REGENSBURG AND THE DANUBE AND OTHER ADVENTURES

 Jams Hotel

Stubenvollstrasse 2

https://www.jams-hotel.com

Munich, Germany

June 27, 2024

73F, sunny 

Subways, trains, and buses encore! By the way, yesterday I had 13,100 steps and TK was not far behind.  Today's tally is 18,700 for me and 15,829  for TK. In other words, the buses and trains do not deliver us door to door, we have to do a little walking too.

On the train to Regensburg, about a 2 hour ride, I had a bit of excitement when I used the bathroom.  Afterward, I told Derek that I need to know the words for open, close, and lock. I will leave it like that for now--we did not get back to the hotel until 10ish and it will be another big day tomorrow.   

Note the sign!

DESTINATION MUNICH: BUSES AND TRAINS AND SUBWAYS!

 

Town Hall Tower in Marienplatz/Munich featuring the
world famous glockenspiel

Jams Hotel

Stubenvollstrasse 2

https://www.jams-hotel.com

Munich, Germany

June 26, 2024

73F, sunny until a midafternoon thunderstorm, then off and on rain

 

We said goodbye to Bad Reichenhall about 9:30 this morning as we schlepped our bags to the bus stop so we could get to the train. I will say that Derek sure knows arrival and departure times, as well as the location of all bus stops and train stations. Thankfully, Derek and Chris help with the bags when necessary.

 

In about 2 ½ hours we arrived in Munich and learned yet again that doors on trains close VERY quickly. For the 2^nd time, part of our group could not get off the train in time and we could wave goodbye as they went ever onward without us, or us without them.  Strangely that has not happened to TK and me yet and I don’t want to jinx us.  That said, our “teammates” got back to where we were standing quite quickly.  All of us have become beasts of burden with our luggage which may or may not be slowing us down.

 

Enough of that, we got on a bus to take us near our Munich hotel.  As TK remarked yesterday, we have been on so many buses and trains it is hard to remember how we got where. 

Munich or München is the capital and most populous city of the Free State of Bavaria, Germany. With a population of 1,589,706 inhabitants in 2024,  it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg, and thus the largest which does not constitute its own state, as well as the 11th-largest city in the European Union.

The city was first mentioned in 1158.  In the 1920s, Munich became home to several political factions, among them the Nazi Party. After the Nazis' rise to power, Munich was declared their "Capital of the Movement". The city was heavily bombed during World War II, but has restored most of its old town and boasts nearly 30,000 buildings from before the war all over the city. After the end of postwar American occupation in 1949, there was a great increase in population and economic power during the years of Wirtschaftswunder. The city hosted the 1972 Summer Olympics.

Today, Munich is a global center of science, technology, finance, innovation, business, and tourism. Munich enjoys a very high standard and quality of living.

Munich is renowned for its beer culture, being home to the world-famous Oktoberfest. This annual festival draws millions to celebrate Bavarian culture, enjoy folk music, and savor a wide variety of beers.  Iconic spots like the Hofbräuhaus and various beer gardens offer traditional settings to enjoy a stein among locals.

 The heart of Munich, Marienplatz, is known for the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus) and its Glockenspiel. This historic square is dominated by the New Town Hall (Neues Rathaus), an architectural marvel of the Gothic Revival style that commands the city’s skyline with its intricate facades and towering spires.

 The centerpiece of the New Town Hall, its Glockenspiel, is a marvel of mechanical ingenuity. This elaborate clock features 32 life-sized figures and 43 bells. While you are there, make sure to catch the Glockenspiel show in Munich’s Marienplatz at 11:00 a.m. or 12:00 p.m. (noon).

 

So, we unloaded our luggage about 12:30 p.m. and headed for Marienplatz, by subway. Knowing that a thunderstorm was due, we packed in a lot of things this afternoon.

Marienplatz and our group.

 The glockenspiel in the tower of the New Town Hall 

on Marienplatz is world famous. 

Details of the glockenspiel in the Tower

After our group photo, we headed to Hofbrauhaus. Friend Judy (Nebraska/now Florida) and I ate there 56 years ago, and two German soldiers and two American soldiers sat with us. It was a fun time and afterwards we all went dancing—this was on a break from college in France. How hearts were young then!

Today was very enjoyable too as our group is quite congenial.  Live “Oompa” music played in the background while servers juggled glasses of beer, large and small, water, and soda to waiting guests. Pretzels, beef vegetable soup, Coke Zero, hit the spot for TK and me. 

Band during lunch!

We shared this pretzel/Hofbrauhaus

We walked around the largest outdoor market in Munich. Cheese shops, wine, meat, flowers, honey, oils, and many other items, but this market was not like Barcelona's.

