Sat/Sun 30 April, 1May, 2016

Ky and Astrid are German friends of Jan and Andy's who traveled through France and Germany with us in 2011. They drove down last night from Munster, 6 hrs north west of Munich. We had breakfast with them and then headed into Munich for more sightseeing. Today was really full on and we walked more than 13 km. Considering how good the Danish rolls are here, and how I am having great difficulty saying no, the walking is good. As so many of the paths are cobblestones, it is really hard on the back. It is so dry here that my legs have developed painful rashes where my pants rub, but thankfully a few rubs with moisturizer has really helped.

As Ky, Astrid and the children hadn't been to Munich before, we acted as tour guides and revisited several sites. At the markets we bought fresh bread, several cheeses and strawberries to have later for lunch. We also saw some beautiful gigantic king prawns and huge lobster. The lobster worked out at $210kg (and I complain about the price at home!)

We then took the train and walked to the English Gardens. They are about 5 k long and as the weather was so fantastic...19C there were people everywhere.

Of course as usual Rob had to test the water. That got Ky and then the kids to see how cold it was! The day might have been warm but the water was very cold!

In another area a man had two fishing rods that he works together to make bubbles! They were huge and shimmered in the sun!

The park was so pretty and green!

 We settled at the Chinese Beer Garden for lunch and beer, where an old Pagota gives it its name. There were hundreds of people there!

There was also a band playing!

We then walked to the beginning of the park at the river where they have a "wave" with surfers trying their luck. Very orderly, one at a time, lined up on each side seeing how long they can stay on the wave!

We then headed back to the city center where we found a beer garden for an afternoon beer before heading to a beer garden for dinner. Beer gardens are everywhere and because the weather was so lovely, they were so crowded, necessitating a wait for a table and then rounding up chairs!

After dinner, Ky drove us to our hotel at the airport from which the tour was leaving! Had saying goodbye to Ky and family.

After breakfast our Sunday was spent on the bus...a 7 hr bus trip to Prague. Stopped in Nurmenburg for a couple hours where we walked up to the Imperial Castle of Nuremburg, known for holding gatherings of the court of all the German Emperors and kings of the Holy Roman Empire between 1050 and 1571.

The Church had a beautiful pipe organ and a smaller glockenspiel tune than in Munich.

Our first view of the Danube!