Bamberg, Germany

May 26-28, 2011

So we are back in Bamberg to celebrate my brother's 30th Birthday.  At his flat we are having a party with probably 20-30 people.  Friends of my brother are coming from Berlin just to say Happy Birthday Josh!  I wish I had some pictures of this great party, but I've learned that beer and camera equipment do not get along, so these great memories will just have to stay in our minds.  My brother has become some what famous for his ribs in Germany.  Something that is not found on the traditional German plate, but becoming popular.  Due to Josh's popularity in cooking and demands for more meat on the grill he brought over his own Weber grill from the States.  The kitchen is full of groceries and everyone is pitching in to help.  Josh rented tables from one of the favorite Bamberg brews, Mahr's Brewery, as well as a keg for the party.  Paul and I stopped there the day before the party to do some quality controlling, and were able to get a personal tour of the brewery by Stephen the owner and brew master himself!  There is a picture of Stephen holding a skateboard designed for Mahr's who sponsors a couple local skateboarders.  Paul and I ended up getting one of these rare boards made, and Stephen signed it, but to our saddest moments on the trip it was confiscated at the gate at Nurnberg airport.  We are still so sad about that.  On a brighter note,  there are some pictures of a market in Bamberg displaying their white asparagus.  The German's love their asparagus, and during this brief magical period everyone is giddy about this vegetable.  Every restaurant has special menus all about spargel (asparagus in German)!  If you ever visit Germany in the Spring you will experience what I'm talking about.  Paul's favorite thing about the markets was the sausage stands!  He has been already saying how much he misses them.  Some day we'll be back.  I hope!  Happy Birthday Josh.

Munchen, Germany

May 25, 2011

After Salzburg we headed to Munchen or as we Americans say Munich.  What a great city!  Paul and I had to pretty much fly through it since we had to be back in Bamberg for my brother's 30th Birthday party.  We started at the museum Alte Pinakothek, which is classic European paintings from the 14 through the19th century.  Seeing some of Durer's originals was amazing.  After the museum we headed into town.  Stopped for a Munchen original bier.... or two.  Headed to the Hofbrauhaus to sample some more bier.  Had to have the full mass or 1 liter.  Who needs to go to the gym?  We did eat some food amongst all our sampling.  In the photos you will also see a student protest or demonstration against tuition increases.  It is amazing to see the involvement by students.  It seems hard for us to come together to show what we support, and it doesn't always have to involve sides.  We also noticed how many buildings were being restored.  If I could buy stock in scaffolding I would.  Paul really liked when they would have a printed screen of what the building will look like or did look like when it was first built.  Much nicer to look at than just the scaffolding.   Wish we could have spent the night, but guess we'll just have to come back again!

Salzburg, Austria

May 23-24th

After Regensburg we were going to head to Munich, but everything was pretty booked up in the hostel world.  So, we passed Munich and went to Salzburg.  Salzburg is just passed the border of Germany into Austria.  It was such a beautiful train ride with the green farmland, rolling hills and the start of the mountains in the distance.  We had a little trouble when we first got there finding a spot to stay, but then everything worked out, and we ended up staying another day to really enjoy this beautiful city.  We had our trusty Rick Steve's book telling us all the secrets and myths about the town.  There's a whole tour you can do just on the Sound of Music.  Most people forget Mozart was from Salzburg.  There is a very impressive fort on top of the hill.  We hiked up to it, but didn't pay the fee to see inside.  Climbing up to it, I think of all the poor horses and people that had to bring heavy loads up this same path.  We also, thanks to Rick Steve found a huge beer garden, and a local brewery which were some of the highlights of the trip.  The locals even asked as they joined our table how we found these places since they are normally not found by tourists?  We hope to go back to Salzburg some day.  Hope the photos do it justice.