We just got back from a 10-day trip out east. The main point was to make it to the Czech Republic, where Troy studied for a term 12 years ago. Since train tickets and airfare weren’t reasonable to get to Prague, we decided to rent a car. This was a bit of a long haul, but it allowed us many more experiences and sights along the way.
Our first stop was Munich (about an 8-hour drive). We stayed at an interesting camping/hostel called The Tent. We felt a little bit old with all the young, trustafarian travelers but it was cheap, the facilities were nice and it was only a 15 minute tram ride from the city.
The weather was incredibly hot. We were excited to discover a unique “beach” in the middle of the city on the Isar river. We went for a swim to cool off and the water was incredibly clean and cool.
Next we visited the famous Paulaner brewery and beer garden. We had a delicious meal of venison with a creamy mushroom sauce, red cabbage and spätzel. And the beer (served in 1 liter glasses) was outstanding.
Now THAT'S a beer!
We even got to experience real beer garden culture. It was quite busy and an older couple came and asked if they could join our table. We ended up chatting with them for quite some time. They shared a couple of bottles of wine with us and invited us to their home the next day!
When we arrived at Cornelia and Eckhart’s home, they had caviar and champagne waiting for us. And then they proceeded to serve us a four course meal!
Colorful caviar!
Troy with Eckhart and Cornelia
It was really interesting to talk to this knowledgable older couple about all sorts of world issues. Eckhart was 6 years old at the time of World War II and living in Cologne. He talked about memories and showed us pictures of the city and how devastated it was by the war. In many of the images, Cologne is reduced to rubble and the only thing left standing is the Dom.
While we didn’t end up seeing many sights in Munich, we really enjoyed the food and beer. And we feel extremely luck to have encountered such wonderful German hospitality.
It has been an incredible journey for the both of you this year. You have experienced so much and were not afraid to experiment ‘paardenfillet’ . I’m extremely proud of both of you on your accomplishments, the barriers you overcame and on your fresh outlook on the world and life. With all my Love Tim.
By: Tim Riordan on July 25, 2010
at 3:59 pm
It has been an incredible journey! Thank you for the sweet message Tim! Looking forward to coming home and seeing you very soon. Much love, Lissa
By: belginians on July 26, 2010
at 2:03 pm