Günzburg and Legoland Germany

Legoland

A few months ago we asked our kids where they would go if they could go anywhere in Europe. I thought they night say "Paris" or "London". What was their answer? 

Legoland.

We looked at school and work schedules and found a few days where no one had to work or go to school. I booked the hotel, bought the train tickets and tickets to Legoland and then....

I said nothing.

A few days before our trip we told the boys we were going on a surprise trip. It wasn't until we stepped off the train (Minus one ipod touch to the great dismay of one boy) that the boys realized we were in Legoland territory.

Legoland is about 10 minutes outside of a beautiful town in Bavaria called Günzburg.

We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, as well as a holiday (Pentecost), so almost everything was closed. Of course, you can always find an ice cream cafe.

After a long day in several trains we relished to 2 kilometer walk to our hotel, the Hotel Goldener Löwe   (Golden Lion Hotel).

The next morning we caught the shuttle to Lego Land!

Here is a Do-It-Yourself ride where you have to help to pull yourself up and let yourself drift down.

Lego Adventureland was full of interesting creatures.

There was even a magic show. Again we were reminded of how tight laced we Americans can be. One bit of the show involved one of the magicians pulling down his pants because one of the women in the audience clapped a little too hard when he took off his vest. The magician below is about to throw his hat behind a table and pretend to put out the fine  - with his built in fire extinguisher. Really. Complete with a huge cloud of steam .... then for the finale, placing the extinguished hat on the head of an audience member.

Somehow, Lego Land imported the lost, sunken city of Atlantis, complete with sea life! 

The whole central area of the park is devoted to famous cities and sites made entirely out of legos. Everything is miniature, down to (live)trees and (blooming)flowers

Very popular with my boys was the Star wars section - again, completely made out of Legos.

This innocuous-looking ride seemed like it would be a relaxing end to our day. A little Lego train that goes in a circle. Kiddy ride, right?  Except that this train only travels at warp speed, mercilessly compressing your organs and the person next to you. And just when you think the misery is almost over it begins again, but this time it goes backwards.

Luckily, we were not rushing to the next restroom, but we did find the sign amusing.

Time to go, and on our way out we notice this Lego statue that we missed on our way in. This doesn't seem like something the owners of Legoland would joke about.

Back in Guunzburg we were ready to look for a place to eat dinner. We ran across this pair of Kiepenkerle.  These are people who wander city to city, generally by foot, doing odd jobs to make ends meet. We notice them occasionally, especially since there is a famous statue of a Kiepenkerl here in Münster. Their clothes are a type of uniform and the cane goes along with the job as well.

As we walked to the old part of the city, we took a detour to the Frauenkirche. Russell said it was supposed to be worth seeing. As we approached the church I must say I had my doubts as it was very plain on the outside. As soon as we stepped inside even my jaded children were awed.

If you ever go to Günzburg you must see this - you will not regret it.

We found a lovely German/Greek restaurant close enough to a fountain that we could finish our meal in peace as the boys played.

Walking back to our hotel, we saw this bewitching museum. Besenwelten - Broom World. Sadly, it is only open on Fridays.

We were almost back at the hotel when just happened to read a plaque we noticed on a church. (By the way, this church is only about 200 feet from our hotel and has a bell that rings every fifteen minutes, and ALL NIGHT LONG. Of course if the weather is cool, you can just keep the windows closed.)

In any case, this was one of those moments when history stares you down. The text says, "Zum Gedenken an den Fliegerangriff an 12.9.1944 auf Denzingen".

In English is means, "In remembrance of the bombing of Denzingen on September 12, 1944". There are reminders all around of the impact the wars had on the people who lied here. This one was especially sad because Denzingen is just a little farming dorf out in the middle of nowhere, but there was apparently a munitions train parked at Günzburg train station that made the area a target. For something that happened so long ago, tension still lies just under the skin of those who live here.

