The Viktualienmarkt

The Viktualienmarkt

Please allow me to take you on a visual tour of one of my favorite places to be in Munich, in the old city center, a few blocks from the Marienplatz. You can build a stellar gourmet picnic, stock your pantry, and lighten your wallet a lot in this markt! Colin and I walked through and looked at all the delicious and delightful things on sale. 

 

Bottles of Johannisbeere (Johannis berries on the right in the basket) and Holunderblüten (Elderflower) liqueurs and syrups....so great as a splash in Prosecco or sparking wine 

It started raining but I didn't even care...

This lady is wearing a really nice dirndl...something pretty common, and seems to be more and more common the closer to Oktoberfest it gets! 

Olives galore!

Yes, we're in Munich, Germany, but that's fresh made pasta and gnocchi!

It makes you want to eat your veggies, doesn't it!?!

Fifteenth centry advertising...the Maypole. It shows a symbol of the craftsman or merchant located in that town. This one shows all the city's six great brews and the crafts associated with brewing. There's definitely a cooper, because you can't have a keg party with a cooper to make the keg barrel! 

Dried herbs and flower crafts...it smelled so good.

Those are wreaths from fresh hops (green ones). I wish I could bring one (or several) home!

Hop swags. Those are fresh hops, likely grown just north of Munich. 

I LOVE hydrangeas. Everything grows so well in the mild summer climate here!

Wine bar/cafe 

Little fresh plums

Colin was telling me what he wanted to eat for a snack and all the fruits he liked!

I want this one, and this one, and what's that one? and I don't want to eat those, and those are yucky, but I like nectarines, Mommy, can you get me some nectarines please?...

Cheese shop...what's your pleasure...they have it ALL!!!

And a wine pairing just outside the door to go with your cheese

Summer wine, Vinho Verde from Portugal...yum! We discovered that when we lived in Houston...

More cheese...

Cheese from all over Europe...

And a little "ham"

the sign translates to Honey house...nothing but all different types of honey!

He runs away, then comes back...train in hand!

This lady walking down the street looks like the wooden one right there!

Leaving the Viktualienmarkt looking toward the Marianplatz just around the corner

The hop on-hop off double decker sightseeing bus full of tourists...great for a rainy day!

Artist's wares on display

Colin would only walk on the red stones in the cobbles.....

Or run....

So, he got in the stroller, we got on the S train to our stop and home for naptime! 

Tegernsee

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Tegernsee

(FYI, in German, See = Lake)

We woke up to amazingly clear, cool weather that was supposed to warm up to about 80 degrees F. We hit the S train to Tegernsee, which was highly recommended to us. 

On the train, headed about 30 miles south of Munich

We walked a couple of blocks off the train station and....aaaahhhh...wow oh wow! And, the pics really don't even do it justice. So gorgeous! 

Colin's pretty happy...and of course, his pal, Thomas the Train came along to accompany him.

There's a nice promenade to stroll along with picnic benches on the other side. 

I packed a picnic. Pasta salad with veg and proscuitto, salad greens, and a pretzel. Not too shabby...

The water was CHILLY! And, we were on guard the whole time because that lake is SOOOO DEEP and Colin can't swim yet. There was a little step down ledge just below the cement ledge...

So clear and blue-green water. The Alpine lakes are really amazing! 

Scott man's up and goes for it! 

One guy not quite in the picture on the left just took off his lederhosen, kept on his boxer shorts, and dove in the lake! He swam for a while, sunned until his boxers dried out, then put them right back on and went up to the Bräustüberl to eat and drink with his friends. And the girls did the same with their dirndl's but they had swimsuits on underneath. It was pretty cool, I must say!

That's a nice sailboat... Also, it was so serene and quiet on the lake. No power boats or jet ski's...

Life is good

And, wouldn't you know it, we're right next to the Bräustüberl Tegernsee. Famous for it's brew since Benedictine Monks made it as far back as 746 A.D. when the brothers founded an abbey. In 1803 the Bavarian royal family took over the monastery to use as a summer residence. Now, it's a great place to eat and drink before or after a swim. This place was recommended to us by our German friends, the Seidl's, who are from Munich, and it's on Scott's top 20 list to visit from The Beer Drinker's Guide to Munich. There really are no foreign tourists here and we do our best to blend in.

Note the crown on the logo, thanks to the Bavarian royals "taking over"!
Pretty tasty...I see why they "took it over" since they could! And below is our snack. A regional specialty, a speckplatte=bacon platter. It has veg, pickle, mustard, and we got a bretze too. And it's on a super cool slice of wood sanded and sealed...I must get one of these to bring home and serve my own speckplatte. YUM!

Cool interior, and there are the majority of people are dressed in their tracht, or traditional dress, of lederhosen for men and a dirndl for women. 

View across the lake

Just an awesome Bavarian building with store front below and residence above. Love the deer heads, shutters and carved railings, and I LOVE all the window boxes full of thriving plants. 

Another building in the town...everything is so clean and well-kept. We're taking in all the clean mountain air!

Love the garage doors..

OK, so our day is done and we're walking back to the train station. The sun is still out, but it's around 8 pm and have an hour train ride to get home. We're tired but happy! 

Milagros

Milagros 

Miracles...is what the name means! And, there was a small series of miracles to get one Mexican man living in Munich, Germany to this pretty new very legit Mexican restaurant in the heart of Munich, owned by a Californian. The recipes where developed in a cooking escuela in the Yucatan region of Mexico. So, here's the connection and series of miracles: 

Nancy, my sister, emailed me one day that she had met a woman named Pamela at a Stella & Dot jewelry party in Atlanta. Pamela was in ATL visiting her family for a while. They had mutual friends who knew Nancy had a sister (me) who would be in Munich for the Summer, and that Pamela was moving to Munich at the end of the summer with her husband (who works for BMW) to live for three years. Nancy "suggested friendship" via Facebook. Pamela and I exchanged a few messages and made a date to meet up on their first night in town. I looked at Pamela's pictures on Facebook and saw one with big margarita glasses and took a closer look. The caption on the picture mentioned this restaurant and I checked it out, then told Scott he MUST tell Daniel Tellechea, a native of Mexico City and his coworker/our friend. Scott did, and Daniel went on Thursday night for dinner check it out, and then went again the next day for our planned lunch on Friday.

It was muy sabroso and Daniel was un mexicano muy feliz!

A few more of Scott's KPMG coworkers joined in to try it out. 

Here's the link....very friendly service and gorgeous tile decor also!

http://milagros-restaurant.de/

From the left side, Colin, me, newly hired Laura, and Timo. On the right, Scott with Daniel next to him, then Peter and Andi on the end. Watermelon and Lime-Mint Aqua Frescas all around...delish!

Fresh made tortilla chips, guacamole, pico de gallo, chipotle sauce, and something new for us all--a ground pumpkin seed type paste/sauce they added for us to try. I could have used some jalepeno in the pico or guac, but I'm sure they don't want to scare anyone away with the heat. They also brough their two house-made moles to let us taste. Very good...will go back for some more mole!

From the left to right, Andreas (Andi), Peter, and Daniel, with the fiesta platter in the middle of the table for us all to sample and share. It was really tasty, very authentic.  

Amigos Daniel and Scott 

It was very tasty and something my palette hasn't had since leaving the states...but I still crave Chuy's (Tex-Mex)! We may have to make a pit stop into Chuy's on the way home from the airport as soon as we're back in Birmingham, Sweet Home Alabama!

Colin's Little Red Caboose and Big Yellow Engine

What Colin loves about Munich

Just half a block from our apartment is the Ostbanhof (East Train Station) off Freidenstrasse, where we walk along the back side of the Ostbanhof to catch an S train, or go on under to catch the U4 or U5.

 These are some of Colin's favorite sights each time, and he loves to see the red S trains come and go. It's THE BEST FREE entertainment! Not to mention, we love how handy it is to get just about anywhere quickly from our apartment...

The Little Red Caboose

The AutoZug is a CarTrain...it carries cars to another destination, i suppose for weekend trips or commuters who don't want to drive to Frankfurt or Berlin or somewhere, I suppose? I guess it's quicker than driving and cheaper than gas or diesel for your car?

Colin is obsessed a bit with this big yellow diesel engine. We have just told him it's taking a nap. He ALWAYS wants to know why it's sitting there and not "working" in the yard! You know, like why isn't it a "very useful engine"? Anyone else subjected to watching hours of Thomas and Friends movies and episodes knows what I'm talking about. We have to make Sir Topham Hat proud!

Big Yellow Diesel Engine