Munich

A word of advice for anyone who decides to move to Europe for a year--visit all the really cold places in the summer, not the winter! Unless, of course, you really like the winter--and have brought winter things. As brilliant as we are, we went to Italy in August and almost died of heat exhaustion (seriously, one night I woke up at 3:00 to find Carlos fanning himself with my fan...) and then we decided to take a trip to Germany and Austria for New Year's. Of course, we didn't bring any winter gear, so we had to attempt to find the cheapest/warmest clothing we could in Portugal. Our first stop was in Munich (which was fantastic--I would definitely go there again) and here I am, a vision in faux fur (or a large roasted marshmallow, take your pick)

We went to the Deutsche Museum, which I would equate to a German Smithsonian, not nearly as large, but still, very large--too much to see in one day--or for us, one hour. My favorite part was when we saw an older man in a lab coat, and Carlos stopped me and said "Alyse, look! A German scientist!" Unfortunately, all of the signs were in German (imagine that), so we couldn't read/learn a whole lot--but it was still fun. Definitely any engineer's dream. Here, Carlos is pining for his old car, Belle. I think this car would be a step up.

In Munich we also went to the Pinakothek Museum. The best paintings, hands down, were Rembrandt's series of paintings on Christ's life. Here is our favorite--

The center of the city was amazing. This is the Rathaus in the city center. I LOVE the large clock towers.

Our only regret was staying there for only one night. We saw the exterior of one palace (the pictures are way too dark, not worth sharing), and we also missed the Neuschwanstein Castle (the one the Disney castle is based on)--very sad--it was too far away for us to go and visit in such a short time. Here's a picture of it--just because it's so cool!

Yup. Amazing! Next time.