Picture Day #3 - Hanging Around Munich

Hello everyone,

I will only do a short interlude before I launch the pictures I have to share. After my last post, I took a look at my financial situation and realized I didn't have enough to go to Salzburg. Instead I decided to take a look at the famous, or possibly infamous, Englischer Gartens here in Munich. The "English Gardens" have been compared to Central Park in New York City and other similar parks in large cities. It was beautiful and I walked about five miles total while I was there. The English Gardens extend almost into Marienplatz, and I got to see some really neat architecture that's kind of on the "other side" that I hadn't seen yet. Because going into Salzburg is surprisingly cheap (I just didn't have enough at the time) I will be going there, probably sometime within the next two weeks or so.

We have had absolutely delightful weather here until yesterday and today, mid-60's and brilliantly sunny. I walked probably a little less than 20 miles within this past week, and it made me feel fantastic. My host mother's parents are here for the next few days and only speak Hungarian and German. Since my host parents were gone last night, I had to work out my schedule with the grandparents... completely in German! I was really thrilled that I was able to communicate, not only effectively, but also able to comprehend and work with them. They are super nice people and I hope that they visit again. We (the grandparents, the little boy, and myself) went for a walk the other day and actually made our way through a cemetery which was beautiful. An interesting thing about this cemetery was that when the plants/flowers have died on the grave-site, the plastic pots and dead plants are put into designated areas with signs that say anyone can help themselves. Kind of neat, but odd at the same time because I did grab some plastic plant pots for my poor pumpkin plants (I love alliteration, don't you?) which are starting to desperately outgrow their little pots.

Athens, Greece is literally around the corner, my trip beginning on the 4th of April. I'm beginning to prepare myself by writing down public transportation routes and I also learned today that they do use the Euro, so I'm happy about that. I will most likely create a post before I leave, and then dedicate a post to my trip.

And, once again, I did not take a picture of my recent recipe: Tomato, Mozzarella, and Pesto Mini-Pizza. I have included my previous dish, plus a new lunch/snack recipe below.

Enjoy the pictures!

Here is a map of the southern part of the English Gardens. Not real easy to read actually, and I'm not talking about the German.

This is the Chinesischer Turm, which I thought translated to "Chinese Turm" and I figured "Turm" was just what they called this structure. After looking it up, "Turm" means "tower" in English. I took a train, then a bus right to this tower here, then began to walk around. By the way, there was a full band playing on the first floor of the tower around lunch time.

The entire park is beautiful, but what really makes it is the surprising ability to combine culture with nature. There were people feeding the ducks, and believe me they will eat anything.

This plaque designated the gardens to the first King Ludwig of Bavaria.

On my way back around (I wanted to see the northern part of the gardens as well) I saw the most people I've ever seen in a park at one time for lunch. When I got there, it was about 10:30am or so, but when I cam back around it was sometime between one and two. Bands playing, horses, food, beer... so much to take in. (Note: there was actually an organic food stand in the northern part of the gardens where I bought a pretzel! Now I can feel authentic too!)

I saw this monument as I was trying to find the Japanese Tea House (not open until April so no pictures yet). So of course I had to see why it was there...

... and it turns out it is another dedication to Ludwig I.

This is the view from the top. Marienplatz is just over the trees where the buildings all are.

This waterfall is so nice, it's even on the map of the gardens!

This is what I refer to as: "the square section of the gardens," but it's actually called Hofgarten. It was really neat; the bushes were all in box shape with various plants and things in the middle of each, and as you can see there are quite a few people who like to walk around here. Even as it was beginning to rain!

The architecture is really beautiful. This is part of the Hofgarten and it is the Bavarian Staatskanzlei or "State Chancellery."

This is St. Cajetan's Church on Residenzstrasse at the very end of the English Gardens.

There are two lions, one on each side of the entry way to the Residenz, which is the former palace for Bavarian Kings. The Residenz is open to the public as a museum, but unfortunately I didn't have any money... kind of the reason I stayed in Munich in the first place! I'll have to go back. But anyway, I overheard a tour guide state that the reason why the part of the shield is gold as though it hasn't had the time to age is because the legend is if you rub the nose, it brings you luck. Well, me being the closet anthropologist that I am, immediately watched as people walked by the statues. It was very subtle, but as people walked by, they would simply touch the nose and keep going. Almost as if instinctual. Very interesting.

We went to feed the goats and this little guy was walking on his elbows. Very cute.

We also walked up to some horses. I think I'm going to try to go horseback riding while I'm here.

My all-black dish. Recipe on last post.

Using plain yogurt really does taste like sour cream, and it's healthier too. This dish may not look super delicious, but it is.

And now... Holly's Super Cinnamon Peanut Butter Apples!

Easy to make, delicious, completely healthy, and filling, this snack/lunch will make your day!

Ingredients:

Two Tablespoons of Organic Smooth Peanut Butter* (you can use crunchy, but for this it makes more sense for smooth)

One Teaspoon of Organic Liquid (non-hard) Honey

1/4 Teaspoon Organic Cinnamon (or to taste)

One Large Organic Apple, Cut into Slices

*Note: The ingredients on your peanut butter should read: "peanuts" unless you prefer salted peanut butter then it should read "peanuts, salt." Peanuts already have a ton of oil in them, so adding more isn't necessary, even if it is organic.

Supplies:

Knife*

Small Bowl or Dish

Plate

Spoon(s)

*Note: Please use adult supervision, as always.

Nutrition Information:

About 340 calories per serving

Monounsaturated fats (the good kind your heart needs), vitamin E, niacin, folate, protein,  manganese, antioxidants, fiber, and lower risk of cancer from peanut butter

Fiber (lots), vitamin C, antioxidants, blood sugar regulation, cancer protection, and much more from apple

Digestive properties, vitamin B6, niacin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, amino acids, antioxidants, enzymes, protein (believe it or not), and more from honey

LDL cholesterol lowering properties, antifungal properties, blood sugar lowering properties, relief from arthritis pain, helps with migraines, manganese, fiber, and calcium from cinnamon

Gluten free

Dairy free

(All of the above nutrition facts combined makes one seriously healthy snack!)

Directions:

Mix peanut butter, honey, and cinnamon together in a small bowl.

Slice a large apple and place on a plate.

Dip the apple slices into the peanut butter.

Eat!

For more of a "meal" feel, try spreading cinnamon peanut butter on a slice of whole wheat toast (organic, of course), place the apple slices on another piece of whole wheat toast, and make it a sandwich! Think cinnamon sugar toast gone wild (with health properties)!

Sources:

www.whfoods.org

nutritiondata.self.com

www.benefits-of-honey.com

www.livestrong.com

www.organicauthority.com

Recent picture of plants. It's getting to be a little crazy as you can see. And the black pots are the ones I got from the cemetery... I still find that odd. I will be replanting the pumpkin plants as soon as the weather improves again!