A couple weeks after Grandma and Grandpa visited, we had our second round of guests. Chad and Allison, good friends from college/dental school, came for a week. It was a bit of a whirlwind, as they planned to see quite a bit of the sights while they were here, and we went along for the ride.
We met them the evening they arrived up in Baccarach, a town along the "romantic" Rhine river. We had never been to one of the Rhine towns, and enjoyed an evening of walking through the town (much like Cochem or Bernkastel-Kues on the Mosel River), catching a yummy dinner at our hotel, and topping it off with a prolonged stay at a Weinstube (wine house). The wine was quite yummy--we tried a medium and a dry Riesling. Stella entertained herself by going from lap to lap, drawing and chatting away. Later on there were some boys playing on car scooter things (making a royal racket mind you, as it was on cobblestone!), and you could tell Stella really wanted to go play with them, but she was a bit intimidated I think. For one, they were a little older than her, and were German so she couldn't really understand what they were saying. Just watching them was quite interesting for her though. We also sampled a plate of homemade cream cheese herb spread stuff, with veggies and pretzels and yummy bread. It was delicious. The place itself was just really nice--in an open air courtyard surrounded by really old buildings, one of which used to house the old Post Office (think back in the horse drawn post wagon days). A very nice evening. We headed back to the hotel, and Nick and Chad stayed up for another hour or two (amazing to me on Chad's part, having just arrived in Germany that morning!), while Stella, Allison and I crashed. Oh, and our hotel was really cool--a tower in the old city wall. Chad and Ally had the top of the tower for their room, while we were one floor below. Somehow every hotel we stayed in we mananged to be at least 2 floors up, (no elevators, of course!), one time we were on the 5th! Needless to say, this pregnant lady got her exercise!
Next day we headed home so they could see where we lived, and pretty much just hung out. Their luggage did not arrive with them, so we were hoping it would show up. We all rested a bit that afternoon, and then we caught a bit of a village carnival that evening. We got home just before the luggage arrived at 10 pm. They were very thankful to have fresh clothes and toothbrushes (really, a dentist SHOULD have extra toothbrushes at the ready at all times, but we were without!).
Next morning was Sunday and we had hoped to go to church, but because of where we wanted to get to that day decided to head out early instead. Chad and Allison rented a snappy Mercedes sporty convertible (can't remember the model), and made it down to Fuessen (by Neushwanstein) about 3 hours before we did, if not a little earlier. Sadly, we only left about 20 minutes after they did from our house. They had the fortune of missing a few frustrating staus (traffic jams) that we got stuck in. We ended up making it, though, and found them at a fest in the area. They had scoped out a hotel and so we met up there, dumped our stuff, and Stella made a new friend. Emma and her parents were staying at the same hotel, and she was playing outside on the playground when we arrived. We all decided to go catch some dinner together down the street, and enjoyed meeting some new people, and Stella loved having a friend, I think just as much as Emma did.
The next day we walked up to Hohenschwangau (one of Ludwig's famous castles--the one he grew up in) and got tickets to tour it and Neuschwanstein that day. It was a beautiful day, perfect for being just on the northern edge of the German Alps and enjoying the scenery. The castles were gorgeous, of course, and we just couldn't help thinking of the crazy expense it was to build them in the early 1800s. Neuscwhanstein STILL isn't finished. The forest area right around it is just lovely, and Stella enjoyed running around a bit with us. She also liked looking at the elaborate paintings in both of the castles, and picking out the animals in them.
We went back to the fest we had met Chad and Allison at the day before, because when we had arrived it was closing down. This day, however, it was in full swing. The Bavarians really do it up in style, too, as most (literally, more than half, if not two thrids) people were in full traditional garb--lederhosen. It was so cool. Wee babies all the way up to grandparents, and all ages in between. Yes, even teenagers. It was very cool. Nick, Chad and Allison enjoyed a beer and we walked around and looked at the various booths of goods available. Stella played a little bit on the playground there, said hi to the cows, and then we headed out. Oh, the festival was to celebrate the time when the cows come down from the mountain to winter in the valley. I think.
We then moved on to the Wieskirche, a gorgeous pilgrimage church in the area. While we were there, a woman was singing to a gentleman playing the church's organ, rehearsing for a performance. It was lovely, with the sun pouring in the windows and beautiful music to listen to. Stella also enjoyed this place, because there were cows, horses, and a goat to look at and pet outside. I think the goat got a little irked that we weren't feeding it, though, because it nibbled on Nick's leg a bit.
That evening we headed on to Garmisch. We got there too late to really do much, besides find a hotel and some food and walk around a little bit in town. It would have been nice to actually enjoy some time by one of the lakes or a little hiking trail or something, but oh well. We found a very nice Gaestehause downtown with a very kind gentleman who gave Stella a toy AND a piece of candy. He also recommended a restaurant that was literally the best German cuisine we have had since we've been here, and it was reasonable to boot! I think the name was Zum Wildschuetz. I would highly recommend it! We then headed back to the hotel to get Stella to bed.
Unfortunately, the next day it was steadily raining, so we had no chance to get out and enjoy the beautiful mountains, so we headed on our way towards Munich. We stopped for lunch at the Kloster Andechs (a monestary). They are famous for their brewery, so we had to sample some of their fine beers. The best, by FAR was one called Apfelweis. It's a beer made from apples, and is way better than any kind of hard cider or whatever I've ever had. Unfortunately, we could not purchase any to bring home with us! I think it's either a seasonal thing they don't make into bottles, or they were out, or maybe it goes bad fast. I was a bit disappointed, though! We then continued on to Munich, and checked into our hotel (5 stories up a windy staircase!). We spent the afternoon meandering around the old town center, and watched the Glockenspiel chime at 5. It was under construction, so there was no music, but Stella enjoyed watching the figures go round and round. I think she had more fun chasing the pidgeons, though. Then, we headed off to the Hofbraeuhaus to meet up with one of Allison's friends. We spent 4 hours there, including dinner, and I was just amazed at how well Stella did just hanging out. She was, of course, thoroughly entertained by the people all around, and the live polka band that played not too far from our table. She is a trooper! The food was quite mediocre, and the beer okay, but the atmosphere is what this place is all about. Allison's friend, Ula, was very nice and we had fun talking with her. Nick and Chad walked Stella and I back to the hotel so we could go to bed at a decent time, and went back for a couple more hours. There was a group of Brits at the table next to us, at least some of which were in their military, and were quite nice guys to chat with as well. They were on holiday, and had meant to hit the Octoberfest, but missed it by a week. Ooops!
Next morning Nick, Stella and I had a nice breakfast with Chad and Allison, and then headed back home. They stayed in Munich for the morning and then headed on to Rothenberg (we had just been there with Nick's folks a few weeks before, so opted out of going again). We said our good-byes and parted ways. It was very fun to travel with them, and just to be able to spend some time with friends from back home here in our "home."
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