Visitors and Herrenchiemsee

Frat Brothers!

Our friends Stan and Chia-Hui visited from Taiwan this week. It was so great to see Stan and to finally meet Chia-Hui. Steve and Stan went to college at Cornell together. Stan later moved to Taiwan, met Chia-Hui and stayed.  We were so excited when they decided to visit.

Stan & Chia-Hui

Munich is a bit cold in March especially for people used to Taiwan weather. But Stan and Chia-Hui were tough! We spent the day in Munich on Sunday. Amazingly we were able to find a table at Hofbräuhaus even though it was St. Patrick's Day! While Steve and I would say this is not the best brewery to eat at in Munich, it is a unique and probably essential experience! We walked through the city exploring churches, the city and of course
looking in the shop windows. Only window shopping on Sunday though, since all stores are closed here in Bavaria.

Monday, Stan and Chia-Hui headed to Neuschwanstein to view the fairytale castles. They had an extra bit of fairytale in their visit, snow. Chia-Hui said it made the castles look dreamy. Monday night we did a couples dinner at our favorite Italian restaurant. Come visit, we'll take you too. Tuesday, they spent the day shopping and touring the Residenz, the palace in Munich.

Every evening Chia-Hui also treated us to amazing piano performances. She is a concert pianist and it was inspiring for our girls to watch and listen to her play. Her students practice for at least three hours a day, I don't think our girls will be complaining about how long they have to practice anymore. (not three hours)

Wednesday, Steve was able to take the day off from work and the four of us ventured to Herrenchiemsee. This is another of the castles built by "Mad King Ludwig". This one is modeled on Versailles, King Louis XIV of France's famous palace. However, only the central portion was completed since the mad king died before it was finished.

This palace is on a small island so there is a short boat ride from the parking area. Beautiful mountains surround the lake, making for a pretty ride. The palace isn't visible form the water, it was built 2km inland. Herrenchiemsee like Versailles has its own Hall of Mirrors. The tour of the castle was excellent and it is quite breath-taking. Hopefully we will be able to compare it to the real Versailles someday.

The grounds are extensive and gorgeous. There are also elaborate fountains and gardens. However, since we were visiting at the end of winter the gardens were just being prepared for spring and the fountains were still empty and the statues were still encased in their wooden huts. Clearly we will need to go back!

We were so glad they were able to make the trip to visit! Now we hope to someday visit them in Taiwan!