Frauenkirche is another amazing 13th-14th century church. "Domkirche zu unserer lieben Frau" is the official name for Frauenkirche. We took a look around and then went for it to the top of the tower. Thankfully (unlike the tower in Venice) we only had to take 180 steps up one of the 2 towers, and for the rest there is a lift to the top. The view is fantastic. You can see the Oktoberfest grounds and the Olympia Tower and all the colors of the town of Munich. Lots of rustic reds, muted greens, yellows and beiges. All my favorite mix of colors! In addition to the grand towers there is an interesting legend about this church. Legend has it there is a Teufelstritt, or Devil's Footstep, at the entrance. This is a black mark resembling a ... read more

After a 12 hour train ride from Florence, we pulled into Munich Germany ready for Oktoberfest. There was a light rain when we arrived so Jodi and I found a small cafe at the U-bahn train station. We enjoyed a cafe latte and formed a game plan while watching locals rushing to various destinations. The game plan was to find our apartment, drop off our bags, and take a nap before meeting our friend David back at the train station. Things don't always go as planned. Warning: The U-bahn can be confusing. We were lost. I ran into a local market and asked for directions. A wonderful woman in line took us to her car. Her friend spoke English. "It is raining outside; we will drive you to your apartment." We couldn't thank them enough. They ... read more

We are back in Florence after our morning in San Gimignano. I continue to have trouble calculating the Military time clock. I shorted us some valuable hours in San Gimi by not calculating the time correctly. I was so worried about making the bus on time, so it was okay. We had only a small window of time to catch buses to be back in Florence in time for our reservation at the Accademia. We also had to meet up with our B&B host somehow to pay and figure how to store our luggage while we waited for our 10pm train to Munich. We arrive back in Florence around 2pm and it is an extra hot day in the city. We needed to figure out how to check out of our room. I was getting worried ... read more

To the TOP of the Duomo we go! We went up 465+/- grueling, heart busting, chest heaving, eye popping, steps. I thought I was going to die going up. When you start, it seems like a piece of cake, but the steps get steeper and the walls literally start closing in on you at each spiraling turn. However as much pain as it was, it was worth it - one time! Since it hurt so bad going up, we decided against trying to climb the Giottos bell tower next, no elevator there either . The Santa Maria del Fiore famously known as The Duomo. It is a most beautiful sight to see! The architecture and intricate craftsmanship of the buildings is absolutely incredible. Photos can not even capture the delicate, ornate detail that is etched within ... read more

Ah! Firenze - Here we are in Tuscany Day 4 of our trip. Our room was along the street and it was warm so we needed to have the windows open. That made for a loud evening with the mopeds and mini cars racing down the cobblestone street. Not to mention the mosquitoes found us to be their 5 course meal. The room and bed itself was nice and comfortable and for that we were able to get some rest. It was a beautiful day. The sun is shining and mopeds are a singing!! :) We are off to see the sites. Florence is so different from Venice and we are experiencing a little bit of culture shock. None the less it is so cool and can only imagine that we could be walking the same ... read more