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Introduction
-->Munich
Alps
Prague Part 1
Prague Part 2
Prague Castle
Bohemia
Krakow
Wieliczka Salt Mines
Zakopane
Ken's Home Page
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Back to Introduction....
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The jetlagged but intrepid travelers go exploring the city the afternoon of their arrival. We had a beautiful day to arrive -- clear, sunny, and hot. We spent the first day wandering around the downtown area, partly dazed and confused, partly excited to be on vacation. Here's Nieka in front of the Munich Rathaus, or town hall.
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Here's Ken in front of a small statue on the pedestrian mall in downtown Munich. Armed with camera in the belt pouch and a backpack full of supplies (water, maps, tour books, film, more water, and more tour books), we set out on the first day to see the sights. And (for Ken) to get the inevitable I'm-a-tourist sunburn.
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Day 2 dawned cloudy and rainy. Having slept soundly that night, we set out the next morning for Schloss Nymphemburg, the royal family's summer palace. Once a comfortable distance of a few miles from downtown, Nymphemburg has been surrounded by the city. Still, it is easy to forget the environs while you walk around the large formal gardens surrounding the palace.
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Here we are just inside the front door Schloss Nymphemburg. The gardens and ponds stretch to the far distance out the windows. This cavernous and elegant room must have made quite an impression in the 1700s.
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By afternoon, the sun had come out again. We had lunch at the Augustiner Bierhalle on Neuhauser Strasse in the pedestrian area. After a hearty meal and a beer, we set off for more touring. We went to the top of the Rathaus to get a view of the surrounding city. This is a view to the south, where the alps should have been visible.
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Munich's city symbol, the Frauenkirche. Its double-domed spires stand out above the old town of the city.
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The Löwenbrau beer garden in Munich, where we had a good dinner and a very fine dark lager. This was a relatively un-touristy restaurant and was filled mostly with Munich residents. Very much unlike the Hofbräuhaus, another Munich tradition but a far less congenial one.
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Ken enjoying a good draft beer.
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These high-speed trains are what ferried us to Prague. Very comfortable and fast (top speed around 160 kilometers an hour), but very smooth and quiet.
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On to the Alps....
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