Day 9: Derrick's Birthday & Munich

How are you all? It has been SO hot here and we're ready for fall to start! Today we walked out of church and it was a little bit cooler, in the 80's and rainy. It felt great for a change! I get tears in my eyes when I think about being in the states with the leaves changing, pumpkin patches, hay rides, apple picking, and haunted houses! Hopefully next year-- It is pretty certain that we will be moving to Chicago in May! hooray! It could always have the possibility of changing, I suppose, but we are penciled in for orders now which is great!



Alright. Sorry this has been awhile- Derrick has been extremely busy at work lately and hasn't been bringing his laptop home! I snagged it this weekend so I should have our trip finished up in the next few days-



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Day 9: August 12, 2008

Happy Birthday D! (Aug 12th) The big 3-8 ! I bet many of you didn't think he was 38 did ya? He's got more energy than I do at 26, that is for sure.


It was very cute to hear Valerie singing Happy Birthday dear Daddy when we woke up that morning. We decided to take the train in to Munich. There is a ticket you can buy at the Garmisch station for 27 euro that is good for 5 adults, all day, on all transport! So we took the train ride from Garmisch and then took the subway further into town.



We started at the English Gardens where the girls played for a bit at the playground. The park is absolutely huge (think miles here) and has a pretty river that runs through it. People were ditching their clothes and swimming with the current. Nude sunbathing is popular here as well as we realized walking through the open areas. At times I appreciate how open and relaxed Europeans are about their bodies although I admit to being baffled at naked men running around a field butt naked playing fetch with their dogs. It wasn't pretty.






Anyway we did get completely turned around in the park, having no idea which way we were walking, and even saw black clouds roll in and start to rain on us. Stressed and ready to leave but no idea how to get out, we all started arguing. What a fun birthday for D :) Sorry babe.

Looking at Stein's- My parents bought D one for his birthday and he loves it!!

We finally found the town's center and headed for a beer garden. For those unfamiliar, these can be in or outdoors. It's not what you think of when you think of a beer garden in the States, just as "bars" in Italy aren't like bars in the US. Families eat here as well and it is a very social hang out where you are encouraged to share tables and get to know your neighbors. The kids can dance to the live music and it's usually very noisy. We went to Hofbrauhaus, the oldest brewery in Munich, to try it out.
We had some sausages, saurkraut, potatoes, and pretzels. My dad and D had HUGE beers (I think they were a full liter!) as you apparently must do this atleast once. After filling our bellies, the rain cleared and we were all in a good mood. We ran a few blocks over to catch the glockenspiel, which only plays at certain hours. It's a musical clock with dancing jousters and bells, much like a cuckoo clock. People stand in the town square to watch. It was a neat experience. The girls danced to the music.



Gettin jiggy with it Afterwards we strolled over to the food market and walked around. I was so temped to buy a market straw bag for myself and some beautiful things for our home but resisted! I wish our market was so clean and open! Not quite the same experience in Catania!!

My goal was to see the glockenspiel and eat a big pretzel, mission accomplished!
I have to tell you my stomach hurt for nearly 2 hours after shoving this thing down. . .. the price you pay for a memory ;)
We were tired and went right back to bed after our train ride. Day 10 to come- Cheese Factory and Monestary

P.S. Here are the last of the Zugspritze photos. Building a rock snowman