Brad had never been to Germany and really wanted to go. We thought it would be a great opportunity to take advantage of this during his first break from working in the DRC again (with a different company now) which happened to be right before Christmas. I thought it would also be an ideal time for us to enjoy the Christmas markets and wintery weather.

When we had an idea of where we wanted to go, I began contemplating the options for once we touched down. Do we drive or do we fly?

After our first Europe trip, that entailed lots of "travel details" pertaining to flight times, baggage checking, airline terminals... I decided it might be easier and more convenient for us to rent a car and just go when we felt like it. Once we decided that driving was the best option, it was time to pick our locations which was the hard part. There are so many amazing cities in Germany, and so many nearby countries to visit.... It's just like, "how do I choose!?!?!". Here's how. Google Maps. You put in all the places you want to go, and work your way down to the most plausible route which is exactly what I did.

Our route started in Munich, then on to Salzburg, Vienna, Prague, Nuremberg, Rothenburg, to Neuschwanstein, and back around to Munich. It was perfect! A magical and beautiful drive. Little did we know that this would become one of our favorite trips thus far.

We decided to only spend a day and a half in Munich, and I'm glad we did because you really don't need much more time in my opinion. Munich is much more modernized with historical touches through out.

We arrived in Munich the morning of December 9th, and found our way to the train station that took us into the center of the city and directly across from our hotel, the Aloft Munich. Our hotel was in an ideal location. It was literally across the street from the main train station, the Munchen Hauptbahnhof. It was also near the mall and several other shops and restaurants, and maybe a 10 minute walk to the Glockenspiel in Marienplatz.

Once we arrived at Aloft, we checked in, dropped off our bags & then decided to go grab some lunch. We were both exhausted and knew that laying down would be a disastrous idea for adjusting to the time change. Thankfully, I truly enjoy my travel buddy, so that makes it a lot easier to want to stay up and enjoy whatever comes our way.

We mapped our way toward the Marienplatz & found a yummy and hopping restaurant to stop for our first real German meal. Because it was briskly cold (without snow), I got a tasty soup. It was fun to be among the hustle and bustle of holiday shoppers and tourists. But I hated having to take my big coat on and off. I was afraid of accidentally smacking an innocent passerby. (As an Arizonan, heavy coats aren't a part of our usual winter wardrobe and it was tricky to adapt to.)

Once we were through with a our quick meal, we were back on our feet, and found ourselves among the Marienplatz crowds. The square was happening! The Christmas market was set up, and there was so much to look at. You find almost anything you wanted. Christmas ornaments, traditional German Christmas crafts, mulled wines and beers, candles, snacks. It was positively enthralling! The people were shopping, eating, and waiting in hopes that the Glockenspiel would give them a small show. Considering our sleep deprivation, we found the crowds to be a little overwhelming & the decided to keep cutting through. This is how we stumbled upon the day market. They had some lovely decorations such as little woodland creatures made of natural materials, hanging decor for walls or door knobs, exquisite wreaths... A girl could go nuts, and it was difficult to practice self-control amongst the company of my frugal husband. I did try to remain practical in terms of what would match the decor of our home (that we currently don't possess).

We spent the early part of the evening enjoying the Marienplatz night life accompanied by piping hot amazing Nutella crepes from the crepe stand in the center of the square.

We really did not last long as the exhaustion continued to set in. We headed back to the hotel & passed out. The next day we ended up sleeping until two in the afternoon. Thankfully we didn't panic. We got dressed in our toasty coats and headed for the door. We knew exactly where we were going. The Hofbrauhaus!

It was there hat we had our His & Her beer (I made that up because mine was small and his was big). I ordered a scrummy noodle dish. Brad ordered a pork schnitzel type of meal, and we shared a pretzel. It would be wrong not too, right? haha.

Once we paid for our meal, we headed back to the streets of Munich and wandered without aim. We just wanted to see what we could find, and we found a small treasure, a wonderfully scented Christmas tree lot on a beautiful cobble stone street outside of a historical building. It appeared to be a Pantheon, but I'm not 100% sure. I have no idea where we were.

Darkness crept in early there, by 17:30, which is something that I struggled with. I had the tendency to lay down & not want to get back up. It made Brad crazy. It was just so dark and so cold.

That evening we did the usual, we wandered the city in hopes of discovering something intriguing and it paid off. We found a market with a renaissance vibe. They offered slow cooked meats, mulled wines (Brad tried it & regretted it), and fun wooden toys (aka swords) for the kids. ...or in my case, for my husband to jab me with.

We eventually headed back to the familiar territory of the Marienpltaz browsed through some of the shops as, I was looking for a great German souvenir to take home. You can find some really interesting things, and some not-so-surprising things. Beersteins are there in masses, same with incense smokers (which is what I ended up purchasing on our last day, but mine is just for decoration). We ate more Nutella crepes, wandered through the holiday pop-up shops of the Christmas-Market and discovered a Jewish memorial just north of the Marienplatz.

We were not out late, as we were leaving the next morning to head to Salzburg. So, once we were ready, we headed back to the hotel and started watching The Sound of Music before falling asleep.

Once we were all packed up the next morning, we headed back to the Marienplatz because we saw there was a bank on one of the corners, and we wanted to get Euros for the rest our travels. It was great to be in the area before the crowds. The brisk morning air was very refreshing & a great start to our day.

Once we had our cash-money, we headed back toward the hotel, but stopped by the train station for a quick breakfast at one of the small cafes. We grabbed a couple sandwiches, and, yes, das pretzel. We walked back across the street to the hotel, went up to the room to eat & grab our bags. Before we knew it, we were checked out & at the Budget location nearby to grab our rental car. The real adventure came when we had to find our way out of the city with nothing but our Apple maps on our iPhones. We were officially Salzburg bound.

ISSUE 9: Munich, Germany 2015 (Part 1)