PROST! More Munich

Tuesday:
For breakfast we walked to Weisses Brauhaus for some Weisswurste (boiled white sausages), sauerkraut and some weiss beer (of course). Had to start the day correctly! Then we met up with Justin, Amy and August. We walked together to Oktoberfest in the rain and ducked into the Ochsenbraterie tent.














August was mesmerized by the brass band and tried to get a handle on the pretzel.


















The Ochsenbraterie tent specializes in roasted oxen so, of course, we had to order ochsenbraten, mamorierte teile vom rind an kraftiger rotweinsobe mit kartoffelsalad or ox roast, slices of beef with red wine sacue and potato salad.
If you are a vegetarian, I do apologize for the next picture.















We also took a ferris wheel ride and Colin took this picture from it.















Wednesday:





We took the train to Starnberg to meet up with Justin and Amy. Our mission was to drive to Neuschwanstein Castle at Schwangau bei Fussen. Although it was rainy, it was great to see the countryside. We slogged our way up the hill to the castle which reminded me of the paved trail of Old Peak Road to Victoria Peak in Hong Kong. After a half-hour uphill walk, we had an hour before our tour so we decided to warm ourselves up at the cafe. We ordered beer and hot wine (which was perfect for the soggy weather). Then we noticed the table next to us were tucking into cups of molten chocolate and decided that we need to try one ourselves. Very decadent!

Neuschwanstein Castle was built around 1884. It had a medieval feel to it but seeing a telephone reminded us that it was pretty "recent" castle. One of the interesting room is the Grotto between the living room and study. The castle is also famous for being the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty castle in Disneyland. All in all, I thought it was romantic especially when it was shrouded in the mist.

Justin drove us back to train station (they were staying in Starnberg). Incidentally, the lake, Starnberger See, was where Ludwig II died. Ludwig II built Neuschwanstein and was thought insane for building it.

Coming back to the city, Colin and I decided to try out another beer hall. This time we headed to Augustiner Gaststatten on Neuhauser Strasse. It was a typical beer hall: smoky, crowded, beer. It was great!


Thursday:

We all went to Deutsches Museum and August was moving from one display to another. It was hard to get a picture of him.


















After walking around Old Town Munich, we parted ways at the train station. This is a picture in front of the fountain by Karlsplatz.














That evening Colin and I walked over to Oktoberfest around 8pm. Most of the tents have closed their doors and there were lines for people trying to get in. We actually got into the only tent open and regretted it. It was beyond crowded. We were getting pushed and so we hustled out of there and called it a night.


Friday (last day):

We decided to spend our last day in the tents. So around 10ish in the morning, we walked over to Augustiner-Festhalle and found a table free until 5 that afternoon. We were soon joined by 3 New Zealanders. They've been travelling (and will be travelling) for 3 months. Amidst the noise and revelry, we talked about China, Hong Kong, Bangkok and whenever a raucous singing started they suspected it was an Australian group. Pretty soon the table was seating 12 people including us! Everyone was in good spirit and toasting - PROST - with each other. All that drinking was making me lightheaded so I ordered colamix. This strange concoction is coke mixed with lemonade. Strange? I found it a good alternative as well as refreshing. I drank this throughout the trip (in addition to beer and hot wine).



















By 3pm, the tent was rocking! Lots of people singing with the band, lots of people smoking and lots of people drinking - it was a party!

















However, we had to quit by 4. We have our limits! So off to the hotel we go. On our way home, I finally took a picture of the harp-playing donkey in front of St. Peter's Church.



















With a nap to refresh us, we headed over to yet another beer hall, Augustiner-braustuben. The draught horses are suppose to be in this former horse stable during Oktoberfest. We neither saw it or smelled it. We did however like this Bavarian pub for its food and, of course, its beer. I've decided that I liked Augustiner beer and the Spaten beer second. Although, I'm not a beer connoisseur, I find it light and smooth without much bitter aftertaste (and you thought I was a complete newbie).





















Overall, Colin and I enjoyed Munich or at least what we saw which was not much. We would like to come back and explore it more in depth. Oktoberfest is fun and wild though in a more controlled setting. The security is pretty good so nothing really go out of hand. There are those who imbibed a bit more than they should but they were in such small number. People come to Oktoberfest more for its tradition, festivity and traditional Bavarian food. There are quirky sights like a merry-go-round bar and big-as-your-head pretzels that put a smile on your face. We'll definitely come back.














..

Munich. Oktoberfest. Beer.

Sunday:

I met Colin in London Heathrow Airport (he was coming from Hong Kong and I was coming from Boston). Together we flew to Munich and took the taxi from the airport to Munich. After a quick ride (sometimes going 190 kmh) and the second we checked into our room, we left to go to Theresienwiese where Oktoberfest is held. We got into Hippodrom and got into the party mode right away. The tent was decorated in hops. We met some friendly people. But the combination of no sleep the night before, big litre beer and glasses of bubbly had us going back to the hotel a mere 3 hours later. Apparently, people tend to stay as long as it takes (8 to 12 hours)! We were definite newbies.























