Guest Blogger: Alex Leggett

After a week of intermittent snow (which was really exciting!) we were even more excited to have Michael's brother Tom and his best friend Alex arrive for a visit. Both Michael and I have been looking forward to this for months and we have been thoroughly enjoying their company since they arrived on Thursday night.

Tonight though, on the eve of their departure (for a short trip to Switzerland) I have asked Alex to take the reigns of my blog. Michael and I decided that every time we have visitors, we would invite them to be a guest correspondence on this site. Sadly, Danica and Matt ran out of time while they were with us 2 months ago, but we were not letting Alex leave without his obligatory post! I'm sure he will explain everything we have gotten up to and tell you all the awesome bits of their time with us!

GUEST BLOGGER: ALEX LEGGETT

Well, here we are at the site of the infamous Munich Olympics in 1972 staying with Michael and Kristie in their apartment on the 13th floor overlooking the monstrous complex out towards the BMW Museum. It has been a blast staying with these guys who have taken it into their hearts to show us the very best this city has to offer. In the relatively short time they have been living here (four months), they have discovered most of the interesting nooks and crannies this capital of beer and alpine Christmas cheer presents to its visitors. It all started when we landed late Thursday evening in powder snow at the airport and hurried home on the U-Bahn back to bed for a jam-packed weekend.

We woke up on Friday morning, threw in a load of washing, and rushed down to the looming BMW Welt and Museum just around the block. We jumped in a few new models and inspected some futuristic electric cars made mostly of carbon fibre and glass. The Museum was interesting enough but not as interactive as we had hoped. Shortly after, we popped back to the apartment, strung out the washing, and made our way into the centre of town to get our bearings and take a good look around. When Kristie had finished work, we had a half-litre of Weissbier at Augustiner in town. Next was the enchanting Christmas markets in the centre of town at Marienplatz where much Gluhwein was drunk and spilt on things. We shopped around for some trinkets and presents then headed off to dinner at a place called Drugstore at Münchener Freiheit. Hands down one of the best schnitzels I have ever eaten. Of course, after this, we rolled home. All of us were well fed and ready for the weekend ahead. 

Saturday consisted of an early breakfast of muesli and then a walk to the Englischer Garten, German for "English Garden", in the centre of Munich. It was Baltic cold, but alas, there were still some hardcore surfers taking a plunge in the fast-flowing waters of the Isar river. It branches out across the park and at parts becomes a wave where adrenaline junkies defy the risks by taking the plunge into the gushing water. It had rained a lot, and things were looking quite risky indeed. The group we were watching looked like seals plunging into the river to catch fish rather than waves. There were also surf brand stickers on almost every post and even on some trees near the river. Next stop was the Deutsches Museum, a behemoth science museum that has been split into interesting sections from electricity and glass-making, to chemistry and aviation science. Unfortunately, we didn't have much time left in the day and had to skip a lot but we did manage to check out the electricity demo where lightning was simulated inside a cage. We finished up in the gift shop as usual, and then went home for an amazing home-cooked lasagne and salad by Kristie and an array of Bavarian beers.

On Sunday, we awoke before dawn to head to the castle that inspired Walt Disney and countless other millions of people. Schloss Neuschwanstein is about a two-hour train trip to Füssen and a bus trip to the foot of the alps. A 30-40 minute walk will lead you to the castle, only a third of which is finished, where you fight with the hordes for a short, obligatory guided tour (King Ludwig II died under mysterious circumstances before it was finished and apparently had a thing for opera composer, Richard Wagner). This massive day out is definitely worth it, especially if you can observe the natural beauty and surrounds of the castle in snow. After a crammed train home, we retired to the original Augustiner Keller bier hall and had a litre of lager each with more schnitzel and apfelstrudel to wash it down. All in all, it was a very pleasant stay with our friends in Munich and we would love to visit again. Gold rings on you all! (The Olympic kind, of course)