My New Favorite City

Venice has become my new favorite city. I only spent a day there, but it was so much fun. We arrived in time for the last day of Carnivale, so there were a lot of people dressed up in costumes ranging from weird masks, period dresses, and outfits you would see in America on Halloween. The outer islands were pretty shut down due to the winter, but the water taxis were running and we got a tour around just by riding one to and from our hotel. 

This is the far end of the main canal in Venice- you can see the crowds of people towards the busier end. All the canals are lined with sidewalks that are the "roads" and are lined with shops selling Murano glass, jewelry made out of glass beads, Carnivale masks, and leather goods.

There are narrow alley ways in between the canals, and they were all packed with people celebrating the holiday- it took us 10 minutes to get through a crowd and over a bridge in the afternoon!

Some of the many gondolas- the owners really do wear striped shirts!

Some of the people in costumes took themselves very seriously, walking slowly around and stopping to pause for pictures with tourists. This man clearly did not, as he was using his cell phone. The couple below took themselves extremely seriously, while dressed in a different type of costume. This type of mask is very common for Carnivale.

Suzie with one of the Carnivale masks. My favorites were the ones that just covered the eyes and had big feathers.

One of the quieter canals without shops

Bridges over the canals usually look like this one on the left- the sides of the bridges are all steps. Venice is not a handicap friendly city!

This photo is of the main canal in Venice taken while I was waiting for my train. It was so beautiful, I can't wait to go back when it is warmer out!!

Munich in the Winter

We took advantage of Cameron's long weekend and spent a couple days exploring Munich. The trip was long overdue as we haven't been back since Oktoberfest and hadn't seen more than the inside of a beer tent! We wandered through the English Garden, saw the American Consulate building, and ate lots of non-German food (except pastries and pretzels...). It snowed flurries the entire time we were there, but it will be great to see the difference between winter and summer in the city!

Snowy scenes from the English Gardens- in the summer they will be full of sunbathers, beer drinkers, and kids running around. There were a few people strolling about, but no beer gardens were open. The majority of people we saw were sledding down a little hill in the middle. I had wished I brought a sled, they looked like they were having a lot of fun!

We went to the Hofbrauhaus for a beer (one beer is a liter, it takes a long time to drink!) and a pretzel (also gigantic), reminisced about Oktoberfest, and day dreamt of warm months and outdoor beer gardens...

This is a photo of the inside of the Theaterinkirche Cathedral in Munich. I just finished reading The Pillars of the Earth, and it really made me appreciate the architecture of these old churches more. I highly recommend it to everyone!

Rothenburg

Last weekend Cameron and I took a day trip to Rothenburg, a city dating back to medieval times. Rothenburg is well preserved from the 17th century. In fact, when Nazi soldiers were occupying  the town during World War II, bombs were dropped over the city destroying several buildings. When the U.S. Assistant Secretary of War heard the news, he ordered the town taken without the use of artillery to protect the historic nature of the town, and the German commander surrendered the town to prevent further damage. Donations to repair the bomb damage was received from all around the world, and  donations are commemorated in the bricks forming the repaired city wall. 

Rothenburg is also said to be the inspiration for the town in Pinnochio and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, as well as several international novels and comic books. Check it out on Wikipedia.

This is a picture of our new time-out chair for naughty boys and girls. It is one of the less painful artifacts at the torture museum in Rothenburg. I felt pain just thinking about sitting down on all those spikes!

Cameron walking along the city wall built in the 13th century.

I hope everyone is taking notes on which places they would like to visit during their trips!