europe

Munich Day 1: Glockenspiel, Deutsches Museum, Englischer Garten and Beirgarten!

June 3, 2016 by Shelli

Hi again. You’ll recall that my husband, Jerry, and I, and our three sons, Wolf, 16, Hayden, 14 and Finis, 9, are on a 29-day “Epic Europe Family Adventure.” Our itinerary includes London, Munich, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Portugal.

If you’re interested, my two previous trip reports about our time in London are here: From Wyoming to the British Museum and Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew in 24 hours and Big Ben, River Thames, Tower of London and Ice Cream.

We have been so excited to explore Munich, Germany. Jerry and I are each half German, so our three sons also are German, and we were all curious about exploring a part of our heritage. And there were numerous other reasons we wanted to explore Munich. The beer, of course. And the yummy food, including the plate-sized pretzels we heard about — the boys couldn’t wait for those! Also, the Bavarian Alps. And the Glockespiel. And so much more. We couldn’t wait to see it with our own eyes, and to really immerse ourselves in the capital of Bavaria.

While London represents a first in that it was our first destination where we put our feet on the ground in Europe, Munich marks a bunch of additional firsts, including the long train ride it would take for us to get here, being in a country where English isn’t the primary language, and we’d also try out our first ever AirBnB accommodations.

I could get used to riding trains. :) — I could get used to riding trains. 🙂

Our youngest son, Fin, enjoying the train ride.

Riding trains, but the way, has in itself been a special experience for us. Until now, we have not rode on any major trains. It’s been a marvelous way for us to see the new sights and spend quality time together. The “Chunnel” – our ride from London to Paris – was particularly unforgettable. We enjoyed a delicious breakfast that included almond croissants hot out of the oven. (We are also loving the coffee here. They are smaller servings, but stronger, and steamed and served much hotter than we’re used to. Coffee lovers, Jerry and I are adjusting just fine!)

We arrived to Munich late, at about 9:30pm, and found our way to the Subway, and then found our way to our accommodations. Hatice, the owner, was wonderful. She had provided a lot of helpful information to me and answered many of my questions leading up to our time in Munich. She greeted us outside of the flat, and we quickly collapsed into a deep slumber.

The next morning, we had a free day, which we planned to fill with a 20-minute walk from our flat to Marienplatz, a central square in Munich that has been the central area since 1158.

n the middle of Marientplatz is the Marienpillar, adorned by the gold-plated statue of Mary, which has been at the center of the square since 1638.

Marienplatz is named after the Mariensäule, a Marian column (a religious monument depicting the Virgin Mary on the top) in its centre in 1638 to celebrate the end of Swedish occupation. Today the Marienplatz is dominated by the New City Hall (Neues Rathaus). In the Middle Ages, markets and tournaments were held in this city square. The famous and remarkable Glockenspiel in the tower of the new city hall was inspired by these tournaments, and draws millions of tourists a year.

On our first day in Munich, it was the Corpus Christi holiday, which falls on Thursday, 60 days after Easter Sunday.

When we arrived to Marienplatz, there was a Catholic church service going on, beautiful music and a procession. It was an expected and pleasant surprise for us to stumble into this.

We enjoyed the music and the energy of the Marienplatz, before starting our walk to the Deutsches Museum. The Deustches Museum is the world’s largest museum of science and technology with about 28,000 exhibited objects from 50 fields of science and technology.

We spent about 3 hours barely scratching the surface of the magnificent museum. We especially enjoyed the ships and marine exhibits, as well as the computers and musical instruments and air travel exhibits.

Jerry and the boys, walking to the Deutsches Museum.

"The Maria." A sailing barge used for fishing. One if the last preserved sailing ever of this type. As early as 1882, the sea fisherman A. Bathed and his two sons perished when the Maria sunk in the Elbe estuary. — “The Maria.” A sailing barge used for fishing. One if the last preserved sailing ever of this type. As early as 1882, the sea fisherman A. Bathed and his two sons perished when the Maria sunk in the Elbe estuary.

