Munich

When we visit unfamiliar cities or towns of any size we like to take a tour to see if any section or streets appeals to us. Since we’ve been in Europe the “City Tours-Hop-on-Hop-Off” have been perfect. So on our initial trip into Munich, Barb found out where that tour company starts their tours and we took the train to the city center. The tour cost about $23 each but we were entitled to three tours and an English audio tour. The bus showed us Nymphenburg Palace, Olympic Park, the English Garden, the historic Old Town, Odeonsplatz and many others, about 19 specific places and general information about Munich. Our strategy is to take one full route, identify potential places of interest and take the next bus to those locations at no additional cost. We were directed to a bus immediately across the street from the bus tour building so we hopped on and listened to the stories and information and saw a clean, beautiful and vibrant city. I made some notes on the tour map of places that might be fun to go back to.  After the first tour, nine points of interest, we decided to eat some authentic German food. We didn’t want to walk too far so we could get on the next route. Looking around we saw a Subway, a sign that indicated what was probably Lebanese cuisine, the Best Kebabs & Pizza in Munich, Ruff’s Burger and Taco Libre. Plenty of delicious looking ethnic food but no sign of any German fare. We opted for Taco Libre and split a carbonated lime drink and a scrumptious quesadilla for about $10.50. Disappointed but definitely satisfied.

The pedestrian area at Marienplatz

We saw the bus for the next tour and hopped on, plugged in our earphones and enjoyed the next sites. I had a couple of places marked on my map as we headed to the last stop before getting back to our starting point, Marienplatz. There was a very large pedestrian area busy with people walking and sitting under umbrellas in front of restaurants and cafes. We also saw a few German cuisine restaurants so I looked at Barb and we both agreed this was our stop. As we got off the bus Barb said the Viktualienmarkt, outdoor market, was in this area. We headed for what looked to be a bar with the front sliding doors wide open to a few tables in front looking onto the pedestrian area. As our luck would have it we were in a restaurant/bar that serves beer from the Paulaner brewery. I ordered a pilsner and Barb ordered a similar beer called the Furstenburg, she had to for our friend Ryan Furstenberg. As we drank the beer Barb turned on her cellular trying to locate the market and deduced it must be behind the huge building across the walkway and talked about making our way over there, after finishing our second beer.


As dinner time was upon us we went to one of the first German restaurants. It was busy with diners all sitting at long tables. With no hostess, find seats, ask if those spots are available and sit down. The harried smiling waitress rushed to our table and asked if we would like the English menu. She came back with it showing each item has a three digit number, placed a small pad and pen on the table and asked if we would write down our selection and she would be most grateful.


In short order we had our beers and no sooner toasted to our good fortune when the food was brought to the table, a plate of sauerkraut, boiled potatoes and five small “vurst” of different types and a basket of pretzels. The food was exactly what we wanted and it didn’t disappoint.

Rathaus-Glockenspiel

As we left the restaurant Barb pointed straight ahead of us across the pedestrian walkway and said the market should be somewhere in that direction. There were businesses and many people to our left and an old building to our right. We headed toward the right. We passed through some arches into a huge courtyard surrounded by large building one being the Rathaus-Glockenspiel. The building dates back to 1908 and every day at 1100 and 1300, dolls high up on the building, reenacts dances in tribute to a 16^th century Duke with a dance of hope and encouragement. There were many people and businesses and we saw the stairs for our train home. We meandered around down one street and another looking at people and the different stores. As we turned one corner we noticed tops of tents across the street from us. Barb said, correctly, “I think that is the market.” Although we had no idea exactly how we got there it turns out it was exactly on the other side of the building Barb initially indicated.
The market was quite large with many tents of merchants selling wine, cheese, flowers, produce, prepared foods from sushi to brats and beer. In the center of the market were huge chestnut trees and dozens of picnic tables with the backs of each bench seat abutted against the one behind it with rows in between sections of the benches.

