Wow.

So...I just got back from Munich, and I must say, it was an amazing trip. If you ever get a chance to go, you must. Really...such a fun place.

It all started on Saturday morning. Well...I guess I should start on Friday night. We (Jen and I) took the kids out to dinner with our friend Pat to tell them that Jen would be coming to Munich with me. We went to this great restaurant and I had the most amazing salad! I swear, the salads here are to DIE for----i could eat one for every meal and not feel like I was missing out on a thing. Anyway, we broke the news to the kids and they were SOOOO excited to be spending the weekend with Mr. Pat. We finished the meal with a complementary shot of sour apple schnapps and were on our way.

Saturday morning, after very little sleep, we hopped on the ICE train to Munich. For 64 Euro each way, I was hoping to be picked up by a knight in shining armor. I mean, that's about 150 bucks round trip to go to a city that is only 4 hours away!!!! Anyway, with only a few minutes to spare we hopped on the train and tried to find seats. We were quite unsuccessful however. We found two seats together only to be kicked out by a young girl who said she had that seat "reserved." What the f??? We didnt even have seat numbers on our tickets!! So...we went back to the dining car and had a cup of coffee, contemplating our next move. Basically, we bounced around the train--from the smoking car to the non-smoking car--until we arrived 3 hours later to Munich. I must say, I was impressed with the train. It travels up to 200 mph, and is extremely comfortable...once you find a seat anyway.

So...once in Munich we decided to put our stuff down in our hostel. We hadnt made reservations, so we just walked around until we found a nice place and a really good price. For 19 euro (about 13 bucks) we were put in a room w/ 10 other people and given breakfast the next morning. Not too shabby. We locked up our valuables and decided to head out on the town and see what trouble we could get ourselves into.

Jen was so excited to be out and away from the kids. She is only 28, but when she got married she was thrown into motherhood and has had a hard time just being able to "act her age."

Anyway, we walked around and grabbed lunch at Augustiner Restaurant and Brewery--there are like 8 of them in downtown Munich. We continued to walk and shop. It was perfect weather--it kind of felt like fall. Anyway, we just so happened to be there during their "Summer Fest." So we tried all kinds of fresh fruits and veggies and even my all time favorite bruschetta!! SOO good. I bought some red curry powder--a huge bag for 1 euro!! I cant wait to try it out!!!!

We continued walking through the city. We found a coffee shop and sat down for a bit to rest our feet. The coffee shop, however, was actually a shoe store that had a coffee shop in the back--two of my FAVORITE things in one!!! Anyway, I bought two pairs of shoes and two AMAZINGLY ADORABLE belts for under 30 euro...i was soooo stoked!! They were all made in Italy and they honestly could have been sold for 200 bucks total in the states!! What a find!! (dont worry mom, ill get rid of old shoes here in order to make room for the new ones!! hehe!!)

Anyway, after the coffee shop, we walked and walked for like 4 hours until it was time to find a place to eat dinner. I'm sure many of you have heard of the famous Hofbrauhaus. WELL...we decided we would check it out. Basically, it is the most popular tourist spot in Munich. Its a brewery that is a party all the time. There is an "oompa" band that plays and there is constantly beer being poured from the tap. Its like walking into Oktoberfest at any time of the year.

Anyway, we walked around for about 30 minutes looking for a seat and finally found ourselves outside on the patio. We had found seats inside, but it was soooo smokey that i could hardly breathe.

I'll tell you, two girls walking through that place by themselves sure to get a lot of attention. We had hoots and hollers from every direction--which was even more hilarious walking out of the place. We had our drinks and spent about 3 hours just chatting and drinking and people watching. When it was time to go, we walked back through the place and were summoned in every direction. Amazing what a little beer can do to guys. Anyway, we kept our cool and decided we would walk around the city a bit and find another hot spot to get a drink. The beer was so good though--I dont know what kind of beer it is or what makes it so good, but the Hofbrauhaus Original is now my favorite beer. MMMmmm.

We walked around and had fun laughing and being goofy. Jen popped a squat and left her mark on Munich as I kept watch for passers by. We eventually made our way to a sports bar where we had our final drink of the evening and watched some locals get in a scuff. Some guy refused to pay his tab at the bar and it was about a 45 minute ordeal with the security guy getting involved and everything. Our waitress was sooo nice and was so excited to see tourists visit this little hole in the wall. It was adorable.

