Y is for You Wish You Were Here...

Travel Date: 20 May 2014
Cities: Munich, Fussen
Asian Tourists Seen: 2,965,295
Author: James Lloyd

Today we toured Neuschwanstein Castle and the surrounding area. We started by taking a 1 hour train ride to the city of Fussen in the German Alps. After getting off the train, it's a short bus ride, then a 20 minute walk up the foothills. The first castle you see is one called Hohenschwangau.

 A little further up the path, after passing numerous out-of-shape Americans, we came to the  famous Neuschwanstein castle.

 We were also temped to start rock climbing, but then we saw the signs... Damn the man!

 We took a guided tour through the castle. Unfortunately we couldn't take pictures, but the gist of the castle was that it was Crazy King Ludwig II of Bavaria's dedication to his massive obsession with the compose Richard Wagner. Each room was decked out with illustrations from the famous Wagner operas, including a large "room" that was a mock cave from the opera Siegfried.

After the tour we took a walk around the Maurienbrucke - a bridge over a nearby waterfall with a sweet view of the castle.

X is for things the absence of the thing

Travel date: May 20, 2014
Location: Munich and Garmish Germany
Dumplings doused in vanilla pudding and filled with something brown eaten by James: more than 0, less than 1.

Today we took another beautiful Alpine train ride, this time to Garmish, which rests at the foot of Germany's largest mountain Zugspitze. Once there I learned about the AlpspiX, a scenic overlook made of metal grating and shaped like a giant X, offering great views of Zugspitze and the rest of the valley. Perfect - that will be today's X. Upon reaching the visitor's center, we learn that the cable car to the AlpspiX is undergoing repairs and is closed today, so X is for the AlpspiX, which we didn't visit, and the giant mountain that we didn't climb.

Instead we went to another nearby mountain, Wank. X is also for the wank we didn't have on this charming little sister mountain. It wasn't excessively tall, but that is ok because it has a perfect view of all the other, taller mountains. We watched a paraglider take off, catch an updraft, and then sail high into the sky. We watched him circle the mountain for at least half an hour before he disappeared behind another mountain. I flew a miniature kite. We snacked at a restaurant at the peak and James had the first non-alcoholic beer I've ever seen him drink, so X is for the alcohol James didn't have with his lunch. He assures me it was purely accidental.

We hiked down the mountain and soaked in the view. Our laundry still being tied up at the cleaners, today was also the day I realized that the deodorant I thought I'd bought in Spain seems to instead just be an armpit massager. Oh, Spaniards. So X is for the deodorant I didn't wear, the pleasant aroma I didn't have.

We learned that there's some digital design convention in Munich this week which is causing all the lodging to be at capacity, so despite our efforts we spent the day not knowing where we would be staying. So X is also for the lodging we didn't secure. We got back to our hotel we'd already checked out of and did some online research to come up with a sub-par place a little out of town. It could've been worse, but it could've been better. When we arrived, the check-in guy had just left to address something at another property, so we suggested we go have a bit to eat. We hung out at a Chinese restaurant around the corner which, all told, was pretty good.

We eventually got checked in and made a friend with a Swede from above the arctic circle to share some wine with. We learned about a fifth season the Swedes have called "winter-spring". You know, when you've gone months without seeing the sun and then when it eventually begins to rise again, you're reminded how bright the perfectly-white snow is, and you are reinvigorated to go and do stuff in it? Yeah, me neither. I took a shower which, in contrast to everywhere else we've stayed, had plenty of scalding-hot water but seemed to be short on cold. So lastly, X is for the appropriately-termperatured shower we didn't have.

W is for Weather-measurement devices have lost their novelty

Travel date: May 19, 2014
Location: Munich
Author: Nick John
Price paid for a load of laundry: I'm too embarrassed to even answer

James and I wandered the city this morning. We ran across a fantastic vegetarian restaurant for, well they were serving lunch by the time we got there. We then meandered through the city, strolled through an couple markets where I picked up some delicate souvenirs which have basically no chance of surviving the trek home.

Our destination for the day was the Deutsches Museum. This massive six-story complex covers all major branches of science, along with a vast array of collections like planes, ships, and ancient human artifacts. They had a large exhibit on modern uses of carbon, like building light-weight car frames, kick-ass racing bikes, and artificial limbs.