The beer garden

I went to a small booth with the sign “Bier”. The building may have been 10’X15’ with a small gate and turnstile to direct the flow of customers. All the signs were in German but I was able to understand “.51 L ‎€ 3.9” over the first window and “1 L ‎€7.6” over the second. It wasn’t difficult because on the counter were glasses of beer of two different sizes. I picked up two of the half liter and moved to the third window with the man with a wooden change box on the counter quite worn from sliding change coins out for the many customers. He spoke to me in German, I handed him the ‎€ 10 he passed me my change and said “Danka”. There was always a line there every time we went to the market, sometimes with 8 people sometimes with 20, but it never took more than a few minutes before I walked away with my beer.


I found Barb at the table sitting next to some people with a scrumptious plate of food. We toasted to our good fortune and took a sip. There were hundreds of people sitting in and around the picnic tables, old, young, some dressed fancy, mostly dressed casually. Some had their meals served to them from the surrounding merchants, others brought Tupperware filled containers or pulled from plastic bags bought from a market merchant but almost everyone seemed to have beer. We loved it!

The beer festival

On one of our visits to the Viktualienmarkt beer garden, we sat next to a couple from Munich. Wolfgang and his wife lived near Viktualienmarkt and came to the market about 3 times a week. Over beers we talked history, politics, Germany and the US. They asked if we would like to go to a Wine festival. Of course! So the 4 of us left the beer garden for a short walk to the wine festival. The festival was packed. Wolfgang turned to us and asked if a beer festival would do. Of course! We took a bus and ended up under the famous Angel of Peace to a wonderful festival. More beer, German music, a good sized pretzel and we were enjoying the festivities. When it was time to go, Wolfgang and his wife accompanied us back to the train station. We said our goodbyes and headed back “home”.

To see more of our photos from Munich, click here for Barb's photo's.

Cheers!
John

Little Bear

We arrived in Munich at the main train station. Anna, our homeowner and Mom to Bear, met us. As we drove through the city, Anna pointed out several areas of interests. We were excited to explore Munich!

We arrived at Anna and Mat's home. It is a modern home in the suburbs of Munich. As we started up the stairs to drop off our backpacks in our room, we met Bear on the second floor. Bear is a petite, black kitty. She immediately came over to greet us and I immediately fell in love! Bear has a mild form of Hydrocephalus. Commonly known as water on the brain, Bear sometimes wobbles and loses balance, however, this actually makes her so endearing. She has the sweetest little meow and is just very affectionate.

That night, Anna and her husband Mat took us out for a traditional Bavarian dinner. The restaurant was right in the neighborhood and a nice stroll from the house. I had pork tenderloin and spaetzle, John had schnitzel with roasted potatoes. We ended up eating leftovers for the next 2 days! Wonderful!

The next morning Anna and Mat left on their motorbike for eastern Europe. John and I took the next 3 days to relax and spend time with Bear so she was comfortable with us and got used to us staying in her house. We all got along wonderfully!

We had 2 weeks in Munich and alternated days between staying at the house and venturing into the city. We'll have a post about the sights and sounds of Munich.

Bear was a delight to take care of. She took her beauty naps in the afternoon and in the evenings, John and I would play cards at the dining table while Bear would run up and down the stairs (yes, she may wobble but she is a streak going up and down the stairs!) and venture outside to the patio, always stopping over to the table for pets and scratches.

We had a wonderful time at Anna and Mat's. I'd like to think we made new friends who we would love to see again. That is the great thing about pet sitting, meeting wonderful people and experiencing different cultures.

Cheers!
Barb

Westerplatte

In 1939, 205 Polish defenders on the tiny peninsula of Westerplatte held off about 2600 Germans who attacked them from land, sea and air.

This was the invasion of Poland by Adolf Hitler and ignited World War II.

Guardhouse 1

 At 4:45 AM on September 1, 1939, the Germans opened fire on Westerplatte. The Germans initially thought this "skirmish" would be over in less than an hour. The Polish army was under orders to hold out for twelve hours until they were relieved, but relief never came. The Germans learned on day 1 how determined the Polish army was to maintain their ground at Westerplatte. The German marines attacked 4 times but failed to break through to the circle of reinforced guardhouses. 

