Munich

We went to Munich this weekend and had a really nice time. The grey gloominess of the German Winter gave us a short reprieve and we actually had a bit of sunshine and warmer temperatures also. We were able to drag the whole family too, which was such a nice treat!

One of the "famous" sites in Munich is the "Eisbachwelle" otherwise known as the Ice Brook Wave. It is located in the English Garden. It is actually a man made wave that never ends, so people can surf until they fall (the wave doesn't ever die down). They say it is only for very experienced surfers because it is so narrow and not so deep (Not that we were planning on giving it a try, but just thought I'd mention it :-)). It was really fun to watch and we even got to see the local surfers engineer an increase in the height of the wave by using ropes and wood (interesting.... picture an Asian Man in a wetsuit climbing the side of the bridge like Spiderman in order to make that happen - it was funny :-)). I had heard about this wave a long time ago, so it was really fun to finally see it in person.

The "Deutsches Museum" was the other big item on our list. Camden had been there with his class and highly recomended it (we figured if Camden liked it, it must be really, really, really good :-)). It was a great Museum. It was highly technical with Science and Technology though, and we smiled at all of the German Engineering Minds relishing in the academia of it all (these are the same people who come out to walk on a newly constructed bridge and truly just stand in awe of the grand engineering of the structure - it makes me smile (probably because I understand so little of it, yet appreciate it so much!)! Camden enjoyed it the second ltime, but discovered that so much of his enjoyment of it the first time was the fact that he had so much fun with his friends there (not quite the same with 4 family members :-)). It was fun though and we did really enjoy it.

I was a bit curious what we would find in the Muncih Train Station. The news has portrayed the flooding of refugees into Germany via this station. We saw only a couple of families who were definitely fresh arrivals. It made us so sad to see (especially the children). Everyone has different opinions on the issue, but as a Mom you can definitely sympathize with these Mothers. I can't imagine having to give up my entire world for safety and a better life. Seeing these kids, dirty and tired, sitting patiently on a garbage bag of their families belongings, having such a long and dangerous trek behind them, but such an unknown future ahead of them. No matter what your political beliefs are, it is a very sad thing to comprehend (and to have your children see). Makes you feel very fortunate and grateful (especially after such a fun weekend).

We played cards on the train (reminded us of China :-))

A little pre-teen naughtiness (look at Mia's face)

Here is the famous wave

Mia posing (a little bit nicer this time :-))

It was such an interesting thing to see

They had to be really good, as the river is very narrow

and not so deep either

the view from the bridge (you can see how narrow it actually is)

And here they were engineering a handmade contraption to increase the size of the wave

There is "spiderman" in the middle of the bridge :-)

They somehow pulled something up with the rope on the other side

and the wave got bigger (you can see by the audience on the other side, that it is a real specatcle in Munich)

We went to take a picture of the ducks, and just when I clicked the camera button, a dog had run over and scared them away (you can see the dog on the left)

So happy for the sunshine!!!

And here is my "artistic" wannabe photo - the surfers through the locks on the bridge

The Deutsches Museum!

They had a little bit of everything that you could imagine!

Camden in front of a couple of missles

This was just someones stroller parked in the stroller row. Had to take a picture though - so cute!!!

Cam and Bailey in a cell

View from the top (this picture doesn't really show it, but since it was such a clear day, we could see the Alps off in the distance..

The best part was that because it was such a nice day, everyone was enjoying the outdorrs, so the Museum was not crowded at all!

