München

Even though our trip to München was futile in regards to getting the U.S. visa for my husband, we tried to make the most of it by exploring the city and all of its cultural offerings.

(FYI: My husband passed the interview process and was approved a visa, but due to the government shutdown, the embassy employees could not complete the visa request. He will therefore, unfortunately, not be attending my mother's wedding. :(! )

We happened to be in Munich a weekend in the middle of Oktoberfest so we decided to check it out.  Even though all of the tents were filled by 1pm, we miraculously got into the Paulaner brewery tent because a worker had let us in through the back door! I use the word "tent" because that is what it is translated to in English, however, these are not tents. They are massive, wood structures with elaborate detail, including balconies and artwork.

 Drinking my first stein outside the tent in the beer garden.

We found seats inside with some Germans, Canadians, Italians, and people from the U.S.

And then the singing and dancing began...

After several hours of dancing on tables, Damian was quite hungry:

The next day we hopped on a train to see the Neuschwanstein Castle.  Bad luck followed us here as we were supposed to see this view:

and all we saw was this:

The only things to cheer us up were delicious Bavarian pretzels and Glüwein (hot, mulled wine).

Fortunately, we live very close to the castle and will make another trip.

The following afternoon, we rented bikes to go around the city.

The Rathaus, watching the Glockenspiel

The Hofbräuhaus, just like the "tents" at Oktoberfest, but  maybe a little tamer...

We watched surfers on a canal in Munich.

and saw some other cool architecture and monuments.