Barracks

Over the next 6 days the Polish army held out at Westerplatte. Meanwhile Hitler invaded Poland in the north, south and west. On September 7, having fought for seven days against enormous odds, the Polish army surrendered.  Surprised at how few defenders there were, the German soldiers saluted them as they marched out into captivity and German General Eberhardt allowed Polish commander Major Sucharski to keep his saber, an extraordinary show of respect. 

Guardhouse 1

Westerplatte is now a memorial. Guardhouse 1, which was the key point of defence against the Germans  is intact with 2 shells from a Schleswig-Holstein ironically propping up the entrance. The inside provides representations of the interior.  The barracks is also "standing", reinforced so that visitors can tour the ruble. There are memorials to the soldiers that fought and died. It is well laid out and well worth of short trip from Gdansk (formally Danzig) to visit Westerplatte.

You can see more of my photos from Westerplatte here.

Barb

Gdansk

John and I had a few days in between sits. We looked at the map of Europe and cheap plane fares. We wanted to go somewhere different, somewhere "exotic" (well, at least to us).  We settled on Gdansk Poland. Neither of us knew anyone that ever visited Poland. Neither of us had ever even thought of visiting Poland. The town of Gdansk sounded inviting and it was a fairly cheap flight from Edinburgh. So off we went!

We arrived in the Gdansk airport around 9:30pm. Most signs were in English which was most helpful! John and I learned 5 or 6 key words in polish so we could at least communicate a bit. My Uber was not working (long story there for another time) so we grabbed a taxi. I showed the driver the hotel address and between her broken english and our polish we arrived at our hotel in good time.

Our hotel was situated on a busy street. Directly across the street was a huge ferris wheel. There were cafes with outdoor seating lined up and down the road. The street was packed with people.

We walked into the lobby and were greeted by name! The hotel employee stated she likes to know everyone that is arriving. We were given a quint little room with all the mod-cons (European for modern amenities). The windows, looking onto the street and ferris wheel, were large and opened in. There was a ledge that you could sit on and enjoy the view.

The first night we didn't get much sleep as the tourists and locals were partying it up until daybreak. We got up and decided to have lunch at a milk bar. A milk bar is a cafeteria style restaurant held over from the communist days of Poland. Authentic polish food. We made the 4/10 of a mile walk over to a popular milk bar. On our walk we passed over the harbor, past beautiful churches, cafes and shops. Lunch was great! Potatoes, cabbage and pork. After lunch we strolled the streets until we came upon one street that was much busier than all the rest - Long Street in Old Town.

Long street is lined up and down with outdoor cafes. There are buskers and tourists eating ice cream. Ice cream seems to be the big hit in Gdnask, everyone strolls along with a cone or a waffle topped with ice cream or just cream and fruit. We spent the afternoon on Long Street, people watching and partaking in drinks.

As we headed down Long Street to find our way back to the hotel, things started to look familiar. As we passed through a small tunnel we realized that we were staying on Long Street! This was great! We were in the heart of Gdansk!

That night we didn't get much sleep as the tourists and locals were partying it up until daybreak.

The next 2 days were spent exploring Gdansk. So many cafes, so many desserts and the milk bar! We discovered that there was an excellent milk bar just doors down from our hotel! We ate there every day for the next 3 days. We also tried street food, we picked smoked cheese cooked up and served with cranberries, delicious! We toured Westerplatte, the sight of the German invasion into Poland that started World War 2. We'll have a post about that shortly.

Those next 3 nights we didn't get much sleep as the tourists and locals were partying it up until daybreak.

We left Gdnask by train heading to Berlin where we would stay overnight to catch a train the next morning to our sit in Munich.

We loved Gdansk and highly recommend it. Speaking polish would be helpful but not necessary as you can get most menus in english and people do speak some english.

