A New Side of Munchen

After 2 weeks, being the only person hanging out who is under 6 feet tall becomes a bit funny, especially when looking at pictures and realizing how odd it truly appears.  Nonetheless, this did not stop us (me) from taking pictures and enjoying 2 weeks with my brother, Greg, and his lovely wife, Nicole!  Here is the start to our Euro road trip adventures!

Day 1 of our Euro Road Trip: Munchen
We started our adventures in Munchen (Munich).  One of our first stops, and my personal favorite place, was the giant cuckoo clock, also known as the Rathaus Glockenspiel.  Of course, European weather caused it to rain, so we went to a restaurant in front of the clock and ordered some traditional German grub.  The spatzle and Munich white sausages were both hits.

Then we explored parts of downtown Munich.  We went inside two cathedrals Justin and I have often pasted,but have never gone in.

Justin inside Munich Frauenkirche

Me and Greg in front of Theatine Church (we also went inside)

Next, we went to the Residence courtyard.

Greg and Nicole throw some Euros in to make a wish

Then it was off to my other favorite place in Munich!

Hofbrauhaus!

First day in Germany and already throwing down liters

Justin is obviously well experienced, since he's halfway done

While at the Hofbrauhaus we actually met 2 different groups of Americans that recognized Greg's CU hat and asked about Colorado.  Clearly, Colorado is an awesome state!  Greg's CU attire continued to be recognized throughout our trip.  It's a small world after all?

After Hofbrauhaus, where we busted out some good old American card games (we bought a deck of cards in the gift shop), which got quite a few glances, we had a hankering for some cigars.  Hmm....

Cigars and Cuckoos

Day 2: Munchen
We found the Isar River, a beautiful part of Munich Justin and I hadn't really explored all that much.

Isar River, just down the road was a cool looking government building

We stumbled upon many other beautiful cathedrals and churches along the way.  Europe is full of those.  But our next big find was the Siegestor arch.

Picture 1 of many with me and the 6 foot + giants

Next, we visited the Hofgarten, a beautiful place.

We decided to head to the Residence to view the Treasury there, and along the way we found some fun German advertising?

Then, it was time for some more German food and beer at the Augustiner am Dom.  White asparagus is in season in Germany and let me tell you I have been loading up on asparagus cream soup and asparagus with hollandaise sauce!  Yummy!

We finished back where we started, at the Glockenspiel

There was a big soccer game going on that night in Munich between FC Bayern and BVB Dortmund, both teams are from Germany.  Every place was packed and intent about the game.  We saw countless FC Bayern scarf wearers.  Our hotel was hosting a game watching event, so we joined in the festivities.  A contest was being held to guess the score at the end of the game, and I am proud to announce that I won!  FC Bayern 2 - BVB Dortmund 1.

Our soccer cheering table

Justin had the honors of capitalizing on my prize for winning!
Plus, it had just turned midnight, so it doubled as a birthday shot ;)

Days 1 and 2 and the start to our road trip complete!