14,768 steps in munich

i’ve learned a few of things so far on my trip.

1. just because you fly first class, doesn’t mean you will sleep better/more.  it does mean you will eat better/more (hello ice cream sundae bar).
2. apparently, i look german.  to multiple people. score.
3.  i can stay awake for 36 hours as long as you feed me cheese and riesling and let me walk around in the cold for hours.
after landing (which was during the beautiful sunrise), we (myself and travel bud amy) checked in, drank our body’s weight in coffee and tea, and then hit the town running (well walking).  munich is a beautiful town.  it has a great amount of hustle and bustle and an awesome market with the yummiest cheeses, sausages, wines, homemade spreads (seriously.  i ate life changing bruschetta dip), fruits, veggies, and random stuff i didn’t recognize.  it was amazing.

Meet my travel bud.

everyone speaks english pretty well, so language hasn’t been a problem.  i even met the nicest lady who has a sheep farm in allgau (where the hubs and i will be staying).  we bought the dreamiest sheep’s milk gouda from her.  ate that, figs, apples, and riesling for lunch in the street market.  it was perfect.

Lunch in the market

as for day 2, we took a 10 hour bus trip through 2 of the famous castles.  one of which was the model for  the cinderella castle in disney world.

Neuschwanstein castle

Linderhof castle

so, in case you are keeping track, here is what’s been done so far:

-shopping in marienplatz and street market
-walked through glockenspiel area
-toured king ludwig II’s castles
-dinner at hofbrauhaus
-witnessed the coolest thing since sliced bread….cross country skiing
-saw the bavarian alps (wowzers)
-saw the passion play theater (it’s really popular here)

here’s what we had, eating/drinking our way through:

-cheese
-fresh and dried figs
-apple strudel with homemade neopolitan ice cream
-sucking pig with potato dumpling
-hashbrowns with veggies and bavarian cheese (best so far)
-pork steak with potatoes au gratin (man.  they know how to make great cheesy potatoes)
-riesling, pinot noir, beer with lemonade
-lentil soup with vienna sausage
-lots of mineral water…or water with no gas as they call it

Scenery around Ludwig II’s castles

who knows what tomorrow will hold.  in the meantime, here are some more scenic shots…because my madre asked for them.

The view of the countryside from Neuschwanstein

The Glockenspiel. It’s the story of the marriage of a local duke (who also started the largest beer house in Munich).

Castles are fun

Introducing…. Flatlete. It’s mathlete but an even more compact version.

Neuschwanstein castle

Castles are still fun

The Bavarian Alps