Having taken our roadtrip around the Scottish Highlands, one would not be presumptuous to suppose that we had had our full measure of travel for the summer. Yet, with our time being limited, and the opportunities plentiful, we set off a mere two weeks later to rendezvous with Jackie's family in the picturesque German city of Heidelberg for a (slightly) more relaxed tour of Southern Germany. Three countries and two weeks later we had 600 photos and even more memories of what was a beautiful and amazing family holiday.
Lesen Sich mehr über unseren wünderschönen Ferien nach Deutschland! (Ins Kursivschrift nur für Herr Damm).
Stop 1: Brussels
With a acknowledgments of convenience, history, and irony, we decided to travel to Germany via Belgium. It was a blessing to be able to stay with family friends who currently live in Brussels and were gracious enough to let us use their home as a base for launching on our wider European adventures, whilst still having the opportunity to explore a very unique city. Will's first impressions of Brussels were quite unfavorable, having had to navigate an incomprehensible one-way system with his colleagues in April on returning from Luxembourg. For those of you who have had the joy of driving in Brussels (and are still among the living) you will appreciate how this is not the most flattering perspective of the city. Bonus points if you have also had to drive the wrong way down the tramway to get into Gare du Midi.
Yet, when the pace of life slows down to a French/Flemish pace (re: significantly slower than the automobile), we found Brussels to be a charming city of cafés, chocolate, and lovely parks. It is a supremely pleasant city to just wander through without agenda. We also were scoping out the lay of the land for when Jackie's parents would return with us through Brussels. Culinary highlights were waffles at Wittamer, tartines and coffee at Le Pain Quotidien, and the beautiful dinner of spätzle and sausage that our friends cooked for us our first night in.
Stop 2: Heidelberg
After our brief time as Belgians, we got our first chance to experience the European high-speed rail network in earnest. Our readers will know how much we thoroughly have enjoyed Eurostar (despite twice now having been frustrated by difficulties with the Channel Tunnel). However, put Eurostar next to its continental cousins and it starts to seem a few years behind. To get to Heidelberg we had to take a Thalys train from Brussels to Köln via the Ardennes and then a Deutsche-Bahn InterCity Express service from Köln to Mannheim via Frankfurt. While the Thalys could only go so quickly through the hilly parts, this was easily the most picturesque train journey we've ever had. It seemed that around every bend was some quaint Belgian hamlet with an old church and houses built up the forested slopes. We even saw a cycle race! Thalys is an absolute joy to use. The seating is more like Virgin Business Class than coach. There are even power plugs at every seat and the cars are whisper quiet.
Transferring in Köln was an experience. Will had taken all of three weeks of German this past summer and hadn't used it at all in the month and a half leading up to the trip. Thankfully, the Germans appreciate the fact that not everyone travelling between their largest cities will be German. When we arrived at our platform there was a train, however, it did not have the coach that we needed. With five minutes until our scheduled departure we started to get nervous that half of a train would be leaving on time and our seats would never materialize. Then, as if by magic, Will said "Well, if another train was going to couple up to this one then it would have to arrive right about..."
WHOOSH!
... and so arrived the other half of our ICE. Naturally, we left promptly on schedule. While the Eurostar and Thalys are both fast, nothing could quite prepare us for the inhuman pace of the ICE. As we got into the more remote parts between Bonn and Frankfurt the conductor let loose. It felt like the train was going to come off the rails and achieve takeoff. At the same time, though, there was the same solidity one finds in a BMW or a Mercedes as if to say "Fear not, my American friends, this was built by Germans." Recognizing the fact that we have not been to Japan, we can say that in this world there are the German trains and then everything else. Even the normal S-Bahn between Mannheim and Heidelberg was spotless. Despite the relative ease of our travel, we arrived slightly wearied and hungry in Heidelberg.
Heidelberg, like Cambridge, is an historic University town. Founded in 1328, Universität Heidelberg is one of the foremost universities in Germany and is, as they say in Germany, weltberümte. When it comes to surroundings, though, Heidelberg easily outpaces its older, English peer. Situated in the Neckar River valley, Heidelberg climbs the forested slopes on either side of the aforementioned river. Unlike the rest of Germany, Heidelberg was spared the worst of the war having been conquered early by General Patton. Since 1945, the US military has maintained a significant presence in this part of Germany that is still apparent today. The Germany that many Americans picture of little streets, cute houses, and castles is born largely from pictures and family ties to this city. Jackie's brother was, in fact, born in Heidelberg, West Germany, whilst her family was stationed there. This trip was a homecoming after more than 20 years away.
For us, it was exciting to be in such a hilly place. Our first run was straight up the opposite side of the Neckar to the Philosophen Weg; a mountainside path overlooking the Altestadt and the river. Not only was it healthy, it was inspirational! We also walked up from the Old City to Heidelberg Castle which also had beautiful panoramic vistas. Arguably, our favorite thing about Heidelberg was a small bakery chain named Mantei. Not only did they serve local Janssen Coffee, they also introduced us to something we would seek out the rest of our trip: mohnkuchen. If you have never tried this German poppy-seed cake before, book a Lufthansa flight to Frankfurt or seek out an authentic German baker in your area. It is like a dense, dark gray slice of pure wonder. We also enjoyed beautiful sunshine and hot weather (finally!) our entire stay. The unfortunate side effect from this was that we paid for the lack of midge flies in Scotland. German wasps are fearless and abundant in summer. They also have developed a taste for Weißbier; something of a problem in a city full of outdoor cafés flowing with the stuff. They would even fly onto your lips after you take a sip! To these expats fresh off Ol' Blighty, though, this was not about to discourage us from getting some long-awaited time in the sun.
