Jessica and Ben in Germany: Heidelberg

Heidelberg has been to us in Germany what D.C. was while we were living in Maryland- an accessible and must-see city for visitors. We've previously documented our trips to Heidelberg in September and October of 2007 with just the two of us,  January of 2008 with Kiley and Erich, May 2008 with Brandon, and although we don't have blog documentation, Matt's parents, my grandparents, and T.J. were also treated to a Heidelberg day trip. It seemed fitting, therefore, that Heidelberg be the last stop on Jessica and Ben's whirlwind tour of Deutschland.

We briskly walked up to the castle...

Admired the castle ruins and views of the Neckar...

Viewed the castle from the Karl Theodor Brucke (Bridge)...












...and Ben took the obligatory monkey picture at the entrance to the bridge.

Thank you, Jessica and Ben, for being our final visitors in Germany! We had a great trip with you and have enjoyed reliving our fun-filled week while creating these (overdue) blog posts. Love you both!

Jessica and Ben in Germany: Berchtesgaden

I should start by saying that our original inspiration for this trip to southern Germany came from previous interest expressed by Jessica and/or Ben in seeing the Eagle's Nest. We had yet to see this German landmark, so it seemed like a really good plan for everyone; however, only after making all of the arrangements for the trip, we discovered that the Eagle's Nest does not open to visitors until Mid-May.Whoops.

The same time last year, we were in sunny Paris with T.J. and Chris, so it is not surprising that when Matt found a lakeside B&B with great rates and this view, he booked it. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the winter weather really held on this year, especially in Bavaria, so our view from the Gasthaus Seeklause wasn't quite what we were expecting. Our B&B was located on the Hintersee (see = lake) near Ramsau, only about 15 minutes from Berchtesgaden. Although we were the only guests at the guesthouse other than the owners' son and family, it was a really pleasant stay. Yes, it momentarily felt a little like The Shining and a lot like we had missed the memo about when to visit this area, but the scenery was actually really nice and continued to improve as the week went on. As was often said during this portion of our trip, this would be a really beautiful area in the summer.

Hintersee

Soon after checking into the B&B, we ventured into Ramsau and then on to Berchtesgaden.

In Berchtesgaden, we visited the Dokumentation Obersalzberg building, built for and gifted to Adolf Hitler for his 50th birthday by Martin Bormann. The building was expanded after 1933, and eventually served as the southern headquarters for the Nazi government. Inside, an extensive exhibition includes hundreds of artifacts related to the Nazi regime and Hitler's time in the region (he and his party members basically took over this area, removing Berchtesgaden residents from their homes simply because they would make good holiday homes). The building also provides access to an underground bunker system. As it turns out, this exhibition provided much of the historical information I would have expected to be located in the Kehlsteinhaus (Eage's Nest), which is actually just a restaurant with spectacular views of the region.

The next day, we visited the Salzbergwerk Berchtesgaden (Berchtesgade Salt Mine). Matt and I had done a salt mine tour in Salzburg, so we were pretty sure that it would be worthwhile for Jessica and Ben to experience. We slipped on our extremely unflattering jumpsuits, took a token photo, and boarded the train that took us down into the 480-year-old salt mines.

 

Once in the mine, Matt, Jessica, and Ben rode at least two wooden slides...

 

...and we all took a psychedelic, Willy Wonka-like boat ride through a salt water pool with a coordinating light and sound show.

That afternoon, we took an impromptu boat ride on the Konigsee, Germany's highest lake, lying 2,000 feet above sea level.

 

The water was eerily still, and since the boat was electric-powered and the lake was surrounded by mountains on all sides, there was virtually no sound at all.  Along the way, we also saw some sort of a deer feeding area, where at least a hundred deer were congregating.

Once we reached St. Bartholomew's church (below), we docked to pick up other passengers and began our return journey.

Matt and I honestly can't remember which night we had dinner at our B&B, but it is worth mentioning that one night, Jessica, Matt, and I ordered fish that were caught in the Hintersee a few paces from the guesthouse and prepared by the guesthouse owner. Ordering from a German menu is always a bit of an adventure for non-German speakers, but what we got was especially unexpected- three whole fish each, with bones and skin still in tact. I almost immediately resorted to using my fingers, Jessica used the proper utensils to get a decent amount of fish from the bone, and Matt slowly and meticulously cleaned the fish with the dexterity and patience of a surgeon. We certainly had to work for our food that night, now well worth it for the memory.

