The first week of May, I went to Germany for nine days with my boyfriend Corey. This being my first trip to Europe, I really didn’t know what to expect. I expected to drink beer, see old buildings and not know the language. I didn’t realize how much I would learn and how relaxing and calm the European spirit is. I’ve posted a few pictures here on my website:

http://sarah-partridge.com/travel/germany

We left mid-morning from KCI and flew to Atlanta. From Atlanta we flew eight hours to Munich. The flight would have us landing in Munich about 7 am local time, so my plan was to sleep through the flight. I consider my ability to sleep anywhere, in any position my super power. Though, I found my kryptonite: flying coach on an airplane. No matter how I shifted or angled, I could not get comfortable enough to sleep more than 20 minutes at a time. Bright spot thought, Delta gave me wine with my dinner.

Needless to say when we landed in Munich, we were tired. Our plan had been to hit the hostel immediately and sleep a few hours, but the hostel was booked and our room would not be ready until 2. We had no choice but to schlep around Munich with the majority of our luggage. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise. There is so much to do and see (and eat!) that we were immediately energized. We checked out the Munich Cathedral, where the current pope served as a bishop. There’s an imprint of a footprint in the entry to the nave. It’s said that the builders were behind schedule building the church so they made a deal with the devil to get it completed in time, but the devil’s one request was that the church only have one window. From right behind where the footprint is, only one window is visible. However, if you take a step forward to where the footprint is, you can see that the church is lined in stained glass windows. Upon taking a step forward and seeing the windows, the devil stomped his foot down in disgust band left a permanent mark on the church. Neat story right? I didn’t take a picture of the footprint. It took me several days to get a handle on what I need to take pictures of and what I don’t.

We also checked out the Glockenspiel in the city center. Though the clock itself is nice, a true Munich landmark, what I found more interesting was how the historic elements of the city integrate with modern Munich. Across the square from the Old Town Hall that houses the Glockenspiel, is an United Colors of Benetton and a Subway. In the US we treat historic buildings and places like fine china- always kept separate. However, Europe has mastered building a modern city not around its history, but fully integrating it into contemporary life. It was exciting to see old and new juxtaposed in such a way that both were enhanced.

Another aspect of modern Europe we couldn’t escape is the insane popularity of football or soccer. We happened to be in Munich for game day for Bayern-München. Almost every man, woman and child was wearing the Bayern- München jersey (which looks like a T-Mobile jersey to Americans, but it’s Deutsche Telekom.) We hit the beer garden about 10 am. (We figured we were still on US central time to justify our early drinking.) The garden was packed was rowdy football fans, getting ready for the game. Corey ordered us a couple of beers, a pretzel and a Sausage Salad.

The major breweries of Munich alternate serving in the central beer garden and the Saturday we were there, Hofbräu was the beer in the beer garden. We sat underneath a shade tree and watched football fans sing chants and locals pass through the surrounding open air market. The sausage salad was quite good, a great way to have Germany sausage without feeling weighed down afterwards. It was thinly sliced sausage with green olive slices and onion, topped with a light olive-oil vinaigrette. Ours was “Swiss style” so it had Swiss cheese. The pretzel was crunchier that pretzels are in the US, but still light and fluffy on the inside. The beer lived up to the legend of amazing Munich beers - crisp and refreshing but still full of flavor. Throughout the course of my trip I learned that my favorite style is the Weisse, or white beer, similar to a Belgian wit or a wheat.

Our first day in Munich we also explored the Odeonsplatz, a public square dedicated to Munich heroes and once the site of a pro-Nazi demonstration in which Hitler was arrested. Adjacent to the square is St. Cajetan’s church. This church was more striking in its décor than the Munich Cathedral because it was completely white, expect a pitch black pulpit. The all-white décor and the sunlight beaming in seemed to visually illustrate the light of Christ opposed to the darkness of evil. I was taken aback by the sheer size and minute detail of this church.

The weather was quite nice, so we walked through the Hofgarden, the former court garden, and the English Garden. Both are now public gardens, but whereas the Hofgarden is well maintained and trimmed, the English Garden is more rugged and natural. The English Garden is bigger that Central Park in New York, and complete with surfers, topless sunbathers and a beer garden. Yes I said beer garden again, and of course Corey and I stopped for a brew. We ordered Munich’s famous “mass” beers – a full liter of beer in a giant mug.

