Two Beautiful Bavarian Cities

This past weekend I convinced my sister Paige that she needed to take Friday (March 18th) off work and come out to play with me.  She got here Thursday night around 10:30 PM which was great because that gave us all day on Friday to play.  The really cool thing was that Hyrum had work off on Friday so we all headed up to Nuremberg.  Hyrum and I had wanted to visit the Nazi Documentation Center museum for a while but we never got the chance so we were excited to finally have a day without the boys to check out the museum.  I totally recommend this museum to anyone, but I think it is more enjoyable without small children.  They give you an English translating handset at the beginning of the tour and the museum itself is well laid out with great photos and well explained displays.  The museum basically explains how the Nazi party came into power and the main characters that were influential during the lead up to Nazi control.

Paige, Julian and I in front of the museum

Daddy and Julian standing on the platform at the Zeppelin Field Rally Grounds.  All the photos one knows of the party rallies with rows and rows and blocks and blocks of soldiers looking alive, listening enraptured to the Führer’s rantings and saluting were taken here. 200,000 people could stand in the square, which was larger than twelve soccer fields, in front of the monumental grandstand with the rostrum.

Another shot of the Rally Ground Grandstand.  The creepiest thing for me was to walk around on this huge structure and think about the people in the concentration camps that were forced to work night and day quarrying granite for these structures.

We ended our trip to Nuremberg with a delicious lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant in downtown Nuremberg...seriously the best Asian food I have had in Germany!  Friday evening Paige and I took the twins to see Rango at the movie theater.  I'm not sure if I would recommend this film to people taking their children, some of the language was really "colorful" and some of the themes were too adult for the boys to understand.

On Saturday Hyrum spoiled me by offering to watch the kids all day so Paige and I could visit Munich.  Paige had been to Oktoberfest in Munich but hadn't been to see all the other sights this beautiful city has to offer.

We started our sightseeing tour at the Marienplatz, the city square that is dominated by the Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall).  And, of course, we waited with anticipation for the glockenspiel to play at the top of the hour.  Just to warn anyone interested in visiting, the glockenspiel is fun to see but definitely nothing to hold your breathe for:)

From Marienplatz we headed toward the art museum...LOOK what we found in a shop window on our way!  Oh yeah, we stopped to sample some of these delicious cakes!  I totally think it's worth the 2 hour drive just to eat one of these confections from Heaven.

Paige on the steps of the Alte Pinakothek art museum.  I was so impressed with the collection of art we were able to see here.  Great artists from the 14th-19th centuries, including Dürer, Raphael, Titian, Rubens and da Vinci.  This museum is the perfect size.  You are able to get a sampling of great art without the saturation you experience in larger art museums.

Albrecht Dürer Self Portrait

 

Raphael's Holy Family at the Canigiani House

Munich is home to the original beer house, the Hofbräuhaus.  We stepped inside to find rows of wooden tables full of Germans enjoying their beer while listening to the oom-pa-pa music being played by the band.  We considered having a bite to eat but decided against it because it was just a bit too lively for our taste...we headed across the street to the Hard Rock Cafe instead:)

After dinner we headed to the Viktualien Markt to have a quick look around.  If you are looking for fresh fruits and vegetables or fresh butchered meat or fresh homemade cheese, this is the place to come.  We weren't hungry at all but it was still a lot of fun to walk around and see the people buying their evening groceries from these local producers.  Besides all the wonderful food stands there were also some stands selling handmade crafts, like these hand painted Easter eggs.

Even though we were both quite full from dinner we just HAD to have a gelato before we got back in the car for the two hour drive.  Gelato and German bread, probably the two things I will miss most when I move back to the States!

So there you have it, two beautiful Bavarian cities in two days.  Don't you want to come and visit?