Dale & Laurel's Adventures: May 2009

Monday, 25 May 2009

Monday, 18 May 2009

Well, you know how quiet things can get around here - me neither!
I was home for almost a week when Dale called and was finally on the ground for a bit.
So, off I went to the JW Marriott in Cairo - home away from home. Adam was there too. Ordinarily I would have said that we dragged

him out golfing, but in this case, he was more than keen, and now I know why. He has been practising! All that time he and Jeff spent in Cairo at the JW was not wasted. I even coerced him into giving me a couple of tips, but I'll never catch up at the rate he is going. The last photo is from our room, when I left them to do the rest of the 18 holes.
All in all it was great fun, and Dale and I even did a trip back to the Giza pyramids to see the 'solar boat' and get a closer view of the Sphinx (not to mention climbing several flights up to go inside the

pyramid). I think that may be enough of pyramids for me - although I haven't been to Luxor yet!
Back in Cyprus, I hit the ground running with more parties and lunches etc.. Dale is due back in a couple of days, and next week Adam and Natalie are coming out. We are really looking forward to their visit and have a few things planned, although I know they like their pool and beach time too. I will fill you in on all that later.
Bye for now.
Love,

Laurel

Tuesday, 5 May 2009

Munchen continued

The next day we saw castles. Ludwig II of Bavaria was the region's own fairy tale King. Inheriting the throne at 18, he tended to ignore the responsibilities of his position and spent most of his energy on the creation of three castles. First we visited Schloss Hohenschwangau which King Ludwig inherited and where he spent

a large part of his childhood. From here he built Schloss Neuschwanstein in its beautiful, romantic mountain setting. An inspiration for past Disney classics, it was here that he was dethroned in 1886, shortly after which he died in mysterious circumstances. We only got to see the finished parts, which were still remarkable. Afterwards we visited Schloss Linderhof. This was the only palace Ludwig II completed and actually lived in and comes complete with the Venus Grotto.

http://www.tompgalvin.com/places/de/bayern/koenigschlosser.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_II_of_Bavaria

And, seeing as we were in Bavaria, we decided to check out some cuckoo clocks. Here is a lovely website.
http://www.mycuckooclocks.com/hones.html

And then for some darker history. The next day we went to the Dachau Memorial Site. It wasn't as horrific as I had imagined it would be - instead I would call it educational. We spent four hours there and came away exhausted with much food for thought. It is well worth the trip.

http://www.scrapbookpages.com/DachauScrapBook/

But one cannot

end one's day on such a somber note, so we visited one more castle. Schloss Nymphenburg was the summer residence of the Bavarian electors and kings. It was here that Ludwig was born on 25 August 1845. The grounds and gardens are extensive and absolutely gorgeous as is the palace itself. One would need a full day to walk the whole thing.

So, now I am back in Cyprus, and Dale is off following the airplane around the world again. Hope this finds you all healthy and happy and

we are now looking forward to Adam and Natalie's visit at the end of this month.

Take care.
Love,
Laurel

Munchen - May 2009

How much can one pack into three days?! Poor Dale - no rest for the wicked! Even I was wondering if I was crazy by the end of the

first day. We thought we would do a walking tour of the city, and managed to fit in two plus whatever else caught our eye. So much to see, so little time.

We started off at Marienplatz 'the square which marks the true heart of Munich', where one also finds the Neues Rathaus mit (with) Glockenspiel (more about that later).

There we also found a sightseeing bus that took us to many sights which we felt we wouldn't get to see by just walking. It was well worth the trip as it had an English audiophone. Though afterwards, I think we did manage to walk to most of them as well. Here is a list for which we have photos - I wonder if I should make a game and see if you can match the names with the pictures.

St. Peter's Church - where we climbed the tower for a lovely view of the city. Heilggeistkirche - Church of the Holy Spirit. Asamkirche. Sendinger Tor - one of three remaining gates from the old city wall. Karlsplatz (Stachus as it is known to local citizens) - second gate. Isartor - third gate. Justizpalast - Palace of Justice. Damenstiftskirche - Collegiate Church of St. Anne. Burgersaal. Michaelskirche - St. Micheal's Church largest Jesuit Church in Renaissance style north of the Alps. Frauenkirche - Church of our

Lady (a masterpiece of German Gothic art). Theatinerkirche - Theatine Church. Residenz - Royal Residence. National Theatre. Alter Hof - first ducal residence. Try this website for more photos and explanations.

http://www.muenchen.de/Rathaus/tourist_office/sehenswuerdigkeiten/129345/Uebersichtsseite_sights.html

With of course a stop inbetween for some local brew at the Hofbrauhaus - the most famous gasthaus (pub and restaurant) in Munich. A much needed respite.

And back to the Marienplatz. Being May Day (Labour Day there), the square was full of people waving placards and a stage for speeches. The air was charged with fervour, so in spite of the many police on duty we decided not to hang about for too long. However, later in the afternoon things had changed and there were several bands taking their turns on the stage, filling the square with music. All went quiet at 5pm though, when they started up the Glockenspiel. The bells pealed followed by the dancers, jousters and courtesans of old, up in the tower of the