Altar in the Munich catherdral,

St. Peter's

Beautiful pulpit in St. Peter's

 

By this time, thunder clouds were brewing and we headed back to the hotel. A few raindrops caught us.

 

Jams is a modern hotel with no AC, but cool enough today.  By 6:30 p.m. we were ready for dinner at L’Osteria around the corner from Jams through the raindrops.  Believe it or not this Italian restaurant had pizza and the SpaghettiEis we were looking for!

Margharita Pizza

The Germans are well known for their

spaghettieis-extruded ice cream with strawberry 

topping that looks like spaghetti

Another fine day!

 

TK's Takes:  He noticed poppies like those the poem "Flanders Field" mentions.   We first encountered these non-opium poppies on our WWI trips in France. They grow like weeds--he saw them along the railroad tracks.  And, he commented on how many bikes he has seen in Germany--oodles, even on the train.

Janie: 13,132 steps

WE HEADED TO THE SALT MINES IN BERCHTESGADEN OF COURSE!

Hotel Bürgerbräu
Bad Reichenhall, Germany
June 25, 2024
79F

A reread of yesterday's post begged for more information.

our lovely hotel--

And, TK's schweinhaxe dinner last night looked like this:

The Gradierhaus – Alpine Sole open-air inhalation facility (built in 1910)

This is my photo of what I was trying to describe

This is the professional description from the Internet:  The 524 ft. long building contains around 100,000 blackthorn bundles, from which around 105,669 gallons of Alpine brine trickle down from a height of 42 ft. every day.

If you walk along the leeward side for around 30 minutes a day and inhale the fresh Alpine brine, it has been proven that this accelerates the cleansing of the upper respiratory tract and has a relaxing effect. Breathing is noticeably easier at the graduation house, becomes more conscious and strengthens the immune system. In this way, the graduation house also leads to an improvement in the climate in the spa town.

 

Today’s Adventure:  Can you imagine an educational experience that includes riding in small train cars, sliding down a wooden slide into a subterranean room, and then doing it again even deeper underground, a boat ride on a 68% brine salt lake underground, and then riding a funicular back to upper earth? All at a constant 54° F! We were not cold!

 

TK at the Salt Mine entrance. It has

only been open to visitors

since 2007.

MJ and Ann in stylish duds, ready for the salt mine

Aboard the "train" to take us to where we slide into the salt mine

Chris, Janie, and TK slide into the first area

to begin the tour.

In the past, miners used ropes to go into the mines,

with ladders to get out.

Prayers were said each shift before they went to work.

That is what we did today in Berchtesgaden, Germany, very  close to the Austrian border (after a sort of short bus ride or two). From the internet: “‘White gold’ has been mined at the Berchtesgaden salt mine without interruption since 1517. Since 2007, it has offered innovative visitor experiences unlike any other mine in the world! Visitors are taken on an adventurous guided tour into the very depths of the Salzberg mountain."

First, we had to put on stylish looking coveralls and then the adventure began—our tour guide was phenomenal even though she mostly spoke German. I asked her if there were any women salt miners. She said that it was believed women in the salt mines were bad luck. Now there is a woman CEO of the company, and she does not feel that way. But still, no woman has applied!  Over 500 years!!

We were able to see Hitler’s  Eagle’s Nest in the distance and TK got a good photo. I elected not to take my Canon T7i on this day excursion to my dismay-that new lens would have been terrific!

Hitler's Eagle Nest 

We took another bus into Berchtesgaden to have lunch and shop a little. Several hours later we traveled back to Bad Reichenhall for a little rest and then dinner.

 

From the bus, the Alps!

Ham and cheese sandwiches at 

Cafe/Bistro Konditorei

Back in Bad Reichenhall

We strolled to Wieninger Gebwabenbrau Biergarten for dinner-this is a lovely town to stroll through!

Jim, Ann, and Janie ready for dinner!

TK and I shared two bratwurst, spaetzle, and German potato salad, and the most delicious warm raspberry strudel.   

We returned to the gardens for another romp in the really really ice cold foot pool. I made another 1/2 lap, but my feet feel wonderful again. These grounds are beautiful!

Entry to the gardens

Queen's estate

Garden of Healing - Alpine brine and flower idyll surrounded by mountains"The Bad Reichenhall spa gardens, established in the mid 1800s, are still considered one of the most beautiful of their kind in Central Europe.The  area includes both native and exotic plants from North America and Asia. Over 40 tree species, including a 350-year-old yew and several 150-year-old oregano, tulip and bluebell trees, provide plenty of shade on hot summer days. 30,000 planted flower bulbs transform the spa gardens into a sea of ​​color every spring."

