Germany: 18 Dezember 2009

Hello Fruenden! (Today’s German word of the day – Friends)

Today we headed from Cologne to Stuttgart. Stuttgart is an interesting place. Not necessarily worth a visit for any specific reason other than the Christmas Market, we made a go of the town nonetheless.

Our first activity was finding a locker for our baggage. Not normally a big deal, but our pals in Stuttgart had provided special "holiday" pricing for the luggage and what normally would be about 2 euro was now going to cost us about 12. (Not my favorite thing.) But, we lucked out and found an all-day option just off the trains for 6 euro. Not bad.

With our luggage tucked safely away, we headed just outside the town area to visit the Porsche Factory and Museum. This turned out to be okay, but just a little disappointing because they'd stopped doing factory tours for the holidays but hadn't mentioned this until we arrived. We stayed and enjoyed the "Boxster Cafe" instead. (They have a sandwich named after the Indianapolis 500 which I thought was so telling in Germany - at the Porsche museum.) Here 's a photo of me in front of the museum with the display car of the day.

Bouncing around town on our way to the next adventure, we ran across this Meine Tracht uniform shop and couldn't help but snagging some photos of the traditional German options. Lederhosen uniform anyone? (By the way, "trache" is a general term for costume or uniform and covers anything traditionally Bavarian including lederhosen and dirndls or so the Internet tells me.)

We made our way back to the train station (Hauptbahnhof) to view the city atop the Mercedes-Benz 12-story tower. Here is a view from the top. (There is also an enormous MB rotating symbol as well, but I am sure you can gather what that might look like. (not blog worthy))

Our next stop was in the city at the Christmas Market. Stuttgart's market provided an interesting juxtaposition of old traditional and new gaudy. I skipped the gaudy for the the photos, but did want to show you the roofs (what I called "toppers") of their vendor stalls. These were the best we've seen yet and had a variety of scenes to offer and stories to tell.

Check out the elaborate toy scene atop this roof. Quite the effort for this vendor!We felt this particular stall was really photo worthy with its ornamental display peak.I ended up buying a plate from this vendor because his items were so unique and tasefully done. (A rare find in Stuttgart.) He was near the "super chopper" demonstrations and the "mega smoothie blenders" and the flea market-style "low, low price of 50 euro this gizmo could be yours" types. (R.I.P. Billy Mays -- would have been a fitting addition to the Stuttgart market.)

We just thought these stars (available in every market we've seen so far) made for a beautiful photo. They are really quite lovely at night amidst the shopper hustle.

After the market we headed over to one of Stuttgart's largest toy stores,
Spielwaren Kurtz. This was like a dream come true. Five stories of magical play including games, toys, model cars and trains, books, dolls and a fully working outdoor model train you could operate yourself. A photo of the train is included below. (We also noticed there seemed to be an odd fascination with putting inappropriate sex scenes in your model train cities, as the store had an entire display case devoted to such things. You could see the scene elements - desk, chair, bed, couch, etc., but they left the actual figurines hidden. Imagine all these German men tucked away in their basements, adding these little internal jokes along their private train routes - toot toot.)

On our way out of the market we also went by another life-size train for children and their parents. There was an entire miniature city devoted to this fun activity for Christmas. Here is a photo of that little city for you to enjoy.

As we headed out of Stuttgart, we made our way to the train station and had the luxury of enjoying this private first-class cabin thanks to our handy dandy Eurail pass. This thing is great - it allows us first-class travel on all the national trains between the three countries we are visiting, plus free local trains while we're in each place. Since we are traveling together, we also save more (this is a special saver pass in case you're ever looking into this yourself). It is really enjoyable and we wish that we had such an amazing train system in the U.S. (Here you just walk up to the train 2 mintues before it arrives, hop on and away you go. No baggage, no security checks, no ticket takers, nothing.) They check your ticket on the train as you ride moving from car to car and save time for all travelers this way. Seems like a better system to us all around, but what do we know?

When we arrive in Munich, we enjoy the Hotel Royal. (This is now our favorite room and has outdone the one in Cologne.) It is literally a three-minute walk from the train station (a real time saver) and is wonderful inside. We have a private bathroom, hardwood floors, private entry door and a wonderful desk space so I can sit and write this blog for you. I'll have to tell you more later though because we are off to enjoy one of Munich's best treats - the Hofbräuhaus. Auf Weidersehen!

