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| Above the clouds in the Bavarian Alps |
Phew! What an amazing trip! One of my dearest most wonderful friends in
the world made the journey across the Atlantic to see me with the countries of
Germany and Scotland on her wish list as well as 4th Row seats to Fleetwood Mac
in Glasgow, Scotland in her hand. Being
the organization freak show that I am, once she gave me her dates I took care
of all the travel details!
The day Kristin
landed in London, I met her at the airport so we could fly straight to Munich
from there. Her Iceland Air itinerary
told me that her flight landed at 0745, so I booked our flight to Munich at
1400, giving us plenty of time in between for any incidentals. Little did we know, that was actually the
time she took off from her layover in Reykjavik. Balls!
After much communication via my husband sitting at home with the iPad, I
found Kristin, just in time to board our flight - minus the 6 hours in between
we thought we had, but in time nonetheless!
We got to the train
station in Munich and had enough time to devour two giant Doner Kebabs before
boarding our train to Garmisch. NOMNOMNOM.
Once we got to
Edelweiss in Garmisch, we checked in and promptly passed out.
Travel Info, Day 1:
Flight from Gatwick
to Munich: $134 each on EasyJet
Train from Munich
Airport to Garmisch: €28 for both of us
**tip** Get the Bayern Pass - once you
purchase for one person, you can add each additional traveler for only €4 each!
Saves you mucho money.
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| Ettal Monastery |
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| A German Monk talking about the Monastery's history |
The next day we had
an early start and headed off on a tour to the Ettal Monastery, which sustains
itself through several means, one of them being a brewery!
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| Monastery from the hill of the cheese factory |
After the Monastery, we headed over to the “Schaukäserei” (cheese factory) in the
beautiful Ammergauer Alps. We ate a lot
of cheese and other tasty treats, and I proceeded to shove leftover cheese
cubes in my purse for later consumption.
Nap!
That evening, we
went on another tour and had dinner at the Griesbräu Brewery, where we met the
spirited Brewmaster Wolfgang, fully decked in his best Lederhosen. We drank Helles (light), Weissbier (Hef), and
Dunkel (dark) - my favorite. And being
that it is the season, we were very privileged to sample some of the
Oktoberfest brew STRAIGHT OUT OF THE VAT. DELICIOUSNESS.
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| Wolfgang sharing the fresh batch of Oktoberfest with us! |
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| They also make Bierlikor, which is essentially liquor made of beer. A tad sweet for my taste! |
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| The beautiful brewery |
After copious amount
of tasty beer, we indulged in giant plates of pork belly, German potato
dumplings and some other tasty mushroom sauce.
I was in joyous pain due to my new beer/food baby. Kristin bought a Growler of the Weiss, and we
headed back to the hotel for sleepy time.
Travel Info, Day 2:
Bavarian Brotzeit Tour: $30 each through Edelweiss Resort
Brewery Tour: $39 each through Edelweiss Resort - VERY worth it! Delicious beer, delicious food, beautiful restaurant and brewery.
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| FOG. |
The next morning was
an even earlier start as we headed toward Neuschwanstein Castle, the castle
built by Ludwig II and that which inspired Walt Disney and all of the preceding
fantasy movies. Once we got to the base
of the mountain, the fog was SERIOUS.
Like we couldn't even see the castle serious.
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| Near Neuschwanstein Castle |
So somehow both of
us missed the memo that once you get to the bridge over the waterfalls you're
supposed to come back across the bridge and go the other direction. So once we
got across the bridge, we just kept going up the mountain. Being that we could barely see the bridge
itself, there was no way that we could see where the castle was through the
milk-like fog.
So hike we did. And
hike, and hike, and hike. Until there
were no other humans.
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| When I started to get really suspicious... |
I had the feeling
that we were on the road to nowhere, and definitely not the road to the
castle. We finally came across some
German hikers and I asked how far it was to the castle.
They looked at each
other and said, "Castle?".
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO…..my brain explodes....
If we didn't have a
designated castle tour time and the possibility of being left on the mountain
by our bus, I wouldn't have cared. But
being that we did, I was a little distressed.
So we proceeded to RUN (by run I mean jump, skid and slide) down the
face of the mountain . Once we got to
the main trail, Kristin started skipping (yes, that kind of skipping) toward
the castle. She claims it is better for
your joints and shins. She wasn't sore
the next day, so I believe her. The
weird looks she got were worth it I guess.
I envisioned myself skipping a tad too hard and slamming my face off a
rock so I stuck with the running.
We didn't make it
for our tour time, so we got on the next English speaking one which was 30
minutes later. I was sweating my balls
off at this point, and had nearly stripped nude in the courtyard by the time
our tour started. The castle was
amazing, and decorated so lavishly and intricately it was easy to see why
everyone thought Ludwig was such an eccentric.