Monday:

We were suppose to meet up with Justin, Amy and August. They were driving from Brussels but had ran into major traffic due to construction. So we were left on our own and explored Munich.

We went to Marienplatz and fell in love with this building with the red flowers spilling over the window boxes.


We stopped by Viktualienmarkt for some lunch. Viktualienmarkt is a colorful food market with a beer garden, of course. We found artfully displayed fruit and vegetables.



Colin and I shared schweinshaxen vom grill mit kartoffelsalat (grilled pork knuckle with potato salad). Incidentally, potato in forms of dumpling or salad and cabbage were our main and only vegetables eaten during the whole trip. We vowed to go vegetarian for a while when we get home.


After a brief rest in the late afternoon, we walked over to a nearby beer garden, Agustiner-Keller. We sat under ancient chestnut trees while eating our roast duck with (yet, again) potato dumplings. It was unusually un-crowded since most of the patrons are in Oktoberfest. So we enjoyed a relatively smoke-free dinner in a beautiful September night.

After dinner, we decided to walk over to Oktoberfest and see if we can still get in. Luckily, the doors to Augustiner-Festhalle were still open. We amazingly found space by the bandstand. We joined in the fun by standing on the bench, singing and dancing and occasionally raising the huge stein of good Augustiner beer. We were toasting with people who work in Holland and had ridden the company bus to Oktoberfest just for that night.



We stayed until closing and found the main thoroughfare festively lit up. It had a carnival/party feeling.














..

Tomatoes. AGAIN!!!

We are approaching the end of the season. But the tomatoes think otherwise. We've been eating:
tomatoes, basil & mozzarella salad
tomatoes with goat cheese & black olive tarts
open faced tomatoes, brie & pesto sandwiches
salsa
spaghetti sauce
shrimp with zucchini and tomatoes - Indian style
tomato sauce

Tonight I'm going to make Pinakbet sans ampalaya (try finding that in the local grocery - I dare you). We'll see how it goes.

Lastly, don't even say zucchini...

End of Summer, Definitely

Rain came and dampened everything. The vegetable garden needed it. Our lawn needed it. And the temperature dipped below 60's. Summer ended. Fall is here along with crazy schedules that I'm still sorting out.

We've put together our top 10 list of the summer which consists of more than 10 entries.

Of no particular order - just streams of jumbled thoughts from Emma, Lauren, Colin and yours truly:

1. Eating mangoes, pineapples and papaya in Maui (Shelda)
2. Boogie boarding with Grandma Cindy in Hapuna (Lauren and Emma)
3. Surfing lessons in Maui with Gabby, Kyle and Uncle Lee (Lauren)
4. Feeling our way through the dark lava tube in Big Island (Emma)
5. Hiking Kilauea Iki Crater and seeing the rainbow out of the lava (Colin)
6. Earning Jr. Ranger badges (Lauren and Emma)
7. Snorkeling with the turtles in Maui (Shelda and Colin)
8. Spending time with Great Grandma and Grandparents in Big Island (Everyone)
9. Playing with cousins in Maui and Toronto (Lauren and Emma)
10. Seeing the enormous manta rays in Big Island (Lauren)
11. CN Tower's glass floor which scared Grandma Marina(Lauren and Emma)
12. Getting soaking wet at Niagara Falls (Everyone)
13. CN Tower's elevator ride up (Everyone)
14. Being on the 4th of July Parade with the Girl Scouts (Lauren & Emma)
15. Golfing in Red Tail (Colin)
16. Massage at Grand Wailea (who else? me)
17. Mega maze (Everyone)
18. Children's Museum and New England Aquarium (Lauren and Emma)


I told you there were more than 10.

Just a few more pictures from this summer:















..

Eve of Something New

Tomorrow is the first day of school for Lauren and Emma. It's their old school with old friends (as old as you gonna get if you're 10, or 7 years old!), familiar teachers and bus routes. But there is always something new this time of year. Mara and Lucy - our neighbors- will be going to kindergarten (although they start on Wednesday - big kids starts tomorrow). The new family down the street have 2 children going to school as well. Always something new.

I remembered when both Lauren and Emma took the bus together for the first time in 2005. Seemed like eons ago. Here they are boarding the bus that year.















This year Emma will be in 2nd grade and Lauren will be in 5th grade. They'll learn new things from their new teachers and make new friends. They will expand on their knowledge of the world around them and will also build on the friendship they have with their pals. For me this is the most exciting part of going back to school although getting new supplies from Staples is a close second!