Germany: 17 Dezember 2009

We started our day today by traveling via train along the Rhine from Frankfurt to Cologne (that’s Köln if you’re German, or Jackson if your nasty...don't worry if you don't get this joke and are over 45). Thanks to a great suggestion by the locals, we opted for the longer and more scenic “IC” train versus the speedy (but underground) “ICE” option. The extra “E” is for “Express”.

The view along the Rhine was nothing short of spectacular. While I could add hundreds of pictures of the beautiful castles, romantic towns and lazy river boats, I will opt to add only a couple. (You know, just any old day's sights if you live in Europe.)One friend suggested I add “more pictures” to my blog, so if this starts to seem more like a picture-book narrative and less like a piece of substantial literature, you can thank Mr. Jay Isenberg for that. (Hello Jay! Stay out of trouble.)

We arrived in Cologne and headed immediately for the Hotel Cristall. I have added a few photos here of the room so you can enjoy them. (We loved this room by the way and wished we could have stayed here our entire trip. It was wonderful.) The first photo is of me in the bureau – you just have to try and see if you can fit in these small spaces when you’re a paltry 5’1” off the ground. (I'm just saying...you have to. It's part of the "Little People" birth right.)

Our first stop in Cologne was at the magnificent gothic Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom), the largest in Germany and one of the largest in the world. I have included a few photos here so you can appreciate its size and splendor. We headed straight for the top – 500+ steps later we were winded, but appreciated the belfry and view. This first shot shows the actual size of one of the peaks....so we are talking absolutely HUGE.

No bats in this belfry so far as we could tell. The bells are attached to mechanical motors now. They keep a person at the top just to make sure you don't consider any shananigans. (Because who wouldn't want to ring that bell just for fun if they could?)A view from inside the top. (tippy, tippy top where they don't want you jumping out so they put up this annoying fence to ruin your photos)We stopped for a brief retreat at Café Eigel and saw this amazing gingerbread house. The house was about 4’ wide x 3’ tall. It certainly seemed photograph worthy. Our next stop was at the Cologne Chocolate Museum (Schokoladenmuseum Köln). We ended up missing the actual indoor tour, but as it turns out these outdoor windows along with a set of stairs allowed us to see most of what the paid tour included. This demonstrated manufacturing techniques for various chocolates and molds. We did enjoy the gift shop that included all sorts of European chocolates and new incarnations of chocolate treats like hot chocolate on a stick!
After we visited the chocolate museum we headed back over to the cathedral to try and see the treasury, but unfortunately it was closed for the day and we had old (outdated) information about the end time. Like I told you, these sorts of things happen quite a bit in the world of travel. So, we gladly considered that admission fee as a church donation.

On our way to the cathedral we passed the Romano-Germanic Museum (The Römisch-Germanisches Museum). The present building was opened in 1974 and is situated in the immediate vicinity of the cathedral. It was built on the walls of a Roman villa which was discovered in 1941 and which contained the world-famous Dionysos mosaic. The museum was actually built around the mosaic to help keep it intact.
We stopped and had a yummy sausage and wanted to share a photo of the sausage grilling tub with you. (How often do you get to see such a thing?)
To top off the sausage we stopped for an apple streusel (Apfelstrusse) with vanilla sauce. This was so good that Chad didn’t want to stop eating it after we paused for the photo opportunity.

We also enjoyed the Christmas Market in Cologne as well and wanted to share a few photos with you. Check out these lights. We also wanted to show you a couple of fun individual Market photos too. Check out this window with cheeses. This was constructed (window pane and all) on the side of an open-air stall.
Directly across the aisle was another cheese shop with this oversized rat head. (Really creepy and entirely photo worthy.)
After the Market we stopped at Papa Joe’s Biersalon for some traditional Germany cuisine – Köstliche Suppen and Mälzer-Teller (pork with sauerkraut, rye and mustard). After this we visited Eiscafé Marco Polo for Eis (ice cream) - today's German word!

Auf Wiedersehen!

Germany: 16 Dezember 2009

We started the day with a trip to the Frankfurt Cathedral, also known as Saint Bartholomew’s Cathedral. Frankfurt Cathedral is the main church of Frankfurt and was constructed in the 14th and 15th centuries on the foundation of an earlier church from the Merovingian time. I have included a photo for your reference.

Located just in front of the cathedral are the remnants of the original structure from the Merovigian time. Here’s a picture of me standing along the connecting wall.
After we visited the Cathedral we headed back over to the indoor market (Kleinmarkthalle) to see the local fare and try a wurst. (Gotta love the wurst if you head to Germany.) Here is a picture from atop the produce aisle. This was just one of many loaded with nuts, meats, fish, fresh flowers, garden plants, ethnic foods, breads and sweets. (I think I'm hugry again.)

