Nymphenburg: Let's Go Inside!

The downstairs of the main floor has been converted to a ticket, souvenir, informational area. You go up the stairs and you enter this:

Turning to your left, you quickly realize it is only going to get better. The ballroom:

Looking back you realize the first room is just the bottom of the ballroom balcony:

 Here is a better look at the top:

A painting in the ballroom:

And the ceiling. Cool, no?

All of the areas above the doors were really cool. I made you a collage. Make sure you look really close at the picture in the bottom left.

Yep, that is a goat playing a horn. It makes me giggle every time.

Ok. We'll leave the ballroom now. Here is a painting of Therese. She is the daughter of the King of Poland. She married Max II.

 Here are more rooms:

 This is where Ludwig, the last king of Bavaria was born. He was the crazy one who built all of the castles (including Neuschwanstein) and almost bankrupted the House of Wittelsbach and the Bavarian Government.

Sorry there aren't more pictures. It's not that I didn't take them. Flash photography wasn't allowed. Most of the windows were covered and I didn't have a tripod. Therefore, taking photos was ummm... interesting.

I'm Going Fruity

We take a break from Nymphenburg Palace for a quick report on fruit. Often when I go to the market, I will see a fruit that I don't recognize, I've never tasted or isn't common in the US. Here is my listing so far:

Zuckermelone -  Originally from Spain. This is an awesome melon. Like the name says it is sweet, but has some cucumber tones.

Kelek - I found this at the Turkish Market. It is very sweet and nice. Similar to a sugar melon but a little different.

Johannisbeere - Yes, we have these in the US (currants), but here they are so common. There is Johannisbeere everything - juice, ice cream, you name it. Also, they are sold all over here. They are even in the tiny markets that barely have any produce.

 

Maracuja - This is another thing that we have in the US (passionfruit). But it really is a staple here. There is Maracuja ice cream, yogurt. It is quite tasty and one of my favorites. They love to mix it with mango.

Mirabellen - I bought these today. I thought they were going to be like grapes, but no, they are like tiny plums. Very yummy.

Physalis - Growing up, I had a neighbor that grew these and sold them to the Hotel Dupont for like $40/lb. Here, they are common (and much cheaper). They taste like a mixture between a tomato and an apricot.

Pomelo - This is kinda like a grapefruit. I personally haven't tried them, but I have seen them around.

 Stachelbeere - I think these are gooseberries in the US. I've never seen them though. They are the size of grapes, but when you bite in they have all these little compartments. Eliza really likes them.

I will continue to keep you updated as I buy whatever I don't recognize at the market. In addition to these, Germany has the normal assortment of fruit: apples, bananas, oranges, blueberries, strawberries, grapes, cherries, etc.

Nymphenburg: The Outside

The great part about going sight seeing by myself is that I get to take my time shooting pictures. There is no husband sighing and saying, "Can you hurry up?" or small child whining that they need to go potty or want to see the souvenirs. Also, I get to take way more pictures. ;)

Here is the front:

Unfortunately, the main facade was being restored. 

This is one of the front wings:

Flowers in the front:

The palace just keeps going and going. These are some out buildings in the front:

 A statue in the front:

In the back, here is the facade:

Look at the faces:

Here is a lion guarding the steps:

And the best part... the park. It goes on for practically ever:

Sorry if you are tired of Nymphenburg. We still have to see the insides (especially the Gallery of Beauties).

Cygnets and Other Fun

At Nymphenburg Palace, the entire front reflection pool was filled with all sorts of interesting water fowl. No sooner had I arrived did these two handsome little guys come over and pose for me:

So fluffy and cute! But look at this! Can it get cuter?

They look just like chicken wings! So adorable! I like this next one because it is like a before and after (however, I got photobombed by a duck. Sheesh!).

I think this next swan does yoga.

Impressive, no?

I also took some photos of the other interesting water fowl. This bird dives under the water.

These were some kind of geese. I like the Canadian Goose in the background. He looks like he is saying, "You kids get off my lawn!"

There were also Mallard ducks and some Wood ducks.

Next up: More Nymphenburg

Preview: Nymphenburg Palace

So, I'm keeping up on my promises and trying to get to some touristy stuff. Yesterday, I went to Nymphenburg Palace (by myself!). It was really relaxing and enjoyable. I don't have too much time; so, here is my favorite picture of the day (unedited):

More to come...

A Big Announcement

We have a new baby! No, I haven't been keeping secrets from you. My mom (Mimi) skyped us one day, and this is what she bought as a belated birthday present for Eliza:

He She is a male female seal point Siamese kitten (9 wks now). Eliza is over the moon! Her His name is Kitzel which means "tickle" in German. Eliza named him her. The cat on the left is my stolen my parents cat, Simon. Kitzel will be returning to Germany with us after our visit the US in August and September (if Mom, Dad, D, and Micole will let him come. She's He's apparently entranced the entire household.).

Update: Turns out the breeder was wrong and Kitzel is a little lady. We don't really care. We are excited for her to (eventually) come home!

More Visitors

An old friend of mine came with his wife to visit. It was really nice to finally meet her as I've heard so much about her over the years. Here are Bastian and Nina:

We took Eliza to the Gasteig downtown. There were a multitude of cultural performances and workshops. Eliza attended a class on balancing on a ball and tight rope walking.

She also got her face painted. Many thanks to Nina! There was a problem with the line and our tickets, but Nina got it worked out in the end.

We also ate some awesome food. Sorry, no pics. After lunch we went to a "Self Cut Flower Field" and cut some gladiolas.

In August, we go to their house on the Baltic Sea! We are really excited.

Visitors!!

We've finally had visitors! Friends of ours from Santa Barbara were travelling Europe and stopped in. It was so great to see them. Also, this week I stayed with a family from our ward and had four kids all week (5 sometimes). Oh my gosh! It is so much easier than I thought it would be; however, that being said if I had to get through the baby years with each one it might kill me. So, here's a picture that I stole from Brandy:

Also, we have visitors this weekend. Our friends from Kiel are here. What an exciting week!

Autobahn!

Yesterday, I went with my friend to Stuttgart. It is about 2 hours from Munich on the Autobahn. On the way home, I drove her beautiful BMW. All I can say is WOW!!!

So, sometimes there is a speed limit. If traffic is slowing down, weather is inclement or there is construction there are these billboards overhead that will slow traffic down before it reaches the stau (slow down).
The signs look like this:

If not, the sign will display this to indicate no speed limit:

Yes, they drive fast when there is no speed limit, BUT:
-The roads are paved beautifully! There are banked and are lovely to drive.
-Everyone follows the rules. Fast cars on the left. Slow cars on the right. No passing on the right.
-When there is a speed limit, people actually do slow down.
-Maybe it was just the car I was driving, but going really fast wasn't as noticeable as usual.
-There is something incredibly liberating about choosing your own speed!!!

The car I was driving had a heads up display. It was awesome. It gave me the current speed limit (it could talk to the signs), my speed and the gps directions. It looks like this:

On the way home, we stopped in the rest stop to use the ladies room. So, it actually costs to use the toilet, but it was really clean and check out this:



Awesome, huh!?!

Please note: I didn't take any of these pictures. I have no desire to die on the Autobahn.

Eliza Today