The mural that
inspired Bambi itself was incredible. No
pictures allowed inside the castle, otherwise I would share. You'll have to journey to Bavaria yourself
for that one! :)
By the time we made
it off the mountain and found our tour guide, we could have eaten a small
animal. We settled for a nice slab of
pork wrapped in bacon on top of a giant tasty salad. I devoured that bitch.
The feeling of
knowing you are not going to be left behind in the Bavarian Alps is quite
lovely. Our journey back took us through
the Austrian Alps - though we only saw through the window of the bus, it was
absolutely stunning.
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| Another of Ludwig's castles |
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| The Austrian Alps |
Back at the hotel,
we had a lovely soak in the giant outdoor hot tub and dinner with some friends
from England and then it was off to dream land.
Travel Info, Day 3:
Neuschwanstein
Castle Tour: $43
**tip** Don't keep going after the bridge unless you are
prepared for and have time for a serious hike.
In fact, do keep going after the bridge.
Just work it into your schedule for the day. You will be rewarded with views like this:
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| Epic. |
Sunday was our
travel day, back to Munich from Garmisch, then our flight to Edinburgh,
Scotland. Keep in mind Kristin still had
a Growler (2 Liters) of Weiss to finish before we got on the plane. She was doing a pretty good job, and we only
had to dump a couple inches of it at the airport before we went through
security. AND we had time for one more
Doner Kebab before we boarded!
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| NOM. |
Since it was
Oktoberfest, our flight was of course completely filled with drunken Scotsmen
heading back to Edinburgh after a weekend of imbibing at the world's biggest
beer fest. The intoxicated young man
next to me at the gate was enthusiastically sharing his theory about the final
episode of Breaking Bad that was to air that evening. (He was wrong but it was a good theory).
What we believe was
the drunkest Scotsman in Germany was seated one row behind and across from us
in a beautiful blue kilt, had a rough time fastening his seatbelt and we were
beginning to worry that the already red-eye flight was going to be delayed. Eventually he managed, but as soon as the
light went off he was jubilantly prancing up and down the aisle while he and
his buddies laughed uproariously.
He
eventually stopped at our seats and was convinced that I needed to drink a cup
of vodka. Straight. I politely declined.
Several times. He forgot about the vodka
as soon as he shook Kristin's hand and exclaimed to all that she had the
handshake of a man and some other terminology that was so thickly accented and
dripping with intoxication that we still haven't figured out what he was
talking about.
We got into
Edinburgh around midnight and took a cab to the room we were renting and fell
into bed.
Travel Info, Day 4:
Flight from Munich
to Edinburgh: $227 each with EasyJet
Room off the Royal
Mile in Edinburgh, booked through airbnb.com (Eva Sanchez): $75 each for 3 nights - EXCELLENT location!
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| Edinburgh, Scotland |
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| Edinburgh, Scotland |
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| Edinburgh, Scotland |
Our first stop was
in a beautiful shop on a corner called The Woolen Mill. The owner and his associate set the bar for
this city with their beautiful and humble personalities and customer relation
skills. Seriously wonderful men,
wonderful shop and absolutely beautiful wool, cashmere and other products. We came out of there with a beautiful trove,
including a shirt with a squirrel hanging out in a tartan Wellie for Kristin, and I highly suggest that you stop in here on
your journey to Edinburgh.
They also carry the
Maison Voyage line, which includes this adorable pillow that I am now obsessed
with.
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| by Maison Voyage |
We asked our lovely
Woolen Mill gentlemen for a suggestion on where to eat, and we ended up at the
Albanach right next door where I nutted up and ordered my first dish of Haggis
and my first glass of proper Scotch. The
Haggis was delicious. The Scotch nearly
made me breathe fire. But tasty
nonetheless.
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| The Haggis is on the right. And that sauce? Whiskey gravy. You heard me. |
After that, we
hopped on the bus to see the city from the open rooftop. It was amazing. The architecture is so beautiful and
prominent.
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| Favorite. |
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| Edinburgh, Scotland |
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| Edinburgh Cathedral |
That evening, we
went on a walking tour of the "Darkside" of Edinburgh which took us
through a couple of cemeteries, and various buildings and hills where we were
regaled with stories of ghosts, vampires, cannibalism and various other
interesting tales.
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| Edinburgh, Scotland |
The most intriguing
one was of a man who was so convinced that he was a vampire at heart that he
was killing animals to drink their blood...when that wasn't working, he
eventually stabbed his friend 40-some times in his kitchen so he could drink
his blood as well. When that didn't
work, he smashed open his head and began to eat his brains. When the police were questioning him, he
stated that he was convinced that Aaliyah's character in Queen of the Damned
was his girlfriend and if he drank enough blood he would become a vampire and
be reunited with her. Yeah. Not so long
ago.
