Oktoberfest Munich 2018

We made it back to Germany, this time without kids and with some friends. AES members joined us as well as our good buddy David from the USA. We had an amazing time.

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European Christmas 2017

Fresh off the plane and back in Germany - there isn't a better way to kick off Christmas than flying down the autobahn. First stop: Rothenburg ob der Tauber, the medieval gem in Bavaria. We met up with our good friends, The Jettners, and proceeded to the Christmas markets, enjoying shopping and mulled wine. We visited the Medieval Torture Museum again and did the night walk of the city.

Rothenburg at night

Our next stop was Nuremberg, home to Germany's largest Christmas market. The people here were plentiful and space was tight, but the vast size is something to marvel at. We ate and drank our way around the stalls, meeting up with a family from Qatar. Jared, Kris and I all watched Michigan State hand out some punishment on the basketball court.  After a day of fun, we rolled down to Munich and stayed put for a few days.  Munich offers multiple markets and we enjoyed the size and speed of the Marienplatz while also having fun with parades, musics, and drinks of fire at the medieval market.

On Christmas Eve we headed to Hofbrauhaus, the world famous beer hall, for a mid-afternoon dinner. The place was so busy we had to sit at multiple tables as we had nearly 20 people. It was loud and hectic, but the beer flowed like wine and the food and music made up for the discomfort.  After we headed to the hotel and did a gift exchange with all the friends who had joined and gotten gifts for each other from the markets.   The girls got pajamas and watched a movie.

On Christmas morning we awoke and did presents under the small tree we had purchased in the square.  Then we headed down to the Jettners room to do an exchange with them.  But after breakfast it was off to our favorite activity to do on Christmas: the water park. Since nothing else is open that day, what better way to spend it than ripping down slides, floating in lazy rivers, and soaking in hot tubs?  Our evening finished by reuniting with all of our friends at Augustiner Brauhaus for dinner.

The Walkers and the Jettners said goodbye and flew to Chamonix, France, to spend the week in the mountains.  A winter wonderland awaited, with gorgeous views of the mountains all around.  Evenings were spent walking the streets and tucking into pubs to keep warm while the day time was filled with activities. Skiing was a hit and we spent several days on the slopes, with Taelyn getting much better by then end.  She could even go down the largest and longest of hills and was keen to work on the ski jumps (and crashing).  Kaelia was more reserved and opted to sled - Sarah had no objections joining her.  Sledding was also fun and we found several great hills to go down around town. We ice skated at the foot of a mountain.

Our biggest disaster was trying to go tubing. On day one, we drove around following Google Maps to the site.  It took about an hour and we kept climbing up and up the mountain. It never felt right. When a road terminated on the ski slope and we had 5K left to drive, we knew it was not right. This place was on the mountain top.  There were no directions.  The next day we went to the hill via bus as the parking was insane.  Jammed a million people into a bus, we made about 70 stops from our house to the hill then got in a long line for the cable car to the top. We repeatedly asked about tubing and the operators called the top to be sure it was on; it was. We paid about 70 Euros to get a lift ticket and we were off.  When we reached the top, there were no indicators of where to go, no signs. Just a huge, white mountain top.  We asked and asked but no one knew or just didn't understand. The rudest French people we ever met were the ski instructors who could not be bothered by us.  So we started walking. After tramping through the snow with the kids for a long while, we thought we saw a park for tubing. It was down a long, ungroomed hill. Kris went ahead, ducked into a lodge-like structure and asked. He gave the thumbs up.  We battled down the hill in waist-deep snow, soaking ourselves (I only had on shoes - the last time I would make that mistake).  When we got there, tubes were piled together and buried in 4 feet of snow. The course to go down was ungroomed, the belt to the top was not visible, and it was clear that there was no tubing happening here. Soaked, cold, and tired, we headed down the mountain.  We took the kids inside a care for hot chocolate and we had a beer while Sarah battled with the operator for 30 min to get a refund for our wasted trip.  We headed home, gased. The Jettners wanted to ski. Hours later we saw them return, soaked from the rain, not happy. We might have made the better choice that day.

Another highlight was dog sledding. We met the dogs and hooked up the sleds for a 5km ride around the park at the foot of the mountains. It was a wonderful time, cruising along the snow with white mountains above, green trees, blue skies, and the sounds of the dogs barking. It is an expensive activity, but worth it 100%.