My guys, in front of Wright Model A "Standard" Biplane, 1909. The Wright brothers designed & built the worlds first mass produced aeroplane. It was a result of systematic improvements made on their first successful powered arrow plane the "Flyer." — My guys, in front of Wright Model A “Standard” Biplane, 1909. The Wright brothers designed & built the worlds first mass produced aeroplane. It was a result of systematic improvements made on their first successful powered arrow plane the “Flyer.”

This hose-less diving suit, 1912, consisted of one bottle containing compressed oxygen and a second bottle filled with compressed air. Using a pressure regulating valve, a gas mix was produced which the diver breathed in. Developed to tether diver to the ship. Divers could dive to 40 meters. — This hose-less diving suit, 1912, consisted of one bottle containing compressed oxygen and a second bottle filled with compressed air. Using a pressure regulating valve, a gas mix was produced which the diver breathed in.
Developed to tether diver to the ship. Divers could dive to 40 meters.

Turret clock. The public clock that gave the population a standard of time. The turret clock was A mechanical clock with weight drives & folkier began spreading throughout Europe in the 14th Century, forerunner of the public mechanical o'clock. The only public clock before this were sundials & large water clocks! — Turret clock. The public clock that gave the population a standard of time. The turret clock was A mechanical clock with weight drives & folkier began spreading throughout Europe in the 14th Century, forerunner of the public mechanical o’clock. The only public clock before this were sundials & large water clocks!

Next up: Hofbrauhaus, our first “biergarten” of the trip. Founded in 1589, Hofbrauhaus is the most popular beer garden in the world.

Jerry enjoyed a pint and I had a half pint and the boys had huge pretzels — one of the biggest things they looked forward to indulging in Germany, and there were not disappointed. We also had the yummy and unique Obazda.

Prost! We have officially arrived in Germany! :) Jerry and I enjoyed beers at Hofbrauhaus — Prost! We have officially arrived in Germany! 🙂 Jerry and I enjoyed beers at Hofbrauhaus

The boys were NOT disappointed in the plate-sized pretzels!

After that, we walked to Englischer Garten, a large a large public park in the center of Munich that is one of Europe’s largest urban public parks. There’s a wonderful path that follows alongside the Isar River. On the day we enjoyed the park, we watched as surfers took their turns surfing at one of the artificial streams flowing through the Englischer Garten. Essentially it’s a standing wave produced by a water pumping mechanism. Surfers line up along the bank taking turns entering the water with their boards. After a minute or so, successful surfers will voluntarily drop out returning to the end of the line allowing the next person in line an opportunity.

Fin dips in his toes in the water in Englischer Garten.

After walking throughout Englischer Garten, we walked back to Marienplatz so we could watch the 5pm Glockenspiel. As we waited, a band played some wonderful music. (see video)

The Glockenspiel happens every day at 11 a.m. (as well as 12 p.m. and 5 p.m. in summer). See my short video capture below.

The Glockenspiel “show” includes the reenactment of two stories from the 16th century. According to my sources, it consists of 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. The top half of the Glockenspiel tells the story of the marriage of the local Duke Wilhelm V to Renata of Lorraine. In honor of the happy couple, there is a joust with life-sized knights on horseback representing Bavaria (in white and blue) and Lothringen (in red and white). Which knight do you think always wins? 🙂

This is then followed by the bottom half and second story: Schäfflertanz (the coopers’ dance). Wikipedia says this: According to myth, 1517 was a year of plague in Munich. The coopers are said to have danced through the streets to “bring fresh vitality to fearful dispositions.” The coopers remained loyal to the duke, and their dance came to symbolize perseverance and loyalty to authority through difficult times. By tradition, the dance is performed in Munich every seven years. This was described in 1700 as “an age-old custom”, but the current dance was defined only in 1871. The dance can be seen during Fasting (German Carnival): the next one is in 2019.

The whole things lasts about 15 minutes, and its ending occurs after a small golden rooster at the top of the Glockenspiel chirps quietly three times.

