Ich liebe Schnitzel und Bier

The final country on our world tour was Germany (saving the best for last!) This stop was not initially on Beth's "must see" list ... but I had to include it given my German roots, and the fact that my best friend during my studies in Denmark lives in Munich. Needless to say, Beth was impressed.

Here is my friend, Patrick, and his girlfriend, Nadine. They were gracious enough to let us stay two nights in their gorgeous apartment.

Not only was it gorgeous ... but it was across the street from the park where they hold the annual Oktoberfest! Yes, literally, right across the street. Kyle and I WILL be coming to visit someday to experience this beer fest together in the fall. I was lucky enough to attend during my "studies" in Denmark, but I know Kyle would have a blast.

Here I am with my first authentic German meal. That's one happy German girl! While I do eat like a trucker (See That Girl Can Eat blog from last December) that big plate in front of me was for all three of us to share. :)

Patrick took us on a tour around the city. Loved this shot of the bakery with all the pretzels and one of our many lederhosen sightings. It was a holiday in Germany that day, Father's Day and something else, so there were more people wearing lederhosen around town - hilarious. Those are the leather overalls for those not familiar with this wonder of fashion.

Our hiking nightmare apparently followed us to Germany where Beth and I posed with this statue of a wild boar. We came. We hiked. We conquered. (yes, we're very confident now that we're back in civilization! Good little boar ...)

Here is the famous cuckoo clock in Marianplatz (the main city square.) The little figurines dance every hour.

Here's a random work of art known as The Running Man. I'm the one in the front. :)

Here was a sight we were not expecting. Let me set the scene. It was no more than 50 degrees, with a constant misty rain falling. We wandered to Englischer Garten (their massive version of Central Park) only to find a bunch of guys surfing in the river. Somehow there is a huge current right by this bridge, so the guys suit up in wet suits and catch waves with a crowd of spectators. Pretty fun to watch.

My favorite part of the trip was a visit to The Hofbrauhaus. The historic beer hall in town with a live band playing polka music, beer flowing like water and pretzels the size of your head. AKA - Heaven. Cincinnati is the sister city of Munich and has its own (second-rate) version of the Hofbrauhaus ... fun, but doesn't hold a candle to this place. -- I'd like to take this moment to brag about my father ... he played accordion at The Hofbrauhaus on our Germany trip back in the summer of 2000, and he blew them away! --

Here's the pretzel girl, my dream job, with above-mentioned pretzels the size of your head.

We finished our visit to Germany and our 2 weeks running around Europe with a huge schnitzel dinner. It's breaded and fried pork or veal, usually served with potatoes. And, of course, beer. "Ich liebe Schnitzel und Bier" means I love schnitzel and beer. Ain't that the truth!

Thanks to Patrick for being our wonderful host in Munich. Thanks to all my friends for hosting us and showing us around your beautiful cities. And, I'd like to thank Beth for being such a great travel partner ... running ourselves ragged through 5 countries, with smiles always on our faces!