess not for some people. :)

Always busy

So GOOD!

We ended up at the Chinese Garden just in time to see Spain and Italy play on a big outdoor screen, with again the most amazing food! The game was good, and Paul wore himself out playing on the playground (which they have at every beer garden). We walked home and arrived in time to watch the second game, and again ate a vegetarian pizza from down the street.

Happy with Grandpa :)

It was a day of too much food and today will not be the same! I have to remember to pace myself with all the food, but it's hard when it's all so delicious!!