We loved watching the Glockenspiel, and it made our first day in Munich feel complete! By the way, my FitBit indicates we walked 29,000 steps today. It was only our first day in Munich, but I’d say we covered a lot of ground, and couldn’t wait for more exploring tomorrow.

Next up: Bike riding in the Bavarian Alps, and exploring Neuschwanstein Castle!

Thanks for reading, and please stay tuned for more posts here as we make continue exploring Munich, Germany, and then head to Lauterbrunnen and Zermatt, Switzerland, Italy’s Cinque Terre National Park, Pisa, Florence and Rome, and Lisbon and Lagos, Portugal.

From Wyoming to the British Museum and The Taming of the Shrew in London in 24 hours

June 3, 2016 by Shelli

My husband, Jerry, and I and our three sons, Wolf, 16, Hayden, 14 and Finis, 9, are just starting our “Epic Europe Family Adventure.”

This trip is a dream-come-true that we have been dreaming about, planning and saving for for some time. Our adventure is 28 days long and includes this itinerary: London, Munich, Germany (via Paris, France), Lauterbrunnen and Zermatt, Switzerland, Italy’s Moneglia and Cinque Terre, Pisa, Florence and Rome, and then Portugal.

First, we drove from our home in Lander, Wyoming, to Denver, CO., where we made a quick visit with my Grandma, and then we visited Jerry’s brother, Jamie, who dropped us off at the airport for our direct flight to London.

The flight was an 8-hour flight that took off at 7:45pm. After in the air, we let the boys watch one movie, then we all closed our eyes ’till we landed in London, which given the 7-hour jump ahead in time, meant we had feet on the ground in Europe at 11:30am on Monday, May 23.

Once in London, we were greeted by my friend, Antonia, whom I met on my Brooks Range Alaska NOLS course in 2011. Antonia has visited us in Lander, WY for the famous 4th of July, during her Yellowstone Park visits. Now, we would see her on her turf! (She’s from Germany, but teaches Sanskrit at a private school in London.)

It was so great to see Antonia, who led us to the Underground, and traveled to a station near our hotel on Gower Street. We loved that our room number was “1.” How perfect for the start of our adventure. We also loved the quaint comfort of our hotel room, which was exactly one room with 5 beds in it – one for each of us. We found this to be charming in its practicality.

Our room number for our first hotel on the trip: 1.

Tired from our hours of travel, which included our 5-hour drive from Lander, WY to Denver, CO, and then 8-hour international flight during the night, and add to that we were suddenly on a clock that was 7 hours ahead of our usual (US Mountain Standard Time) schedule, we were not exactly full of energy. So we all relaxed in our hotel room for a couple of hours and visited with Antonia, before venturing to the British Museum.

We intentionally planned a mellow first day in London because we knew we’d be tired, and we planned to not do what we felt like, which was collapse on the hotel beds for a nap. (Our friends and family who have traveled to Europe advised against taking a nap, suggesting we should instead resist napping and try to fall into step with the local time)

We planned to explore at a lazy pace a small portion of the British Museum, which was just a couple of blocks from our hotel, and then get some dinner at a pub, before watching The Taming of the Shrew, at the historic outdoor Globe Theatre.

Posing with our friend, Antonia, in the British Museum.

The British Museum, which offers free admission, was a treat, and that is an understatement! Rick Steves calls it the “Chronicle of Western Civilization,” and his description is apt. There is no way we could adequately review all the museum has to offer, so we focused on just a few areas. We explored much of the museum, but we especially enjoyed seeing the Elgin Marbles, the original Rosetta Stone, and the many Egyptian statues and artifacts.

The Elgin Marbles, known to the world as the Parthenon Marbles, are a collection of Classical Greek marble sculptures (made by the citizens of Athens under the supervision of the renowned architect and sculptor Phidias and his assistants), inscriptions, and architectural pieces that were originally part of the temple of the Parthenon and other buildings on the Acropolis of Athens. Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin obtained in 1801 a controversial permit from the Sublime Porte, which then ruled Greece.