Off to bed! No
zombies encountered.
Travel Info, Day 5:
Edinburgh Historical
Tour: £13 each - totally worth it, ticket lasts 24 hours so you can essentially
use the bus as a taxi for all the great stops in the city.
The Woollen Mill:
179 High Street, Royal Mile. Go there,
ask for James. Beautiful.
The Albanach: Right across the street from the Woollen
Mill, excellent Haggis, very extensive Scotch list. Nomnom!
Edinburgh Darkside
Tour: £10 each - walking tour, meets right across from the Albanach at 9pm
nightly!
The following day
was designated for the Edinburgh Botanical Gardens and Holyrood Palace. We were both feeling a bit under the weather,
but fortunately Kristin had packed a month's supply of Emergen-C and she was willing
to share.
I have come to discover that I LOVE Botanical Gardens, and have ended up at them in nearly every city we have visited. The exotic plant life and floral smorgasbord that lies within provides endless inspiration for my work and joy in general. Here are a few of my favorites from this one:
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| This one reminds me of Truffala Trees! |
After roaming around
the gardens and tropical glass houses for a few hours, we caught the bus back
down to the Royal Mile and visited Holyrood Palace, where the Queen stays when
she is visiting Scotland. There also happened
to be an exhibition of Da Vinci's anatomy notebooks in the Royal Gallery, which
was a lovely bonus. The café at the
Palace was absolutely delicious. Get the
shortbread. Melts in your mouth. NOM.
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| The Abbey ruins, still attached to the Palace |
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| A love groin vaults! |
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| Abbey Ruins |
The accessibility of
the palace was understandably a bit limited, since the Royal family still
utilizes the grounds. There were some
interesting and beautiful things to see though.
The blood stain on
the wood floor where the Queen Mary's secretary was murdered is still very
prominent, and the tapestry and woodwork is like nothing you see in this
age.
Feeling pretty worn
from all the exploring, travel and the slight illness, we headed back to our
room and crawled in bed. When we began
to get hungry, we started searching for places that would deliver. No luck.
So then we started looking for the closest food possible. We came up with Mr. Hot Potato and began our
journey. I was really hoping to not
leave the bed until the next day, but hunger won out.
Turns out Mr. Hot
Potato is a genius. He opens up two
giant baked potatoes and then fills them with whatever the hell you want. I opted for chicken chili and a pile of
cheddar. It was just a walk-in, so we
picked a nice set of cement stairs nearby to chow down. It was the perfect comfort food for the
evening. Stuffed, we strolled back to
the room and passed out.
Travel Info, Day 6:
Edinburgh Botanical
Gardens: Free Entry, £5 each for the
Glass Houses. GO. So worth it. Plan on
spending a good 3 hours exploring.
Holyrood Palace: £16
each for the Palace and the Gallery both.
Cool to see, the Abbey ruins were the best part, but wouldn't
necessarily pay to go again.
The Café,
however, was delicious and you don't have to pay the entry fee to eat
there. So definitely have lunch
here.
Mr. Baked Potato:
Cheap and delicious meal. Google the
location. If you're in the area, good place to stop.
Our final day in
Edinburgh was a bit misty, and we definitely would have stayed another night if
it wouldn't have cost so much to cancel and change bookings.
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| Having a spot o' tea where J.K. Rowling did her magic! |
After a lovely
breakfast of Scottish oats and tea at the comfortably warm and eclectic Spoon
Café (where J.K. Rowling wrote the first manuscript!), we spent the day at
Edinburgh Castle, which is holding an incredible amount of history and sights. It is essentially a town within a stone wall,
and is famous for being impenetrable back in the day. The dungeons and prison were particularly
interesting, and the Crown Jewels were very cool to see as well. (No pictures
allowed of course!)
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| Edinburgh Castle |
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| The Royal Mile |
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| POW cells in Edinburgh Castle Dungeons |
After the castle, we
grabbed our packs from the room and headed to the train station to catch the
rail to Glasgow. Travel delirium had
apparently kicked in at this point, and I tried to shove my castle ticket in
the train ticket machine and couldn't figure out why it wasn't letting me
through. The nearest employee came to my
rescue and did his best not to make me feel special - Kristin took care of that
for me. Need. Sleep.
Exhausted, we were
looking very forward to what we thought was going to be a nice, yet
budget-friendly hotel with at least a comfortable bed. When we arrived, we were given the skeleton
key (literally) to our room and headed upstairs. The bed was right behind the door, the room
was taller than it was wide, the bathroom and shower were down the hall, and
the single pane window allowed the street
noise directly in our room. Not to
mention the 8" TV worked for 20 minutes before freezing on a shot of the
train station for the rest of the time there.
When I plopped on the bed, I think a spring snapped and broke my
rib. BAHHHH…. Whatever. Shower and sleepy time.
