Days 24-29 - Adventures in Italy and Back to Munich

Night in Florence.

Sorry for the long wait for the post. We had very sketchy wi-fi throughout Italy. I hope you all enjoy this long update!



Last post we were in Florence. We stayed there two days and then moved on to Rome, Pisa, the Mediterranean coast, and Lake Garda. The trip was wonderful and we had pretty good weather.

Florence Cathedral

We spent our second day in Florence exploring the inside of the Florence Cathedral and the Baptistry. St. John the Baptist is the patron saint of Florence, and he is depicted in much of the artwork. 

In the catacombs.

As with most cathedrals, this one was breathtaking. Jack and Ella especially liked walking through the underground catacombs. 

Then, while Ella and I shopped, Jack and Brett walked up the 414 steps to the top of the bell tower. Jack, to the amusement of those around him, apparently chanted "I think I can" on each step and kept checking to be sure Brett wasn't going to "hurl".

Jack at the top!

Rome is amazing! However, it is really crowded. Seeing most of the sites consists of being herded with thousands of other people through small rooms. It was worth every minute. 

Jack and Ella ready to dig into pasta in Rome.

Ella fitting right in with the Romans.

The Sistine chapel reminds me of the beauty in people and the amazing skills of artists. The Colosseum is so humbling; to think that people built that by hand and simple machines. The sheer size reminds me of our smallness in the world. The Trevi Fountain, where all the aqueducts in Rome came together, is a lesson in ingenuity.

The Hall of Maps in the Sistine Chapel.

Trevi Fountain

The Colosseum

And seeing the Pope was a special experience. We were 5 feet away from him. He cruises around in his little Pope-mobile and stops to wave and kiss babies. The crowd has the feel of people at a rock concert, and indeed he is an idol for many. The kids were thrilled and we had a great day.

The Swiss Guard.

In the Pope-Mobile

The crowd love.

Papa Francesco

 Our Vatican guide, Tony Stark.

Our stop in Pisa included some typical tourist pictures!

And finally we stopped in Lake Garda for a few days. It is a weekend retreat for Italians and Germans. Lovely little towns and a beautiful lake with lots of wind-surfers.

Day 23 - Florence

We drove from Venice to Florence today. We arrived in Florence a little late in the afternoon so we only had time to walk around a bit and have dinner. It rained like crazy and we got a little soaked, but the Cathedral is worth seeing even in the rain!

Tomorrow we are touring the inside of the Cathedral and the David statue.

View of Tuscany from our hotel in Florence.

New umbrellas.

Florence Cathedral.

Ella and some weird girl.

Day 21- Venice

Today we drove through Austria to Italy. We took a boat from the Marco Polo Airport to Venice. It is so beautiful. Our hotel was the last stop on the water bus, so we were able to see several of the islands.

After the 5-hour drive and 1-hour boat ride we took a walk and had dinner. This was pretty much a travel day, but here are some lovely pics:

Jack's absolute favorite. He is in Heaven at the Nutella Piazzette.

Sunset over Venice.

Our restaurant.

Fresh mussels for dinner.

Ready for some Italian food.

On the boat to Venice.

The Venice waterways.

Day 17-19 The Zoo and Dinner at the Hofbrauhaus

Beautiful Munich sunset.

This week I took the kids to the Munich Zoo. It is a large zoo, similar to the Brookfield Zoo, which is spread out over a lot of park land. They had two great play areas for the kids, petting zoos, and ice cream!

At the zoo.

We also had dinner with one of Brett's co-workers at the Hofbrauhaus. 

Amazing apple streudel.

Like father, like son.

Pork knuckle!

On the 22 we take off for Italy! When we come back to Germany, the Tollwood festival will be in full swing. We will be seeing ZZ Top.

Tollwood Festivel concert schedule.

Day 13-14 Salzburg, Austria

The tour!

So, for Father's Day and my birthday we headed to Salzburg to do the very touristy thing of going on The Sound of Music Tour. The kids watched the movie for the first time the day before we went. (Yes, I consider this a parental failing.) 



Salzburg is a beautiful city and the countryside is full of beautiful farmland, lakes, and meadows.  While in the country, the tour stopped for a toboggan ride.

Downtown

Um...a goat.

Kids and Brett coming down the toboggan run.

We saw many of the sites involved in the filming of the movie and had a wonderful tour guide who gave us all a lesson on the real story. The abbey still has nuns. They are fairly reclusive and strict, so the abbey is not open to the public. After the tour, the kids watched the movie three more times and looked for all the spots we visited.

The church where the wedding was filmed.
It is not where they actually married, which took place at the abbey.

Ella wishing she had been a guest.

Jack going in for confession!

The gazebo.

The next morning we spent some time at a local park that was filled with Sunday visitors.

Our hotel in Salzburg.

Day 11 and 12- Fairy Tales and Lazy Days

Marchenwald Amusement Park

On Thursday the kids and I ventured on the train a little farther out than we have so far. We went to a fairy tale-themed park called Marchenwald in Woflfratshausen. It was an old amusement park that was probably a little young for Jack and Ella, but they had fun.

At Marchenwald

As you walked around the park their were various stages with really weird, old fashioned German puppet/dolls telling the fairy tales. Some where a little familiar to the kids, like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, but other were not, like The Magic Table. All of them had the creepy brothers Grimm angle. For instance, in The Frog Prince, instead of kissing the frog and turning him into a prince, the princess got angry and threw the poor little frog against the wall turning him into a prince.

Grumpy dwarf

Wild boar ride

They had some fun rides and a cool treehouse that the kids played in, so all in all it was a good day.

Cool treehouse

On Friday the kids and I were very lazy. In the evening we went to a house party with Brett's co-workers. It was lovely and they cooked a lamb all day on the grill.

Lamb grilling, before and after.

Brett tried some homemade Croatian drink, which is like grappa. I was told by the very German man pouring it that it wasn't offered to women!

Tomorrow we are driving to Salzburg, Austria to celebrate my birthday and Father's Day.