european vacation

2014 Munich /  by Michael Durr

Munich Arrival in Munich was again seamless. It was different being in a more commercialized city. We took an easy cab ride to our place, which was in a great centralized location. However, it was surrounded by construction which proved to be a bit of an annoyance at 7am every morning. I would still take the great location over the noise.

It was raining pretty steadily when we left Garmisch, but it cleared up as came into Munich. After we dropped off our things, we went for a walk around town. We saw the Glockenspiel and some beautiful old buildings and sculptures. After a bit of walking, we found ourselves at the Hofbrauhaus. It was just as I imagined it would be, huge, loud, and the beer was flowing.

We sat at a table with a few people and the table adjacent to ours was filled with some classic looking, older gents in full German attire. About one liter into the evening, two young girls sat down with us. They were both locals and were celebrating one’s departure for New York to study electrical engineering. They were very knowledgeable of the area and fun to talk with. I inquired about the men sitting next to us and she confirmed that they were indeed the real deal. They come dressed up every week in classic German attire. It was basically a man-date. I noticed the steins they were drinking out of and the girl told me that those are earned after drinking a certain amount of beers. Obviously, I had to buy one for myself after hearing that. We stayed longer than we thought we would and ended up back at our place to crash

The next morning was beautiful. Breakfast was laid out for us on the second floor and provided some good nourishment for Mike's Bike Tour. The bike tour was a blast! Our guide was from Australia and he was hysterical. We met several people on the tour and even a couple from the Chicago area. Small world. We met another family from North Carolina, a couple from Australia, and another from Richmond, Virginia. Everyone was super nice and the tour was very informative and fun. Lunch was interesting with liter beers and ribs. Not the best meal of choice when talking with a bunch of people, but the BBQ sauce more than made up for it. We continued our trek through the city, received some great advice on the places to see and the places to avoid.

After the tour, we ended up grabbing beers with the two couples and our tour guide. It was a lot of fun to just chat and hear about everyone's journey. Afterward, we ended up planning to go see the Oktoberfest grounds with Jared and Leigh from Richmond. It was an interesting experience trying to interpret Munich’s train system and heading across town with them. We even grabbed dinner at Keller Biergarden which was a spectacular place near the Oktoberfest grounds. We walked through the inside and scoped out the underground seating area. It was basically a giant brick cellar where they used to keep the beer cool. It was super crowded, so we decided outside was the place to be.

The next morning and the last full day in Germany was a wet one. It rained the entire day. We still ventured out to Olympic Park via train and it was cool to see, but we both were cold and wet after just a few minutes. We went into BMW World and scoped out some of the cars and exhibits. We even saw a motorcycle demonstration where the dude climbed the stairs and skidded around.

From there we decided to go back home and get dry and then we went back out to the Volksbad. It's an old pool with a sauna and it sounded like an amazing idea, but when we got out there we found it was closed for renovation. It didn't stop us from eating lunch in the cafe there though. After lunch, it was a journey back home again. Lindsay took a nap and I tended to some business online. By this time, it was already 5pm so we headed out to the local market and grabbed a drink. We also climbed the stairs of St. Peter's Church for an amazing view of the city. By this time, it had stopped raining.

There was a big street festival going on in the square and all the stores were open until midnight. They are usually obligated to close by 8pm so it was a big deal. We had dinner at Augustiner on the Plaza and then caught the best band ever performing in the square. JJ, Mina, and Yohan. Amazing – ask to see the videos. Lindsay could not stop laughing. We capped off the night with a street beer and headed to bed for our last night in Europe.

The last day began with another great breakfast of meat, eggs, cheese and the most delicious coffee cake. We packed up and walked around town. There was a costume store we stumbled into and contemplated getting our Halloween costumes, but decided online would be better for us. We also came upon St. Michael's church another amazing and elaborate work of art. We grabbed our last German pastries (Lindsay’s was stuffed with Nutella, of course) and headed towards the train to the airport – sad to leave, but ready to be home in our city.

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It was a whirlwind tour. Let the planning begin for the next trip.

2014 Garmisch Partenkirchen /  by Michael Durr

Garmisch-Partenkirchenand the Castle Region

The next day was primarily traveling. We were up early and had time for a Sunday morning bike ride along the river in Salzburg, the town was very peaceful and even the air seemed to have a calming effect. Afterward, we made our way to the train. The journey was about five hours in total with a quick layover in Innsbruck. We had first class seats and access to the OBB Club. (Thank you, wifey! More gummy bears and nuts for us.) The trip itself was beautiful, winding through the valleys and along the steep cliffs. We arrived in Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the early evening and we walked around a bit and had dinner. It was a pretty low key evening as most of the stuff in town was closed and we had to be up early for our Bavarian castle tour the next morning.

The morning began with a picturesque breakfast at our place. We went down stairs and the sun was peeking through the door and there was a spread of meats, cheeses, rolls, fruit, and sweets. We ate outside on the little patio and our amazing hostess, Monika, brought us tea and a crepe. It was a great way to start a perfect day.

