Before my parents hopped on a flight back to the States, I got a sneak peek at my dad’s travel journal. Journal probably isn’t the right word. It was actually more like a reeeeally long list. A brave attempt to keep track of everything they had done in the preceding two weeks. Every trip, every sight, every event—all written in my dad’s straightforward prose and sprinkled with editorial comments like “Ordered the pork belly. Mmm mmm GOOD.” If you’ve spoken with my dad since he’s been back, I’m sure you’ve heard about that pork belly. It was legendary even before he left.
Group vacations are becoming sort of a tradition with my parents and in-laws, in spite of the fact that one half speaks German and the other half English. Exclusively. This is, as it turns out, a minor technicality. Nothing a few hands, feet, and pocket dictionaries can’t remedy. When my folks come to Europe, my in-laws point to castles and feed them Swiss chocolate. When my in-laws go to Idaho, my parents teach them how to water ski and feed them barbequed whatnot. It goes so smoothly, there’s very little need for a competent translator (me). Thank goodness!
The basic plan for this trip was to use Munich as a home base and take small day-trips from here, organized by my in-laws. Then for one long weekend, my husband and I took over as tour guides of the Adriatic. As my dad would say, with a dash of irony in the intonation: WHOA BABY. My in-laws are native pros, so my parents caught the best of Bavaria (and then some), via the optimal [toll-free] routes, restaurants, and attractions. Talk about the inside track. The only way to grapple with the experience is with a list, à la Dad, lest I forget a single, crucial, pork-related detail.
For anyone planning a trip to Munich, below is half of what you can expect…or at least what is possible. In no particular order. I’ll post Part II as soon as I get the chance. I personally wasn’t present for everything. When my dad almost hit 170 mph on the Autobahn, for example. Or for the unauthorized brewery tour. So I’m going to use the term “we” loosely here.
Hey Dad: check your notes and correct me if I got anything wrong.
Bad Toelz, Good Driving
To kick things off, we had my dad drive as fast as he wanted on the Autobahn, in the fastest car we could find. Then, we headed to the Alpamare spa, where we soaked in the natural iodine water, napped under infrared lamps, and rode some of the best water slides in recent memory (which, admittedly, is limited). Pitch black, indoor/outdoor, water-in-the-face, nose-bonking good times. Aaron: there was no KFC, but I still thought of you : ))
The Nicest Church and the Most Famous Castle
We started off one day with what my in-laws called the “nicest church in Germany”: Wieskirche, in Steingaden. I couldn’t validate the title anywhere, but it was indeed an awfully nice church. What could then possibly beat such a nice church, you ask? Um… the Disney Castle. Yes, Neuschwanstein is just as impressive as you expect it to be. We took a bus ride (+ a short walk) up the mountain to it, and a horse drawn carriage down from it. However, I think it is best enjoyed from a distance, a far-off fantasy. If I could give it my own title, I would call it the Most Splendid Place a King Barely Lived.
Trieste & Croatia
The drive from Munich to Trieste takes you through the Alps, and is infinitely more breathtaking than the drive to the same place from Budapest. But once we got there, the program was similar to what I described here. Suffice it to say, Ćevapčići was eaten, the promenade was walked, and soccer was watched. Some of us, memorably, floated on our backs the frigid sea.
Venice
We stayed in Miestre, which I highly highly recommend if you’re looking to save money and time. A 10-minute bus ride dropped us in Venice proper, where we covered St. Marks Square, Murano, Rialto and hundreds of other bridges, and, according to my husband, every single glass jewelry shop on every island in between. An outdoor dinner for four—stuffed with stuffed olives, lasagna, bolognese, calamari, bresaola, and laughs—was one of my personal favorites. Another favorite was a certain incident involving someone’s arm and one very aggressive elevator door. (”What do you mean, it doesn’t…??!!”)
Lake Garda
After a traffic-induced side trip to Verona, we made our way to Lake Garda, which is big enough and Italian enough to feel almost Mediterranean. We stayed in the town of Garda itself, on the mideastern part of the lake. Garda is adorable. Garda is where the shopping continued unabated. Garda is where the 3-ice cream-cones-per-day limit was reached. Garda is where no, they don’t generally serve bowls of peanuts with Coke Light.
Andechs
Andechs is a town near Ammersee. It hosts a hilltop monastery (around in some form since the Middle Ages), brewery, and restaurant. My favorite organic (“bio”) milk is also labeled Andechser, but I’m not sure how that factors in. Anyway, it’s where you go to relax with a crispy hunk of ham hock and a strong beer. (Don’t you just love the term “ham hock”?) The locals drink from their personal steins (stored on-site, in stein lockers), of course. Any further Andecher questions should be directed to Aunt Vik! The rest of the day was spent scouring the shores of Ammersee for some apple strudel that might rival one a particular breakfast in Vienna. There was, unfortunately, no Strude for Trude to be found. We settled for Apfelkuechle (fried apple rings), a nod to Papa Curly!
Up next: another castle, a world of cars, and an island of flowers
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
What kind of car was it? Do I need to rent it when I come over there? 170mph is pretty far up there.
Who’s counting the ice cream cones? And correction— you get the waiter’s eyes rolled when you ask for olives with your coke light when they are serving peanuts.
Okay, fine. The important thing is that we got our olives and peanuts. And if I’m not mistaken, they threw in some buttered stale bread as well. Score!
Andechs is a very special memory–I am glad that you took your folks there–even if my brother couldn’t remember the name when I asked about his trip.