You can see many more of my pictures of Gdansk here.

Cheers!
Barb

Stockbridge Market

While sitting in a restaurant in downtown Edinburgh, our server engage us in conversation when she found out we were visiting. We were lucky enough to get a few tips from her of must see's and do's. One of them being Stockbridge Market.

Stockbridge Market is held on every Sunday. It was an easy bus ride from our flat and we were not disappointed! The food vendors were incredible and the energy of everyone partaking in food, browsing the merchandise and just socializing was contagious. We loved it the first Sunday we went that we went back again the next week. If we hadn't been leaving Edinburgh I think we would have continued to go every Sunday.

Our favorite food? Gyokas, served with a soy like sauce. They are a bit like pot stickers filled with pork. We ate them each week. We sampled several items and took home meat pies of  potatoes and venison and wild game.








You can find more pictures from the Stockbridge Market here.

Life with Phillip The Cat

Phillip The Cat

In the UK, the sky starts to brighten around 3:30 AM. It's crazy. We have been staying in Edinburgh Scotland for almost 3 weeks now. If you have read any of our previous posts, you know how much we love Edinburgh. An extra bonus of staying in Edinburgh, we get to live with Phillip The Cat.

Phillip is a handsome chap as you can see from his photos. Phillip was shy at first and it took a good few days before he would allow us to pet him. Now, we are all great buddies! As all cats do, Phillip has personality and quirks, which brings me back to the 3:30 AM mention. Phillip likes to eat breakfast while watching the sun come up. Phillip is also very vocal. As his Mom Fiona told us, Phillip likes to announce everything he is doing or about to do. So most mornings Phillip likes to let us know that he needs breakfast served as the sun is about to come up. This can happen anywhere from 3:45 AM to 6:00 AM. Now you may think that this would annoy us to no end but it doesn't. Fiona has created such a wonderful space to relax that we usually just get up, feed Phillip and fall back asleep. Plus, we really love Phillip!

At first, when Phillip was unsure of who these strangers were in his house, he would silently stalk us. I woke one morning to Phillip sitting in the doorway, watching me sleep. Creepy!

He stole a chicken leg off the kitchen counter one night. He heard John coming into the kitchen and he ran off with his guilt before he could taste the chicken. We are now on to him and he knows it. 😊

He loves head rubs and Dreamies. Dreamies are Europe's version of cat treats.

Fiona has a great, little flat. She has furnished it with wonderful, quirky pieces of artwork and made it a place you are comfortable in. The location of her flat is ideal. Leith is a part of Edinburgh. Leith has wonderful restaurants and pubs, all within walking distance of the flat. The bus stop is literally right in front of the flat and will take us anywhere in Edinburgh.

We have a little over a week left in Edinburgh. Although we will be traveling to many great cities, we will miss the energy, people, places, and a cat, of Edinburgh.

Cheers from Edinburgh!
Barb

Sunday Music at Carriers Quarters

Barb and I found a bar we like and it is only a five minute walk from our Sit, it is called The Carriers Quarters. 

On our initial visit, there was a black dog in the entrance way looking up and down the street as though he was waiting for someone. We patted him on the head and strolled up to the bar. The room may have been about 13’ X 13’ with a bar to the left of the entrance with seven bar stools and a bench along the wall parallel to the bar with four tables and a chair at each. 

There was one man in his 30’s at the bar just behind the entrance with his bar stool blocking the passage of an old golden retriever from venturing out into the bar. There was a second man beside him at the end of the bar. There was no bartender so we looked over the beer and gin selections thinking the bartender was in the back. After just a few minutes the man blocking the golden, standing on the bar stools bottom rung, leaned over the bar and yelled,

“Customers are here!”. 
A muffled voice came from behind the bar something to the effect of “I’m coming”. 
The man retorted with, “So is Christmas.”

In a few moments, a woman walked up steps from below and behind the bar until she stood midway between the length of the bar, she reached forward pulling a door closed over the steps down under the bar. She smiled and I asked for a Williams’ Joker IPA and Barb requested a Hendricks gin and tonic.

