Munich

July 24. A wonderful Sunday at the lake with the family. We drove 90 minutes southeast of the city, parked and hiked a km where Jonas picked a very quiet spot for us. Kids were the first ones in, then Georg, then Dave, all saying BRR but when Dave said it Sproat Lake, I took the plunge. So refreshing.
On our return hike, we stopped at Cafe En See for typical Bavarian cakes. Yum!

The auto route was a huge traffic jam because of an accident so we took some country roads to get home. What beautiful countryside, traditional homes with barns attached but in a different style than Claudia's parents.

Peppers stuffed with meatballs in  a yummy sauce for dinner in their garden. Great conversation, two of the children really wanting to practise their English.

July 25 walkabout downtown Munich.

Yesterday we had a family day at a lake one hour south of Munich. First time I have seen a "unafin" The girls looked like mermaids swimming with them on. The sun treated us asit had been predicted thunderstorms.
An accident on the autoroute had Georg decide to go back country. What a treat! Bavaria as we remember it, rolling green field and the homes/ barn all one building.
The kids didn't go to bed until 10 even though it was a school night. They are planning their trip to Canada!
School finishes on Friday for the Munich students.
Today we did the hop on, hop off tour and now we sit in a beer garden where you bring your own food and buy a beer from them. It is in the middle of a huge market, olives, bread and fresh fruit galore. So we purchased a yummy German sandwich and appreciated just sitting and taking in the culture. Tonight we go to Ina's school music concert and tomorrow hit some museums that close on Monday.
We move on to Vienna on Wednesday.

At the end of the day....... Chuckling because of the children here at the dinner table, what fun after walking to Ina's performance, then to the supermarket to fill our day packs with travel food and contributions to tonight's dinner, another yummy meal ....pasta with gorgonzola, Grrek salad and melon with proscuito. The girls created milkshakes for dessert.

We finished our day watching Georg's incredible slide show of his diving trips to U455, the German submarine which had been hit by one of their own mines. No story told until recently, just that the submarine had disappeared. We also saw his dive photos to a sunken tankard.

July 26. A transit pass for the day, did a practice run to the train station for tomorrow, bus 17 to end of line then U 2 to the main train station.

Walked to a U station, off at Universitad and spent rest of morning in English Gardens.
Dave took great photos of surfers in the river, a special diversion of the waterway makes for lots of fun.
Came back early so we could grocery shop and cook dinner for the family. Everyone home by 7 so an early meal and a fun evening of photo sharing of their family trips to Turkey over the years as well as their ten month journey camping through. France, Italy, Sicily, Corsica, Istanbul and the rest of Turkey. They will return to visit their friends in Turkey the middle of August.
I loved seeing their family through the years, three wonderful children who have been given so many opportunities for travel, music, sports and extended family in the country.
We did not get to see Ingrid and Albert, Claudia's parents, this trip but from photos, they have not changed , still healthy smiling people.

English Gardens

surfing in the English Gardens

Off to Vienna this morning, spending five days with side trips to Budapest and a day on the Danube to Melk.