top of Germany to the depths of Augustiner

This was the Zugspitzbahn, which we rode almost to the top of the Zugpitze. Thanks to the transportation museum, I learned all about the technology that makes this possible. Not going to bore you with the details, but it is rather interesting that this train's been running like this since the early 20th Century.





This is Michael looking out at the summit of the Zugspitze. Although he was very impressed and kept talking about how much he enjoyed it for the next several days, it was a bit too cold and windy for him up there. We had to get back inside and quickly.







The border with Austria runs right across the top of the mountain, so here's Michael standing with my friend Jeff before they stroll into Austria. There's a restaurant from each country up there, but we'd had so much German food over the last few days. We decided to dine with the Austrians. It was a great choice. Not only was it delicious, but here was our view:


















Don't ever let it be said that Michael isn't willing to try new things. Especially when the new things include new varieties of Strudel. This is Mohnstrudel (poppy seed) and Topfenstrudel (a bit like a mix of batter and less-sweet cheesecake). He certainly prefers Applestrudel, but these were a nice change of pace.











He would've gone straight to the dessert, but ate a huge plate of a meat selection beforehand. Michael desperately wanted to order Apple Strudel again, but I convinced him to try something new. If you read the ingredients and how it's prepared (Dampfnudel), you'll understand immediately that Michael loved it.












This was the Augustiner Keller where we had a fantastic meal. Michael was thrilled to eat down there, and he informed me that this was definitely something he wouldn't have wanted to miss.

Tomorrow we catch the train to Cologne for Carnival. Although the title of this blog says I'm in Bavaria, this'll be an exception where I talk about another part of Germany.



Earlier in the day, we were at the concentration camp memorial in Dachau. There's an entire blogpost on that one, but I just don't know how to start talking about it. Another time. But after a very difficult several hours looking at and imagining the horrors that took place, we had a beautiful sunset. This was the nicest photo I could get of it.

monkeys and transport

Not only did we walk through the English Garden yesterday (Here's Michael in front of the Chinese Tower), but we walked along the Isar River all the way to the Munich Zoo (Tierpark Hellabrunn).











As much as we enjoyed the baboons, the dogs were completely entranced. Here's Ella having a moment. When Louis started to bark, we had to move along. Until then, this part was quite fun.






I'm sure if you ask nicely, Michael will show you many more photos that he took from the Verkehrsmuseum (transportation museum), but I decided to include a photo of him standing in front of a Munich streetcar. There were some streetcars from the early 70s there, but this shot looked better.






There was a time, when we were much smaller/younger, when pulling Michael away from playing in this truck would've been much, much more difficult. He certainly enjoyed the few moments he allowed himself to daydream.









So, he's been talking about Strudel since long before he even boarded the plane to come here. He showed fortitude in waiting as long as he did, so we made sure that this part was ticked off our list. He said it was quite good. The whipped cream had a hint of vanilla, but he admitted that it could've been a bit sweeter. The Strudel itself was worth the wait.







Outside the Jagd- und Fischermuseum (Hunting and Fishing museum)
is this very attractive wild boar statue. Can you tell which one is me?









And the last thing before we went home for the evening was a bit of Eastern European street music. Accordion, xylophone and a double bass...was really quite good. Michael couldn't help himself from donating to the cause.

'Where it all began'

Here's the hospital where Michael was born. He was very thrilled and emotional about seeing where, as he calls it, 'It all began'. My mother says that she vividly remembers walking across the courtyard where this was taken. 'Das Baby kommt', is a phrase she'll never forget hearing that early morning.









Here we are sitting down at zum Grünen Baum for a bit of Bavarian food.








This is a typical Sunday afternoon meal in Bavaria. It's called Shweinebraten (It's like pork chops, but they cook it in a way that the skin is really hard and crispy. Michael didn't like that part, so I was magnanimous and helped him out by eating his pork skin. Mmm...lecker.





This is a view of the Olympia Park from the BMW Welt building. It's the closest big park to where I live, so I'm in the Olympia Park rather often.

Michael's return to Germany

People greeting arrivals are to wait behind the yellow line...

Here Michael is after passport control and an emotional moment when he realised he was fulfilling a wish he'd had since childhood: to return to his birth city. And now here he is.








Supposedly, Bavarians have a very traditional breakfast when they return to their homeland. It's made up of Weißwurst (lamb's meat sausages cooked with mild spices and fresh parsley in them), sweet mustard, soft pretzels, and Weißbier (a specialty Bavarian beer). We had all but the last part (Michael was drinking hot cocoa), and I was pleased that he enjoyed it. It really was a nice breakfast.








We brought the bags home and Ella and Louis greeted Michael very warmly. And then kept greeting him repeatedly. They were very curious about this very loud person who smelled like Nutter Butters and hot cocoa. Soon enough, it was obvious the dogs needed to go outside and we used that opportunity to show Michael the surroundings.