We walked the few feet to one of four tables sitting in front of a cushioned bench along the entire wall with one seat opposite the bench. We enjoyed our drinks and watched the interaction between the bartender, Hannah, and the two younger men talking with two much older men at the other end of the nine foot bar. It was difficult to understand much of what they said because when the locals talk among themselves their pace of speech and choice of slang is not easily understood. They talked for almost 45 minutes before the older men wished them a good day, giving us a nod, and left. Shortly after that the two other men gathered their dogs and departed as well.

We talked briefly with Hannah and after telling her would be in town for about a month she suggested we come back on Sunday for the music in the back. We told her we enjoyed going to shows and might take her up on the suggestion. I looked down a hall to where I assumed the bathrooms were and noticed a room at the end of the short hall with tables chairs and couches. On the wall above the bar a chalkboard listed “hand pies £2 2-4p”, “Music Sundays 6:30-8:30”. I made a calendar entry so I would be less likely to forget.

On Sunday morning we discussed our plans for the day and agreed we would like to walk to The Carriers Quarters around 17:45 to get a good seat for the music. We arrived earlier than we intended so we sat in the same seats as our initial visit with our drinks. That section of the bar was almost full, 11 people at the bar or at tables. As we were close to finishing our drink I noticed a young man and woman order a couple of drinks and walked down the hallway and around that time Barb pointed out a man coming into the bar with a guitar case so we thought it was time to claim a seat.

The room was small, perhaps the same size as the bar room, with about two dozen places to sit and two green leather couches along the far side of the room along the entire wall. We opted for a table in the far corner with Barb taking the bench and I sat in a chair. The band consisted of three men in their late forties with a bass guitar, acoustical guitar and a saxophone. They tipped the couches on their end and leaned them both against the opposite walls to make way for their two 2’X3’ speakers. By then people began to fill up the seats with a group of young ladies in their 20’s taking tables and chairs in the center of the room. One of them had a milar balloon with “WE’RE GOING TO MISS YOU” on it. She was moving away to London. A group of eight young men occupied a few tables and seats in the front of the room in the area just as you enter the room. Then immediately in front of that group were four older men probably in their 50’s. The couple I noticed earlier were a few seats in front of us toward the stage. Three older men asked if they could sit on the bench beside Barb so that meant all the seats in the room were occupied.

Considering the equipment for a three man band, compared to the size of the room, we were sure it was not going to be the intimate acoustic guitar and singing we anticipated. The crowd was mixed ages so we didn’t think it was going to be a heavy metal show either. But the room was full and the groups talked easily between themselves and the tables always seemed to have full and empty glasses of beer or wine and it was enjoyable just being there.

I guess it was around 18:30 because the band started to play a familiar tune and the singer started with,

"Well I guess it would be nice

If I could touch your body

I know not everybody 

Has got a body like you"

Some talking continued but several people were singing along with the George Michael tune and by the end most of the room was participating. They played two sets covering popular songs and as the first set ended there were more singers than separate conversations but each competed and the room got louder and louder.

The young couple I first noticed were on their second bottle of wine and the men next to us were on their third and fourth rounds. I only noticed a few faces disappear but the room maintained full capacity with several people standing in the remaining spaces. There was no table service so it was tricky maneuvering between the people and chairs to get back to the bar but I managed it successfully a few times.

The second set started and most of the room was singing along with the songs and before we expected the singer thanked everyone and their playing time was over. Then the crowd all stood imploring them, “1 MORE SONG, 1 MORE SONG….”.

Immediately after that song concluded the room emptied, some to the bar but most left for home or their next stop. It was about 21:00 and we decided to get some dinner so we left feeling pretty good from the beer and drinks, listening to familiar tunes but mainly from being in a room full of people enjoying a couple of fun hours. 

We plan on returning next Sunday.  

Cheers from Edinburgh!
John