Another 15,414 steps for Janie and 13000 for TK. 

As an aside: Derek is extremely witty and a really fun tour guide. I’m thinking he is preparing us for the marathon of days tomorrow in Munich. We shall see.

 TK’s Takes:  We are sure doing a lot of bus riding!

GERMANY GREETED US WARMLY, OFF TO BAD REICHENHALL. AND BAD IS NOT REALLY BAD!

Hotel Bürgerbräu

Bad Reichenhall, Germany

June 24, 2024

73F

 

Dear Readers, please keep in mind that this writer is operating on no sleep at all for the last 29 hours, and the blog may get a little shaky!

 

We had a great 8 hour flight from Charlotte to Munich on Sunday, very very little turbulence and a soft landing. We only had 35 minutes to get to the gate in Charlotte to catch the flight to Munich when we  arrived from Erie and it was at least 30 minutes away from our arrival gate, but we did it!  I read and finished a Dean Koontz novel (Velocity), worked on several crossword puzzles, and then watched an animal show on the flight TV without sound (that was OK, I just could not sleep). TK did not really sleep either. Fortunately, we are young and can still do all-nighters!

 

I will mention that there are 8 of us in this group, I’m the oldest, then TK, a couple 60+ year olds, a 58 yr. old, a 41 yr. old,  and a 17 year old. Derek G, German teacher at Collegiate Academy, met us at baggage claim. He is our tour guide and he planned the whole trip.

 

MJ's luggage (20 inch and 15 inch bags 

and the infamous purse that 

was stolen in Barcelona in 2023.)

'

It was actually 1:30 a.m. EDST on Monday when we arrived in Munich, and then there was a fast learning curve as we shlepped our bags up 2 flights of stairs to Customs because the escalator was not working. I thought we packed light, only 22 pounds in one bag, about 15 # for me in the other, and TK was about the same. And we knew we needed to be in charge of our bags, but why were we not expecting this problem? After easily passing through Customs, we were ready to begin “trekking.”  No time for bahnhofen!  (restrooms—why use free rest rooms (WC) in the airport when one can pay one euro for one on down the road?)

 

Cement rail ties, now there's a thought

Somehow, we took a bus to a train station, for a 45 minute ride on a slow train to somewhere to catch another train to Bad Reichenhall, a 2 hour ride.  Most important, we were able to purchase a Munich Starbucks cup at the train station and grab a croissant. Even though I wrote all this down, I am still fuzzy about the details.  Enough about all that, the bottom line is that we walked a lot, with our luggage!  I am registering 11,242 steps and TK has 11,327.

 

Along the way, on the smooth rail passage, we saw beautiful Germany, looking a lot like Pennsylvania, with gentle hills, forests, city scapes, farms, cows, sheep, greenhouses, solar panels on rooftops (barns and homes), clothes drying outdoors on the line, and flower boxes on sweet German homes.

After we checked into a quaint Hotel Bürgerbräu, we rested (no sleeping) for about 15 minutes and off we all went with Derek to see the Bad Reichenhall. 

TK walks along

 

St.Ägid Church, Bad Reichenhall,built 1160

St. Agid's stained glass windows

Derek told us that Bad was a good thing and means baths or spas in German. Bad Reichenhall, located in central Bavaria, is a spa town, located quite close to Salzburg, Austria in a basin encircled by the Chiemgau Alps (including Mount Staufen (5800 ft) and Mount Zwiesel (5850 ft.).  I forgot to note that the Alps do not resemble sites in our Pennsylvania!

Bad Reichenhall, with a population of 19,000, is a traditional center of salt production, obtained by evaporating water saturated with salt from brine ponds.

In 2001 Bad Reichenhall was named Alpine Town of the Year and a few years later became a member of Alpine Pearls. 

 

What a neat little town—petunias, lavender, roses, daisies in colorful gardens greeted us everywhere we walked. We were just too tired to do much shopping, but thankfully we will be staying  here tomorrow too.

One of many garden areas in Bad Reichenhall

 

One of the highlights was the Koniglicher Kurgarten, peaceful gardens and a large structure, and I am going to try to describe it—designed in the 1800s, freshly cut blackthorn bush limbs are pushed into the entire structure and salt water flows over the limbs. This creates a cooling effect. When we entered the garden area, the temperature was cooler. There are also fresh water “baths” to wade in or another to hold your hands in—the water is ice cold and one should walk three times around the bath/pool to improve circulation. Hold your hands in the icy smaller bath for 3 minutes. I lasted ½ lap in the wading pool and 20 seconds in the hand bath, but I have to say that my feet were very grateful!  TK lasted longer than I did. 

