Say Cheese!

We arrived in Munich on Monday (May 31st) and immediately regretted our decision to give Amy our jackets to take back to the States. Thankfully we kept our umbrellas though, because it rained the entire time we were in Munich! On our first night there, we decided to be a little adventurous and try the top-rated TripAdvisor restaurant – El Gordo Loco. As a rule we try to avoid Mexican food abroad, but this place was surprisingly delicious (not just by European standards)! Apparently the chef is the only authentic Mexican chef in Munich, as the owner proudly told us.

On Tuesday, we braved the weather to take a walking tour of the city. Much of Munich was actually destroyed during World War II. However, as the war started to ramp up in Germany, the German people carefully took pictures and made drawings of the major buildings so they could be reconstructed after the war. It was really amazing to see the Old Town Hall and other architecture around the city. Although the buildings look very old, most were actually rebuilt in the 1960s in preparation for the 1972 Olympic Games.

Munich has a really awesome outdoor market which we took advantage of for delicious brats and pastries. Here is Heather enjoying the world’s largest macaroon, or at least the largest one we’ve ever seen.


With the bad weather, we were “forced” to spend most of our time hoping in and out of beer halls. Below is Jonathan at the famous Hofbrauhaus. Luckily Heather didn’t get kicked out this time like her last visit with her study abroad group!


After Munich, we headed to Luzern, Switzerland. We arrived on Thursday night after a long day of travel to a hotel room that greatly resembled a college dorm – complete with bunk beds! On Friday morning we awoke to absolutely perfect weather and were finally able to break out our short sleeves again. Luzern is definitely the most picturesque city we’ve visited yet – situated around Lake Luzern, with the Swiss Alps in the background.


We spent Friday morning exploring the downtown shopping area and then "spontaneously" decided to rent a peddle boat in the afternoon to explore the lake (see picture of Heather below). We should plan better for our adventures next time because we both got quite sunburned!


Friday night we had a traditional Swiss meal, including cheese fondue (see picture of Heather at top of post) and a delicious plate of rosti. We love this country – they put cheese on everything!

On Saturday, we decided we needed to work off some of that cheese, so we hiked to the top of one of the surrounding hills. The view was absolutely beautiful (see picture below)! We spent the rest of the day relaxing by the lake and avoiding the sun!


Sunday we headed to Lausanne, a Swiss city situated on Lake Geneva. Overall, this wasn’t our favorite city we’ve visited. However, one of the highlights of our time there was visiting the Olympic Museum. Below is a picture of Jonathan putting his old shotput skills to use in the Olympic Park.


In the museum, they just opened a new interactive exhibit where you could test your sports aptitude (apparently we both have poor hand/eye coordination). They also have an entire floor dedicated to the history of the Olympic Games, including the actual torches from each of the games (see picture below).



Our favorite activity in Lausanne was kayaking on Lake Geneva. We virtually had the lake to ourselves on a Monday afternoon. Unfortunately we couldn’t take any pictures (we were too busy paddling), but here is a picture of the lake from the shore.


Our last stop in Switzerland was Geneva. Again, this wasn’t our favorite stop on the trip, but this side of Lake Geneva was also very beautiful.


Most of our time was spent window shopping the amazing jewelry/watch displays and eating more cheese fondue. On the lake front there was also a really cool photographic “World Peace” exhibit that we happened upon. Below is a picture of Heather with a special message for our readers.


Tomorrow we head to Naples, Italy on a really early morning flight. There we will be renting a car and driving to the birthplace of Jonathan’s grandfather, Bagnoli del Trigno. After that we will head to the Amalfi Coast!

As a side note, over the last week or so, Jonathan went from a full beard to a goatee, to a mustache (YUCK!), and finally to a clean shaven face. After all of that, he is now in the process of regrowing the beard.

Beer List:
• Augustiner-Brau Dunkel (a German Munich Dunkel Lager)
• Augustiner-Brau Edelstoff (a German Munich Helles Lager)
• Augustiner-Brau Weissbier (a German Hefeweizen)
• Augustiner-Brau Lagerbier (a German Munich Helles Lager)
• Hofbrau Dunkel (a German Munich Dunkel Lager)
• Hofbrau Original (a German Munich Helles Lager)
• Hofbrau Munchner Sommer Naturtrub (a German Kellerbier)
• Schneider Weisse (a German Hefeweizen)
• Lowenbrau Original (a German Munich Helles Lager)
• Lowenbrau Triumphator (a German Doppelbock)
• Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse (a German Hefeweizen)
• Franziskaner Hefe-Weisse Dunkel (a German Dunkelweizen)
• Paulaner Original Munchner (a German Munich Helles Lager)
• Hacker-Pschorr Hefe Weisse (a German Hefeweizen)
• Hacker Pschorr Munchner Hell (a German Munich Helles Lager)
• Eichhof Lager (a Swiss Munich Helles Lager)
• Feldschlossen Original (a Swiss Euro Pale Lager)