The weather was getting kind of sticky, so a nice beer was perfect for people watching. The table next to us appeared to be a family picnic. A couple of early teenage kids were being served beers by their parents. At the next table, a grandma, I would guess 80-90 years old, was enjoying a beer with her family. Beer is so interwoven into German culture that all ages seem to drink, and enjoy, the beverage.

We completed our way through the garden and back to the city center for dinner. We ate at Augustiner Bräu, a brewery in Munich. Like many restaurants we ate at, there is no hostess to seat you, even in nicer restaurants, and you do not dine privately. You sit on a long bench on a table that can seat 10-12 and enjoy a meal with strangers. Corey had a huge pork knuckle and I had traditional bratwurst and sauerkraut. Then, we finally got our much deserved sleep.

After accomplishing so much the first day in Munich, we decided we would venture outside the city of a day trip. We bought a Bayern ticket, a one-day ticket that can take you and up to four friends anywhere in Bavaria. We rode for about two hours to Passau, a small river-side city of about 50,000 people. Passau is known as the City of Three Rivers because the Danube is joined by the Inn and the Ilz within the city limits. We attended mass at the Passau Cathedral. It was interesting for me, growing up catholic, just how similar the services were. Even though I don’t speak a word of German, it was quite easy for me to follow along.

Though every city we visited was full of bike riders, Passau seemed to be a destination point for cyclists. Loads of people got off the bus with us with their bikes and immediately took off. I can only imagine that being so close to the river made the bike paths relatively flat, but the history of Passau made for an incredibly scenic bike ride.

We explored the river by taking a boat ride up and down the river. It was warm out, so we sat on top of the cruise boat and I ordered an ice coffee. We saw the Oberhaus, the fortress on the North side of the Danube that protected the city. We also saw the coasts of Austria. Back on land, we enjoyed lunch at a Greek restaurant. In a very international moment for me, I had Greek wine, an Italian pizza, in Germany, looking at Austria while speaking English. I think it was this moment that I has hooked to European travel.

Corey ordered a gyro and a local beer. Unlike in the states where mass-market beers are available everywhere, each city in Germany has a few breweries and restaurants serve strictly local beer. We also explored the city park at the western post point of the city where the rivers all meet and climbed up in the fortress before taking the train back to Munich.

Back in Munich, we re-visited the hostel to re-coop before dinner. I had never stayed in a hostel before, so I really didn’t know what to expect. For what it was, it was fine. It was affordable, in the city center, the front desk spoke English and there was free Wi-Fi. However, we booked two beds in a three bed room, hoping we would end up having a room for just the two of us, but they were full so there was a third person in the room. I could quite shake the feeling that someone was sleeping in our room. Next time, we’ll book beds in a larger room I think.

We enjoyed dinner that night at a restaurant across from the Glockenspiel at dusk. We happened to sit next to a fellow American working in Munich and his German fiancé. They had met in the states, and he had gotten transferred to Germany so they could be together. It was great to talk to locals about culture and food in English. Best of luck to them.

Our third day had us on the train again, heading to Bamberg. This is where Corey had studied for most of 2006 and he fell in love with the city. Upon arriving late morning, the first thing you notice about Bamberg is that it smells like beer brewing. Bamberg is home to nine breweries and only 80,000 people. There is also a giant malt roastery, which I believe is where KC local favorite Boulevard Brewery gets their malts. To continue the beer theme of this trip, we stayed at a “Brew Hotel.” Many local breweries have guest rooms for rent. We stayed at Brauerei Spezial on the third-floor above the brewery and restaurant.

We set out by foot through the town center to the Old City Hall. When the city was planning on building this building, the church owned all the land in Bamberg, so the city hall was built in the river. The building appeared as thought it would start floating down the river any moment if not for the bridges attaching it to dry land on either side. We also saw the famous Bamberg Cathedral. This church is known for its architectural detail and history. Two saints and a pope are laid to rest in this cathedral and it’s home to a relic. The Bamberg Cathedral also lays claim to the Bamberg Rider statue, which is now the symbol of the city.

