Happy 4th of July, y'all! I couldn't help but remember what it was like the first time we all came to Europe. July 4th was filled with tears of homesickness by our then 8- and 10-year old girls. Although they were quick to point out that they were much younger and we were already a month into the trip by that point (we're at just over a week, they're SO much older, and of course texting, facebook, and snapchat helps a bit). :)
So this morning Amy and Ella went off to shop, and Maya and I walked to the Volksbad to swim. Such a nice day together with my sweetie. Not only did we feel super-cool for swimming in such a grandiose place (it reminded us both of the big public bath houses of Classical times), but we also got some good exercise and a killer foot massage by way of the jets into the pool about 6 inches from the floor. My feet needed it, I think Maya and I stayed in one place for nearly 15 minutes! We swam for a couple hours, then hoofed it home to drop off our stuff (we were meeting Amy and Ella by the Rathaus at 2.00p).
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| My reluctant model :) |
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| In the large hall at Volksbad (before we figured out that naked people get nervous around Americans with cameras) |
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| She is amazing. |
We ended up getting there a bit early, so I took the opportunity to get an espresso - noticing Maya's scrunched up face upon sipping some of it, a couple from Chicago struck up a conversation. Turns out that she (Emilia) is starting a theatre in Chicago (Forget Me Not), and going to study mask design and construction outside of Venice for a few weeks. Got some tips on cool places to go in Chicago that aren't the usual spots. Andersonville (good beer/coffee) and Wicker Park, along with the sanctuaries off of Montrose Beach are the ones I remember.
It was a bit weird to hear English - in Munich we have seen a lot of tourists, but they're mainly German. But as we're getting closer to the weekend, we're hearing more English...
We grabbed some lunch at a nice place next to the Fraukirche - we didn't realize how long it had seemed since we had pasta! Amy and I got the tagliatelli with basil-tomato sauce and steak, and the girls got their new favorite, schnitzel :)
After lunch, we went to the Frauenkirche across the alley. But you know, for as cool as it looked on the outside, Amy and I both agreed that it didn't really have a lot of character on the inside. Of course there some cool old things, which is always a plus :) They also had King Ludwig's crypt (just the word "crypt" elevates this sentence to "epic" status).
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| This is very very old. Did you notice the skull with wings? It's not a particularly subtle art. |
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| Another kickass door constructed like they mean it. |
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| This is also very old and mysterious to me. |
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| Check it out! Not only was Ludwig a friend of the arts (he liked to build stuff), but he looks pretty handy with a sword. He protects his own crypt? This is how it's done, fellas. |
Check this out - yes, I'm serious. The legend is the devil stood RIGHT HERE. Can you believe it? The Devil himself. More info on the
Devil's Footstep
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| The Devil's Footstep (which looks a bit more like a human's shoe than a cloven hoof to me). |
Speaking of more English, we went to the Hofbrauhaus! I know it's touristy, but it was really fun. Already had our beer from lunch though, so it was just a meander through the place.
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| Just add some dirndls and we'd be stylin! |
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| These are the locked and reserved steins of the "regulars". You must drink a LOT of beer to have a stein locked at the Hofbrauhaus. |
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| This is a reserved table for this group. No one (who is not them) is allowed to sit there at any time. Dude. |
Other miscellanea below
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| Oh, is this another "rub it for good luck" schemes? Between this hussy and the Playboar on Kaufingerstrasse, methinks the bronze statues in this town are PLAYAS. |
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| WTF, Germany! You sure know how to terrify me. You have DEMENTORS at your bank?!? |
Tomorrow is a travel day to Passau, get settled, go to the meeting re: the ride(s), and buy me a
Sword of Invulnerability
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