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The winter this year seemed so very long with far too much wet, heavy snow to shovel. By the time spring hinted at arriving, I wanted to get away. Fortunately, Dave had an upcoming business trip to Madrid and Munich, and the free Aeroplan miles to take me with him. So off we went while Dave's parents watched the kids for us.
Madrid was a lovely city that managed to blend together the contemporary vibe of a modern metropolis while maintaining pride in its history. Dave and I got to tour the Palacio Real, a working palace that hosts heads of state in Madrid. I got a chance to practice some broken Spanish when ordering food that was so fresh and healthy, and the wine. . .well, it was all scrumptious.
Munich was so much more than I expected. Even though the city has an historical feel to it, I found the people worldly, warm and friendly, or at least very used to tourists. After getting lost in the middle of the city I realized that I had actually wandered to the Residenz, which I had been looking for! I loved the way the city was set up so that even when you got lost there was something interesting to see. Although I don't suppose the city planners did that on purpose, just for me.
On my way back to the hotel I stopped into a chocolate shop in Marienplatz to pick up some European chocolate. Inside the chocolate shop was a huge, old, coffee grinder. When I got to the counter, there was a German lady grinding coffee for a German customer. The cashier looked at both of us customers and explained the grinding process, in German. The German customer looked at me and said, in German, something like "it all sounds very complicated, doesn't it?" I replied, in English, "It's even more complicated when you don't speak German!" We all laughed at our combined ability to share a pleasant moment in different languages.
That evening Dave's work friends in Germany took us to the Hofbrau House for some traditional Bavarian fair. The place was packed with the traditional oom-pah band, women wandering around in Bavarian garb, and lots of pretzels and beer. I even managed to drink my first full beer ever. . .well, o.k., it was a whole liter so I think I drank most of it but it took me forever.
On the last full day of our trip, Dave and I drove to see Schloss Neuschwanstein. This is the castle on which Walt Disney based early renderings of Cinderella's castle. We spent an entire day in this Alpine area, walking, touring, taking in some Bavarian history, and walking some more. It was absolutely gorgeous. We had so much fun, and the best part of the trip was that, except for the cost of my meals, it was free!!
