munich

Biking in the Bavarian Alps, Exploring Neuschwanstein Castle, and Epic Food and Beer

June 3, 2016 by Shelli

Hi! We were so excited for today! For it is a day we’ve been looking forward to since we started planning our itinerary 7 months ago. The day would include riding bikes in the countryside of the Bavarian Alps, and we’d get to see two famous and spectacular castles – Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.

(By the way, this is my 4th blog post published so far during our 29-day “Epic Europe Family Adventure.” If you’re interested, all previous trip reports from this Epic Family Adventure include are listed and linked to at the bottom of this blog post.)

We set up the tour via Viator with Mike’s Bike Tours. We walked 20 minutes from our flat to Mike’s Bike Tours office, which is conveniently located near Hofbrauhaus and Marienplatz. Along with about 25 other people, we boarded a spacious, air-conditioned bus. By the way, also check out Bus Bavaria. This is a partnership with Mike’s Bike Tours that makes for an even more awesome overall day tour experience.) The bus has a bathroom in it, and we were treated to a DVD and much “insider information” from our guide, Ryan, Mike’s Bike Tour. In addition, we could buy a water, beer or pop during the 2-hour road trip. Don’t fret about the time on the bus during this full day activity. It allowed for us to catch views of so much more beautiful country that we would have missed otherwise. Also, we ordered our food for the lunch we’d have later, which meant our food would be ready for us as soon as we finished our bike tour, and just in time to refuel and enjoy before starting the hike to the castle. And, like I said, the bus ride was pure comfort!

We did have one brief traffic jam, that made me think, juts for a split second, that we were still at home on the frontier of Wyoming:

Ha! A Bavarian traffic jam. Our Wyoming traffic jams often have cows in them, too.

After enjoying sights out of the bus’s huge windows of the green hillsides and the snow-covered Bavarian Alps, we got off of the bus and quickly selected bikes and hit the trail with our wonderful and fabulous guides from Mike’s Bike Tours, Brad, Mica and Ryan.

We LOVED riding bikes in the Bavarian countryside!

As we biked, there were wildflowers everywhere, and often, we could spy the spectacular fairylandish Neuschwanstein Castle, which we would hike to and tour after lunch, and also we could see the Hohenschwangau Castle.

Check out this video — it sums up how awesome the biking and the tour was more than any words I can use:

Group photo during the bike ride. That’s Neuschwanstein Castle in the background.

After biking for 2 hours in beautiful weather and few people, we went to the restaurant where our lunch was served immediately to us. Oh. My. God. Lunch. About that. Our meals were to die for. Absolutely delicious. And, the setting was unbeatable. Bavarian Alps with a view of Neuschwanstein Castle in sight. To get a better idea of the epic food, check out the photos I captured:

Hayden, about to eat his pork roast and dumplings and cabbage.

Jerry's German sausages meal. — Jerry’s German sausages meal.

Fin's rump steak and "chips." (He was off climbing on a homemade wooden jungle gym.) — Fin’s rump steak and “chips.” (He was off climbing on a homemade wooden jungle gym.)

Jerry and I, enjoying the local braumaster's private, small batch of beer. — Jerry and I, enjoying the local braumaster’s private, small batch of beer.

Jerry, getting a tour from the restaurant owner and brew master.

Another thing we loved about this particular tour provided by Mike’s Bike Tours, is that they gave us plenty of time to enjoy our delicious meal and relax and enjoy the scenery before hauling us off to hike to and tour the castle. There was plenty of time to really immerse ourselves in the scenery, the biking experience, the delicious meal, and still have plenty of time to hike and enjoy the castle, too.

After getting our fill of great food and beer (and for the boys, Orange Fantas — which were described as “orange juice with gas in it”), we rode the bus for a few minutes and then started hiking a short steep hill so we could enjoy a guided tour of Neuschwanstein Castle.

We are from Wyoming, and we hike a lot, so the short hike to the castle, although steep, was nothing for us. Here’s a short video. It was a beautiful hike up through a lush forest of trees:

At the start of our hike, we could spy Hohenschwangau Castle, which was a treat since we had chosen to do a bike tour rather than also explore that castle. Hohenschwangau Castle (High Swan County Palace) is a 19th-century palace that was the childhood residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and was built by his father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria.

As we were almost to Neuschwanstein Castle, we were rewarded with one of the best views of the trip. Check it out:

Neuschwanstein Castle (“New Swanstone Castle”) is a nineteenth-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. According to Wikipedia, the palace was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner. Ludwig paid for the palace out of his personal fortune, and by means of extensive borrowing, rather than Bavarian public funds.

The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886. The palace has appeared prominently in several movies such as Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and The Great Escape and serves as the inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle.

The tour of the castle lasted about a half hour. The castle did not disappoint. It was beautiful and magnificent. The murals were out of this world amazing. We felt privileged to be inside of such a magnificent palace that is situated in such an awe-striking setting.

We returned to Munch by 7:30pm, and couldn’t believe how fulfilling and exhilarating – and perfect – the day was for us. As a family, we’re keeping a journal of our trip. Every night we each contribute to the journal, and record our individual thoughts and highlights of the day. As we all took turns writing in the journal, we shared out loud that this was one of our best and most unforgettable days yet.

We all give Mike’s Bike Tours a 10 out of 10. It was worth every euro and then some… We’ll never forget the day, and all that came with it.

Next up: Switzerland!

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

If you’re interested, here are all of my previous blog posts about this Epic Europe Family Adventure so far:
• From Wyoming to the British Museum and Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew in 24 hours
• Big Ben, River Thames, Tower of London and Ice Cream
• Munich Day 1: Glockenspiel, Deutsches Museum, Englischer Garten and Beirgarten
•

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.

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