Monday, December 6, 2010

Guten Morgen

Wow. It was a weekend plus, but here I am, home again. I've been in Munich. And Nuremberg. And Salzburg. And let's not forget the almost full day I spent in Terminal 5 at London Heathrow. Let's just say England's transport system is easily overwhelmed by snow.

I had plans to fly to Munich to meet up with six friends for a weekend of talking, laughing, and shopping at the German Christmas markets and we definitely hit the ground running. Once I got there anyway. I flew out Wednesday night and was supposed to make a connection in London at noon on Thursday but sadly all flights to Munich, including mine, were cancelled. All but one which was going out early evening and thankfully I happened to be standing in the right place at the right time and got a seat on that flight. Many thousands were not so lucky.

So I arrived in Munich (finally!) and in spite of having shopped in Harrods twiddled my thumbs in Heathrow for some 7 hours my bag did not make it. Hey, that's what friends are for, right? We were all staying with my friend A.M. at her lovely home in a suburb of Munich and everyone contributed to my wardrobe on Thursday...long johns and a hat from one friend, warm socks from another, a turtleneck from another and deodorant from another. I'd been in my same clothes for a couple of days so these things matter people. And take note, I had almost no makeup so those pics from Day 1 are a little sad. We had plans to go to Nuremberg for the day on Friday so A.M. said we could leave a note on her door for British Airways to please deposit my bag with a neighbor. I'm sure she could have worked out the wording herself but in the end we felt it was best to ask her German neighbor to compose the note for us so there would be no miscommunication. My bag was there when we got home that night so yay!


We rode the train from Munich to Nuremberg which is an old walled city filled with history and a fabulous Christmas market.



Course you can't ride a German train for two hours without a pretzel so AW bought this for us to share...


The markets consist of a couple hundred stalls full of German crafts and Christmas decorations and lebkuchen and of course gluwhein because baby it's cold outside!


Gluwhein is essentially mulled red wine and it warms you up right down to your tippy toes.




Did I mention the food? Because there are lots and lots of food stalls with all sorts of delicious treats to try and resist...


Or not...


This is the classic 'Nuremberger'...yum!

One of my favorite sites in Nuremberg is the huge Gothic pyramid that sits in the cathedral square. It is stunning...


Nearly every European city has a beautiful cathedral and Nuremberg is no exception...I never get tired of seeing these amazing old churches.



This is getting long so I think I'll save Salzburg for part zwei tomorrow. Before catching the train back to Munich we had a fun dinner out in a little Italian restaurant where we raised our glasses to friendship...


Friendship born while living far from home...


And now-two continents, five countries, seven separate cities.
To friendship that remains.

20 comments:

  1. Wow, what fun! Definitely worth traveling and braving airports and flight delays. Can't wait for part 2!

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  2. It looks like you had a wonderful, wonderful time! So happy you were able to do it and so successfully!

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  3. Wow that was so weekend! you must be exhausted! do you do this every year?

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  4. You lead a very blessed life but I think you know that. Not just the travel, but the friends you make along the way.

    Glad that you made it back safely and who could help but shop and eat in those markets!

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  5. Great pictures! Sounds like so much fun! Thanks for sharing.

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  6. Jealous, jealous, jealous!!!!! I had a sneaky feeling you were headed to my favorite country!

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  7. WOW what a weekend you have had! Sure beets mine of laundry and dishes! Loved the pictures and story of your flight. So glad you got your bag after all.

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  8. How fun...except for the waiting at the airport and not getting your luggage part!

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  9. And now let me add "Germany at Christmastime" to my travel list.

    FUN!!!!!

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  10. While I am so glad you got to go to the Christmas markets for like the 7th time and be reunited with your friends, I can't help but be jealous that I still have not been once. I am also jealous that you got to hang out in Heathrow terminal 5 for seven hours! Any bit of London would be a treat for me!

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  11. Oh my goodness. How fun is that? Looks like great memories were made. Well, except the canceled flight and delayed bag... but then again, now you have more 'memories', right? ;)

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  12. I knew it! You went where I thought you were going. I¨m glad you DID get there. I was thinking of you the whole time London was in the news.
    Love the pictures and it shows that you love your friends.

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  13. What a wonderful trip and what fun it looks like you had. Your pictures are great and so, well, so Christmasy. Thanks for sharing it all with us.

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  14. Ja, und guten morgen to you, or I should say guten nacht. It's almost my bedtime. :)

    I loved reading this one, Joyce. Our family went to Germany and Austria last Christmas at right about this time. We have wonderful memories of it and a Cuckoo clock to listen to every hour on the hour for a sweet reminder.

    Your friends are fabulous and I love that you get to take yearly trips to celebrate your friendship.

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  15. Wow! It looked like a fun trip for you! Your photographs are beautiful. That's one BIG pretzel, too!

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  16. Wonderful pictures. Sounds like ya had a blast.

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  17. I.Am.So.Jealous. That pretzel looks ginormous! And the sights...they look like heaven.

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  18. WOW! I bet your head is still spinning from all that quick travel. But, how wonderful that you and your friends were committed to getting together. What great memories!

    Blessings for a wonderful week!

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  19. Well, I'm jealous. Guess I'll have to live vicariously through your trip.

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  20. What a fabulous adventure! I love living vicariously through you. That Nuremberger looks amazing. Thanks so much for sharing!

    Have a great week,
    Candace

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