Germany Adventure - Food and Family - August 7

     On this day we took Hans, Linda, and Josie out to brunch at a nearby restaurant. The food was excellent. We had a variety of breakfast foods, including french toast, omelets, eggs, sausages, bacon, etc. We were served fresh-squeezed orange juice. Vanita, Linda and I were admiring the pastries, so the waiter insisted on giving us some cookies. After our meal, Hans went to Munich to bring Lidia and the children back for the day, and the rest of us walked through a path in the woods to return to the Scheib's home.

Logan, Stan and Landon

     Linda taught Vanita and I how to make Knödel, a potato dumpling that has a toasted crouton in the center.

     This was Naomi's SnapChat of her last dinner in Germany. That is apple juice in her glass, made locally. It is so flavorful! She was hoping to eat Knödel one more time before she went back to America, so her mom made it for her. It is served with brown gravy. We also ate roasted pork shank and slaw. It was delicious, as was all the food we ate in Germany!

Germany Adventure - August 6 - Neuschwanstein Castle

     On this day, we drove up in the Alps to see Bavaria’s Neuschwanstein Castle. It is said that Walt Disney modeled Cinderella’s Castle at Disney World and Sleeping Beauty’s Castle in Disneyland after this landmark.

        When we arrived, it was rainy and cold. One way to get up the mountain is a 45-minute hike, but we decided not to risk that long in the rain and took a bus up the mountain. The views from the top of the mountain were magical, blue lakes, dark green forests, and more alps.  Across the valley was another castle King Ludwig II had built for his mother-in-law. I teased Stan that after several days spent together he might wish his mother-in-law was on another mountainJ. 

    There were many tourists there who appeared to be of many nationalities. While waiting in line for the W.C. (water closet), I met a woman from Ireland who brought her young daughter to see the castle. We did not buy tickets to go in the castle. If you want to tour the castle, it is better to buy tickets online or risk waiting in line for some time, and even then, they can be sold out.

     We started walking back down the path. Josie bought some kind of pastries at a stand and shared them with us. They were puffy little clouds of deliciousness. 












     Seeing horses and a carriage nearby, we hurried over and waited to climb in. The carriage held about 10 people plus the driver. How fun to ride from the “Disney Castle” in a carriage! I am sure the trip downhill was a much easier trip for the horses than up. Our driver had to apply the brakes to keep us from descending too fast.

     We met up with Hans and Linda and went to a nearby town to a restaurant and inn that served traditional German dishes. I had a salad and spaetzle, Stan had sausages and kraut, and Vanita ordered the wienerschnitzel, so the three of us could sample a little of everything. It was all delicious.

     Stan and Logan visited with the owner of a meat shop that grew the cattle it butchered in pens and a barn right next to the shop. Back we went to Hans and Linda’s house where Naomi’s friend Maribelle came for a visit.

     It was another beautiful day with amazing sights, delicious food, and good company!

Logan thought he was a little too close to these tourists from Ukraine on the bus.

This is the mother-in-law's castle across the valley.

Another view of the Neuschwanstein (New Swan) Castle.

You can see the tourists and the scaffolding. The castle is still being completed.

Germany Adventure – August 5 – Family Day

     This day was devoted to family. In the morning, Vanita, Stan, Logan, and I enjoyed shopping in the neighboring village. Hans knew the best places to buy what we needed for lunch. Logan wanted to grill steaks, so Hans led us to a butcher shop and helped with ordering what Logan and Stan wanted. We also went to a store to buy a variety of meats, cheeses and soft pretzels.

     Naomi’s brother David, his wife Tabea and son Phaniel, her sister Lidia, husband Daniel and their children Lore and Noam, brother Gabe and sister Johanna (Josie) all gathered at Hans and Linda’s house for the first time in a few years. They enjoyed a day of talking, laughing and reminiscing about their childhood. At one point, even though I only speak a little German, I knew Naomi was telling them about Logan picking out a name for the baby.  We had a lunch of delicious soft pretzels, breads, meats and cheeses. The little cousins played well together.

 

Landon and Lore use the chairs as slides.

     In the afternoon, Stan and Vanita tackled a project of building a sandbox from a kit Linda bought for the grandchildren. It did not come with instructions, just a picture of the finished product. No problem for Stan the Man and his trusty assistant. 

Cousins put sand in the new sandbox.

     The little ones went down for naps, and some of us older ones also rested. I lay down in the swing in the back yard and rocked and dozed among the flowers. 

Tabea and Naomi compare baby bumps.

    Mid-afternoon, we enjoyed coffee and two yummy kinds of cakes – a cherry cake and a merengue with berries and cream. Family pictures were taken to commemorate the occasion.

Left to right: Stan, Me, Vanita, Logan, Landon, Naomi, Tabea, David holding Phaniel,
Gabe, Johanna (Josie), Daniel holding Lore, Lidia holding Niam, Linda and Hans 

The Scheib family is growing.

Three beautiful sisters!