The boys, admiring some of the Elgin Marbles, in the British Museum.

Part of the Elgin Marbles, this naked man reclines on a rock, cushioned by the skin of a feline animal. He is probably Dionysos, god of wine. (His missing right hand perhaps held a cup of wine?)

Some of the panels that are part of the Elgin Marbles.

Part of the Elgin Marbles, this is the head of a horse from the chair of the moon-goddess, Selene.

Well, I think if all we had time for were the Elgin Marbles, that would have been pretty astounding in itself. The boys and I really loved looking at all of them, and reading and learning about them. It’s something else to imagine the work, the skill and craftsmanship, and the commitment required to carve such beautiful sculptures from stone, and to see them some 2,500 years later.

Next up was the original, 5,000-year-old Rosetta Stone. The Rosetta Stone holds the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphs and is a script made up of small pictures that was used originally in ancient Egypt for religious texts.

The Rosetta Stone holds the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphs—a script made up of small pictures that was used originally in ancient Egypt for religious texts.

The boys especially loved Room 4, the Egyptian sculptures. There are many. In fact, the British Museum holds the largest collection of Egyptian objects that are outside of Egypt.

We first explored mummies, which includes actual corpses and displays of the history, and process of of mummifying. Especially fascinating is the 5,000-year-old sand-dried mummy.

The statue of King Ramesses II was carved from a single block of stone, and is the upper part of a colossal seated statue. The sculpture weight 20 tons (40,000 pounds!), and was transported on sleds over land and In a purpose-built boat down the Nile.

The statue of King Ramesses II is the upper part of a colossal seated statue.

A sarcophagus is a box-like funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and displayed above ground, though it may also be buried.

After the British Museum, we found a British pub, where Jerry, Antonia and I enjoyed a cold one, and we all ate a pretty tasty pub meal.

Fed and feeling recharged, we caught the Underground and then walked to the historic Globe Theater. Seeing The Taming of the Shrew was a treat for me that the family agreed to. I was full of anticipation to see the Shakespeare play for the first time, and to see it in Shakespeare’s original venue. The Globe is an oak-and-thatch replica of the original Elizabethan theatre, showing Shakespeare plays in the open air.

Riding the Underground with my friend Antonia, who showed us the ropes.

The play was epic! Jerry and the boys were generous in agreeing to include the play on our itinerary, since I was the only one enthused about it. But, to my pleasant surprise, the boys loved it. It woke them up, and I even caught Fin, our 9-year-old, laughing out loud throughout the play. The cast was fantastic, and the setting was unbeatable, making the entire experience of watching the play a 10 out of 10. I highly recommend attending a Shakespeare play in the open air, outdoor Globe Theater.

We loved watching The Taming of the Shrew in the historic, open air Globe Theatre.

We were exhilarated by the play, especially the second act, which was even more spectacular than the first. As we made out way out of the theater and walked to the Underground station, we stopped to take in a beautiful reflection of the awe-inspiring St. Paul’s Cathedral in the River Thames. We then walked across a bridge and right up to the Cathedral before we found our transport.

According to Wikipedia, St Paul’s Cathedral, London, is an Anglican cathedral, the seat of the Bishop of London, and the mother church of the Diocese of London. It sits on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London. Its dedication to Paul the Apostle dates back to the original church on this site, founded in AD 604.

St. Paul's Cathedral, reflected in the River Thames, in London. — St. Paul’s Cathedral, reflected in the River Thames, in London.

Hayden, in front of St. Paul's Cathedral, in London. — Hayden, in front of St. Paul’s Cathedral, in London.

The present church, dating from the late 17th century, was designed in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren. The cathedral is one of the most famous and most recognizable sights of London. Its dome, framed by the spires of Wren’s City churches, dominated the skyline for 300 years. At 365 feet high, it was the tallest building in London from 1710 to 1962. The dome is among the highest in the world. St Paul’s is the second largest church building in the United Kingdom, second only to Liverpool Cathedral.

