My parents recently took us (on the trip of a lifetime!) to Germany! My dad retired earlier this year, so this was his way of celebrating his retirement, and making up for lost time on those 24-hour shifts he spent working at the fire station.
While we thought we'd be facing snow in Germany, we weren't prepared for a) zero snow and b) freezing rain! More than once, we were drenched by water and walking a city in billowing winds.
Friday
We left on Friday the 12th, and Austin and I took Ethan to daycare and his Gigi picked him up for the weekend. The "kids" all started the trip in the United Club before the flight took off, and we all spent 10 hours on a plane headed straight to Munich!
Saturday
We landed, and eventually learned that Dad's luggage hadn't even made it on the plane. We navigated our way to a train, figured out how to bug train tickets (with the help of a German man) and were well on our way to the Munich Hauptbonhof (Central Station). our hotel was just around the corner. We ate lunchd and walked to Marienplatz, where the glockenspiel is, passing under Karlstor, and enjoying some Gluhwein in the Christkindlesmarkt on the way.
For dinner, we went to Hofbrauhaus, a famed Bavarian brewery. We had to scour the place for a table that would fit 7 people for an hour, but eventually enjoyed getting to eat dinner in a Bavarian brew house and drink a couple of liters of dunkel (dark beer).
Sunday
We went to Fussen from Munich by train to visit two castles seated in the Bavarian Alps (which border Austria). There was very little snow on the mountain tops, so they weren't quite as we expected. We arrived around 11 and got in line to buy tour tickets. We started at Hohenschwengau, which is the summer palace Bavarian King Maximilian II built. It is a much more modest palace in comparison to the second castle, Neuschwanstein.
Neuschwanstein is the fairy-tale castle (the castle in Sleeping Beauty is based on it) and one of the most famous castles in the world. It's still unfinished; Ludwig II, who had built it, died just a few months after moving in. The cause of his death is still unknown.
When we returned, we had our first adventure in Doner (lamb)... which we would repeat often, as they had falafel for me, and the lamb kabobs and gyros were a hit.
Monday
We spent Monday back in Munich, and while Sam and Meghan slept in, the rest of us caught the Glockenspiel, visited St. Michael's Church, where many Bavarian kings/dukes are buried, and then headed to another palace, Nymphenburg. This is a huge palace that's been added to over time. Like many historical buildings in Germany, part of this castle was damaged/destroyed in WWII and has since been rebuilt. We toured the palace and the carriage house. The latter of the two was especially interesting, as it housed some of the Bavarian Kings' most extravagant hunting sleighs, carriages, and other modes of (pre-automobile) transportation. Sam and Meghan met us here and went to dinner with us. From here, the parents went to another Christmas market, and the kids returned to Hofbrauhaus. Dad later joined us as well.
Tuesday
We stayed out late Monday night, so Tuesday's early ICE (high-speed) rain to Nuremburg came early. We all tried our best to sleep on the train. We all visited the Christmas market and some coffee houses, and Austin and I went shopping in a few of the local stores. I ended up with a hat, a scarf, and a new cardigan along with a Bavarian nativity and some other souvenirs for family. We enjoyed visiting Frauenkirche (which also had a glockenspiel but was mostly destroyed in WWII - later rebuilt). It was amazing to see how much of this historical city had to be rebuilt after the war.
Wednesday
Our last day in Munich, Austin and I took off on our own. We headed straight for the Munich Residenz, and toured the castle there. We also passed Odeonplatz - though Christmas trees were being sold on the plaza there, it was previously a place where Nazi soldiers would swear allegiance to Hitler and Himmler. We didn't know that until we visited a museum (Topogrophie de Terrors) in Berlin, but it was fascinating to learn.
When we visited the Residenz (the main palace where Bavarian Kings used to live) we noticed that a large amount of this palace had also been destroyed. Rather than build it back the way it was, the Germans just painted the walls: it was a permanent reminder of the Germans' tragic past.
