Lisa & Jon Visit

When we moved to Germany we knew that Lisa and Jon would certainly visit us. They of course did not disappoint, visiting us this May.

They knew how to start the visit out right by bringing graham crackers, so our first night we had S'mores by the fire.  A really fun treat because I have yet to find graham crackers here in Germany.

The next morning we started our day with weißwurst and weißbier and pretzels.  The most traditional Bavarian breakfast and a tradition that Lisa and Jon were happy to embrace. Our kids had sports so Lisa and Jon headed into Munich for site-seeing and jetlag fighting!

Sunday the four of us headed to Dießen for their annual pottery market.  This
 was absolutely fabulous. It's one of the largest pottery fairs in Europe and the setting is a picturesque lake. Although we didn't have beautiful weather - very close together "scattered" thunderstorms we still really enjoyed our visit. There was so much to admire from unusual art to beautiful dishes and very unique pieces. Lisa loves to collect pottery from the countries they visit so this was the perfect place for her too.  We both found plenty of wonderful items to purchase, and I of course have plans for next year... Oh and there was a Proseco bar too!

Afterwards we headed to Steve's favorite spot, Andechs Monastery. You can read more about the monastery here: Andechs Monastery. Steve and I both love the church as well as the grounds and the general atmosphere. It is such a fun place to have lunch. They have a large outdoor biergarten and small indoor seating. People arrive in droves to spend the day and enjoy the food and drink with friends. The bonus this day was sitting inside, so very cozy.

Lisa, Jon and I spent another day visiting Linderhof Palace, Ettal Monastery and Oberammergau. Ettal Monastery is an incredible church built hundreds of years ago, read about it and Oberammergau here: Oberammergau and Ettal Monastery. This trio of places is one of my favorite places to spend the day and to take visitors. We also had a glorious day with beautiful blue skies and temperate weather. We were even able to eat outside in Oberammergau. Lisa tried on a dirndl but I couldn't convince her to buy it!  Linderhof Palace is one of Mad King Ludwig's "castles" and the only one that was completed. Read more about it here:Schloss Linderhof & Oberammergau.

Lisa and Jon spent a few days in Salzburg and visit Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau and Herrenchiemsee while we managed our kids' activities. Then we had one last weekend with them. We spent time in Munich exploring and site seeing and checking out the Englischer Garten. The Englischer Garten is huge, bigger than central park. We stopped and had a snack in the biergarten at the Chinese Tower, a great spot. Then we headed to watch the surfers.  Yes, surfers. Where the Eisbach enters the garden there is a standing wave and crazy, nutty people surf here.  It is amazing and a little scary to watch. There is only enough room for one surfer and it's fairly narrow. Surfers jump in

with their board and surf until they lose their balance.  Then they float a short way down and climb out. Meanwhile another surfer has jumped in to take a turn. It's mesmerizing to watch, the skill is impressive.







Before Lisa and Jon left we had a little OSU - Cornell tailgate party. After all, Lisa is the

tailgate queen. Cornell and Ohio State were playing in the Lacrosse play-offs. Unbelievably, I had to endure a loss by the Buckeyes but it was still fun to watch!

And what else might we have done with Jon and Lisa? We drank bier, and wine, and proseco and then probably more bier! They did enjoy the local culture! Prost!