We walked to pick up the car and Lindsay opted for the stick shift (because it was cheaper!). It was a challenge getting up the parking ramp, but once she did, she was a pro. We began an incredibly scenic drive through Bavaria and arrived at the castles. They were majestic looking from the lake view. It was like looking up at a painting.

The weather was perfect. Big white clouds in the sky, warmth from the sun and fresh air made the experience that much more enjoyable. We had an amazing lunch at King Ludwig's and made our way to Hohenschwangau, the first castle of the day. After the tour, we were able to wander the grounds and eventually walked back down and ventured (meaning we hiked about a half hour straight uphill) to the next castle Neuschwanstein. It was even more extravagant then the first castle and the history of the castle was quite amazing. It turned out King Ludwig only lived in the castle for 172 days before he was declared “mentally unfit” and mysteriously drowned three days later in a lake with his psychiatrist. To this day, no one knows if it was suicide or murder.

After his death, construction was halted and almost immediately the castle became a museum. There are two whole floors of the castle that weren’t even finished. There were some amazing artifacts in the castle and the one I found the most fascinating was the king's bed. It took fourteen craftsman seven years to carve a Gothic style church into the top of the four post bed. Insane! All the rooms that were completed were beautiful. King Ludwig was obsessed with Richard Wagner, so many of the rooms have intricate painting depicting different opera’s that he had written. Lindsay's favorite was the grand hall where they held musical performances. The chandelier and unique ceiling made it fit for a king. I also found the throne room to be amazing. A four ton brass chandelier and marble staircase leading to the throne were incredible feats for the time. The interesting thing was that there wasn't an actual throne because it had not been completed before King Ludwig died.

After the tour, we did a "short" hike to get the classic view of the castle. We arrived at a bridge jammed packed with tourists and Lindsay almost tossed an Asian guy off the side. Don’t ask. She also noticed people past the bridge looking down on the castle from a steep, rocky vantage point. So, we began a rather difficult hike upward. Eventually, we were alone with a spectacular view of the castle and the amazing landscape and a bit of breathing room from the other tourists. Carefully, we made our way down and opted for the bus ride back to the parking lot. We were tired and the bus ride was a nice recharge.

At this point, the weather was even more perfect as the sun got lower and showered an orange glow over the landscape. We drove the Romantic Road back to town with a few stops for photo ops and a place where Lindsay could dip her feet in the lake. It was the most scenic drive I have ever been on.

Exhausted and hungry we dropped off the car and had an amazing dinner. Mmmmm…pork loin with apples & cabbage and dumplings. After dinner, we sucked it up and wanted one more beer. We went into another place and sat at a bar where we met Brian and Sarah. They were Americans currently living in Slovenia, but on business in Garmisch. Brian was in the military and is in training to be an American Military Attaché. They were incredibly nice and it was fascinating to hear about his job. We even joined them at a large table while they had their dinner.

The next morning, we had another delightful breakfast. We decided to ditch the rental car and get bikes for the day. The rental guy was a classic biker guy who resembled a young Dolf Lundgren. He gave us good directions, but failed to warn us how difficult the ride would end up being. We road through the valley for awhile and it began to rain. Eventually, it was so hard we had to take shelter in a wood chip hut. It was actually pretty cool.

When the rain let up, we continued our journey to Zugspitze (the highest peak in Germany). After some trying times on the trail, we (finally) arrived at Eibesee where we bought our extremely expensive (and overpriced) tickets up to the Zugspitze.

The cable car ride up was gorgeous until we got near the top and all we could see is a light shade of grey due to being stuck in a cloud. We had lunch atop the mountain and I was let down (grouchy) that we made it all the way up (and paid good money for it, too) and weren't going to see anything.

In any event, I took a scary hike to the actual summit. Lindsay stayed back to take a photo of me. I could have been four feet off the ground, but in reality it was 2950 meters high. Once I returned, we decided to go back down. We had already scanned our ticket to the cable car when I noticed some mountains through the window. I thought it was a reflection of one of the many panoramic images inside, but then realized it was clearing. We were technically stuck because we already scanned our ticket and walked through the turnstile. After some convincing, we jumped back over and went back outside and it was like heaven's gate had opened. Rolling white clouds, sun light, and an incredible landscape on all sides. We even could see the lake at the bottom of the mountain. I was giddy with excitement. Eventually, we took the train through the mountain to get back to our bikes.

From there, it was a much easier coast back to town – all downhill. It rained a bit, but not enough to slow us down. We even saw a light rainbow in the valley. The ride was gorgeous and we made it back to town in time to return our bikes then walked to dinner. We went Italian this time and had an amazing pizza and a calzone. Grabbed one more for the ditch at Pub 33 and walked back home.

Relaxation and sleepy time.

2014 Hallstatt /  by Michael Durr

As I sat on the train from Hallstatt, I could not help but wonder if I would ever be back. The place is straight out of a storybook. The amazing landscape and historic buildings are like nothing I have ever seen. When we arrived it was raining, but it created a majestic environment and an epic introduction to the town. From the train, we boarded a small ferry that took us across the lake.

