Munich and Berlin

Friday, October 24 - Wednesday, October 29

Friday night Allyson, Lizzie and I piled into Giuseppe for the 4 and a half hour drive from Lugano to Munich. We had my iPod going and there were many sing alongs throughout the drive. Once we arrived in Munich we found our hostel, and realized there was no parking so we wandered the streets until we found a place about two blocks down and then to find our room was a trip and a half. About thirty minutes later and trying our key in every door we finally let ourselves in rooms 39-40 and found our room 602. The hardest part was that we couldn't ask anyone for help because we had arrived after reception had closed so we had to pick up our keys at the pizzeria across the street from a man who just happened to be a friend of the owner.

Once we dropped off all of our stuff we grabbed our guide to the beer halls of Munich and took off to the center of town, riding the underground. Yeah, we are brave ladies.

The Town Hall at Night

Anyhow, we successfully found one of the famous halls the Augustiner Großgaststätte.

Where I was able to sample some white sausage with the skin on, which I later found out I was suppose to peal off. Oops.

Allyson and I after our delightful dinner

Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to grab breakfast and wander back to the main town hall to watch the Chillion perform, which are little statues that walk around a clock face at specific hours of the day. The one at the Munich town hall is the largest one still working in Europe.

Chillion at the Town Hall

Flower stand

Town Hall

Then we were off on our walking tour through Munich. We started with a stroll through the street market, full of the scents of fall and Christmas.

Christmas Cheer

May Pole in the center of the market

Watch out for that lobster!

From there we walked the path to what was considered the Fifth Avenue of Munich, with stores lining the streets. We didn't see too many things that caught our interest, we really saved the big shopping for Berlin.



Next stop was the English Garden where we took many autumn pictures.

The leaves were so beautiful we couldn't pass up playing in them and Allyson even attempted to jump into a rather large pile. However, her maturity got the best of her and she just hid behind them to give the appearance of frolicking.


We stopped at a bench along the way to enjoy the view of the river that flowed through the center of the garden.

Then we saw another pile of leaves and decided we needed some fun shots. It first started with each of us throwing piles in the air.

Allyson

Lizzie

Me

But then we set the timer. So much fun!!!

At the end of our walk before heading towards the Hofbrauhaus we passed a little refreshment stand specializing in milk and beer. I guess their target clientel are the children playing in the garden and the supervising parents. With that being said, their number one customer was sitting out front with her liter, enjoying the scenery.

Lizzie, Allyson and I all agree...we hope we are as content as her when we reach her age.











Finally we reached the most important destination in all of Munich the Hofbräuhaus.

We had many liters of beer, with the mug giving Lizzie and Allyson bruises on their drinking hands from the weight of the mug.

Enjoying our Beers

One of the locals

I think the atmosphere was the best. There was a traditional band playing, all of the tables were filled and the beer ladies you hear so much about where fighting the crowds carrying up to 6 liters of beer at a time, while wearing the traditional dress.

After two liters, a sausage and a couple of pretzels it was time to go back out into the city. By city I mean, we walked around finding a location for Lizzie to do her Star Jump.


Then went shopping. We all needed to purchase some gloves, because it was freezing and we had seen a couple pairs of boots that intrigued us at a store Called Molly's Shoes and More. So that was our final destination, with Allyson and I trying on shoes. My feet are so large, I had to go to another store to make my final decision and it resulted in my ownership of a pair of high grey boots, that I have sported many a times already.

With bags in hand we wandered to another beer hall to finish off the evening and a sampling of another local brew.

Setting back our clocks on Saturday night proved to be a godsend because it allowed us to get on the road bright and early for our drive to Berlin. The entire trip was cloudy and rainy so there wasn't much to see or distract me from the crazy drive. At one point I was going 140 kmph in the SLOW LANE and two cars flew by me, shaking little Giuseppe and scaring me half to death. I knew they drove fast on the autobahn but that was just crazy.

We arrived in Berlin in the early afternoon and checked into our hostel, The Three Little Pigs, which is housed in an old convent. It was a neat place to stay. We dropped off our stuff, grabbed our umbrellas and began walking and to my excitement we found multiple Dunkin Donuts. Definitely breakfast a couple of mornings.
Holocaust Memorial - to commemorate the murder of 6 million European Jews at the hands of Hiltler and his forces. Consists of 2,711 bear stone slabs containing no names, dates or markings.
Bradenburg Gate - the symbol of reunified Berlin. This was the site of the major celebration during the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989.

After much wandering and strolling through the streets of Berlin we found our dinner spot, Subway. Very tasty. Now that we were fully satisfied we took to the streets again to head towards the theatre district, where we partook in a lot of window shopping. Both Allyson and I fell in love with a beautiful black three quarter length jacket that only cost 464 euros. Throughout the rest of the trip we were trying to rationalize spending that amount of money on a coat. Luckily for us, it was gone when we went back to the store because I think I was successful in convincing myself, especially when Mom told me I am only young once and I mise well enjoy it.

Once we reached the square we knew we had found our favorite location. There were outdoor restaurants on all sides and the place was busy with people. We settled at a swanky version of Hagan Daz and had ice cream presented gourmet style.