The museum's exhibits are largely just in German, which was nice because it absolved me of the obligation to read every word. Instead, we looked at ancient cave paintings and early computers and simple gear machines without learning their real names or the context they play in our world.

All the major descriptions had full translations, so we did learn quite a bit about early humans, nanotechnology and principles of lift. They had an interesting display depicting the evolution of various musical instruments, like the 7-belled trumpet and a trombone with a dragon for a bell (sackbuts FTW!) and a number of instruments that I would have thought were invented by Dr Seuss himself.

Oh, and we saw even more sundials, astrolabes, compasses, quadrants, sextants, and octants. They have arguably the largest hygrometer and barometer (the size of a bell tower, see fig. 4). I am confident that I can now calculate the circumference of the earth, predict the weather and the next eclipse, and navigate a sea vessel, all using tools invented before 1400. Go science! We stayed at the museum until they kicked us out, and we could have easily stayed for hours longer.

From there we wandered toward our hotel and found a cute fairytale-themed gourmet burger restaurant on a busy pedestrian street. We people-watched and enjoyed several half liters of helles Bier before returning to the hotel to wind down and plan our next adventure.

V is for Visiting Memory Lane

Travel Date: May 18, 2014
Reminiscent tears shed: 1
City: Munich
Author: James Lloyd

Today was a very a typical, and for me, nostalgic Munich day. Having lived here for a over a year in 2005-2006, I developed some fond memories of places and experiences in Munich, and luckily Nick was happy to indulge my nostalgia seeking.

We started out our day for lunch at a brew house at the steps of the Frauenkirche, the tallest building in the city center and also the main building. Nick naively asked for a beer smaller than a half liter - our waitress nailed it. She brought him a "Schnitt" which is a beer with around half the glass full of head.

Afterwards we took the U6 north to Universität so I could show Nick where I went to class while I was here. From there, we walked into the English Garden (which is unanimously agreed to be the best city park in the world) to the Chinesischer Turm ("Chinese Tower" in English). A pagoda in the middle of the park with a Polka band playing inside it and great beer served and enjoyed all around it.

After a few beers at the Chinesischer Turm we walked through the park to Mūnchner Freiheit. A favorite spot of mine when I lived here to play chess along the sidewalk with a life-sized chess set. We weren't able to play a game (it's become way more popular in the intervening 8 years) but it was still great to see people playing with the same sets I used to...

After observing the chess players for a few minutes we took the U6 further north to my past home, Studentenstadt (or "student city" for you non-German speakers). This was my home fore a large part of 2005-2006 and was my first time back since then. It's a student dorm area located in the center between the 2 major universities in Munich. Such great times... It was fantastic to be back.

I even got a chance to play Kicker (the German word for fussball) in the Potschlamperl ("Das Pot" as the locals call it). This is how I learned German. Days and nights for months at the Kicker table making friends and learned bar-slang German. Didn't help me in class, but changed my life in the experiences I had outside of class. So grateful to have a chance to revisit such an influential place for me.

After my emotional trip down memory lane at my old home, I decided to expose Nick to yet further nostalgia by taking him to my former favorite hangout, Unionsbräu. Unfortunately, they are closed on Mondays... A fact I must have forgotten in the intervening years...

We closed the night strong though - we went to old trusty, the Hofbräuhaus, and met a German guy name Philip at our table. He was interviewing for a job the next day at Siemens, but still couldn't turn down the beer and festivities. He was a super nice guy. We wished him well on his interview and parted ways.

Chalk this up to yet another perfect day Munich. I'm married to Madison now, but you never forget your first love, and Munich, you're mine... #HomeAwayFromHome

U is for Unbelievable Landscapes

Travel Date: May 17, 2014
Locations: Geneva, Train through Switzerland and southern Bavaria
Hours in a Train: 8
Author: James Lloyd


Today was a relatively calm day, we started by touring CERN in Geneva - this is home to the Large Hadron Collider and the place where the internet was invented. Needless to say, it's a science nerd's Mecca. 

I geeked out pretty hard about seeing the original diagram and device for the first world wide web server...