Kris and I also took in a hockey game watching the local team battle Grenoble. It was a fun experience and we were definitely one of the few non-locals there.  Most of the time this week was spent outside and the kids had snowball fights, built forts, and rolled snowmen.  We had a wonderful New Year's Eve. Nicole made a task for the kids for every hour (ex. have a tea party for the stuffed animals, do compliment cards, create a skit, etc.) and we all stayed up together for the New Year. Fireworks went off in the valley. I don't think I have made midnight on New Years in a long time!

Chamonix in Winter

The view from our living room

The Jettners departed and we had a few more days as a family in Chamonix. It was hard to leave and after a long, wet drive, we arrived in Zurich.  Our only purpose in coming here was to fly out, but we had a couple of days to kill.  The food and beer places were nice, but the cost of eating out in Zurich is so insane that it was a tough sell. We did an escape room and hit the pool, went for some runs, and took the kids to the playground. To say we did anything in the city would be a massive oversell.

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Germany - Oktoberfest

Would you believe it? Another trip to Germany. This time it was for the marathon. It just happened to be a big coincidence that Oktoberfest was going on at the same time!

We arrived in Nuremburg, the closest point for the race and spent a few days at Five Reasons Hostel & Hotel, situated within the walled city and overseen by the Imperial Castle. Hikes around town were greeted with great food and drink, especially at Hausbraurei Altstadthof, Café Wanderer, and BarfüsserBrauhaus.  We ventured deep into the underground caves to see the city below the city.  We also headed out to the Nazi Rally Grounds and Memorium of the Nuremberg Trials to get a taste of the significant history of the city. Such amazing and horrible things happened here and it is good to see that these sites haven't been destroyed. We learn more from being able to walk around than from stories or books.

The weekend concluded with an ill-advised marathon in a small, neighboring town. It was one of the prettiest races I have done.  But soon we were headed to Munich, with the running behind us, and a new kind of marathon looming ahead.

Oktoberfest is one of the world's most amazing events and we were drawn back. With kinds in tow this time, we opted for daytime visits on weekdays, making it easy to get a seat and less likely to run into any problems. Of course, we all showed up in authentic lederhosen and drindl. Arriving on Monday morning around 11, we had our choice of tents. Opting for a place that is famous for chicken, we rolled in and sat down to the butter and herb roasted goodness that is Bavarian Hendl. Of course, we had to spot some pretzels as well as a great litre of brew. Seeing no reason not to bounce around and check out the other atmospheres, we went on to the next tent and the next. From Spatan to Hacker-Pschorr, to Hofbrauhaus we roamed.  The girls stopped for a gingerbread cookie which they demolished.  We lost Sarah for a bit but she resurfaced and we made our way home, job well done.

The next day we headed back for round 2, but this time meeting a couple we worked with in Doha. It was family day so the rides were half price.  With the promise of carnival rides, we got the kids back in for food and alternated rides with another tent and so on. Even at half prices the rides were expensive (and cheesy). But some tents had kids' areas and all had music so we were all entertained. Towards the afternoon we decided that Justin would go to the Bayern-Munich football game with Mike. We went and witnessed a historic game with Lewandowski scoring 5 goals in 9 min.

With Oktoberfest done and dusted, we rolled south into the Bavarian gem town of Fussen.  This is fairy tale kingdom and on the following day we went to Neuschwanstein Castle and
Hohenschwangau Castle and learned the history of King Ludwig II. These castles are amazing to see and provide great views.  After the castles we headed to a brewery.  Dinner and a few lead to a fine game of putt-putt out in the fields below the castle. Our base was the lovely Hotel Fantasia, a repeat stay and one of our favorite lodgings in the world. It is like its own fairy tale castle and garden at the base of the real castles.
Our final stop on the way out was Rothenburg ob der Tauber, a German town in northern Bavaria known for its medieval architecture. Half-timbered houses line the cobblestone lanes of its old town. The town walls include many preserved gate houses and towers, plus a covered walkway on top. One of our favorite sites in this town is a medieval crime and torture museum, complete with swords, masks, and other devices. At night we joined the famous Night Watchman tour. A guy dresses in a holocaust cloak and wields a giant ax-like weapon as he wanders through the streets describing life as it was in medieval times. It is really a fun addition to a great, classic city.

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European Christmas 2014

Given our never-ending quest to now spend Christmas in Europe and enjoy the wonderful Christmas markets, we had to scheduled a trip to Munich, one of our favorite cities.  Our choice to return to Germany has nothing to do with the beer, meat, or music. It was all about the holiday spirit. Really.

