The Rhodes Less Traveled: European Vacation, part 2

Munich, Germany

December 17th

We took the train from Frankfurt to Munich around 12 pm that Monday afternoon. We were excited, we had reserved seats- we would all sit together, the kids had charged batteries in their leap pads and we would be able to sit and relax on a 5 hour train ride through the beautiful country of Germany. And that, we definitely did. We also finally got to see a little snow on the ground as well.

We arrived at our next hotel in Munich by cab from the train station. It was in the afternoon, so we just rested from the long day of travel. We escaped for a quick meal of sushi (they did not speak any English so we had no idea what we were going to get). We then tried to plan out the next few days.

December 18th

We woke up and enjoyed our first real breakfast at the hotel; bacon, eggs, cappuccinos! We all seemed a little ravenous, and honestly- we might have been a little bit. We did a lot of running around our last trip but no real eating. It was great.

We took the train to the MarienPlatz, the main center of Munich and enjoyed for the second time (we came once when Hannah was 1 1/2) an absolutely amazing view.

We also decided to take our second trip to the Haufbrauhaus....of course. We wanted that picture of the kids trying a big beer stein, but they wanted to no part- Yes, this is good. But we still just wanted that one "pic". Ha Anyway, they still had fun, we got to watch the fun band, and we also got to people watch in this enormous beer garden. Although an over the top tourist site, it is still really fun to see. The food however, not so much.

What is this? A big plate of SPAM? I ordered meatloaf???

We were being silly and ... HAVING FUN!!
These are some of favorite pics from the whole trip! :)

December 19th

We were on a mission to do something a little more entertaining for the kids and this...we did. We went ice skating! The outdoor rink was directly off of the bus stop, so we didn't have to go far and we truly enjoyed a fun outing outside...trying to ice skate. The kids were beyond thrilled as it was the one thing they could not wait to do when they got to Europe- and we were finally here. I am not sure if it met their expectations, but they still talk about it, so I am assuming it did the trick.

We decided to venture back out to the MarienPlatz, but closer to dark this time. This was a site to see. It was by far the largest of the Christmas Markets we had been to, and stunning with the Christmas lights and Glockinspiel in the background of almost every picture- it was breathtaking. It was also FREEZING! Not sure why the temp seemed to drop that much from Frankfurt, but we felt it and tried to push through and enjoy the city.

December 20th

We decided to go to the Deutsch Museum today. It was pretty interesting, but by far the best part was the kids area with all sorts of fun things for the kids to do. It was much needed play time for the kids, so we just let them have fun and actually partook in a normal adult conversation. Ha!

We spent the remainder of our afternoon at a new market, Tollwood. This, from what the receptionist told me at the hotel, was the hippie area. It was incredible...and gigantic! They had everything from clothes, gifts and food you could want. It was quite a surprise for us, but we enjoyed it. And so did the kids.