We went back to Spezial for dinner. Since we arrived in Germany we had heard that it was “spargel season.” “Spargel” is the German word for asparagus, and the specialty is white asparagus. I ordered white asparagus with Hollandaise sauce and boiled potatoes. Corey had bratwurst and we both ordered more beer.

The next morning we hiked up one of Bamberg’s seven hills (just like Rome) to Saint Michaelsberg. This is former monastery on top of a hill. It was exceptional to look over the traditional red roof houses of Bamberg and see a true view of small town Germany. We had to almost race down the hill to meet Corey’s friend Bastian at a local café. I had an amaretto coffee and Corey had a hot cocoa with Bailey’s and Bastian still wasn’t there. Even though we had to wait to catch Bastian it was worth it. He showed up in his brand new BMW M5, ready to take us up to Kloster Banz, a local pilgrimage site. Even though the site was closed, we ate at the restaurant, which served the monk brewed beer, Kapuziner.

Though it might sound totally overdone by now, we drove back to Bamberg to enjoy a couple beers. It was great talking to Bastian, a true German who had studied at Missouri Western with Corey, about culture, food, drink and life. We talked as old friends until Fassla, the brewery across the street from Spezial, closed for the night.

The next morning we enjoyed the Spezial breakfast, like we had the previous morning. This was a traditional German breakfast, comprised of thinly sliced ham, local cheeses, fresh baked rolls and coffee. We also got a hardboiled egg, which took us a while to learn how to crack, we really enjoyed speading it on our ham and bread. Such a heavy breakfast was typical in Bavaria, which explained why German ate such a late lunch.

We adventured up another of Bamberg’s seven hills to Altenburg, a former castle, bought and restored by a wealth merchant in the 18th century. It now serves as a reception and party hall, but the grander of this site has not disappeared. The view of the country side set this site apart. We could see miles of red-roof homes and the hills in the background as well as the Rahm fields. Rahm is a Germany root plant used to create sweet butter and oil.

With Bastian we also got to experience Bamberg’s bishop residence. These overly opulent hunting grounds had over 100 acres of lakes and an intricate garden. I found it interesting that the original marble statues of the grounds were all stored in the former stables, and replicas were actually on the grounds. This meant this you could enter a room full of 100 year old statues. To me, it was crazy to see so many interesting artifacts in a single space.

Bastian had to leave us after lunch so we shared a few beers at Spezial, before Corey and I left to explore the town. We shared a Doner Kabob for lunch. This is one meal, (besides spargel) that I really miss. It’s Turkish street food but for about three Euros, it was one of the best meals we had. We got to walk though the town like locals this afternoon, shopping for food, and even looking for clothes in the department store. We got to spend out evening at an authentic Italian restaurant. From what I could tell, the Italian husband ran the kitchen and the German wife ran the tables. We had a corner all to ourselves and shared an appetizer, two entrees, dessert and five glasses of wine. I walked through the streets of Bamberg back to Spezial, feeling quite good.

The last city we stopped visited in Germany was Würzburg, a wine town in the region of Franconia. We spoiled ourselves by booking a nicer hotel and it was worth it. We had a small patio off our room which overlooked the Main River. Immediately when we arrived, we started climbing up to the fortress on the other side of the river. After we crossed the river, we ventured though the botanical garden. Each part of the garden was inspired by one of the sister cities of Würzburg. It took about an hour, but we eventually reached the top of the hill and the castle.

The fortress gates were huge, about 30 feet thick in some places and about 50 feet tall. Inside of the walls was the castle, complete with its own church. The castle would have functioned as its own little town in its day. Now it houses the state archives and serves tourists with a small beer garden. The best part of the fortress was the view. We could look down across the Main River to the town and saw the rolling hills with linear grapevines stretching to the horizon. Inside the castle walls were more grapevines. The hill the fortress sits on is so steep; it produces excellent grapes for wine. On our way down the hill we wound through the vineyards, enjoying the view of the vines and the city.

We re-entered the city center by crossing over the Old Main Bridge. This is a 400 year old pedestrian bridge lined with statues of saints and local heroes. Locals seemed to congregate on the sides of the bridge, looking down the river. The city of Würzburg was completely destroyed in World War II, but you would never know by looking at the architecture and city structure. Everything was rebuilt to match its former glory. Everything that is except the Cathedral. The cathedral married the traditional elements of the church with more contemporary design in a unique way. There was baroque décor on the alter but abstract purple stained glass windows. It was a unique building in the very traditional looking Würzburg.

