travel tuesday: münchen mit marie

This year has been a whirlwind of plane rides and delightful trips. I always feel bad leaving Lemontree at home alone, but there’s just so much world out there to be explored!

I had been looking forward to this particular trip for what felt like forever. Marie, my incredibly talented blogging, sewing, knitting, and baking friend, scored an internship with BMW in Munich from March through August. When she first shared the news, she said, “if you happen to come to Germany this summer, you should come visit me in Munich.” What’s summer without a trip to Germany? I penciled it in for late August and dreamed about the trip for months.

We had the most wonderful visit. We visited flea markets and fabric stores. We took the train into the Alps, with day trips to Salzburg and gorgeous Schliersee.

We went to museums: BMW Museum, Deutsches Museum, Deutsches Verkehrszentrum. At the BMW factory tour, we saw the car assembly from start to finish, including a detailed – and fascinating! – description and walkthrough of the 6-step exterior painting and powdercoating process.

We had ice creams and Eiskaffee. I had Bier and Schnitzel, Marie had Apfelschorle and veg. I filled my suitcase with MAOAM for Brad and flea market treasures for me.

We took a cable car to the top of Untersberg in Austria, where the view was all too similar to my view from Mt. Snowdon on last year’s hike in Wales. That is to say, we were embraced by a giant, opaque cloud. But the tufts of mist nestled in the nooks of the mountain couldn’t be beat.

I loved the chance to visit Munich for more than the day or two that I had spent there on previous trips. There’s a big difference between sightseeing and experiencing a city, and this trip was the perfect blend.

The best thing about having a creative friend is the chance to discuss techniques, problems, and current projects without any sort of explanation. While riding the train, walking our tens of thousands of steps, or sitting by the lake making friends with ducks, we’d chat about things we were working on or dreaming of working on. Blogs we’ve read, quilts we want to try, the difficulties in trying to keep a fabric stash to a manageable size. We even debated appropriate stitch lengths! Sorry, Marie – I just hate sewing at under 3.0.

On our last day, we visited the lake town of Schliersee and hiked to the Schliersbergalm and then to the top of Rohnberg. It was a perfect day, and there are few sights more gorgeous than that lake surrounded by mountains on all sides.

My favorite part of the whole trip, though, was the ride down the mountain on the Schliersee Rodelbahn. You just sit in a little cart with a brake and careen down the mountain in a winding plastic chute. What could be a more perfect end to a wonderful day, and a wonderful holiday?

Thanks, Marie, for the perfect summer adventure! I can’t wait until next time!

Travel Tuesday is a semi-weekly feature that allows me to recap the many trips I’ve failed to formally document. I’ll be sharing photos and fuzzy (but fond) memories from recent and not-so-recent adventures.