Stop 3: Garmisch-Partenkirchen, München, and Bayern in General
Our first destination post-Heidelberg was, funnily, on the other side of Germany in the Alpine village of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Like Heidelberg (and the rest of Baden-Wurttemburg), the US military also continues to, how can we put this delicately, keep property in Bavaria. This includes a ski-resort for servicemen in Garmisch. For the next five days, we stayed in what can only be described as the most surreal hotel in Europe. If Coloradoan ski towns were inspired by their Alpine forebears, then the US military has managed to bring things full-circle by bringing a Coloradoan ski resort to the Alps. Don't think us at all ungrateful; we never would have made it to this area without substantial help from Jackie's family. It was just very weird to be staying in an American hotel in Germany.
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is famous for hosting the 1936 Winter Olympics, after Adolf Hitler forced the mayors of the two towns to unite into one entity. To this day, the Olympic ski jump and park remain dominant features of the small towns. G-P reminded us quite a bit of (unsurprisingly) Banff in the Canadian Rockies; lots of flower boxes, small houses, and a heavy reliance on the tourist trade. G-P is a popular resort area for people who live near Munich and lies at the end of the A95 autobahn; a direct link to the city. The town seems to spill out onto the plain from the mountains that surround it. Highest among these is the Zugspitze, the highest peak in Germany at 2,962m (9717 feet).
Not surprisingly, we gorged ourselves on mohnkuchen from the two konditorei-cafés not far from the resort. We also found a delightful little cheese shop and green grocer. While many of the servicemen staying at the resort seemed to eat exclusively in the installation, we were heartened to see that most of the staff (who lived outside the fenceline) had good knowledge of the local area and food.
One of the highlights from this part of the trip was touring Neuschwanstein Castle. Neuschwanstein is a monument to the crazy things that spoiled, insane, and hyperwealthy tyrants consider to be not only normal, but necessary. "Crazy" Ludwig wanted to build a castle as grand and epic as the operas of his favorite composer: Richard Wagner. Naturally, this meant bankrupting his people. The enormous white palace sits high up on a mountain, imperiously overlooking the picturesque Bavarian scenery below. Inside, it is a psychotic's fantastyland. Each room's decor is inspired by a different Wagnerian story. There is even a fake cave! It was a surreal trip through the mind of a madman. In case you were curious, yes, Neuschwanstein Castle was the inspiration for Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom. Happy family vacations everybody!
From G-P we did something we've never done before: we hopped onto a tour bus. Controversial as this decision was, rail links between G-P and Munich were expensive and seemed infrequent. While we had originally considered driving, the fear of foreign road signs and a massive logjam in Munich convinced us that the more relaxing (if hurried) option was to take the bus. Thankfully, we did not have to stay on the tour with the rest of the
We left Olympiapark a little after lunchtime and made our way back to the city center to pick up lunch in the Viktualienmarkt; a huge urban market full of every type of produce, bread, meat, cheese, whatever that you can think of. Of course, it was packed, but that's the fun of markets, right? The weather had already started turning a bit gray, but we proceeded undaunted to Marienplatz, location of the famous glöckenspiel and the heart of the old city. No trip to Munich for these two foodies would be complete without a trip to Alois Dallmayr, the German equivalent of Fortnum & Mason. We've thus far been to the French and German equivalents and, really, there is only one F&M. Dallmayr, to its credit had an amazing foodhall vastly superior to the Harrod's equivalent. Jackie was elated to find some high-quality, good German mustard (Will, of course, was nonplussed).
In our ambition, we hurried off towards the Englischer Garten to try and make it to the Chinisischer Turm biergarten in time to get a maß of beer, but found that it would be too far to make it, sit down, and get back to our bus. Disappointed though we may have been, we were thoroughly impressed with the serene Japanese garden at the entrance. We also saw young Müncheners surfing the Eisbach at the Prinzregentenstraße bridge where the canals flow out into the garden. In this land-locked German state, these surfers found permanent waves a stone's throw from the Alps.
A real treat on this leg of the trip was being able to take the Seilbahn up to the top of the Zugspitze. Although Will is certainly afraid of heights, the appeal of ascending the highest peak in Germany was too great to resist. He was also tempted by the possibility of getting a lukewarm mug of buttermilk (an Alpine tradition) at the top. Jackie, perhaps more sensibly, was enthused with the promise of real Glühwein; the thick, German equivalent of the mulled wine that we've come to love here in England. To our surprise, the door to Austria was left open so we popped over to the other side of the mountain and into Austria (yay! another country!). At the bottom of the mountain we met up with Jackie's family and began the next phase of our trip. Sadly, this meant leaving Bavaria.
Epilogue
After the German part of our trip, we drove across Germany (literally) and North into France to the city of Epernay; home of the great champagne houses. While in Epernay we toured Moët et Chandon; an enjoyable and educational venture. Champagne is fascinating because, like diamonds, the price is completely fixed. If they charge $100 for Dom Perignon in the US, they'll charge £100 in the UK and 100€ on the continent. Furthermore, Moët is a flagship of Louis Vuitton-Moët-Hennessey whose business is making money. Lots of money. After a couple of days relaxing in France and consuming organs (don't ask), we completed our journey by doing something that Will resolved never to do again: driving to Brussels-Midi Station to drop off our intrepid Peugeot. Thanks to some earlier reconnaissance (and gratuitous map-review), a detailed street map of Brussels, and not one but TWO functioning GPS units, we took the most efficient route straight into the gut of one of the most ill-planned cities in the world. And we can't wait to go back.
