Here I am at Hickory Street Cafe.. One of our favorite little lunch places!
I believe I last left off in the beginning of our Oberammergau trip. It's interesting because I would have never chosen it as a vacation destination but we loved it there! The Bavarian food was fantastic and the town was beautiful! Our favorite dinner was at the Magic Restaurant with Vlado the magician. Vlado, the owner, was fluent is several languages and came around to each of the tables and did magic tricks! Funny guy-and great food!
Me and Vlado the magician!
As I mentioned in my previous post, Oberammergau is famous for their wood whittlers and the Passion Play. This is a hand carving we bought for my parents' birthday present!
Gorgeous driving through the Alps in Austria
Taken just down from our little apartment. Ali and I walked down here every day!
Our forever carving from Oberammergau
The beautiful fog the morning we left!
Pepper encrusted pork knuckle! MmmmMmmmGOOD!
Holland- Amsterdam & Zaanse Schans
Jessica and I took off early on an April Friday morning headed to Holland to see the tulips! Evidently, the blooming tulips are famous in Holland but there is a small window of time you can see them in full bloom- We nailed it! We tooled around Amsterdam the first day. It was nice but, there were too many people and you could smell pot on some of the streets. I didn't necessarily feel unsafe--just a little uncomfortable. Honestly, I am ok if I never go back to Amsterdam. Glad I went. Enjoyed good food and visited a Lush, (where we bought a delicious looking fruit mask to wear that evening in the hotel!) I think we might have just been a little tired from the early morning drive (6 hours) ... And it was a little rainy too!
Although we did make the most excellent discovery in the Amsterdam airport ....
REALLY? We could not stop giggling like 2 year olds in the shop!!
I guess if you gotta go, you gotta go..
My favorite picture of Amsterdam!
We were in bed early that night anxious to get an early start to see the tulips! Keukenhof is where the spring flower are displayed. It's unreal. Truly, unreal. Flowers everywhere! Meticulously maintained and unbelievable displays! The park is huge! I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.
Who doesn't love flowers? Everyone loves flowers but, Jessica LOVES flowers and green things!
It was really neat to see the Bakker name all around Holland!
For those of you that don't know, Mike's Oma and Opa were born and raised in Holland and their last name is Bakker.
A flower field just off the road! We pulled over to snap a picture!
Next stop.. Zaanse Schans!
It's like the "Williamsburg" of Holland. A working Dutch village set back in the 1700-1800 time period. Windmills, cheese making, wooden shoe making, etc. It was the highlight of our trip! We spent hours in this town and in the residential town across the bridge. Truly wonderful day!
The best goat cheese I've ever had! So good, we went back later in the afternoon for a second sandwich! With honey, pecans, and fresh bread!
A few cocktails to end the night- Oh, and a bunch of bread. A perfect day
So good!
Cinnamon and cloves
Munich and Ingolstadt, Germany
Mike had a conference in Ingolstadt which is quite close to Munich so we left a day early to check it out! It was the first weekend of Springfest- (Oktoberfest in the spring) Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating and we didn't make it to Springfest but we tooled around Munich and enjoyed a night at the ever popular and touristy place, the Hofbrauhaus.
Of course it was packed as this is a very popular tourist place but, the nice gentleman on the left welcomed us to his table. He was buddies with the Oompah band so we hung with them in between their sets! So fun!! Several of them had their own mugs! (which stay at the Hofbrauhaus under lock and key) One of them wore his great grandfather's lederhosen! I'm so glad I've learned enough German to carry on a little bit of a conversation!
Ingolstadt, Germany
One wonderful thing about these conferences is they are always held in really nice hotels! This one had a beautiful Japanese restaurant and a coffee/wine/pasta bar! It was rainy during our stay and for some, that might ruin their trip but I had a great time! During the rain, I parked myself on a leather couch in the coffee/wine/pasta bar and sipped lattes while reading and looking out the big windows. The staff were so very friendly and I was able to practice my German in a relaxed, comfortable setting. One day I was given a mission: To find a specific Bavarian beer. Three tries and the beer was located! We brought home two cases for Mike's upcoming promotion!
Budapest, Hungary
I can honestly say I never thought I'd visit Budapest. Frankly, I didn't know anything about Budapest. Wow, what a beautiful old city full of history! I've found in my research there are many beautiful Europeans cities. I've also found often there is little to do in some of them. Not the case with Budapest. There was so much to do and our trip was a short one. I'm becoming an incredibly efficient traveler so I was able to do almost everything on my list!
This made us stop in our tracks- A Dempsey dog painting in the gallery window. Strange how we just happened to walk by this... Stranger it happened to be a fawn boxer... We miss him.
The Shoes on the Danube Promenade- I read about this online and just needed to see it. It's a memorial honoring the Jews killed here during WWII. They were made to remove their shoes and then shot at the edge of the water. This depicts their shoes left behind on the bank. Incredibly sad. This is the most prominent memory I believe I'll have from Budapest.
I found this little shop that sold handmade shoes created in the likeness of the old shoes on the Danube.
We attended a hosted dinner for Mike's conference. It was at a wine restaurant and we had the entire place to ourselves! Several course meal with different wines for each and our dessert was on fire! This was our welcome drink- I couldn't get it down. It burned. It was very interesting to sit and have dinner conversation with military members from all over! Italians, Dutch, Hungarians, German, UK, just to name a few! Fascinating experience.
The Castle District
I always enjoy the little cafes and confectionaries..
Our dinner cruise had a live music show- Everything from Opera to show tunes, tap dancer, belly dancer, an Oompah guy, and a violin player.
Between March and May, Mike was also in Poland, Croatia, Virginia Beach, and Lithuania! And, it's not over! We have a few more trips lined up over the next few weeks. Oh, and we have our first visitors arriving too!!! It's going to be a busy few months but so fun! I live on the Google right now! Research, research, research...
Ali is doing really well. The Munich trip was the first time she was boarded since losing Dempsey and we were all a little concerned how she would do but she was great. She met several new friends including the cutest little french bulldog boy! We absolutely love where she stays and are so thankful to have found such a wonderful couple who so clearly love dogs. I read on a forum where someone referred to the owner as the "German Dog Whisperer" and I laughed but, he is!! He's just wonderful! It certainly makes traveling much easier when you are not worried about your baby.
Spring in Germany is beautiful! We've had sun, thunderstorms, warm weather, and cool at night which is perfect! Life is good. I'm tired of typing now. More later...