Staying in the Residence Inn Munich East, we were close to downtown (just a few minutes walk to a train and a couple of stops) and close to the English Gardens and a river trail which we ran everyday. Great runs were followed by great breakfast buffets.  But what we really wanted was to take advantage of the Christmas markets.  Full of the smells of cookies, spiced wine, and with holiday music in the air, the atmosphere can't be beat. However, the crowds leave something to be desired. With two little kids in tow, getting around jam-packed markets in the cold evening is not as enjoyable as one would like.  We did enjoy a parade of characters like knights and drinking wine from goblets at the medieval Christmas market, but long lines and no space had us exit for a beer joint where we enjoyed sitting with some friends from Hong Kong we used to work with in Joburg.

No trip to Munich would be complete without visiting our favorite beer gardens and halls at places like Hofbrauhaus, Augustiner, and Paulaner. Good food, good drink, good music and good fun. We also ice skated in the square to music and smells of food and drink.  The last highlight was spending the afternoon with our friends who live in Saudi but we worked with in China.  But we soon were headed south to Austria on the autobahn in a rented car. Next stop: Obertraun.

Located in the beautiful Lake Hallstatt region, Obertraun is a gem. A crystal lake, high peaks, and the feel of being away from it all is spotted with little shops and restaurants and the perfect compliment to our first few days in the big city. Staying at Obertrauner Hof, we netted a great 2-bedroom place with breakfast and excellent hosts.

Wanting to take the girls sledding but having little snow, we took a cable car up to the top of the mountain over town, and hiked to a site called 5 Fingers. With amazing views, we were not disappointed, and the girls were able to rock down some slopes with an old wooden toboggan. Never mind that the drop offs on either side were about 1000 ft.

We then hit up a water park on Christmas day, as it was the only thing open. There is something quite amazing about being able to swim in 80-degree water and yet it is snowing outside. Your hair freezes but you are warm.  Great slides kept us busy for a few hours and were a nice compliment to the Christmas movies we spent the rest of the day watching.

This trip marked our family's first skiing effort.  After a ridiculous amount of waiting in line to get sized up for rentals, then another line for the lift tickets, we dropped the girls in ski school, which at 65 Euros an hour did not really count as school (going "down" this nearly flat piece of land and stepping on a belt to be rolled back. Lather, rinse, repeat.).  Sarah and I headed up, spending 25 min on lifts to reach the top.  This is when the problems started. Sarah cant ski. Not even remotely. And the first steps off the lift (the ones she didn't fall on) got us to a precipice overlooking a huge drop. It was scary, even for me, and I can ski. Sarah proceeded to flop gradually down the hill, crashing every few feet, and looking like a person with a severe muscular issue. Arguing ensued, and there was a very real reality that someone would have to sled her off the mountain.  After threat of divorce and nearly 45 minutes later, Sarah was able to get to the final push. However, this too was a huge drop. She took of the skis and walked it down while I went on to pull the kids from "school" lest they charge us another year of tuition for going over. Sarah and the kids done, I tried to go up again to bring the cost-to-run ratio down to about 100 Euros a pop, but they were making snow. Having only skied in Colorado in sunglasses, I was blasted repeatedly in the face with ice and could not see. After getting down, it was time to call this what it was: a disaster. Needless to say, Walker family skiing isn't going to be repeated anytime soon.

A Christmas highlight was the horse-drawn sleigh ride. Starting in the town of Gosau, we rolled out through the fields under blankets and, as the sun set, up into the dark woods, stopping only once to do shots of home-made schnapps that were passed back by the driver. Sleigh bells and the sights of crisp, white snow completed a perfect evening.

Other highlights were running the trail that meandered the woods above our lodge. It was such a nice sight that we took the girls on a relatively long hike on it, stopping often. Not to be forgotten was the opportunity to build a snowman and have a snowball fight in front of the amazing Lake Hallstatt. The snow, which was absent at the start of the trip. Started on Christmas and got steadily heavier over the week. The day we left it was slamming, turning a 2.5 hour drive back to the airport into 5 hours, causing us to nearly miss our flight. But I will say if I have to get stuck somewhere, you can sign me up for Munich and Austria anytime.

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Germany

Is there any place in the world more desirable to visit?  Sure, people talk about white sand beaches and bustling cites, but they haven't been to Bavaria!  We caught a direct flight overnight from Johannesburg to Munich.  Upon arrival, we had one primary objective - Beer Hall.

