Advertisement
Published: September 6th 2013
Edit Blog Post
We hope that you have enjoyed what has sounded like a great summer at home and now you are headed into our favorite time of the year, Fall.
Meanwhile, Guy and I have been busy in Bavaria. The weather when we arrived in Munich was rainy and we delayed our exploration for a day and we were rewarded with a beautiful day to tour the Old City, starting at the Marienplatz as we exited the subway. The Altes Rathaus Carillon was playing and the characters were jousting and dancing with great abandon. We have been using the DK Germany travel book and the walking map thru the Old City gave us the opportunity to wander in and out of churches, shopping areas, gardens, gates and fountains. We enjoyed a Bavarian luncheon at the famous Augustiner Restaurant. and could easily find our way back to the public transportation and our campground.
Guy was able to share information about Salzburg and the required Go-Box or Vignette with a neighboring camper from GB and was rewarded with homemade Marmalade. Sharing information is such fun and crucial for safe and knowledgeable travel. We have also found many helpful local people, who
may see us with a map or looking lost, and ask if we need any help or direction, etc. Some have even accompanied us to a critical point of travel in complicated areas. A special thank you to all of them and we hope to be as helpful to visitors at home.
Next we were off to Nymphenburg and it's huge buildings and extensive gardens, on our way to Augsburg. The photographs say it all and the colorful gardens stretched as far as we could see from the palace balconies.
We were fortunate to arrive early at the Stellplatz immediately outside of Augsburg. We quickly parked and walked into the Old City. This was not a stroll but a brisk 30 minute walk and then of course we walked all day throughout the city, finding the best viewpoints, the most important buildings and a great place for a beer and lunch. It is sometimes difficult to access the churches because all of the street side areas are now commercial venues. Some entrances are tucked away in alleys behind the commercial endeavors. This was not true of the Cathedral with a very dramatic and prominent portal. The
rehearsal by the choir at the Cathedral was lovely and provided some comfortable seating. A wedding celebration treated us to the wedding party all in traditional dress of dirndl and lederhosen Apparently around the time of Octoberfest, the folk dress is very popular and available in many shops.
When we returned to the stellplatz we were entertained by all the campers of all sizes coming and going in the limited parking area and the activities on the numerous bike paths. Eventually there were exactly the number of us parked that had been indicated in the Bord Atlas (our guide for low cost overnight parking areas. (Example: 8 euros for 24 hrs with electric added if desired as well as water and a dump as needed.) There was also a fair nearby that closed the nights activities with fireworks. Oh Joy!
As we traveled to Ingolstadt on Saturday we became aware of the Maypoles in each town. Many were intricate in design and easily seen. Our camping area (stellplatz) that night was on the edge of the Old Town and an easy 5 minute walk into the beginning of the medieval town. We not only spent two
days exploring and photographing, but also were treated to a lovely classical concert in the Asamkirche or the Church of St. Maria de Victoria. The young performers were graduates of a local music school that have been very successful in their field of endeavor and provide Sunday summer concerts to a packed house. We had been warned by the Information personnel to arrive at least 1/2 hr. early, which we did and had wonderful seats to thoroughly enjoy this inspirational free concert. This church with Baroque interior has the largest flat fresco ceiling outside of the Vatican.
The town is also noted for many unusual museums, including the German Medical Museum and medicinal plant garden. Again on a Sunday all stores are closed but museums are all open and on Monday all of the museums are closed. Even in the rain, you can be sure that I made sure to spend time in the museum and under an umbrella in the gardens. It was the most complete history of medicine presented with photos, paintings, skeletons, cadavers, equipment and instruments, that you can imagine. A separate building housed several laser lithotrypsy machines, EKG equipment, etc. Truly an experience for
a retired nurse. The campground was also on the edge of a park and near a bier garden that provided country and western live music. Our experience at this campsite and the concert was enhanced by sharing with a couple from Britain who have retired at age 50 and spend most of the year camping, cruising or flying to wonderful places.
We will end this blog with our experience in Regensburg, a truly well-preserved medieval city on the Danube. We wandered, photographed and sampled the sausage, mustard and sauerkraut at the Wurstkuche (sausage kitchen) that has been there since the 12th century. It is believed to have fed the workers that built the stone bridge that it overlooks. This bridge is 1000 feet long, built in 1135 that was the first bridge of its kind, an outstanding example of medieval engineering. When we asked if the winter flooding had affected the restaurant area, the answer was yes! The water was up to the tops of the windows. We certainly read about the rampage of the Danube, Elbe and other rivers in Southern Germany.
Our next stops will be Nuremberg, Rothenberg, and Bayreuth.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.486s; Tpl: 0.019s; cc: 9; qc: 44; dbt: 0.1131s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb