Hardy and Anka at the Jodlerwirt

We realized Munich would be fun when we found the Jodlerwirt and met Hardy & Anka.

We had a big day of driving on the autobahn and through castle road (more on both of those in the previous post!) and were looking for some delicious, authentic German food.

What we found was not only authentic German food (thankfully still being served at 10pm) but authentic Germans, authentic German songs, a staff that spoke only German, a German accordion player, and lots brewed-in-house German beer.

This place was tiny, loud, and packed. We followed a waitress — definitely a Woman In Charge —through the crowd. I figured if she was pushing through, we had free reign to push, too, and we found ourselves looking at a table with another couple already there! They let us squeeze in and we ordered a couple of beers by pointing at their beers and smiling really big. (Lucky for us the Woman smiled back!)

We figured out how to order some food (chicken & beef? Or maybe pork? With mushrooms and delicious gravy, plus some pasta thing. Schnitzel? Again, pretty big language barrier at this point!) and took in our surroundings: loud, German pop music was playing while big groups of friends talked/yelled/laughed around their tables. Sometimes singing along, usually ending in a toast to whatever the song was about.

About the same time our food arrived, Hardy and Anka did, too, and slid into the table with the four of us — pretty much the only two seats left in the place. They spoke English! Yay!

They were an older couple — maybe in their late 60s? — but you could tell they refused to acknowledge that. We soon learned they live in Texas, and sometimes California, and sometimes Germany or Austria. And according to Hardy, Anka used to be a cop but according to Anka, she works at an antique store in Houston. And according to Anka, Hardy is a famous singer in Austria! Whatever it is they do, they were both delightfully drunk when we met them, an had no intention of stopping anytime soon.

When the accordion player started, Hardy would sing along and Anka would grab his and whosever hands she could (usually mine!) to sway left to right with the music. The guy from first couple at the table was, according to Anka, from Berlin, which "explained why he didn't know how to enjoy himself" when he chose to sit and enjoy the music and didn't also grab Britton's hand to sway like a drunkard through every song.

So, in between bites of food and acting like I knew what was going on by yelling syllables along with these German accordion tunes, and the swaying and the talking, we had a really good, how-did-we-get-here time, even though we couldn't speak, sing, or understand ANY of what was going on. (Turns out the Sinatra song, "bona sera, señorita, kiss me good night" is almost the same in German!)

They were thrilled that we knew how to play along ("most Americans are so stiff!") and that we just got married ("We just got married, too! In 1966!") and about their new grandbaby, which was either the second or third. The story was a little different each time.

As we walked back to the Best Western (ha! Travel across an ocean to stay at a Best Western!) we knew Munich was going to be a memorable leg of our journey.

Anka (L) and Hardy

PROST!

Getting lost in a Mercedes is way more fun

Everything you've heard about the autobahn is just about true.

Things I didn't realize:
1 - it's not just one stretch of road, it's Germany's entire highway network
2 - some parts do have limits
3 - some people still drive normal speeds; it's just a highway to them I guess?
4 - the highways aren't labeled as north/south or east/west. You have to know a city in the direction you're headed.

Things I'd heard that really are true:
1 - a large number of the cars are Audis, Mercedes, BMWs, and other built-for-speed cars.
2 - these cars drive FAST and you'd best not be in their way when the speed limits are lifted!
3 - driving fast is FUN.

We set out from Frankfurt in our rented Benz, and immediately found the highway we wanted to get us to "Castle Road" - a stretch of scenic byway that is dotted for miles with castles. It was even labeled, "Kassel" so I figured they must know a lot of tourists head out to find this road - how convenient!

As navigator, it was my job to get us headed in the right direction so that Britton could focus on driving since we didn't know what to expect. Let's jut say it's a really good thing we opted for the GPS unit.

Upon further inspection of the map, it turns our that there is a city in Germany named 'Kassel' and that it is in the opposite direction of the castle road. Oops! It also turns out there are fewer exits (Ausfahrts, lol) than on a highway in the States. And that when in Germany, the street signs tend to be in German, if they have any words at all! Go figure!

We got ourselves turned around without much further issue, and kept a close eye on the road signs until - yes! - we saw the sign that means all limits are lifted! Britton was cautious to check the road ahead for other cars, etc., and started to gradually increase our speed.

First to 90, which seemed to be a comfortable pace. You might hit that in the states, if you aren't paying attention. Then 100, a milestone of 3 digits! Giddy from the first burst, we settled down for a few minutes to keep our heads.

Next to 100 - much quicker this time. The Benz just wanted to go faster, faster! Then 110 - 120! We were passing most, but still a few others were passing us. Must mean it's ok to get a little faster!

Britton hit 130mph! It was exhilarating!

The funny thing was after driving that fast, how slow 80 or 90mph felt now. Driving to St. Louis will never be the same.

We kept up those quick speeds (not as fast as 130, but still around 90-100 on average, I'd say) and found our scenic highway, which alas, had a speed limit (about 55mph).

But the road delivered as promised! It seemed that there was a castle every 10-15 minutes! We wandered around a few, just the outsides, as our previous detours had chewed through some time.

We stopped for lunch in a small, picturesque town with a name I can't remember but had a lot of letters. Lunch was delicious. Kind of like a gyro wrapped in a large, thin pita bread that we watched the owner cook right in front of us. Best of all it cost only 4€ and fed both of us! Yummmm.

We eventually realized that if we wanted to get in to Munich to return the car at a decent time, we would need to get back on the autobahn and say good-bye to the castles. That meant it was my turn to drive.

Fun fact - 5pm in Germany is also rush hour. And just as many drivers pile onto the highways as in a major city at home. So for the first part of my stint on the autobahn, I was driving about 40mph in stop-and-go traffic with a manual transmission. Oh, joy.

It did clear up after some time, and I got to experience the thrill of driving as fast as I wanted. And as I said before - it was FUN.

And it meant we made it to Munich in time to return the car, find our hotel (best western - ha!) and find some food. That proved to be more fun than expected! Read "Hardy & Anka" for that story!

Turn off the Internet, turn off exploring?

The train rise from Köln (Cologne) to Frankfurt, Germany is so far much more interesting - visually - than other routes we've been on (and awake for) this trip. There are mountains, small towns, and a nice winding river that we've followed most of the way.

But, unlike Thalys, Bahn doesn't offer wifi. Which means I don't know what mountains, which towns, or what river I'm next to.

In a world where the information follows is around in our back pockets, what does that do to old-fashioned exploring?

What is new exploring?

Before leaving for my trip, my boss passed on some stories of when he lived in Budapest 20ish years ago. He had books, maps, train schedules and was gathering them all up at home when he realized, that isn't how traveling works anymore. Britton and I aren't carrying big, awkward maps or heavy guide books. It's all in our phones - even this blog post is being typed letter by letter with my two sturdy thumbs.

We're left to speculate uses for things instead of immediately asking Google, "what is that?" We have to memorize directions while we have a wifi signal because we can't refer to our little blue GPS dot when we don't have a working GPS phone.

Some of that has been fun - in Amsterdam there was no possible way for us to remember all of these new sounds so we made associations. 'Turn left on lederhosen, then right on Lichtenstein.'

But as a child of technology, I do tend to feel stunted when I don't have that connection to the info that the Internet provides. It's a conundrum: technology simultaneously moving us forward but holding us back. What's left to wonder, what's left to explore?

Yes, I'll try the European sampler platter, please.

We know our trip's itinerary it pretty ambitious, but that's what we want to do - see as much as we can and go hard while we're here.

When we arrive in Frankfurt, we will have reached our 5th country in 4 days. England, France, Belgium, The Netherlands and now Germany. A night in each since Paris.

I've liked each city more than the one before it, which makes traveling really exciting! We're already riding the emotional high of this trip, and then we continue to be wowed by the culture and rhythm of the next new place.

What hit me in Amsterdam was how much time we DON'T have to discover a city when we're only there a few hours. We become limited to the touristy things instead of being able to explore on our own. Plus this morning we ran ourselves out of time and since we had to hold ourselves to the timetable of the train, we had to compromise our original (more fun!) plans.

But in a way this is good market research; a small almost hor d'ourve -sized sampling of some of those cities you hear are worth a visit but never get to since they are out of the way or not as popular. Not many people we know have made Brussels or Amsterdam a part of their European adventures, and frankly we like being the ones to stride away from the well-worn paths. Plus now we know what we're most drawn to; we definitely want to try to get to Amsterdam again some day but are content with our visits to Paris & Brussels.

I am looking forward to the next few destinations. The whirlwind schedule of the first few days turns into a breeze just right for sailing. Each place gets at least two nights from now on which means a full day or more of exploring.

Brussels, please; hold the sprouts.

The alternate title to this post is, "Things I Learned About Brussels that Might Not Be Entirely Accurate Because I Took the Tour One Day and Two Countries Ago"

1. It was carved out of two other countries (France and the Netherlands) so it also has two official languages (French and Flemish) and has a bit of an identity complex in its old architecture (Ornate or modern?) and a bit of a Napoleon complex when building new things (make it bigger!).

2. It is the Capitol of the European union. If you ever hear the news talking about "Brussels decided such-and-such" (not that you will in the states) it is talking about the governing entities for the entire EU.

3. Some of their stoplights are for bikes!

4. This is the home of the famous 'peeing boy' fountain. There is also a statue of a peeing dog.

5. Belgians are very proud of their very sour beer. Luckily they also make very delicious, not-sour beer.

6. They are also known for their fries. They taste like many other fries, but they have a lot more sauce options.

7. Something about Rin Tin Tin.

8. Belgians really do eat waffles!

9. 80 degrees (F) is sweltering in Belgium.

10. I never saw a brussel sprout expect as a part of a statue.