The next morning brought us rain as well, but we decided to brave the elements after stopping at Dunkin Donuts for a cup of coffee and a bavarian cream. While walking the previous day we had noticed an audio walking tour that hit the major sights and we decided that would be the most educational way to see Berlin. So we grabbed our loaded GPS systems, put on our headphones, propped up our umbrellas and walked almost 9 miles around Berlin.

First stop, the Bradenburg gate, which we had already seen, but I learned a lot about it from the guide.

Longest stretch of Berlin Wall still preserved

Throughout the city their were sections of the wall that had been painted and preserved when the wall came down.

Checkpoint Charlie

Reconstructed checkpoint

Ruined by Hannah Montana

East Side Gallery

Faces made famous by an artist who walked outside of his home one day and decided he wanted to make the wall more appealing. He had to be quick about his work because he was not allowed to get that close to the wall so his strokes became simple and his designs easy to fill. He changed his methods of painting but the faces that resulted became famous images of the time period.

That evening we decided to rally just a little. We got decked out in Berlin clubbing attire, also known as sweaters, jeans, and boots. We treated ourselves to a tasty dinner at a Tapas restaurant at our favorite square. Then we walked and walked and walked till we came to the oldest brewery in Berlin. There was no one there and after one pint we closed the place down.

Next stop was a five story club that was open on Monday evenings. However, that club turned out to be having Kareoke night. A very amusing event to watch when all the Germans are singing English songs and not knowing really what they are saying. Allyson, Lizzie and I got a few looks when we broke out into song in between sets to things like the Beastie Boys.

Tuesday was a laid back day, waking up and getting around at about noon and wandering for a starbucks coffee and muffin before heading to the Checkpoint Charlie Museum so Allyson could get a gift for her father. Afterwards we went to Museum Island to see the Berliner Dome and the Pergamon Museum.

Berliner DomeAgain, Lizzie did her star jump.

That evening we decided to take in a little more American lifestyle and took in a movie at the Sony Center. The only difference here was that we had wine and pretzels at the theatre instead of coke and popcorn.

Wednesday was not as great. We had a nine hour drive to make back to Lugano. All was smooth until we left the San Bernadino pass and there was snow. A lot of snow, about five to six inches still on the grounds and the roads. Giuseppe had a lot of challenges during this trip, and I think this was the most difficult. It took about an hour to go 40 km down the mountain, but we made it and Giuseppe earned his flames.

Nouvo Safari Park

Tuesday, October 21

Today we took the 5/6 to a Safari Park in Italy. The bus ride there was rather uneventful, even though Guia made me practice my Italian the entire way there. I think I successfully stumbled through introducing all of the adults and students that were with us. I guess now I know how to say where they are from, what nationality they are, and what language they speak. If I am really lucky I also can also tell them my digits.

My Group

The Park itself was fantastic. It started with a train ride through a park where there were animals wandering around.

A very settling feeling when entering the park with 50 some children and this sign is placed predominantly on the outside.

Ostriches

Camels

Hippos

Zebras

Giraffes

Tigers

And my favorite may be the white lion. I learned on the trip that there are only 20 white lions still in existence and two of them live at this safari park. They were absolutely gorgeous. However, I wasn't able to get a picture because the children were so excited I let them get close to the window. I know, I am such a nice teacher.

After our make shift safari we hiked up to a dude ranch to have a picnic lunch and watch a falcon show.

On the count of three...one...two...three

Draw!!!

The Falcon Show

The whole crew

Then we broke up into groups, which my was the best and went into the rest of the park. This is where I decided I love the fact that I am no longer a homeroom teacher and have to stress about what the kids are suppose to be doing and is everyone in my class alright and happy. I got to wander around with my 6 kids, all of which I have taught in some capacity over the past two years, to where ever they pleased. We skipped out on the aquarium and the reptile room to go straight for the amusement park rides. First stop was a gigantic slide where I raced a 6th grade boy down. He won just by a shoe.

Next stop was a water ride that looked extremely innocent and dry. So we let the children go on it. They each had taken about 4 turns and were coming down with very few sprinkles on their sleeves. Laurent and Mike decided they wanted to go and had a blast, running off the ride insisting that Lizzie and I also take a turn so they could get our picture.

Mike and Laurent showing us all how it's done!

So we waited in line with the kids and they were really excited as well to see us go. We were none the wiser that the children had negotiated with the ride operator to get us soaked. I was in the front and Lizzie in the back, when we went over the first bump. Yes it was a small bump with very little splash. That is until the boat that was coming down the large hill right behind us splashed and soaked us completely through.

Not so happy about that one.

However, we got our revenge. By the end of the ride the entire 5th and 6th grade was soaked and had to get on a bus an hour later.

So we proceeded to the other rides in the sun to try to dry them out slightly. It was great, there was no one else at the park so any rides the kids wanted to go on they went on alone. We completely took over the pirate ship and then the little caterpillar roller coaster.

Mike and Laurent were the biggest kids

Lizzie and Katie expressing their true fears of the Caterpillar

They somewhat dried out before heading back to the bus for a very peaceful ride/nap home.