Let's Split

Back in December I looked ahead and saw we had a long weekend in May so booked a cheap flight to Split in Croatia.  Finally the time had come for us to go.  We flew down on the Friday night and were due back on the Monday night.

Our hotel was in the palace walls (Diocletian's Palace) , overlooking a medieval square and near the harbour.  We went to dinner at a restaurant nearby and wandered through the narrow alleys inside the palace.  It was great to feel warm and be able to go out at night in t-shirts again.  

Ingrid pointing to our hotel window

On Saturday we took ourselves for a walking tour through the palace and Malcolm got to climb the bell tower.  They do not really worry to much about safety here and the stairs were very open so I decided it was best I didn't go.  After lunch we went through the basement halls that were cavernous and gave you a good sense of how large and important the palace must have been.  

Late in the afternoon we decided to take a walk to Marjan Hill which offered beautiful views on the way up and even though tiring Malcolm was determined we would walk all the way to the flagpole at the top. 

On Sunday we hired a car and drove an hour north to Krka National Park.  There were beautiful trails through this park and we walked around to Skradinski Buk which has the largest waterfalls in the park, an 800m long cascade over 17 steps.  This was definitely a highlight of our trip.

We then headed to Sibenik and had a long lunch before continuing our sight seeing. Next we headed down to Primosten and wandered around its medieval streets. 

Primosten

Then we were off to Trogir, which Malcolm wanted to visit, having been there over 30 years before.  The town was very much the same but obviously a lot more boats were there.  We spent some time here before heading back to Split.  

On Monday we went for a walk along the harbour - Malcolm looked at the yachts whilst I went and looked at the shops.  We then had a very nice long lunch before heading back to Munich.

Click here for more photos.

Long Weekend

With a forecast for very cold and wet conditions over Germany and most of Europe, our much anticipated 4-day weekend wasn't going to involve travelling to exotic/romantic/far flung locations.

On Thursday, with our North Carolina friends, Penni and Paul, we wandered around the Schloss Schleissheim gardens between rain showers and then went for a long lunch/dinner at Zum Kreuzhof, our favorite local, real German restaurant.

Weatherwise, Friday was definitely a museum day. There is an embarrassment of choice of museums in and around Munich. Together with kiwi Deb, we decided on the Pinakothek der Moderne which has a collection of 20th century art and design housed in an impressive recently purpose-built gallery.

We particularly liked the displays of the evolution of the personal computer, French mass produced bentwood furniture and the architectural models.

Unfortunately, we now have to admit to being officially Philistines, as the main exhibition of a particularly famous German artist did not appeal to us at all. We all three agreed that he needed serious therapy or else his paintings were his therapy. He certainly needed to get some very nasty things out of his system.

Looking for a snack for lunch, we found a little Italian bistro on Maximilain Platz where we each ordered a pasta and a red wine. We had not counted on the complimentary antipastos before and mini tiramisus and delicate and deadly chocolate confections after, as well as a rather entertaining waiter from Salerno. So much for the idea of a snack.  Then off to dinner with Greg and Ayelet for an excellent Israeli feast.  Ayelet's blog is where we keep getting great ideas of where to visit.

Saturday we went with Penni and Paul to the Weinfest at Blutenburg castle - idyllic surroundings, very nice wines and rain. We took the train.

Sunday morning we went for a long bike ride in less than ideal conditions. The afternoon was spent working and then a pizza dinner with Craig and Sophie who had just arrived back from Vienna.

Botanical Gardens

Having read our friend Ayelet's post about the Botanical Gardens we thought we would go have a look.  So after school on Tuesday Malcolm picked me up and we had a couple hours to wander around the gardens.  Even though the weather says otherwise, it is Spring here so many flowers were out.  We walked amongst the flower beds, the Alpine Garden which seemed to have more bigger labels than plants, the arboretum and finally the glasshouses.  The glasshouses were large and had different houses with a palm house, cactus house, aquatic house and many more.  The glasshouses were very interesting and we finally got to feel warm!

Yellow

It is the season of the flowering of the rapeseed crops. It is apparently used for biodiesel and stockfeed production. In the meantime it just makes a wonderful spectacle with bright yellow fields as far as the eye can see. This photo was taken on the backroad to Ingrid's school.

Blutenburg Castle

With both of us having colds it's a quiet weekend.  So we just went to lunch at a castle Malcolm found about 20 minutes drive away which naturally had a beer garden.

Maifest

On the first of May we met up with some friends in our local town, Unterschleissheim, for the raising of the Maypole.  We cycled to where it was going to be raised and were fortunate enough to see the procession leave the fire station, where it was painted and guarded over night.  Traditionally other towns try to steal each other's Maypoles and the ransom is beer, so it must be guarded all night whilst, you guessed it, drinking beer.  

When they got the pole to the main platz they then had to spend a couple of hours getting it ready, putting on all of its adornments and then raising it.  The band played during this and afterwards there was lots of traditional dancing - around a smaller Maypole with ribbons, a children's group and Schuhplattler (where the men slap their thighs and shoes - my fave).  

It was then back to friends' for pancakes and, as a couple of them were Canadian, an afternoon of watching ice hockey.