 

Finally, we were ready for dinner at the hotel's restaurant about 3 p.m. German time, 6 hours ahead of Erie time.  Most of us were finished with marathon walking today so we returned to the hotel and its delightful restaurant/brewerie. TK enjoyed shweinhaxe (roast pig knuckle), just as he planned and I had Wiener Schnitzel (pork) with spaetzle, just as I dreamed of. Delicious!

 

Schnitzel and spaetzle

2 flights of stairs to the 1st floor where we could

take an elevator to our 2nd floor room 

 

Room 201-bed

Desk area

Bath

TK’s takes: He saw deer stands in fields and forest and noted that the corn was “knee high by the 4^th of July! There were lots of bikes and trails and Germany has a great rail system.

WIR FAHREN NACH DEUTSCHLAND! WE ARE GOING TO GERMANY!

Erie, Pennsylvania

Sunny, 89F-hot, hot, hot

 Another adventure for us and we want you to come along too!! Off we go tomorrow on a trip to Germany!  This is a little different than our past travels, since we are going with the German teacher from Erie's Collegiate Academy (Derek G), two friends--Ann and Jim, and three other people from the area.  Thankfully, Derek has done all the planning and we are traveling by rail and bus and foot to many different places.

Here is the basic rundown:

Erie to Charlotte to Munich tomorrow. We will arrive in Munich about 9:30 a.m. German time, about 3:30 a.m. or so EDST.  

Other cities we will visit-not necessarily in order:

Salzburg

Dachau

Bad Reichenhall

Nurnnberg (Nuremberg)

Tubingen and area

Mainz

Bacharach and Koln (Cologne)

and on July 6 thereabouts we leave from Frankfort to fly home.

I visited Germany in 1967-1968 when I lived in France. Friend Judy from Nebraska, a fellow student, and I traveled by rail to Munich, Dachau, and Heidelberg.  It was a great trip then--I remember thinking Germany was the country that was most like home for me.  I love France, and Italy is special too, and now we return as often as we can!

TK has never been to Germany. I know that he wants to build his Starbucks cup collection, and possibly make a cultural connection to his German roots.  He has watched so many youtube videos about German food and he has his heart set on schweinhaxe (pork knuckle) and sausages of all kinds. 

Every cup makes a fun memory to think about every morning with my coffee!

The New Jersey cup is a Dunkin cup, an outlier! 

I  think I am a schnitzel and spaetzle kind of person, but I sure want to try the pastries!  I wonder if TK will find sfogiatelle for me!

So come along to Germany with us!

2022 

A family photo to take with us! 

TK's Takes:  From notes I can gather we should be on the lookout for Zuifau, Urmitz and Wilhelm K (I think he is TK's great grandfather), born 22 Oct 1878 and Wilhelm's brother, Charles Anton K, born 17 Nov 1881.

Other scraps of notes include Schwende (Baden-Wurttenburg), Biberach, and Oberkirsch. Maybe these names will make sense when we are in Germany--near Munich/Black Forest area we guess

Some words we may find helpful

To eat—essen

Main dish—die Hauptspeise

Side dish—die Beilage

Dessert—die Nachspeise

Vegetarian—vegetarisch

Vegan--vegan

Gluten-free—glutenfrei

Lactose-free--laktosefrei

Meat--das Fleisch

Beef—das Rindfleisch

Pork—das Schweinefleisch

Poultry—das Huhn

Fish—der Fisch

Seafood—die Meeresfrüchte

Vegetables—das Gemüse

Lamb—das Lamm

Fruit—das Obst; die Früchte

Potato—die Kartoffel

Cheese—der Käse

Bread—das Brot

 die Gabel – the fork

der Grill – the grill

die Kaffeetasse – the coffee cup

der Lȍffel – the spoon

das Messer – the knife

die Pfanne – the pan

die Serviette – the napkin

die Speisekarte – the menu

der Strohhalm – the drinking straw

der Teller – the plate

die Tischdecke – the tablecloth

der Topf – the pot

das Wasserglas – the water glass

das Weinglas – the wine glass

der Ahornsyrup – the maple syrup

das Apfelmus – the apple sauce

die Bohnen – the beans

das Brȍtchen – the roll

die Butter – the butter

das Ei – the egg

das Eis – the ice cream

der Frischkäse – the cream cheese

der Hȕttenkäse – the cottage cheese

die Käsescheiben – the cheese slices

der Keks – the cookie

der Kuchen – the cake

die Linsen – the lentils

die Marmelade – the jam

die Nudeln – the noodles

die Nuss – the nut

das Öl – the oil

die Pizza – the pizza

die Pommes – the fries

die Quinoa – the quinoa

der Reis – the rice

die Sahne – the cream

der Salat – the salad/lettuce