Anyway, we made our way back to the hostel on the tram, only to find our beds covered with someone elses stuff. We walked into the room quietly because a lot of people were already asleep. We moved the stuff off our beds and just hopped in with jeans on and all--I didnt bother changing b/c we couldnt turn the light on. Anyway, at around 4 am, the guy who's stuff was on Jens bed woke her up saying, "This is my bed." Well...we had checked in earlier that day and been given cards with our names on them which are supposed to be placed in the plastic sleeves on the bed posts, indicating they are occupied. Apparently, this guy didnt know that. So, she explained it to him and he stumbled out of our room with his stuff. Im not sure where he ended up sleeping, but oh well.

It was hilarious waking up and realizing that we were surrounded by a bunch of strangers. We were only 2 of 3 girls in that room--the other 7 people were guys. I think guys outnumber girls in Munich. Something about beer and male-bonding in Munich that just attracts more guys...classic. Anyway, we met a few characters and breakfast, only to say goodbye as we started out on the town again.

We checked out of our room and stored our big bags of purchases from the previous day in the luggage room. It was pouring rain when we left the hostel, but we didnt care. Within seconds, I was soaked to the bone. We hopped on the tram and headed to the center of town. All of the shops were closed, but the churches were opened. We went into about 5 churches--they were so gorgeous!! I love the architecture!!!! Each one has its unique style, but it is interesting to me how they use symbols of both good AND evil in their decor. Our modern churches have left out the evil aspect--something that I would like to explore and maybe read about. Anyway...it was cool.

Eventually we ran out of churches and still needed a place to take cover from the rain. We just so happened to be across the street from the Hofbrauhaus, so we went back!!!!!!! I am sooo happy we did, because it was SOOOO awesome the second time around.

So...sunday morning, aparently, is when the locals come out. We walked in and found ourselves in a completely different atmosphere than the night before. There was less smoke and more dancing and music. We sat ourselves right next to the "stamptisch" which is a table where the locals/regulars sit. It is constantly reserved for them and no one else is allowed to sit there. It was about 11:30 am...but Jen and I decided to order beers. We intended to order 1/2 liter beers, BUT to our surprise, we were presented with LITER GLASSES!!!

Let me tell you, EVERY MAN IN THAT PLACE STARED AT US AND CRACKED UP!! Here we are, two women sitting at a table by themselves drinking liters of beer on sunday morning!!! We immediately drew the attention of everyone around as we began to do the drinking cheers. Pretty soon, the entire Stamptisch was making toasts to us and summoning us to their table. We stayed put, but continued to raise our glasses to them. The women at the stamptish were hilarious. There were 4 of them--all of them well over 60. The youngest of the bunch, probably in her mid 60's, was the hot ticket. All of the men wanted to dance with her--she was AMAZING!! She had piercings all the way down her ear...and in her nose...and she just danced with everyone around. She wore the traditional bavarian outfit and was just loving every moment of her time dancing.

As we were leaving, the Stamptisch again invited us to sit down with them. While it was tempting to stay, we decided just to chat for a while, take some pictures, and then be on our way. They are there every sunday, however, so if you ever find yourselves in Munich on a Sunday morning, make your way to the Hofbrauhaus and say hello to our friends.

After that, we headed back to the hostel to pick up our stuff and made our way to the train station. We got on the train early and found seats so we could take a rest on the way home.

While it was a great trip, i was ready to make it back to Wattenheim. Jen and I had such a great time just doing whatever we felt like. I was so happy to have someone to travel with. While I'm sure I could have done it on my own, I dont think I would have been nearly as daring as I was with her. Similarly, she said she never would have done this on her own. She told me, "i definetly went out on a limb this trip." See...she is a classic southern belle that just wouldnt have stayed in a hostel or anything like that. Also...when we went shoe shopping, she bought shoes like mine in order to "Stay up with the latest U.S. fashions!!" haha!! Loveit.

The kids were so excited to see us--we got jumped on the second we walked off the train. I must say, it was nice getting such big hugs from them. While they drive me crazy, they are so loving and sweet. Jen and I talked a lot about the issues that lay ahead and the difficulty she has had with their birth mother situation, but right now all they need is love.

Sorry for the long post--there are pictures posted on kodakgallery.com. By special request, there are more picture of me...as opposed to just buildings and structures. Hope that you enjoy and that summer is going smoothly for all of you!!!

much lovin,
beano.