Wow, what an amazing weekend we had in Bavaria, specifically Munich.
The adventure started with a car ride up to Fussen, Germany where we stayed with
our grandparents in a hotel at the bottom Neuschwanstein's Castle. From our porch window you could see the castle all lit up, quite dreamy. That night for dinner we enjoyed some traditional German fare - bread dumpling, raisin pancakes with applesauce, sauerkraut, and pork roast (all of which have much cooler German names that I a.) can't remember or b.) can't spell).
Aside from the Oktoberfest activities - we were very fortunate to stay with my friend Kiersie from Huntington University and her fiance, Andi who lives outside of Munich. This was one of the best, if not the best, experiences Sondra and I have had so far on this trip. It was great to stay with the locals (Kiersie, I'm going to call you a "local" now:) and learn firsthand how they live. Kiersie and Andi were extremely hospitable. For breakfast they made us a traditional Bavarian breakfast - wiesswurst, also known as "white sausage" for apparent reasons, pretzels (brezel), beer for Andi, and a special hot chocolate, oh yes, and mustard of course! I fell in love with weisswurst! I loved it so much that when we returned to Lugano, I went straight to the grocery and found a small package (not as large and inexpensive as in Germany, but I'm just glad I found some). I can't wait to find some in Indianapolis to share with friends and family.
Next blog: Venice (from two weeks ago & Florence/Pisa = this weekend's trip)
Next, next blog: Brittany is expanding her computer capabilities - this is monumental if you know me and my computer skills or lack thereof. I swear I was born in the '50s.