In Munich, Germany!

     On the first of June, my day started very, very early. About as early as you can get, actually, 12:01 a.m. I was getting on an airplane in Reykjavik (technically Keflavik)  to fly for three hours to Munich, Germany. My family and I were riding on a plane that was scedualed to take off at 1 o'clock in the morning, but it was a little late. Despite the minor set-back, we acutally arrived on time or early because the winds were apparently in our favor. I only remember the take off and landing because I managed to sleep most of the time so that I didn't have a night of no sleep.

     Once my parents picked up the car in Munich, we all drove over to my dad's friend's (Hape) apartment. Hape Zinc has a wife named Martina Zinc and a seven-month-old baby named Julie Zinc. After a some discustion, everyone decided to go to the zoo in Munich. To get to the zoo, we had to take the subway and walk. I realy liked the subway because there are some new trains down there that are all one car, so you can see how the tunnel is turning or going up and down.

These are some very pretty flowers at a flower shop
that we passed while walking around.

     Walking let you really get a feeling for the city. The streets were very curvy and somtimes really narrow. My mom and dad explain to me that is because Munich was built while people mostly walked or rode on horse carriges, so the road didn't have to be very wide. Also, flowers were all over; either climbing up the walls of buildings, or at peoples window sills.

Here are some Pigmee Goats at the zoo that you
could go into their pen to pet them.

     The zoo had animals from all over the world instead of just animals from the surrounding country side like the zoo in Reykjavik. My favorite animal probably was the penguins. Because of the almost sleepless night, it was good to keep moving. Still, though, my brother, sister, and I were very tired from all of the walking through out the zoo. That night, we ate at a brew pub with extremely good German food very close to our hotel (Hape's appartment is too small for all five of us). What I find really funny is that brewery has been in business longer thatn the United States has been a country!

I have only been to two zoos that acually have penguins,
and this zoo makes the second.



The baby elephant here was kind of shy, but very cute.



     Day two of my amazing Eurpian tour started out a lot later than day one did; almost nine and a half hours later! My dad and mom showed my siblings and I to a bakery where we all bought pasteries to eat on the way to the Zinc's house. This day, we decided to do some more sight seeing downtown. Martina had to go to a birthday party in the morning. Everyone but Martina again traveled on the subway, except this time to the Glockenspiel. We made

This is the Glockenspeil.

in time to go shopping and see the twelve o'clock show with about 1,000 other tourists. The Glockenspiel is kind of like an enourmous cookoo clock with the exception that it doesn't pop out. There are jockers, servants and two knights that dance around a duke and duchess for thier wedding. Below them are some more people dancing around. The whole time that the figures are dancing, bells are playing nice songs. Besides being built for the wedding of a duke and duchess, the Glockenspiel was also built to amuse the people of Munich because a horrible plauge had came through.

     Next to do was to see the main church in Munich. There were a lot of very old grave stones on the outside and inside of the church. This particular church was very large (like most churches in Europe), but not very heavily ornamented. Yes, there were a few things to look at along the walls and of course the elaborate stained glass. Spencer had absolutly no intrest in the church what so ever, so instead amused himself with playing with the cords along the side of the walk ways.

     After the old church came a much newer attraction - toys! Specifically, Playmobile. Playmobile is a type of German toy that is kind of like Legos, but less building and more differse obtions. Anyway, Spencer, Joslyn, and I really like it and wanted to get some from its original country. Once everyone bought their fill of toys, it was time to move on to an outdoor market.

Here is a stand of fruit. I think that it would be awesome
if Gunnison would get a market like this.

     This market had practically everything from decorations to toys to food. There were tables full of things like tea, fruit, and beans. I loved all of the bakeries there that had all sorts of different food. Probably the coolest thing about the market was that it was all outside and the tents were so close together that it could get pretty crowded.

Here's the park in Munich.

     One of the nice things about cities are their parks. The bigger the city, typically, the bigger the parks. So, because Munich has about two milllion people, the parks are very large. One thing that I really loved about Germany was the trees. Germany had so many big, leafy trees everywhere, so the park was no exception. Hape led us along a path that wound around open fields, segments of forest, some little ponds or rivers, and last, to a beer garden. This beer garden had a mostly red Chinese tower in the center where a band played to all of the surrounding tables. Joslyn, Spencer, and I all got a drink called Zitrone Limonade (in German). My parents and Hape all ordered beer. Last, we walked and went on the subway home to the apartment.

The China Tower here made it feel
like we weren't in Munich anymore.

     On day three, the adults had to decide what to do today. In the end, they thought that going to Olympic Park and the Olympic Tower would be a good idea. The day was overcast and a little rainy, but we still walked quite a lot. Martina was with us again, but the Zincs had to wait a little bit longer than my family and I to get up the Olympic tower because they had to put Julia's stroller somewhere. At the top, I could see everything! Lots and lots of very, very tall buildings that look modern or old are all over the landscape and I could even see the park that we had walked in yesterday!

     The reat of the park was very neat because we all got to see the apartments and area where the Olympics were held.  The buildings that housed the Olympic althletes are now used as apartments, but there is a sign that shows where the athletes from different countries used to stay. Chinese food and then we all went to see the some cars and motercycles. Almost all of the motorcycles let people get on top of them to see how they feel. The hotel room was the next attraction until seven o'clock to get rested up for dinner at a pizza place.

From left to right: Mom, Dad, Hape, and Martina.

     At the pizza place, it was pretty busy, but we had a table and ordered quickly. My parents just love to hang out with Hape and Martina because they haven't seen each other for about twenty years. I at when I come guess that it will be like that when I visit my friends in Iceland in a few years (or more, like my parents, but hopefully not that long). An old lady noted to Martina that she had her baby out after nine o'clock!

This is Martina and the very cute
Julia.

     On day four, my family and I had had breakfast over at the Zinc's house. We said good-bye to them even though my we would see them again in a couple of days because we had to come back down to Munich to pick up my grand parents. So, we said good-bye and Joslyn and my mom loaded up the car while my dad, Spencer, and I went back to the area by Glockenspeil to get me a new charm for my bracelet because I accedently broke mine the day before. When my dad, brother, I got back to the car, it was packed and ready to go. Good-bye Munich, for a few days at least.