Panzer (Tank) Museum, the city of Celle and really cool water powered miniatures

Tanks  - and more Tanks

Not long before we began our German adventure, a friends mentioned that there was supposedly an extensive Tank Museum in Germany. At the time, one of our boys was very much a tank enthusiast. All year he has been waiting for this trip and we finally found time to do it. We had no idea what to expect out of this museum so we were surprised to see how huge it was. They had examples from the first tanks all the way to modern tanks. 

We called up our friends in Hannover and asked if they would like to go with us. Generous as always, they insisted on driving us to the museum and even prepared the Spring delicacy of Spargel (Asparagus).

Only about an hour from Hannover, we hopped on the Autobahn and were there in no time. 

Besides rooms full of tanks, the Museum was also filled with interesting historical items such as this (rather morbid) death Mask of Rommel.

All of the hundred or so tanks inside the building were "look with your eyes" kind of exhibits. The highlight of this tour  was an outside area with a tank that was free to climb in and around.

Our designated photographer snapped this shot of some sort of view finder within the tank.

We only had 2 hours to see everything in the museum. It would have been easy to spend a little more time, but they were pushing us out the door.

Once we finished our tour with a trip to the gift shop it was time to head back. Since there was no rush we stopped in the picturesque town of Celle. The day was a holiday so all of the stores were closed, except for a few restaurants and Ice cream parlors. 

As we were walking around we saw these restaurants, Steakhouse Indiana and Steakhouse Apache situated right next to each other. Huh.

On the way back to Hannover, 

Both of our children begged to be allowed to buy a souvenir. Both picked out the same tank. They could barely stand waiting till we reached Hannover and our friends home to put them together.

The next day we had a little time before we needed to leave for our train so we decided to  see the famous Wasserräder located near Hannover. A stream flows down the hill powering the mechanized miniatures. Many of the scenes were from German Fairy Tales.

Who can't resist riding a dragon?

Burg Hülshoff, May Day and Ice Cream

Spring has Sprung 

(allegedly) 

May has reached us here in Deutschland, but we are still waiting for the warmth!  None the less, the weather is a bit warmer so we finally took a (cool and rainy) Sunday morning bike ride to visit another castle we heard about.

Just a twenty minute bike ride away is this beautiful Castle -  Burg Hüslhoff. It is one of many castles and noble homes in the area. The famous Annette was born here.

As we walked around the gardens we saw these gigantic snails. Just after finding this one, our younger son started walking backwards along the path and learned the hard way that you have to look where you are going when the snails are out. Moments after taking his first step back we heard "crunch" and then a "eew".

The next day was the first of May, better known in Germany as "Tag der Arbeit" (day of work). May Day in Münster means PARTY! The lake near our apartment was encircled by picnickers with cart loads of beer and food.

The family groups hung out on the opposite side of the lake which was noticeably more peaceful. Below is not the family side. It is a picture of many drunk and full (of bratwurst)  people. Even though there were thousands of people, by 5 o'clock everyone was packed up and the trash was neatly piled up next to and against the over flowing trash bins.

Whether it is Spring, the height of Summer or a chilly Winter day, you will always see someone eating an ice cream here in Germany.  We have become some of those people! Once a week we walk to the Eis Cafe around the corner. The boys always get a cone with scoop of chocolate and a scoop of vanilla. I always share something delicious with my husband. Below are a few of the ice cream concoctions we have shared over the past several months with a tiramisu thrown in for fun.

Now that you are drooling, I can tell you that a German ice cream cafe has an unbelievable variety of ice cream and toppings. These Germans are not afraid to put anything on top of ice cream. If you ever have the luck to spend a little time in Germany, make sure you visit an Eis Cafe!

48 Hours in Berlin

Berlin in Under 48 hours!

With the boys schools starting Monday and University classes needing to be taught, we only had a weekend to squeeze in a trip to Berlin. Ok, so 48 hours is really not enough time, but sometimes you just have to take what you get.

My older son had an opportunity to stay in a Hostel at the beginning of the school year when his class had a week long trip to Wangerooge, an island in the North Sea.