We stayed at the Braugasthof, which, at one point in time, was a brewery and now serves as a restaurant and guest house. We made our way up the winding, creaking stairwell and found our room. The room was as quaint as the town with a breathtaking view of the lake and mountains.

The food in Hallstatt was amazing. We dined on soups, stews and red wine - which complimented the cold and rainy conditions. We weren't complaining. The rain was not like Chicago rain. It was more of a mist and made the restaurants and warm shops even more inviting.

The town shops closed around 6pm, so after a delicious dinner we made our way back to our room and watched The Neighbors on the laptop. I know, not all that romantic, but we enjoyed it and needed the laugh.

The next morning, I was excited for some non-rainy photos. I woke up at 6am and went on a walk while Lindsay slept. I walked for an hour or so and stumbled upon a beautiful little park along the lake. It wasn't raining, but looked like it could start at any minute. When I returned, I found myself back in bed and ended up sleeping for another hour or so. The sound of rain drops, light chatter, and the brisk temperature made sleeping in the perfect thing to do.

After a traditional breakfast of meat, cheese & bread, we suited up and headed up to the salt mine. They had a very cool lift – a funicular - that took us up the mountain to an amazing outlook point that jetted out over the vast landscape. It was raining more heavily up in the mountain, but the views were still stunning and we didn't think much more about it.

With cold feet and damp clothes, we journeyed into the salt mine. The tour was fascinating. It was fun to learn about the rich history of the mine and the fact that it is still used today. We walked 300 meters deep into the mine. It was chilly, but fun to see the exhibits and use the wooden slides. At the end of the tour, we all got on a rail car that took us all the way out of the mine. I am happy not to have to work in a mine, but I was inspired by the many people who spent their lives working in those conditions.

On our way back to the Brauhaus, we had one my favorite meals of the trip: goulash and bacon filled dumplings. It was the perfect way to warm our boes after the chilly mine tour and damp, brisk walk back to town. After a short break, we walked the rest of the town and visited the historic churches, the cemetery, and the town square. It was still raining on us, but at that point it was like hanging out with an old friend.

Dinner that night was followed by some red wine and a King Ludwig. Then we cozied up and watched NonStop. Again, it was a fun way to relax after the town closed down. (Don't judge us.)

Our final morning in Hallstatt was a memorable one. We walked back to the park I found the previous morning, only this time we were blessed with some sunlight and blue sky. It didn't last long, but it was enough and perfectly timed. Lindsay dipped her feet into the frigid lake and we contemplated jumping in. Ultimately, we decided it was not the best idea since we had so much of our journey left to tackle.

We continued to walk the town, visit the shops, and stopped at a café for some pastries, coffee and tea. Then it was back to the ferry and onto the train.

NOTE: I found it super interesting that the Austrian town of Hallstatt was unknowingly replicated in China. Read More...

Use this link for more photos from Hallstatt

Look out Salzburg. Here we come.

2014 Vienna /  by Michael Durr

Vienna Our European trip began in Vienna, Austria. The plane ride was comfortable and fairly quick. We ate dinner, slept, and I edited wedding photos on my laptop. I also watched the second and third Matrix movies (which were not as bad as I remembered.)

After arriving in Vienna, we jammed our days with walking, biking, and training around the city. It was an amazing place! The history, detail of the buildings and sculptures were incredible. Seeing a building that has been standing long before Chicago existed didn’t even make sense to me. Lindsay did an amazing job planning our lodging and transportation. She also did an amazing job making sure we didn't get lost. I did an amazing job documenting and annoying her.

The bike share program in Vienna is very similar to Chicago's DIVVY, only better. The bikes are free for a longer period of time and bike lanes are plentiful throughout the entire city. During one of our treks we noticed a bunch of movie trailers surrounding the State Opera House. It turned out Tom Cruise was in town shooting MI5. Unfortunately, we did not see them filming, but it will be fun to see that scene in the film.

It rained quite a bit while we were there, but we worked around it pretty well and in some cases it has actually made it better. For example, walking the streets late at night while the cobblestone roads glistened in the street light was unlike anything I have experienced in our country. We even both got splashed by a passing car. I thought that only happened in the movies.

Lindsay made reservations for us to tour Schönbrunn – the summer “residence” of the imperial family. This place boggles the mind. It's the most extravagant “house” I have ever seen – it’s really a massive castle. I said hopefully in like 200 years we will be touring Kanye West's house. It rained, but I thought it made it better. Lindsay may disagree. We put in an offer and if we get it we will have space for all of you in the servants quarters.

While in Vienna, we met some of Lindsay's family (Robert and Susi). They drove into the city to meet us and took us to an authentic Viennese restaurant for dinner. They were super nice and insisted on treating us. After dinner, they took us to "The Signature Room" of Vienna overlooking the square and St. Stephan's Cathedral. Don't get me started on St. Stephan's – it’s the most beautiful building we have ever been in. I told Robert and Susie we'd be happy to treat them to a polish sausage and a beer if they came to Chicago.

Overall, Vienna is amazing! Most people understand English so the language barrier was not an issue. Our only gripes are that everyone smokes and the service is slow as hell. However the history, ease of public transit, and scenery far surpass those little faults.