Today we traveled back to the United States from Austria. Juno needed to catch a flight from Munich 4 hours before our flight, so we decided we would spend some time checking out the city of Munich. We got up early and piled into the car. It was an uneventful drive to the Munich Airport where we said goodbye to Juno, who was flying back to Denver in order to drive back home to New Hampshire. Then we drove into the city to check things out.
Before we left Mayrhofen, we were able to see the 1st rays of the sun hitting the surrounding mountains. It gave us a chance to say goodbye to them. After buying some croissants at a bakery, we were on the road.
We didn't know where to to spend a few hours in Munich, so we headed for a parking garage near Marienplatz and figured we could walk around from there. Marienplatz is the central square in the center of Munich and has been since 1158. It is dominated by the Old and New Town Hall plus a bunch of other really cool buildings.
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| The flowers everywhere were beautiful. |
There were lots of yummy looking options for food, so we stopped and sampled some delicious snacky things. Without intentionally going there, we found the old, open air farmer's market - Viktualienmarkt. It was a surprisingly big area with 140 stalls and many fountains and statues. In fact, it used to be in Marienplatz, but in 1807 was moved because it got too big. There were lots of local products and food.
Next, we wandered over to the English Gardens and saw a small part of them. James ran out of steam and was done with just wandering, but then when we randomly found a bunch of surfers playing on a surf wave, he became energized again. It was so odd to see so many surfers in the the middle of Munich. We even saw a guy riding his bike through the city streets carrying a surfboard - kind of a bizarre sight. We stopped to watch them for a while - it was mesmerizing.
We couldn't stop for too long because we needed to get back to the airport to catch our flight. Heading back to Marienplatz to get our car, we marveled at how many people use bikes to get around the city. It is quite remarkable. The city was also quite clean with lots of cool looking buildings.
We passed a statue of Juliet Capulet (as in Romeo and Juliet) - lore has it that if you touch her breast and leave her fresh flowers, you will have a chance at undying love. Clearly, many people have tried this.Back at the marketplace, Viktualienmarkt, we bought some lunch of bratwurst and, of course, capped it off with some gelato. Then headed back to the airport to catch our flight home.
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| There were only vending machines near our gate at the airport and we didn't have enough euros for a Coke, so Dan bought a "Schwip Schwap" |
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| Auf wiedersehen Germany |
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James can't sleep on planes because he is so excited about the movie options, but managed to fall asleep on this bench waiting for the Coach.
It felt so good to arrive home and sleep in our own beds. Fundy and Rae were just as excited to see us as we were to see them. The garden was a jungle of plants - so much produce coming out of it. It is going to keep us busy for a while which makes me happy. Traveling fills my heart, but Dorothy had it right - "There's no place like home."
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