From there Nick and I then (sadly) parted ways out intrepid co-travellers Luke and Kelsey. It was an absolutely fantastic time with them, which was not only a whole lot of fun, but also grew our friendship exponentially. #Feelings


Nick and I then boarded a train from Geneva to Munich (with a transfer in Zurich). An eight hour total trip, but it was absolutely worth every minute. The view for pretty much the entire ride was like a Bob Ross painting. Amazing.

We also learned that in Zurich, you can buy a pregnancy test in the train platform vending machine, for those times you accidentally get impregnated will getting off the train.. Also, the brand name is perfect: MaybeBaby

T is for Too Much Wine. Said No One. Ever.

Travel Day: 16 May 2014
Jolly Old Winemakers Drank With: 2
Cities: Geneva, Anieres, Hermance 
Author: James Lloyd



This was probably my favorite day of the trip so far! Those of you who understand my passion for wine consumption will not find that surprising at all.

We started our day by buying out train tickets then hopped on a bus for the outskirts of Geneva - the wine area around Hermance. We first stopped by a winery in the town of Anieres named La Cote D'or around noon and had a nice conversation with an older man who sold us a bottle of his wine and told us to come back at 5.

With our bottle of wine in tow, we then went on a 5km walking tour through the vineyards. We learned a lot about the Swiss varietals while on our walk and also saw some amazing landscapes.

That's a horse in the background.

Group Selfie!

The walking tour ended in the quaint, small, old town of Hermance. Directly on the lake and right on the border with France. We took a tour around the town, watched some windsurfers along the lake, then had a nice lunch at a cafe.

After lunch we walked across the bridge into France, but about 100 feet in we felt too weirded out to keep going, so we turned around. One of the best decisions of the day - you know what they say about France...

We then made our way back to Anieres, opened the bottle of wine we bought earlier in the day and enjoyed it at a cafe. The woman running the cafe was initially very disturbed by us showing up at her shop and drinking our own wine but she eventually warmed up to us and even brought us a wine bottle cooler. 

Around 5 in the afternoon, the wine tastings started. We first went to the winery Domaine des Monades where we tried around 10 different wines that were made there from grapes in the area.

Next we went back to La Cote D'or for several more wines with our new best friend, Jean-Jacques Gavillet ("Jacques"). It was a chaotic, multilingual conversation with Jacques - he spoke German with me, a little French with Luke and English with Kelsey and Nick. We basically had a private tasting with him, and went through a long list of wines that were pre-planned to build on one another.

After all this wine, we took the bus back to Geneva in order to make our fondue reservations. Nick tried to take a "Micronap" but it was closer to a centinap. 

After we woke Nick up, we made our way to the fondue restaurant for a crazy cheese-filled dinner.

Then after our excessive cheese indulgence we went back to the hotel to drink a bunch of the wine we purchased earlier in the day. We also had a great set of Euchre games, where Luke consistently cheated, but Kelsey and I beat Nick and him in the last game despite his shenanigans...

S is for Science!

Travel date: May 15, 2014
Location: Geneva, Switzerland
Group selfie attempts: four

Author: Nick John

Today began with a casual stroll along the shore of Lac Leman. It was chilly and rather windy (though we speculate it often gets rather windy here) and as such, the city's most iconic feature--the Jet d'Eau--was not running. While you've probably seen jets of water before, this 140-meter-high stream of water makes it to every postcard and brochure of Geneva. The lady at the hotel reception desk said "it's not a very good day to be a tourist in Geneva."




After hanging out on the pier and gawking at the oddest array of waterfowl I've ever seen, we walked down the boardwalk past an array of political cartoons around the theme of peace. I've got to say, it was pretty heavy, and not entirely flattering of America, but fascinating to see the perspective of different cultures on various global issues.

Next we toured the History of Science Museum. This free exhibition displayed a progression of instruments used to measure things like time, weight, humidity, atmospheric pressure and electricity, accompanied by explanations (some in English) of how they work and when they were used. It also offered hands-on exhibits on light, optical illusions, kaleidoscopes, and (strangely) glass eyes.

There was also a sweet room of mirrors that made for a nice photo opportunity.

After all the touring, the walking, the heavy meals, and the weak dollar against the Swiss mark, we wrapped it up with a night in. We made greek salad and omelets, listened to music, and played some cards. After extensive research, we have concluded that Spain knows olives and the Swiss know, well, watches and clocks and banking and things that require efficiency and meticulous attention to detail, but not olives.