Traveling pt.2 - Germany

Well, we've arrived into 2018. Hopefully, at least on a personal level, we're all better for it.

I've been toiling away, scheming for some big things this year. Nothing in stone yet, but a lot to be excited for. But that's for another time and another post... first I'd like to finish my recap of my trip. This time I'll do more pictures and less writing, as that's the pics are the best part anyways. (and because I took way more pictures in Germany than I did in Iceland... the benefit of not being in a constant frozen haze)

We began in Regensburg (actually we flew into Munich, but with no time to take in any sights.)

look, not EVERY car is a VW or Mercedes... but I think this picture represents the market share nicely

When it comes to poor choices I made, this is the worst. Ewww...why Pepsi

A bike shop that was sadly closed (it was Sunday) with a couple of World Champion Jerseys in the window... interesting!

A BMW, Volkswagen, Audi, Mercedes, Vespa and an Opel in one picture... if that's not Euro I dunno what is.

The oldest coffee shop in Germany (or so I was told) I sadly didn't have time to sample it.

The boat doesn't sit still long though, and we were quickly getting carted off to the next destination, Nuremberg. I didn't get many pictures here, because we spent the majority of the time inside museums. A very interesting city I wish we had gotten a chance to explore properly.

The Christmas markets were being hastily constructed during our visit. 

A little down time requires sampling as much fine kafe as possible.

It's hard to believe how hastily the Nazi's constructed things. Much of it, despite an outward show of beauty and strength, is falling apart. Perhaps irony isn't lost on the universe.

Our next stop was Bamberg. This was my favorite town that we got to visit. Truly a beautiful place with a ton of history.

I thought this was such a neat view of how the city was built onto itself.

Again, really cool

I wish I knew what exactly this was, but I was trying to get a picture without being murdered by vehicle and didn't pay quite close enough attention to our guide.

My favorite picture. Man, this is almost like a painting.

No blog post complete without a food picture. At the home of the Rauchbier (smoked beer) everything was awesome, although the side of potatoes seemed slightly out of place. (good thing I love some potatoes)

Next up it was Wurzburg, where we toured the Residenz. It reminded me, honestly, of a mix between Biltmore and Graceland. (Of course this has been here much, much longer than either of those) Unfortunately no pictures allowed inside, so I snagged one off of google of the amazing ceiling painting.

I'd love to see it in the summer, when everything is blooming.

Quite the gardens

The carriage loading and unloading zone (which extends to inside the residenz) makes a fine parking lot as well.

Thanks google! It's like you were there!

I was a little bit of an artist (I don't want to offend the real artists) in a past life, so I really loved the work that had been put into the Residenz.

I'm kind of muddled, I think our next destination was Heidelberg... the "college town" as it were.
Unfortunately, our touring of the castle was shortened due to our travel plans changing last minute (as in, the river flooded and we got kicked off our boat) so there was not much time to explore the town and all it had to offer. It was my wife's favorite town.

Outside the Heidelberg castle at dusk 

seriously, that's a big barrel of booze

The city from atop the castle

and another view of the river

The final stop on our journey was Frankfurt, which, at the end of the day was a nice way to end our trip. We had seen lots of Bavaria, which is a more historic part of Germany, and the last day we could spend in what's essentially "modern" Germany. Nonetheless, the "Christmas Markets" that had eluded us the rest of our trip were finally open, and so we spent a good amount of the day shuffling through them looking for presents to bring home. (I was told just buying a box or two of kindereggs was not sufficient)

Christmas market, open!

Another view of the Christmas Market, tons of business springs up seemingly out of nowhere.

On a random side street sunglasses shop I found this in the window. I wonder if the owner knew the significance of Indurains Pinarello hour bike, or if he just thought it looked cool.

Inside a mall we found this impressive Lego sculpture.

The Opera house at night!

View from our hotel room of the city.

Frankfurt is a big city, and for the most part, one big city is like all big cities that I've been to. Nonetheless, it had a certain charm about it (at least in the area's we stayed) that was a little friendlier than the US.


Our cruise, despite running into trouble due to flooding, was a great way to see a lot of countryside in a trip. Being able to cover distance from one town to the next while you sleep/eat/etc is awesome, and I became keenly aware of us the last two days when it was taken away. The flip side of the coin is that you are always keenly aware of the time when traveling like this... so to sit around and just enjoy something you found interesting is sometimes impossible.  I'm not sure what, if any compromise exists, but overall I thought the experience on the ship (a Vantage if that's of any interest) was a mostly positive one.  When we return to Bavaria however, I think it will be in a more traditional way.

Thanks for checking out my blog, whether you found it by accident or are a follower (I know you exist) We're going back to normal schedule for the next post, don't worry. I've got some reviews and how to's that just need editing. I've also got that "big news" that I'll have to let out of the bag pretty soon, so that's exciting. Until then, I really appreciate your time!

-Christopher Morelock