We crashed...

Munich's 850th birthday party. It strikes me as strangely strange and fortuitous that we should decide, out of nowhere and with very little planning, to stay overnight in Munich on Friday and do our sightseeing on Saturday...the actual birthday. I had heard somewhere that it was a year of celebration for Munich and so we assumed that's why there were so many people in full Bavarian dress out in the streets. The year-long celebration of something or other. Surely that's why there were bratwurst and beer stands running the length of the pedestrian zone in the Marienplatz. And about 1.2 million people. Right?

Wrong. It was the actual birth day of Munich yesterday. Kind of bizarre. They are celebrating all year, but yesterday was the actual day. Sorry for repeating myself over and over again. We were just so surprised by the coincidence.

But first, let's go back in time. Join me, if you will, in the waving of your fingers in front of your face, a la Wayne's World. Doodle-le-do, doodle-le-do...

Friday dawned gray and rainy, but determined to go to Legoland and have a fun time, we packed up, got gas (eeek!) and headed in an easterly direction. Legoland Deutschland is, we discovered, very close...just a bit past the city of Ulm, which is a pleasant ride of about an hour on the Autobahn. Dora got us there with no problems.

I'm guessing that it was the weather that drove a lot of people off. The weather and the fact that it was a Friday morning and most Germans are at work or still in school. We basically had the place to ourselves. It did rain on us a couple of times, but never much more than a light shower, nothing serious. We went on rides, got off, ran right around and went again with no wait. It was like Wally World, only we weren't forcing the employees to show us a good time at gun point.

We visited the Lego Fabrik factory, where they have full Lego-making machinery set up so that the kids can see how a Lego goes from being a tiny bead of plastic into the nubby block we all know and love. That was fun. There's a store in the factory where they sell almost every color and size Lego imaginable. There were open bins of Legos 20' high. They have plastic bags like the produce section of the grocery, and you can fill up a bag with whatever Legos you want for 8 Euro a pound. Hans and Josiah custom built Lego features for each of us. Mine has a black hairstyle with a ponytail, which is so me. She is very flat-chested and big-hipped though, so that's realistic. I'm built like a Lego, I guess.

Legoland is set up in "lands" like Disneyland. No, there's no Searing Gas Pain Land, but there is a dinosaur land, a knight land and a transportation land. One of the first rides that Josiah went on was a mini race car track. The riders each have their own vehicles with "gas" pedals that they drive around a little track. Josiah picked a blue car, got buckled in and he was off. He needs a little practice...he ran into the wall a few times and he was definitely tailgating a cute little German girl. He got a "driver's license" when he finished. Hans offered to let him drive us home yesterday, but Josiah politely declined.

There were fun things for Annika to do, too. She was a little too short to go on many of the rides. There were at least three enormous playground areas within the park, complete with huge slides and climbing areas. One of the areas in particular was geared towards toddlers...it was an entire neighborhood of giant Lego buildings. Police station, fire station, hospital, market, farm, house. It was so adorable.

There's a building full of tables where kids can go and build Lego creations. There's a really great baby station where they sell baby food and formula and have a nice warm indoor play area for very little ones. Every single bathroom we went into was flawlessly clean and pleasant. The restaurant that we had lunch in had good food at reasonable prices. All of the restaurants overlooked play areas, so that I can imagine eating lunch while watching Josiah and Annika playing contentedly. The restaurant even had an indoor area filled with...you'll never guess...Legos!

I haven't even described "Mini-Land"...it was phenomenal. Entire city centers and tourist attractions built of Legos. I'll include some pictures.

Needless to say, we were very impressed. Josiah and Annika had more fun in the first hour at Legoland than they did in two days at Disneyland. We decided to cough up the extra Euro to buy a season pass. We definitely want to visit again.

Now, back to Munich. After playing at Legoland, we drove another hour into Munich. We had a little trouble finding the hotel. Sometimes, Dora doesn't do the best job, especially in congested city centers. Eventually, we located the hotel, checked in and were informed that we had been upgraded to a suite. I don't think I've ever had that happen. We got a room on the top floor with a bathroom and living room area on the main floor and a spiral staircase up to a bedroom and half bath. I had booked the room on one of those cheap hotel websites that gives fantastic discounts, so we got the room for just over $200. The kids loved the staircase and spent most of the night going up and down, up and down. It was difficult, as usual, to get them to settle down and go to sleep in a new place.

Yesterday morning we got up and had a scrumptious (and included) breakfast. None of this continental stuff...it was a real breakfast with scrambled eggs and bacon, fruit, toast, juice and rolls. The hotel's restaurant was a bit ritzy and of course, Josiah and Annika were the only children there, and of course, they proceeded to be a bit noisy and messy, which made for a stressful breakfast for their parents. But...we survived. After breakfast, we checked out and headed off on foot to see the sights.

There are a few old buildings left in the city center of Munich, but the vast majority is post-War minimalist architecture, which is sad. I suppose it sounds weird, but I wish there would have been a way to bomb the hell out of them during WWII without destroying the original architecture. Quit laughing, Hans and Andrew. I asked Hans if we tried to avoid certain areas when we bombed, but he said that bombing then was not the science it is today. Or something like that. Being the building hugger that I am, I wonder what treasures were lost.

The church that Hans took pictures of was bombed to a shell during the war and rebuilt. The original church was built in the 1400s. Hans and I took turns going in, sans children. The choir was up in the loft practicing...it was amazing hearing the beautiful music soaring up to the vaulted ceilings. I wonder what the original interiors looked like...

Anyway, this is getting very long. Josiah keeps coming out of his room and asking me if I'm done blogging yet, so I'd better go. Enjoy the pictures.