In my mind, a trip to Europe would not be complete without a stay in a Hostel, so we tried it ourselves. My son was not thrilled at the prospect (there was no TV or pool), but the rest of us were thrilled.

I chose City Hostel Berin, which is in what was once East Berlin. Our room had 2 bunk beds, a small table and chairs, and a bathroom. The room was rather spartan, but it fulfilled all of our needs (except for a TV apparently). Breakfast the next morning was better than I expected. There was plenty of all the traditional German fixin's, including rolls, meat, cheese, boiled eggs, cold cereal, quark, and so on.

This profile is of the WW2 resistance fighter Gerog Elser. He died in Dachau after trying to assassinate Hitler.

Our first night in Berlin we reviewed a lesson we should have already learned. Do not buy/order Nachos in Germany. It is always disappointing. That red stuff down there is not salsa, it s marinara sauce! And that green stuff? It was not guacamole!

If you walk around in Berlin, you may see this little guy. He is the Ampel Man, and he was the crosswalk indicator in the East Germany.

Berlin is full of interesting and quirky bits of history. The picture below is of the Hotel Esplanade. Construction finished in 1908 and cost more to build than any other Hotel in Germany at the time. Much of it was destroyed in 1944/5. In 1996, it was moved about 800 feet and incorporated into the Sony Center at Potsdamer Platz.

Once our boys were asleep, we walked to Brandenburg Gate to see the night time effect. If you ever get to Berlin, take the time to see it at night.

The next morning we dragged our boys out of bed and followed the path we walked the night before. Most of the tourist sites we saw are very close to where the city was divided. Pretty much all of the Berlin Wall has been torn down, but bricks mark where it once stood.

One of our first stops was the Reichstag. This is where the German parliament meets, and you can walk up inside the glass dome. There is no cost to see the inside, but you do have to reserve a pass several days in advance. Some people bypass the hassle of waiting in line by reserving a table at the restaurant. However, from what I could gather from online reviews, the food was pretty bad and over priced so we just skipped it.

After walking around a bit on our own, we walked back to the Brandenburg Gate to wait for the free walking tour of Berlin we had signed up for. If you have a limited time in Berlin, this is a good way to see many of the highlights. The tour was three hours long and we walked just about the whole time. The guides are paid with tips, so you only pay what you deem it was worth.

A little way through our tour we sat for a few minutes at the Holocaust Memorial, seen below.

The Bear is depicted on the Berlin coat of arms, but it more famous as the mascot of the city. You find these "Buddy Bears" scattered around the city.

Checkpoint Charlie was important because this is where the Foreigners and Allied forces could cross between the East and West. It was considered more accessible since it was controlled by Allies as well. The Berliners tore it down when the wall fell, but rebuilt it after they figured out it would be a good tourist attraction.

Halfway through our tour we stopped for a pick me up. We opted for (a rather expensive) hot chocolate. The novelty of it made up for the cost. At least that is what I keep telling myself. It was a cup of steamed milk to which you added chocolate chips to make it chocolaty.

As we made our way to Museum island, where our tour ended, we passed this art installation dedicated to mothers who had lost children in wars.

Buskers are very common in every bigger city we have visited. We have never seen an Organ man with a live monkey, but a stuffed monkey is common, although missing here.

Even though this building, the Berliner Dom looks like it would be really old, and it is. The first building was erected in 1452. It is beautiful and on nice days people pack a picnic and spend the afternoon here.

And to end, just a note about the Trabant, AKA the Trabi. West Germany had the Volkswagen Beetle. The Trabant, with its 2 stroke engine was the pride and glory of those in the East. It was cheap and easy to repair, so I suppose it met the needs of those who could save up enough money to eventually buy one!

If you go to Berlin, you will probably see a line of these cars out on a car tour, or a Trabi Safari. To this day, the Trabi instills warm fuzzies to ... someone.

Bis nächste Woche!