That afternoon, Austin and I also visited Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. It was a somber, bitterly cold and raining afternoon. We made the long train/bus ride out there just before closing. The most chilling part of the camp was the entry. I could feel the weight of what happened there as I stood under the gate: the officers and prisoners who entered there. Many of the latter would never walk back out. It was the first and one of the largest camps. They used it as propaganda that these "work camps" would rebuild Germany.
We also visited one of the last standing barracks, from where you could see the foundations where former barracks also stood. We did not have time (or emotional stamina) to visit the cremation room.
Later that night, we took our overnight train to Berlin. We were packed in like sardines because the rooms were small, and we (Austin and I) didn't pack quite as lightly as we should have. We managed to get enough sleep to make it through a full day in Berlin, though.
Thursday
We somehow managed (my the hairs of our chinny chin chin) to get off the train in time at the right stop. All the instructions were in German, and we spoke no German. We had no idea we had just moments to exit, and we were stuck waiting behind other travelers who didn't seem to care. We had quite a haul to our hotel from the Hauptbonhof.
Once we got there, everyone was craving eggs for breakfast so we went for the tried and true McDonalds, then explored the area. We started with Checkpoint Charlie, where there was a timeline of events surrounding the Berlin wall (construction and deconstruction).
While on our way to the Brandenburg Gate, we stumbled across the Topographie de Terrors, a museum situated where the SS/Gestapo headquarters in Berlin once were; the remains of one wall of the basement of the headquarters still stood as a reminder of what was - the building was destroyed in the war.
The exhibits displayed showed the formation of the Nazi party, their brutality, propaganda, and repercussions of their actions. It was the first place in all of Germany that we saw a picture of Hitler, a swastika, or any mention of Nazis. A block-long piece of the Berlin wall still stood outside of the museum as well.
We visited the Brandenburg gate, took a few family pictures by the Christmas tree there, and then ventured to the Reichstag building before going back to the hotel. We ate dinner at another Bavarian brewery (though no longer in Bavaria) and stayed a while there before turning in.
Friday
Austin and I ventured out on our own again. We visited the Berliner Dom (regrettably, did not go inside) viewed some impressionist art at the National Gallery, and got ourselves out to Charlottenberg Palace. There, we visited the Wiehnachtsmarkt - no longer Christmas Markets, as in Bavaria where there is a stronger religious presence: these markets are just Winter Night Markets. We picked something up for Kristin, and made our way back to the hotel in the rain.
We visited a few more Christmas markets that night as well (Gendarmenmarkt and Potsdamerplatz). We also managed to get ourselves into a club in Berlin, where we heard live German rapping! It was definitely interesting, but we felt at home as they played a lot of hip-hop from the early- to mid-2000s.
Saturday
Our last day in Berlin, we started our day across town for an American-style brunch. We planned to go to Charlottenberg with the rest of the family, but it sleeted on us in the street so we pulled back into a cafe and nixed that plan. We then visited some more Weinachtsmarkts as the family had a mission to find mom some final souvenirs.
At night, we walked the lighted, tree-lined street toward the Brandenberg Gate, and then made our way out to a final (nice) dinner, where we treated Mom & Dad as a thank-you for such an awesome trip.
Sunday
A LONG day of traveling, we took a train and bus to the Berlin airport. We had a layover in Frankfurt after a 1-hour connecting flight, and then another 12 hours watching movies on a plane before landing at IAH. Customs were shockingly fast, but the conveyor belt bringing our luggage broke, setting us back from seeing our baby about an hour! He stayed up with GiGi until about 9, and we made it in time to see him and put him to bed. It was a perfect way to end our trip!
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Whew! I'm surprised (and glad) that I remembered all of that. :) If you ever go to Germany in the winter, I'd love to give you a few tips! (I also sincerely hope it actually snows for you - it's just dreary and cold without snow!)
Lots of thanks and eternal gratitude to my parents, who funded our flights & hotel. Y'all gave us some awesome memories!
xo,
