climbergirl blog

Munich Street Performers – Amazing

I woke up really early (at 4am), and took a long bath in our generously sized tub. The bath towels were large and soft, and having a long soak was great on my sore & achy joints.

When Dennis got up, we wandered downstairs for the complimentary breakfast. The german fare included a spread of meats (hot & cold) with a variety of mustards, cheeses (feta, swiss, and brie), cucumbers, tomato, and friuts with yoghurts. They also had a cereal stand with granola, musli, bran flakes, and some sugary concoction. The coffee was fantastic!

On our first day in Germany, we decided to take a train out to Fussen (a charming village at the foot of the German Alps). From Fussen, we took a short busride to the base of the castles. We met George at the Haupfanhauf (train station) at around 8am. During the long trainride, we ran into two friendly girls from New Jersey.

We purchased a Two Castle Pass, which let us see both castles, and included a tour in English. (more…)

We got up early in the morning, and boarded our rental car for the drive to LAX. Traffic was no biggie, and I slept most of the way. Unfortunately, I just came down with a cold, so I was NOT looking forward to the plane flight!

Being as sick as I was, I slept in the car, at the airport, and everywhere except on the Plane! There were 3 screaming babies surrounding us, so that prevented me from sleeping. Of course, Dennis was able to cope, and managed to get in around 5 hours of sleep.

Boy, was I happy to see George at the airport in Munich. I was barely holding it together, wanted sleep and a pillow so badly. George helped us with some purchases at the airport (I got juice, water, a delicious deli sandwhich, and cough drops). Then he helped us take the train to our hotel: The Flemings at Munchen-Schwabing How nice!!!

While I slept the rest of the day away, the guys went out and had some refreshments & pretzels. They had a good time, and got back at a decent hour. Naturally, I didn’t bother getting out of bed for dinner-I just slept until breakfast the next morning.

Dennis’ Uncle Bob has been feeling quite under the weather, so we took a quick weekend trip to Flatrock, Michigan. There were severe thunderstorms mere minutes after our arrival, but the flight was fine. It was nice to visit family, meet some new cousins, and see the elementary school Dennis attended.

Here are some pictures of the MI family 8^) Aunt Jean was so gracious to have everybody over throughout the weekend, it was great to meet everybody. Also, the tasty treats she put out were amazing. I must have eaten pounds of cookies! Love love love those nutty caramel sweet cakes.

We hung out with hunky cousin Darren for a few hours. The guys had some fun playing pool and reminiscing. It was so cool to see the pictures of how Darren & family remodelled the huge garage into a living space. We were also impressed by the cigarette boat that Darren has…and even more about how fast he drives that thing-90 mph on water! Sounds like fun!!!

“Cause everyone’s your friend in New York City
and everything looks beautiful when you’re young and pretty
The streets are paved with diamonds and there’s just so much to see
but the best thing about New York City is you and me” Cub (more recently covered by TMBG)

One of my dearest friends, Nalan, moved to Connecticut 4 years ago and I have been vowing to visit. When my birthday rolled around, Dennis gave me the best present possible-a plane ticket to see her! (more…)

On Friday, after visiting HP40, I had a date with Telemetry scientist Brooks Moore. Mr. Moore, handsome at 80, was a fantastic host. He gave me a personal tour of the musuem, adding personal vignettes as we walked around the compound.

I learned a great many things about our early space program. He shared his views on working for Werner Von Braun, under the Kennedy administration. He said that no dollar was spared. Research was of utmost importance. While I’m insanely jealous of scientists during that time period, I’m also amazed at their achievements. Just look at the size of these rockets! To be standing directly under the rockets is breathtaking. (more…)