World Cup - Luge (In Oberhof, Thuringen)

We had such a neat experience this weekend. We went to a Men's and Women's World Cup Luge  race. I came across the event online by accident and being that we have never been to a "World Cup" event, we wanted  to check it out. It was only an hour north of Bamberg in Oberhof (which is in the state of Thuringen - former East Germany) and only 10 euro per ticket (amazing!!!). I had never seen the Luge live and we were amazed at how unbelievably fast they go. It was really neat to see. The best part was how fun and laid back the environment was. You literally were allowed to go pretty much anywhere. The racers were super friendly and we even got to speak to a couple of the the U.S. coaches. It turns out that one of the potential racers (who was in the last Olympics, but didn't qualify for this event) went to my High School. (I found this out during the actual race, when my parents texted me - gotta love technology :-). We asked the U.S. coaches about her and ended up in a really nice conversation with them -they were super nice! The Germans always know how to celebrate (apres-ski) and the mood was like one big fest. There was fun music blaring over the speakers and depending on which country was racing, the music changed to their countries' "stereotypical" music. The 2 songs that came on for the U.S. were: "Born in the USA" and the Rocky theme song. So funny! The Russian music was also stereotypical for Russia and so on... We had such a fun time!!

At the top of the hill, they had all of the flags for the countries that were represented...

"World Cup" in German is "Weltcup"

This was the top of the Luge Course where the racers took off. I was amazed that you could just walk right up to it to watch...

This is one of the German Team Members, Andi Langenhan - it was neat because he was the local favorite, being that he lives nearby and trains here

Some of the sleds all lined up and ready to go

It was fun to see the different Jackets of all of the coutries represented...

Here is an Italian racer at the top getting ready to head down...

Austrian racer at the top (again, a bit crazy that they let you watch so closely (it was so laid back!)

You could buy cow bells to ring at the bottom (I bet this tradition originated in the Alps :-))

This was funny - a Russian videoing the TV screen with one of their racers :-)

Had to get a pic with the Canadian Flag too :-)

This is one of the funniest photos that truly captures exactly how fast the sledders go. Notice everyone facing up the hill still trying to take pictures, but the sledder has already wizzed by them (my point and shoot camera caught it, by pure accident - so funny :-))

The curves were pretty scary..

This was also a funny photo. Notice near the backback, not far from Bryan, is an empty bottle of Prosecco. The people standing near us had just "prosted" with glasses of Prosecco (yes glasses, not plastic cups). Yes - no guard checks and no problems with people throwing stuff on the track or anything. I love that people are responsible, so you can still do this sort of thing! 

Love these 2!!! And of course the other 2 who weren't able to join us ;-)

The curve is quite scary looking!!!

The German red cross was on standby ...

so pretty!!!!

Here is the hut of the local favorite. He had a local fan club :-)

Romania was there too!

The best decision of the day was to wear skipants. We stayed quite warm, even though it was cold out...

This makes me smile. This is a VERY common scene in Germany. They are bringing more bread up for the bratwurst. It is obviously quite fresh (no packaging or anything :-)

Lots of German flags

These were two local National TeamTandem sledders who were there to support the German team (this was an individual world cup race, so the Tandems didn't race)

Mia spotted this... It was cute. The translation is: "We were here -it was awesome!!!" We didn't write it of course, but it was our sentiments exactly!

When we made our way to the finish line, we were able to stand right up front. 

It was interesting because the time finishes on lower point. The sledders are going so fast that after they cross the finish line, they actually continue sledding up another fairly big hill in order to slow down. This is were they get off and everyone cheers for them.

Here were the American Team Members cheering for the Women...

Immediatley after their race, they had to either hit a green light or a red light (the girl is choosing her light). We weren't 100% sure, but we think it was to declare if they wanted those times to count or not???

Here is the end, just after the racers come up the hill to slow down to a stop.

lots of German Fans

This is another thing I love - the kids are able to just play!!!

The parents were in the stands and the kids were to the left of the stands just playing in the snow, while their parents watched. Again - so laid back :-)

The crowd at the finish line

adorable!!!

Here are 2 of the U.S. Olympic and National Team Coaches. They were so nice and we struck up a fun conversation. They live in Lake Placid, where the National Team trains. The man near Bryan was on the 1992 Olympic Team as a racer himself. 

And the beautiful ride home!!!

It was a great day!!!