Travel Info, Day 7:
Train ticket to
Glasgow: £12 each - trains leave every 15 minutes from Edinburgh Waverley
Station
Room at Smith's
Hotel: $72 each for 2 nights - good location for near the Hydro,
budget-friendly, but don't stay here if you're looking to relax at all.
Our hotel also
happened to be across the street from Kelvingrove Park, which was a lovely
expanse of green with a huge art gallery on the edge. The gallery was a random assortment of
taxidermy, fossils, paintings, and experimental installations. Including this one:
After we had our
fill there, we hopped on the bus and headed into the Square to find some
lunch. We ended up at Elia's Greek Café,
which ended up far surpassing our already high expectations since we both love
Greek food so much. My succulent leg of
lamb was the size of my head, and Kristin's Pasticcio was freaking
addictive.
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| St. George's Square in Glasgow |
After we stuffed
ourselves painfully to the brim, we slowly started moseying back toward the
hotel. As we wandered through the
streets, it became clear why Glasgow is known for its shopping. I was quickly entranced by the biggest
Paperchase I have ever seen, and could have spent many hours and dollars in
there if we had more time.
However, this was
the night that we were in Glasgow for.
This was the night of Fleetwood Mac.
We got back to the
hotel to get ready as the sun sat and the rain began to fall on Glasgow. No matter, I slapped on my kilt and we called
a cab. Then we ran through the rain and
through the tunnel and came out right next to the merch tent. Yay! New
Fleetwood Mac gear for us!
Our seats were 4th
row, but Lindsey Buckingham likes his fans up close and personal, so as soon as
the lights went down everyone that knew that little tidbit ran up to the stage
and we ended up right here:
Seriously. Nothing but a couple feet and a microphone
between us and Stevie Nicks. I cried. A
few times. Seeing her every expression, smile, and the emotion in her face was
priceless.
It was also
Lindsey's birthday and the audience sang to him, which was so rad to be a part
of.
It was beautiful,
beyond words. To witness such legends
performing with such love and energy...what a privilege. They played for over 2 hours and then did 2
encores on top of it. I've seen many,
many concerts in my few years, and this was by far one of the greatest.
After the concert,
we stopped in a little kebab house for a late dinner where we found another
incredibly drunk Scotsman who was convinced that we should come stay at his
house and attend a soccer game with him the next day. He kept getting closer and closer to us with
his saucy kebab, and I was very concerned he was going to get his saucy sauce
on my sweet ass kilt.
We took our kebabs
back to the room, chowed down and tried to sleep through the street noise. At one point, an ambulance went by, sirens
blaring, and Kristin shot up in bed swinging her fists like the ambulance was driving
into our room. Yeah. Restful night.
Travel Info, Day 8:
Kelvingrove Park and
Art Gallery: Free! Exhibitions seems to
rotate often, huge building, definitely worth the stop!
Glasgow Bus Tour:
£12 each. Ticket lasts 2 days, so good to use as a taxi around the city. Not much to see in Glasgow, but the bus
covers what there is. Recorded audio, so
not as fun as a live guide.
Elia's Greek
Café: YES. That is all.
Shopping: Probably
the best thing about this city, if that's what you're into.
Fleetwood Mac
tickets: $224 each. Worth every penny.
The next day was the
last day of the trip and we happily exited the 'hotel' and grabbed a cab to the
airport. Fully exhausted, we plopped
down in Starbucks to wait for our gate to be announced and were promptly surrounded
by the Glasgow Rugby team. No complaints
from either of us of course, go ahead and lick those espresso cups, boys.
Once we got back to
Stansted, which is about an hour from my house, we planned on taking a train up
to Brandon. Being that the UK doesn't do
so well with providing thorough information on the web, I wasn't able to see
the timetables or prices on the train journey before we left. After learning that it would take over 3
hours and £40 each to get there, we opted to call my hubby to just come pick us
up instead. So we sat down and enjoyed a
couple beers at the outdoor café while we waited.
Travel Info, Day 9:
Flight from Glasgow
to London Stansted: $60 each with
EasyJet
Train from Stansted
to Suffolk/Norfolk: Horrible idea. But
if you have to…plan on at least 3 hours and a good $60 per person.
And then we were
home! The last few days of Kristin's
trip in England were beautiful, so we took the doggies for a few frolics in the
park and took Kristin to the farm shop café so she could experience the
amazingness that is Cream Tea and scones.
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| Scarlet and Auntie Kristin |
It was a fabulous
trip, with a fabulous friend, fabulous food and fabulous sights. And of course Stevie.
This past weekend, I headed to Amsterdam to celebrate a birthday with a lovely bunch of ladies, and now it is back to the studio to prepare for the upcoming Lakenheath Holiday
Bazaar and the Christmas rush!
With gratitude,
Emily
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