Our first stop, however, was the Dachau Memorial.  The exact opposite of a rancorous beer hall, this is the site of Nazi Germany's first concentration camp.  Some horrific deeds were completed here, and 32,000 souls lost their lives on these grounds.  Room after room of black and white pictures depict the evils of man in its darkest hours.  A large sign reads in multiple languages "Never Again," a hope we all share.

Accomplishing our primary objective, we sidled up to Paulaner Brewery, our favorite international brewery.  Tasting your favorite beer out of its homegrown tap is second to none.  By the end of our first day, we had seen the worst and the best Germany has to offer.  Our stop was The Meininger Hotel, a good deal for a quad room at about 56 Euros/night.

We rose the next morning to visit the 1972 Olympic Stadium.  Being huge fans of Steve Prefontaine, it was significantly important for us to see where he ran as well as the site of the horrific terrorists attacks of Black September.  The track was being redone so we were unable to walk on the track but we sat in the stands while the children ran.  Also on the tour was the pool where Mark Spitz set his records.  Unfortunately, there was very little on the information side.  We left disappointed not seeing more historical items.

With the big cultural sites out of the way, we hit the largest beer hall in Munich, Hofbrauhaus.  With four levels, this beer hall rocks any night of the week.  We feasted on sausages and guzzled dark beer while a band played traditional music.  Our girls danced in the aisles.  Later that evening Kaelia was riled up from lack of sleep, climbed half way up a bunk bed ladder, and launched herself off. We spent the night in the emergency room and returned the next morning because Kaelia refused to walk and screamed bloody murder at being set down.  We carried her for the rest of the trip.

On the way out of town we rolled past the Theresienwiese, site of Oktoberfest. While nothing was going on, we vowed to return when there was.  It was a few hour drive down to our next stop, Garmisch, in the mountains on the boarder or Austria. It was our first experience on the autobahn, and we fared well.  The road had high speed limits and when "off" cars rolled along quickly.  But it never felt too fast and we were impressed by the order on the road. When we arrived, we rolled up the hill to the base of the Zugspitze, the highest peak in Germany.  We went up the cable car at the extravagant price of 50 Euros a person to the top.  From the 3000m summit we could see into four different countries.  The girls loved playing in the snow at the top because it was the first snow Kaelia could see (Taelyn wouldn't remember her snow encounters).  On the way down, we ended up in a beer house where every one of the 30 patrons was dressed in traditional Bavarian garb.

For the next few nights we crashed in Füssen, also in the southern part of the country.  In an effort to realize a romantic dream, we stayed in the most castle-looking place we could, Hotel Fantasia.The rooms were very nice, in the center of town, and looked up to a castle.  The girls loved the trampoline, Sarah the towers and archways, and Justin the large breakfasts.  From here we enjoyed several great runs along parks and rivers and into mountain lakes.  But the main purpose of visiting is to see the famous castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.  FYI - this was every bit as exciting there as anticipated.  Sometimes when you see so many postcards and pictures of something, it isn't as good in person, but this was. We loved hiking up the hills to the gorgeous castles and hearing all about this history.  We took a horse-drawn carriage down from one of them.  The girls ran up and down the stairs pretending they were in Cinderella.  After all, Neuschwanstein is the castle they modeled Cinderella's castle off at Disney World.  Justin and Taelyn danced in the ballroom.

Our next stop was Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  This medieval city has been around since before 1000 and some of it has original structures.  We visited the Medieval Crime and Torture Museum and saw many artifacts.  Our favorite was the barrel the drunks had to wear or perhaps the masks for women that were gossips. There were executioner swords, axes, thumb screws, an iron maiden, and much more.  Sarah and Justin went for runs around the walled city and save seeing some medal or the rare car, it felt as if it were in the 1500's. We ate Schneebälle (snowballs) of dough, sugar and chocolate, famous for the area. Sarah went on a night tour of the city led by a night watchman dressed in traditional garb.  We also visited the Christmas factory which had 4 levels of crazy holiday cheer. It was a bit overwhelming.

Barrel worn as punishment for public drunkenness

Our last stop was the small town of Hirschau where we visited a former UNC athlete. She hosted us in her house and we sampled small-town Germany life.  Overall we found Germany to be very clean, incredibly efficient, and beautiful.  All in all, one of our best trips ever!

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