That evening, we ate a little later, as the sun was setting. We sat outside under an umbrella in the city center. Corey and I both wanted to try the local wine, which is over 80% white wine. He ordered a Müller-Thurgau and I had a Bacchus. The wines were refreshing and crisp, but not sweet like the more popular Riesling. It paired well with my spargel salad, which had the white asparagus I had fallen in love with and also potato cakes and salmon. It was really like nothing I had ever had, but the asparagus went really well with salmon. Corey went a little more traditional and ordered a currywurst with French fries. I guess it was obvious we were Americans when we ate our fries with our fingers because the Germans I saw all used a fork.

We did want to explore more of the wines of Franconia on our last day in Germany, but first we set out to see the Würzburg Residence, a current World Heritage site and the former home to the prince-bishops. We weren’t really interested in seeing the lavish interior, nor were we interested in paying for it, so we stuck to the exterior gardens. I think we did a good job at really weighing the worth of seeing some touristy things that could be quite pricey versus sticking to what is free. I really learned that just because it’s there, you don’t have to go see it. Corey did a great job at steering us to what was interesting to us, not what a guidebook told us we had to see.

The Gardens at the Würzburg Residence were just beginning to bloom but the sheer size and floral arrangements were breathtaking. I also really enjoyed the playful Rococo statues throughout the garden. They gave the garden a sense of whimsy when compared to the massive, overwhelming structure that was residence building. One of Würzburg three wineries, Staatlicher Hofkeller is part of the Würzburg Residence complex. The wine shop had almost 100 year old Bocksbeutels. The Bocksbeutel is the distinctive Franconian wine bottle that only wine from the Franconian region come in. The EU even regulates that use of this distinctive bottle. All three Würzburg wineries bottle in bocksbeutels.

Also distinctively Franconian is the Silvaner grape, which celebrated its 350th anniversary while we were in Würzburg. We were walking around the city and started to see loads of lime green balloons. Turns out the balloons were being handed out on the Old Main River in celebration of the 350th anniversary of the Silvaner grape being grown in the Franconia. At 2 pm, 350 lime green balloons were released from the grape vines inside the castle walls. It was really impressive to see a symbolic representation of the wine history of Franconia. Plus, street vendors were selling glasses of Silvaner.

That evening we enjoyed even more Silvaner. Corey and I took a walking tour of the cellars at Juliusspital. This winery, like the others in town, was originally a hospital and started making wine to finance the hospital. Juliusspital is actually still a working clinic as well as the second largest winery in Germany. We started our tour in the courtyard, with the guide pointing out important architectural elements as well as explaining the history of Juliusspital. The problem was, the tour was in German and I really couldn’t follow along at all. However, when we went underground into the cellar, and were served a few glasses of wine, it was a lot more interesting to me. The wine barrels were taller than me, the cellar smelled slightly musty and you could sense the wine history. It turned out to be a neat experience, despite the language barrier.

After our tour, we hurried back to the hotel to pack up and get a little bit of sleep. It wasn’t exactly perfect planning, but we had to leave Würzburg on an overnight train at 2 am. We did make our train, but it ended up stalled on the track for about 40 minutes, making us miss our next train. Corey was able to navigate us a new path to the airport, and we did arrive on time to board our 10 ½ hour flight back to the states.

Once again we had trouble really sleeping, and by the time we were back in Kansas City, we had been up nearly 24 hours. Everyone immediately asked us about trip, but it was hard to reflect so instantly. It’s easy to say it was a great trip, but with more time removed I can now reflect better on how I changed ever so slightly in my brief time in Europe.

First off, it was a unique role reversal to be the one who couldn’t speak the language. I am 100 times more sympathetic to people who have trouble communicating. I was also impressed with how many people we met they were fluent in multiple languages. I really want to work on my own language skills. I also think I learned how to relax a little. Corey and I had a full schedule but we still took time to sit on street cafes and enjoying being together on vacation. Europeans really do know how to enjoy every day. I hope I brought some of that home with me.