On our final day in Berchtesgadener Land, the sun finally came out and we were able to get some good pictures by the Hintersee. 

 

On our way out of town, we stopped for some pictures for a postcard-worthy picture of the church in Ramsau.

Jessica and Ben in Germany: Munich

Perhaps it is because Matt and I were both taking multiple classes at this point in the year or perhaps it is because I was newly pregnant and having trouble finding energy to do much of anything other than feed, bathe, and cloth myself not to mention take classes and go to work. Whatever the reason, this has to be one of the most embarrassingly delayed blog posts in the history of blogging. This post has been lingering on my list of things to do for more than two months and has been saved as a draft for just as long. So, with a thank you to Jessica and Ben for their incredible generosity in coming to visit us and their subsequent patience and understanding for this tardy post, we present their trip Germany!!!

Jessica and Ben (Matt's sister and our brother-in-law) arrived in Frankfurt on a morning flight in good spirits. We promptly whisked them to the Pfungstadt brewery for their first German meal and beer. No beer for me at our favorite brewery? Needless to say it didn't take much longer than the drink order for us to bust out the news that we were pregnant! We were really excited to share the news with Jessica and Ben as they would be the first and only family members that we would have the opportunity to tell in person.

The next morning, we drove to Munich for a couple of days of touring. We had already been to Munich with Matt's parents, but there were plenty of new things to see, beginning with the Sengliger Tor, a former town gate flanked by two medieval towers like the one below. 

We also visited Asamkirche, unassuming from the outside, but decorated in lavish rococo style. Although we couldn't actually enter the sanctuary, Matt was able to capture the ornate interior from behind an iron gate. 

Gilded skeletons in the church entrance- by far one of the spookiest displays we've seen in a German church.

Jessica and Ben in front of the Neues Rathaus (New City Hall) in Marienplatz

Next, we walked through the Viktualienmarkt (Latin for food market), sampling spicy sausage sticks and a sweet-and-sour pickle for the pregnant lady. Pregnant or not pregnant, it was delicious.

Unfortunately, Jessica and Ben's "spring break trip" to Germany wasn't all that springy; in fact it was downright wintry, which was only made worse by temperatures back in Iowa in the mid 50s.  As such, our visit the next day to Schloss Nymphenburg reminded us more of a Russian palace in winter. While the exterior of this baroque castle left much to be desired, the interior was quite beautiful.













Ceiling fresco painted between 1755 and 1757

 This is King Ludwig I's "Gallery of Beauties," filled with  portraits of many beautiful women from various countries. Perhaps Ludwig I's own personal 17th century centerfolds?  Or maybe not, apparently portraits of his sister and daughter are among the collection.

Lunch at the Hofbrauhaus...

Not quite sick of German grub, yet...

Later that day, enroute to the Englischer Garten, we literally ran into an Irish parade. This was the closest we got to celebrating St. Patrick's Day! 

The park would have been really enjoyable in beautiful spring weather, but no such luck for us. After finding the Chinesischer Turm (Chinese Pagoda), we promptly began the journey back to our hotel for a break before dinner.

That night, Matt brilliantly thought to check Trip Advisor for a dinner recommendation. When he saw a Mexican restaurant rated #1 of more than a thousand restaurants in all of Munich, we decided to check it out. I should mention that it is possible to find Mexican food in Germany, but it is typically sub-par, to say the least. From the obviously homemade tortilla chips and guacamole, to the margaritas (from what I heard), to the high-quality ingredients in all of our entrees and desserts, this was hands down the best Mexican food we have had in Europe to date. So good, in fact, that we felt compelled to ask the waiter to pass those exact words on to the chef. Four complimentary tequila shots later (way to take one- I mean four- for the team, J and B), the chef/owner was at our table telling us how he was originally from Tijuana and had lived in California, and asking us to spread the word about his restaurant. So, to our small readership: When in Munich, don't miss El Gordo Loco; you won't be disappointed! This was a really memorable night and a great close to our time in Munich.

Just for a laugh, here is a pretty funny English translation of a German menu somewhere in Munich:

• "two little legs of pork"- not to be confused with the little pigs that went to the market; and
• red cabbage and dumplings "in a napkin"- not sure I want to know what that means.