German Country

July 1, 2011

FREE BREAKFAST!  And it wasn’t just American continental stuff, it was a full breakfast!  I think I tried about 90% of it, and it was fabulous!  The hotel staff was so accommodating and patient with us, as we caught the tail end of the breakfast time.  Coffee made it even better. 

We ventured out into the weather, which sketch and cold.  I guess picking a skirt and tank top was a bad choice, but I had left the rest of my luggage in Munich, so it was all I had.  David did a little shopping at a skater store, since his luggage had been lost by AirBerlin 2 days before.  The town we were staying at was on a lake, and on one of the islands was another palace that King Ludwig II had built.  We had to take a ferry to the island, which built anticipation and made things much more exciting!  It reminded me of the time I took a ferry in Canada and in Seattle area.  Life is so much more exciting when you take ferries! 

A 15 minute walk, and we arrived at the Konigsschloss Herrenchiemse Palace entrance – gardens and fountains were everywhere.  It was built and designed pretty much as a copy of the Palace of Versailles in France.  It was extremely impressive.  The exterior was finished, but only 1/3 of the interior was actually finished because the King ran out of money and was deposed before it was completed.  It was completely decked out in gold, scagiola (artificial colored and inlaid marble), and incredible wood flooring.  I wasn’t supposed to take pictures, but I had experience being awesomely sneaky from when I was visiting churches in Italy.   It was one of those experiences that I couldn’t believe I was having.  When we began walking back, the temperature had dropped several degrees and it started raining.  I had definitely not packed for a cold European trip!

First view of the palace

Looking directly toward the palace

No idea what this room did, but it was sweet!

Beautiful inlaid floors

Hall of Mirrors - copy of Versailles

Can I have this chandelier?

Me freezing - and an old man photo-bombing

Lunch was not quite as exquisite, but if you think relatively, it was.  McDonalds was on the schedule, but you never would have known it was McDonalds if they didn’t have the huge golden arches and English menus.  It looked like an expensive restaurant inside.  It had a separate café with an espresso machine (they are EVERYWHERE  over here in Europe) and fancy desserts like Tiramisu.  We sat at a wood veneer table that had fresh real flowers in a vase, sat in designer chairs, enjoyed the fake fireplace next to us – all complimented with perfectly placed ambient and accent lighting.  It was incredible.  I will not go through the drive through in Europe McDonalds anymore.  It is pretty similar across the board.

who'da thunk?

Then we traveled to a legit castle in another town – one built in the 1200’s, but had been completely renovated.  We arrived an hour late, missing the last tour and consequently were not able to see the inside.  However, the outside was good enough. :-D 

bell tower from the castle

Autobahn time: again.  Somehow, we got up to 320 km/h before I realized what was going on.  That is the problem when you are videotaping the speedometer and not really paying attention to what 320 km/h means.  It means you feel like you are in a racing video game – you try to avoid the huge semis going what seems like 2 mph in the right lane.  320 km/h is about 200 mph.  It was something that I’m glad happened, but do not care to do that again unless I’m in a racecar on a straight, perfectly kept race track.  Formula One cars go that fast, and I’m pretty sure that is what it will take in order to get me going that fast again.  Definitely the experience of a lifetime.

there's my handsome bro. :)

We passed the Olympic stadium – checked that sight off my list, and then we were in Munich again.  We made it 592 kilometers in a supercar without dying, scratching the expensive tire rims, or putting a mark on the car.  Turning it back into Michael from the rental company was a little sad – I’ll probably never experience that type of car again.  But I’m glad I experienced it with the best driver and the one I trust the most: my brother.  :)

its easier to get a pic when you are going 0 km/h

It's a beaut

Happy to sit in the drivers seat of the Audi R8 V10 Spyder

David never got his luggage.  Moral of the story: don’t fly AirBerlin… at least, don’t check any bags.  We stayed up late, and he got up in the middle of the night to get to the airport by 5:30, as I slept in and checked out of the hotel 10 minutes late.  It was an awesome vacation with my brother.