Summer Trip to Germany – We’re back!
Franconia
So we had a busy two and a half week vacation to Germany. Our first week was spent in Frankfurt an der Oder with my husband’s parents. This was nice, with many trips to places such as Müllrose for our usual beach day and lunch, and some light shopping. At the end of the week, we all packed into my Schwiegervaters BMW Touring and drove down to Franconia (Franken) to visit with some Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents.
While the scenery was breathtaking, I had a very hard time applying what I know of German to the family there. Fränkisch Deutsch is not a sound that I can decipher in any reasonable way. The younger generations tried hard to speak with more high German pronunciation, but there was no understanding the older generations. I just had to grin and bear it. We had many hiking trips, including up my first ‘Berg’. I was astounded by the villages and towns that just appeared out of nowhere, in valleys and higher up, dotting the Bavarian countryside. I was also surprised to see bus stops in seemingly out of the way places. Germany must have some of the best public transportation of any country. Clean, efficient, good value, and extensive, no matter what forest or busy city street you are stuck on, you can get elsewhere very easily.
After our busy, exhausting week in Franken, we took four days in München. We first visited Marienplatz, then the Höfbräuhaus. We also toured the Englisher Garten the next day and sat in the beer garden at the Chinesicher Turm, We visited several other beer gardens, walked, shopped, and even took Karl (our son) to Tierpark Hellabrun, which I highly recommend. It is a fantastic zoo with many opportunities for animal interaction, and a place to purchase beer, ice cream, and food every two minutes. We spent the whole afternoon there, and still did not see everything.
In all of the busy exploration, we had plenty of opportunites for eating. In fact, Franconians are especially fond of food and will insist you need more, even if you say you are full. Given our new Southern Germany experiences, we came home with a couple of new foods we enjoy. I will attempt to add the recipes as I get the full ingredients lists together.
I would love to see some of you add some of your Southern Germany favorites to the Cookbook! Let’s share and enjoy. Thanks for reading! 