After the indoor market we headed to the Christmas Market (Weihnachtsmärkte) during the daylight hours. This was much more enjoyable than the evening before when we were stuffed in like tightly bound wiener schnitzels. (I am not a fan of such experiences since I’m an entire head under everyone else.) Today’s visit turned out to be quite a bit roomier – wünderbar! I have included a few additional photos here too.
Check out the chocolate mice. They are so cute in the case! (I had to make this photo larger so you could see the mice.)And don’t forget the gobs and gobs of gingerbread. Although, I have yet to actually find fresh gingerbread. There are hundreds of these pre-made varieties, but who wants that in Germany of all places? (All of these hanging items are individual gingerbread cookies.)These pretzel men seemed fun. (Sort of like Stay-Puff, but....different in an equally creepy sort of way.)

Just as we completed our Market loop, we thought we better stop for a Langosch – Germany’s version of an elephant ear more or less. (Yes, it is as good as it looks.)

Just outside the market we found this nutcracker that made a formidable guard for one of the pricier gift shops.

Strolling the streets we came across a UPS truck – auf Deutsch. While you might not be able to read the side of the truck, it’s telling you that UPS delivers worldwide. (Yep, they sure do.)

We made our way over to the Opera House and Opernplatz. This photo is from a lighted fountain just outside. It was quite beautiful, and we enjoyed watching a small child run thought the fountain to touch the lights. Ah, to be young again and uninhibited.

We spent some time strolling through Frankfurt’s residential West End, but there wasn’t anything particularly memorable about that area so we don’t have photos. We did enjoy a warm drink and Belgian waffle at the Café Australia (but ironically never saw one of these IN Australia; weird).

We finally made our way to dinner at Fichtekränzi and shared a table with two locals. This was quite fortunate for us because they provided a wealth of knowledge and lively discussion about world politics, travel and the differences between Europe and America. (They’d never been to our side of the pond in the U.S., and in fact, felt North America and South America to be synonymous.)

German word of the day: Tschüss (tch-uss) – An informal good – bye (see ya).

On that note, Tschüss!

Germany: 15 Dezember 2009

Hello friends! I am sorry I am tardy in getting up my first post for you. I had a little Internet access snafu and have resolved that now. Our flight into Germany was, for the most part, uneventful. (Which is exactly how I'd like my 8-hour flights to be quite frankly.)

We were immediately immersed in the German culture at the airport and I was able to put my six years of German language training to use. What I am finding though is that the Germans want to practice their English on me and I want to practice my German on them. (We end up meeting somewhere in the middle.)

We arrived at the airport and immediately boarded a train to the central part of Frankfurt. We arrived at the Colour Hotel and made our way to our room. I have included a picture here for your reference. Doesn't European style seem nice? (and small...and minimalistic?)

Since we had essentially spent the entire night awake, try as we might to fight it, we had to rest a bit. After a brief nap (okay, maybe four hours isn't brief but who's counting on vacation, right?) we headed straight out to find the Christmas Market. (After all, that's a big part of why we came here this season.)

Along our way we came across the this great view thanks to our hotel staff that recommended the location at the Galeria Kaufhof (Frankfurt am Main). At the top of the building they have a great outdoor cafe that shows you Frankfurt by night from this vantage point.

If the view from the top weren't enough, they happened to have this AMAZING Lego display in their windows. Check this out: (the last is an entire city built out of Legos)

So after the mall, the lego display and fighting the crowds we finally made it over to the Christmas Market. Here are a few photos below.Beautiful lights on all of the stalls and most of the homes and businesses surrounding the markets.Amazing candy ropes in about 20 different flavors.
The Market was so thick with people that we retreated to a top-rated Italian restaurant just on the other side of the Main River. Dinner at Trattoria i Siciliani didn't disappoint. It's quaint atmosphere and kind staff were a treat.

With full bellies we headed back over the river to try and get Frankfurt's best ice cream to top off the night, but sadly the joint was closed until February. (It's amazing the number of times these sorts of things happen when you are on vacation and trying to get the "best" whatever you have in mind.) Alas, on to another adventure.

You know how sometimes you just come across something so random you think you should share it? (Be forwarned that I will do this frequently on this blog.) We saw this leaf on the ground while walking and since it was larger than my entire torso I thought you should see it. Can you imagine the size of the tree this 24" wide leaf must have come from? I mean, really? That's one hell of a tree my friends.

We ended our evening at Cafe Karin for a couple of late-night snacks and warm drinks to head back to the hotel. More to come tomorrow!