We made it back to the hotel at around 11:30pm and pretty much collapsed into immediate sleep. If our first day and evening’s events were any indication, this dream-come-true, 28-day adventure in Europe was going to be nothing short of epic…

Thanks for reading, and please stay tuned for more posts here as we make our way through Munich, Germany, Lauterbrunnen and Zermatt, Switzerland, Italy’s Cinque Terre National Park, Pisa, Florence and Rome, and Lisbon and Lagos, Portugal.

(See London Day 2 blog post)

Europe or Bust!

May 21, 2016 by Shelli

Hi there! I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve written. I have not forgotten about you, or this blog. It’s just that a lot of my attention has been on developing my work and mission at Epic Life Inc.

This post is an effort to revive this blog. And I’m going big. It has been a dream for our family of five to take a big international trip. I am ecstatic to report that we’re making the dream come true. As of today, these country bumpkins are en route to Europe. For a month! (Gulp.)

Rich. Passports in hand... — Rich. Passports in hand…

We will explore 7 countries, and our itinerary includes world-class cities, cultural and historical attractions, awe-inspiring hikes and scenery, some ocean and beach leisure, and of course lots of epically delicious foods.

Our itinerary includes London, Paris, Munich, Switzerland, Cinque Terre, Florence, Rome, Vatican City and Portugal. The trip planning process is a meaningful part of this journey we’re about to take. Many of our dinner and hiking conversations these days are centered on the destinations we plan to visit. The boys have researched activities and attractions, as well as populations for all of the cities, and countries we’ll be visiting. It’s been a great, “new” conversation we’re all enjoying.

Fin, our 8-year-old, was tasked with researching the number of people in the cities and countries we will visit. This research is a little mind-blowing for our family, since Wyoming has only 500,000 people in all of it.

Following are some the highlights of our upcoming Epic Itinerary. (We have 28 days for all of this, so there is a lot of space and downtime built in for each of the destinations. We plan to immerse ourselves in each of the places we visit, at a pretty slow pace, before moving on to the next…)

LONDON, UK: The Taming of the Shrew at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, the British Museum, Thames River Boat Cruise, Tower of London, and the British Museum. We also may check out one of London’s escape room experiences on the tail end of our trip.
MUNICH, GERMANY: Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles, Dachau Concentration Camp, Beer Gardens, Marienplatz, and Deutsches Museum.

SWITZERLAND: We have 4 days of epic hiking planned – 2 in the Lauterbrunnen area and 2 in the Zermatt area – that will provide views of the Matterhorn, the Eiger, several waterfalls, and more. We are really looking forward to hiking in the Swiss Alps!
CINQUE TERRE, ITALY: We will enjoy one day on the beach and exploring this coast, and another day hiking the famous, 13-mile hike through the five villages that make up Cinque Terre, which since 1999 has been designated as a national park. The boys hike 13 miles every now and again in Wyoming, and there are no villages offering gelato and genuine Italian foods every few miles! For once we probably won’t have to pack our pockets with treats to spur the boys along. 🙂

ROME, ITALY: We are so excited for Rome! We’ll tour the Colosseum, including the arena and underground areas and the Forum. On another day, we’ll have a private guide to tour the Vatican, Sistine Chapel, etc., and on another day, we’ll take a small group tour of the Crypts and Catacombs. We plan to eat lots of epic pasta while in Rome, too.
PORTUGAL: We’ll spend time in Lisbon, and Lagos, where we’ll get some rest and relaxation on the beautiful, low-key beaches and go kayaking through caves, heading back to London and returning to the U.S.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you’ll check back now and again. I will be blogging and posting photos from our Europe Epic Adventure over the course of the next 30 days.

By the way, if you’d like to read some other posts I’ve written in the last several months, here are some of the best ones:

To Discover and Know Yourself, Go Hiking

Mother-Son Rite of Passage Expedition — One of My Best Ideas, Ever

My Most Spectacular Failure Was A Gift

Daring To Climb Mountains

Whew! We Survived Our Epic Wellness Week!

When Plan A – And B, C & D – Don’t Pan Out