From Berlin, to Bavaria, to Austria, to Switzerland and back again.

I recently received an email outlining the itinerary of my last week's adventures in southern Germany.  It was extensive to say the least, and I have to thank Inga for not only taking me to *all* of those places, but also for taking the time to type it all up for me.  Are you ready?  Hold on...

I arrived quite late am Montag, after missing my stop due to a ticket which lacked the information to tell me to switch to a regional train in Ingolstadt.  I ended up going to München only to turn back around on another train to Rohrbach.  It only cost me an extra hour of travel, but I was happy to finally see my friend's smiling face at my final destination.  :)  And even *more* happy with the surprise she had waiting for me at her mom's house...  a scooter for sightseeing the next day!  :D  I met her mom and a friend and we had some dinner and then went for a walk through the country side.

 

Am Dienstag we headed out on the scooter to Pfaffenhofen.  I couldn't stop smiling the whole time.  You can't imagine the excitement I felt as we powered along the roads with nothing but hops fields, poppies and rolling hills on either side.

This is what we saw in Pfaffenhofen: a farmers market.

A May tree - which is usually put up on May 1st and stays up until the day before the next May Day. This metal type actually stays up all year round and has flags representing all the trades of the village.
 

A church with a grotto.

 The Kloster Scheyern monastery.

Then we headed to Wolnzach for gelato, and finally had dinner at the Biergarten (then more gelato) in Geisenfeld!

Am Mittwoch we drove to Regensburg Aldstadt to view the city center,  Rathaus (city hall) and Dom.

The candle burning brightly in the foreground was lit for my late Uncle Gerald.  Big love for Big G.

We next went to the Bavarian Forest National Park to visit Inga's brother and family, where on the way we saw the Walhalla built by König Ludwig I of Bavaria.  This is the same King that built Neuschwanstein castle, which is, just like Walhalla, not true to the period of construction, he just liked to build really crazy and impressive structures.

Am Donnerstag we went to SIP in Landsberg am Lech.  A scooter shop where I fell in love with this Vespa and ended up buying the decals to pimp out my Vespa in the same way:

Then we started our 3 hour journey through the Alps to Austria and Switzerland, then driving along the south side of the picturesque Bodensee to Konstanz.

From here we took the ferry over to Meersburg where we looked at the Meersburg castle - built 630. The Old Castle, according to the Swiss chronicles, was built by the Merovingian King Dagobert I in the 7th Century. It was also the home of the German poetess Annette von Droste-Hülshoff for the last eight years of her life.

"Wilder Mann" - wild man!!!  :D

Am Freitag we headed to München to walk 307 steps to the top of Alter Peter tower to view the Rathaus and city...  in the rain.  :(

Delicious dried fruit and flowers shop where I bought a candied rose.

Am Samstag we went to Ingolstadt's Deutsches Medizinhistorisches Museum and castle with cannons.

 

Finally, am Sonntag, we checked out a massive fleamarket in Neuburg an der Donau where I found something truly special and possibly the best token of Bavaria I could have been lucky enough to find.  A Bavarian Black Forest relic.  This relic is from around 1940. It is the maxilla and mandible of the German weasel set in silver. Each one is completely unique because the size of the setting depends on the size of the jaw. The word "relic" denotes a supernatural object, usually bone, teeth or fur, regarded with great respect because of it's association with a saint or martyr. Black Forest Relics are infused with the magic of the forest and the mythologies of the animal. Hunters wear these amulets as trophies of the hunt and for protection while hunting.  It's diameter is about the size of a nickle and it hinges open and close.  On top and bottom is a carving of oak leaves and nuts.  Sorry my picture isn't that great.

Lastly we went to a Celtic/ Roman Museum in Manching, back to the Biergarten in Geisenfeld and then a bike ride around Rohrbach.

I'm done.  Honestly.  That was an intense journey, and if you made it to the bottom of this post and are still reading, I thank you, as that was long winded.

Lots of hugs and misses to Inga and her momma and her friends that I met there for such a wonderful experience!!!  <3

Devi.