Left to Right: Lidia, Johanna (Josie), David, Gabe, Naomi

     Gabe went with Stan and Logan and they enjoyed talking to a farmer who was working the wheat field behind the house with a John Deere tractor. Later, Logan grilled the bratwurst and beef steaks to perfection. Linda and Lidia added salads to complete the meal.  It was a fun day filled with family and fantastic food.

(*Photo credit on some of the family photos goes to the Webers and Scheibs.)

The Germany Adventure - Sunday, August 4

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     On Sunday morning we attended church services where Naomi used to worship and where her father still preaches. He took the week off to spend with us. It is non-denominational and held in a meeting room in an apartment complex in Munich. Linda did an amazing job of quietly translating the whole service for us. We sat in the back corner, so we would not distract the others. I enjoyed listening to the hymns. My favorite was sung like a round. The sermon lasted an hour, then there was a 30-minute coffee and cake break, where people could mingle and talk, then another hour sermon.

     After church, we talked about where we should go for lunch. Hans said, “Well, normally I would suggest Kentucky Fried Chicken, but since you are from America….” Stan, Vanita, Logan and I all agreed we would like to see what KFC is like in Germany. We needed some help ordering, because the menu was in German, of course, but there was a young man there who spoke some English. Josie helped me order. After lunch, we went to the Nymphenburg Palace, the summer residence of King Ludwig I, built in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. We toured the castle at the bargain price of 6 euros. The rooms were grand and ornate. The Great Hall is a huge room accented with gold and paintings. Above our heads, larger than life fresco paintings depicted Olympian heaven, which research tells me symbolizes the duty of the ruler to bring and receive peace. This room has remained the same since 1758.

     In the queen’s sitting room, soft teal and gold wallpaper gleamed from the walls. Chairs with patterns matching the wallpaper were arranged around the room. We saw the room and bed in which King Ludwig II was born on August 25^th, 1845. 

     Paintings lined the walls in the “Gallery of Beauties” which consisted of 36 paintings of women who King Ludwig I considered to be “perfect” including portraits of a shoemaker’s daughter, an actress, and members of his family, including his daughter, Princess Alexandra of Bavaria.

     Then we walked out into the bright sunshine and the huge park. A beautiful fountain, Greek and Roman god statues, flowers, trees, and walking paths make this an amazing experience. The fountains in front of the palace and in the garden continue to be operated by water powered pumping stations built between 1803 and 1808. 

We returned home, ate a light supper, then we went for a drive through country roads. Hans pointed out a deer farm, where the animals are raised for meat. He also pointed out the wild deer grazing in a field. They are different than ours with only two or three points on their antlers. Fields of asparagus, sunflowers, corn, wheat and soybeans lined the country roads. We drove through pine forests, and I opened my window to breathe in the smell. Logan and Stan were happy to see a John Deere combine cutting wheat. Naomi pointed to the outline the Alps in the distance. It was another amazing day in Germany.

Germany Adventure - Trip to Munich

    
     On this day Vanita, Stan, Logan, Naomi, Landon, Josie and I went to explore downtown Munich, the third largest city in Germany. Munich has a mixture of old and new buildings, because some of the old buildings were destroyed during the war. After driving to the station, we bought a family day pass that would allow us to hop on and off wherever we wanted. We rode the tram into the city, which was quite fun. 

I was just clowning around. I enjoyed the ride very much.

Riding around town

     
     We met Naomi’s friend Gina, an architect, and who was very helpful in providing information about the buildings. We saw the Old and New Town Hall in the city center. The buildings were guarded by gargoyles and dragons.  We went to the Marienplatz. Vehicles are not allowed there, so we strolled down the cobblestone streets. 

     We interacted with some interesting people in the streets. Stan got a hug from a bride-to-be. Gina said the bridesmaids had probably dared her to do so. Two young men who were walking behind us said something about Americans. I turned to look at him and he said, “I love America! My uncle, he worked in America.” His friend just stood and smiled at us. The young man gestured to his friend and explained, “My friend is drunk.” He paused a moment, then grinned wryly and admitted, “I am drunk, too, but he is more drunk!” We all laughed as they went on their merry way on down the street.

Sisters and cousins share their food at the Italian restaurant.

     We ate lunch at an Italian restaurant, where Naomi’s brother Gabe, sister Lidia and her two children joined us. While we were there an Indian procession passed by. Gabe has traveled to India and explained that the man sweeping the street in front of the float with gods in it was clearing the path, so the gods could pass. We later saw them in the city center, where they put on a performance and handed out brochures and fruit. A street actor who looked like a bronze statue of a miner also performed nearby.

After exiting one church, I held the door open for some people,
 and it almost became a full-time job. Finally, a kind stranger took my place.

We went into two beautiful old churches, Frauenkirche and St. Peter's Church.

     We stopped for an ice cream treat, a yummy concoction of fudge and vanilla ice cream with a crunchy cookie in it. Although it rained intermittently during the day, we enjoyed the sights. We rode the subway back to our station. Another amazing day exploring Munich, Germany!