Goodbye Germany!

The next morning we packed up and loaded the car for our final leg. Our host at the pension wished us well and even stood outside to wave at us as we drove away. On our way back to Munich we decided to stop in our arch nemesis town we were never able to navigate through - Mittenwald. Surprisingly, we didn't have much trouble in the car that day, just on foot. The Post was ever ellusive to us. We went back to the car and put it in as a point of interest to see where the heck it was. I think I take for granted knowing where these things are at home because they are not usually in obvious spots.

Anywho, Mittenwald is know for their history with violins. I think they make them here, although I am not positive.


The buildings in their town were painted with all kinds of things; flowers, people, decorated windows. The remarkable thing was how well the were upkept.


After spending our morning in the little town getting the last of our souvenirs and other memorabilia from our trip, we got back on the road to Munich.

Upon arrival into Munich, it felt familiar to be there after our prior visit just days before, but there was still so much we didn't see. We made the choice to try St. Peter's church again and were happy to see that the church was not in service so we could walk around.


This church was by far one of the more decorated churches that we visited on this trip. I am pretty sure this is the "main" church of Munich. Even with two other Catholic churches within a 10 minute walk of this one, I believe this one is the most popular. It could be because of their 3rd century martyr they keep locked in a box on the left side of the church. I wasn't entirely prepared to see a full skeleton hanging out in a glass box when we were reading the Rick Steve's description, but there you have it. I never knew how close relics and religion were until this trip.


From here we went in search of food for dinner. We walked around for quite a while trying to find food that interested in eating. We finally settled on an Irish pub off the beaten path. They did had some delicious food and of course good beer for our last meal. The picture of Mike below is capturing Mike in Germany, at an Irish pub, eating Mexican food. We thought it was quite funny.


The next morning we were up early and to the airport in plenty of time for everyone's flights. We were so early for our flight that our ticket windows weren't even open yet. That was interesting in trying to form a quasi line while waiting for the real line to open. Not much different than being in the states. We got our passport stamped one more time as we went through their customs check point and went on to meet the Pennock's who were already on the other side. I was quite proud of the fact that even without cell phones we managed not to loose one another during the course of the trip. We used up the last of our Euros on breakfast, Kinder Eggs, and a book. My Kinder Egg prize was pretty kick ass. The little dude on top of the turtle turns blue in the sunlight. :)


We settled into our seats and buckled down for a 9 hour plane ride back to the states. We at least got to watch The Proposal which was a good use of an hour and a half. :) We filled out our little cards for customs and managed to mke it through the Philly airport without much trouble. After a 3 hour layover and dinner, we were on our final leg to Syracuse.

We really had an amazing trip and saw a LOT. I wouldn't have traded the experience for anything and was glad to share it with friends. I know that if Mike and Amanda hadn't been with us, we wouldn't have seen half of what we did and their knowledge and experience with the German culture was a huge help in making the trip a success. Especially when we got to the pension and our host didn't speak a lot of English. :) A lot of great memories were made. But even after such a wonderful trip, it never felt so good to be home.