The Big Trip - Part Two (Deutschland)

After Amsterdam it was on to Germany. We took a train into Bonn, a small city south of Cologne on the Rhine River, birthplace of Beethoven. It's also where I found my favorite beer of the trip, Boennsch. They serve them in these goofy little glasses, ergonomically designed to fit into your thirsty little fist.




After a scenic train trip down the Rhine the next day, we managed to rent ourselves a car...a Mini! And we drove south along a tourist route to the Alps, Romantische Strasse (Romantic Road). The first stop was Rothenburg an der Tauber, a medieval walled city that's crawling with tourists during the summer, but pleasantly empty in March.



The sweet specialty in Rothenburg is schneeballen, big old balls of dough with chocolate or powdered sugar. Mmmmmm...schneeballs!


The next day the Romantic Road carried us into the Bavarian Alps. It was really everything you would imagine, snow storm and all. But the Mini Cooper treated us right. We stayed the night in Fussen, at the "foot" of the alps. Since it was snowing, we couldn't even see the tops of the mountains, but it was pretty breathtaking regardless.






The last two stops on our grand tour were Munich and Nuremberg, a day in each. Lots of beer, old (rebuilt) architecture, and a little relaxing for the last two nights.




And perhaps the most authentic and wonderful food we ate was in Nuremberg at Zum Gulden Stern, where they've been grilling bratwurst on this grill since 1419. Unbelievable!