We walked to the castle (Nymphenburger Schloß), where Michael imagined jousting and ladies and gentlemen acting inappropriately at the ball. I assured him that this wasn't that sort of castle, and he asked me to leave him and his castle fantasies in peace.











The plan was to get Strudel (he'd been planning something strudelly since he booked the flight), but we happened upon a bakery that had delicious looking Krapfen. These are everywhere at carnival time, and we decided that Strudel could wait just a bit longer. This is a vanilla doughnut. There was discussion that maybe this was the highpoint of the day.






After taking the dogs home and a few minutes of recouping, we went into the old town of Munich, and did a quick overview of the most important landmarks. While we were at the Viktualienmarkt, I took this photo of Michael in front of the Maypole. The sun was disappearing quickly, so we packed up the camera and enjoyed some Currywurst before hurrying home for a skype call between the Big Bad Wolf and his girls. What a first day.





The secondary goal of the day was to make sure Michael didn't fall asleep before evening. Somehow we managed it, but when we tallied the 32 hours he'd been awake, he immediately headed under the duvet and hasn't been heard from since.

back to the roots

There hasn't been much to report here in Bavaria lately, but that's about to change. My brother Michael is coming to see me, and this isn't just any normal visit. He was born here in Munich in the early 70s, and he's never been back. Not once.

Since we were children, he's said that one day he wants to see where he was born. It's finally happening. So I've decided to chronicle our adventures here. There are so many tourist things that I've never got round to doing, so I'm using this trip as an excuse to see exactly those sorts of attractions.

His two daughters will certainly miss him, so this'll be a place they can look each day and see what their fat, old man is up to.

And for the rest of you, I hope this is moderately entertaining. The photo above is Michael sometime in 1973 or '74.

Late afternoon sunlight

We've had several mild days in the middle of winter, but no matter how nice it feels, I assure you winter's not done with us. Nevertheless, one of the nicest things I can think of here in Bavaria is a nice late afternoon walk in the woods up in the mountains. This specifically is a beautiful hike near Bayrischzell down near the Austrian border. I absolutely love it there.

How happy was this duck really?

In Germany (and German speaking countries/regions of countries), the day they celebrate Christmas is really the 24th. What I think of as Christmas Eve. The shops are open in the morning till the early afternoon, but then everyone hurries home for the festivities. Both the 25th and the 26th are holidays, so those seem to be best spent recovering from the indulgence of the shopping/eating.

One of the things I like most about living here is the food. Not the stereotypical Bavarian or German cuisine that you might think of, although that's not bad in moderation. What I love is how seriously they take quality control. Both government agencies, as well as private watchdog groups, constantly check that the listed ingredients match what's actually in the package. They take food quality very seriously.

As a result, you'd think that I'd never doubt the veracity of the packaging. You'd be wrong. If you want organic meat, you pay a fortune. Don't eat a lot of meat in my daily life, so during holidays, I often go whole hog, as it were.

But in this case I decided to cook duck. My mother says the first time she ate duck was when we lived in Munich in the early 70s. Have had bad results cooking dry turkey. When the cooking's up to me, I prefer duck.

I'm not the only one who questions whether the duck was really organic, but I thought I might be the only one only asking the company for some sort of assurance. I was wrong. They were ready for the likes of me.

First, they fill me in on the history of serving goose in Germany. Why are they talking about serving goose? I guess there's only one form letter for goose/duck. Allegedly, the Germans borrowed the tradition from the English who started eating goose because it's what Elizabeth I was eating when she found out about the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Am not going to let my mind wander for too long and imagine the horrible alternatives of what she might've been eating instead. Not going to do it.

The Germans started following Elizabeth's lead and eating goose around 1900, but we're not eating goose. It's a duck. Where's my form letter for the history of eating duck?

Never mind. Next, they assure me that the duck was raised on the nearest farm. If you consider Pfarrkofen in Lower Bavaria the nearest farm. Well, it's close enough that they insist unnecessary delivery travel is avoided by using this family-owned farm.

The normal lifespan of such a bird is given as 12 weeks, while my duck lived to the ripe, old age of 24 weeks. And then they make a special point that the animals are not force-fed, have plenty of room to run around and eat food only from the region. Can I really believe all of this? Well it is a moderately convincing form letter. They end with a nice closing touch. Because their geese/ducks aren't injected with antibiotics and/or other chemicals, they're sure I'll be able to tell the difference when I bite into the 'tastier, softer, and juicier' meat. Meat unlike that of what they call a Turbobird.

Really? You think I'll taste the difference? Why'd I write my original query if I thought I could taste the difference.

But the form letter achieved its goal. I bought the mentally well-rested, able to exercise duck, and here's the finished result:



So the only question left unanswered is: How did it taste? It was delicious.

Frohe Weihnachten/Merry Christmas