My List is Now Complete... With a Visit to Lake Starnberg

Hello!

As all of you had known, I had one final thing on my list to do before I felt as though my visit to Munich was complete. And that was to visit Starnberger See, or Lake Starnberg in English. The lake has a lot of rich history stemming way back to King Ludwig II who died in this lake and it's also worth mentioning that I believe he died during the construction of the castle in Neuschwanstein.

Anyhow, I loved my visit there although the weather wasn't exactly perfect and I didn't stay very long. I took a few pictures and I walked around quite a bit. It was a nice enough day to go for a nice walk along the water and there were several people swimming but with the amount of dark clouds swooping in I decided to head out after an hour and a half or so. I hope you enjoy the pictures!

I could have taken a tour on this boat but I wasn't sure if I felt up to being at sea today. This was also the first thing I really saw when I got off the train.

This building holds some kind of historical significance though I'm not entirely sure what. I liked it though!

I always think it's funny when I see the German (left) and the Bavarian (right) flags flying instead of the U.S. flag and the respective state flag.

I thought it was kind of cool that I saw this military vehicle during my walk around Starnberg.

Here is the actual lake. This is probably the best picture I got. It is a very nice lake.

There was this little statue of abstract-type art in the water. There was a little sign with the history of the monument but I didn't take a picture of it.

I also did my other final two minor things, one was to purchase a bag of tea, and the other was to eat one small bowl of organic ice cream... which was delicious but some may argue that the "sorbet" I had was technically not "ice cream." I didn't take a picture of the ice cream, but I had mango on one side and strawberry on the other with a waffle circle on top! Very pleased with myself.


I also finished packing today. I thought it would take me much longer than it actually had which is why I started and inevitably finished today. However it does free up my schedule a bit for tomorrow and Monday so that's one less thing to worry about. Plus I am allowed to have two checked bags which takes a load off my mind. That's right... tomorrow and Monday. That's it before I leave. I'm still in denial. I love Munich so much and I do hope to come back someday... but I know it's time for me to go.

Despite my sadness, which is pretty sizable and comes and goes in waves, I will post at least one more blog entry (my Holly's secrets to making flying fun) and I believe the Squishables would like to report on the homecoming experience. But until then...

... have fun!

The Countdown Continues... Six Days Remain

Hi Everyone,

I made a vow to myself to do something unique or otherwise special every day while I'm still here. This means things that I cannot do elsewhere for the most part. For me, this largely involves food but does include other things.

For one thing, I saw another Marlboro advertisement. Disappointingly, it has the typical Marlboro slogan on it but with a new picture. I've decided to share it just because I've been such a longtime fan. (I'm still hoping for one more new one before I fly away on Tuesday!)

Don't Be A Maybe. Be Marlboro. Become a Rockstar. Be Marlboro.

I have really loved the Tollwood Festival. It ended yesterday (tear) and I did make a point to stop by not only last night but also on Saturday. I want to start by saying that there is just SO much to do there. Natural and handmade clothing, authentic ethnic organic foods, music, jewelry (natural and handmade again), and so much more. Best of all for me was the food, of course. It's very difficult for me to find food I can eat, so when I find it, organic and regional no less, I really take advantage. Many of you recall me having Turkish and Indian food, but I am now adding Middle-Eastern, African, and Thai. Traditionally made and all fabulous, I have shared pictures of the edible delights below.

Falafel wrap. Traditional of the Middle-East. Hummus, lettuce, two tomato slices, three "patties" of falafel, and sesame sauce on top. Yum.

African open-fire (I watched this) roasted pork. With some kind surprisingly non-spicy sauce on top and a dash of what I think was cayenne or something similar.

Thai vegetarrian dish. I believe it was called pag pak or something along those lines. It was essentially cabbage, carrots, maybe some spring onions, made with a very light sauce and served over rice. Of course I added a touch of sweet and sour sauce and some spicy sauce too. I love Thai food. Probably my favorite ethnic food with Mexican and Indian tied as very close seconds.

Continuing on with food, I have discovered the deliciousness of a new food: dragon-fruit. I will say this about dragon-fruit, it was not at all what I was expecting. I looked up the best way to cut it (thanks About.com) and then I proceeded to cut and taste. The first surprise was that a pinkish-red fruit was white inside with black seeds! The second surprise was somewhat more intense for me. I was really expecting a tropical flavor since it has roots in Thailand and the like, but it honestly tastes a lot like a sweet pear... only softer somehow. Pears often have that very slight tang to them. This had no tang whatsoever. I liked it but it was on the expensive side (6,99 Euros for one... yes I know that's a lot of money) so I may not have it again in its raw form. I have included some pictures just for fun.

A perfect specimen.

Cut it open... and look! White! I guess that some dragon-fruits are red inside but I haven't seen any obviously.

Scoop out the guts and you have a perfect medium for cutting. It's such a soft fruit. Very tasty, just subtle.

As of today I have six days left, but considering I plan to go to bed earlier than normal I'm really saying about five. What are my plans?

For starters, I have already planned out my meals for the last days. Breakfasts will consist of muesli, either crunchy (like granola) or non-crunchy (like cold oatmeal/cereal, it's delicious this way) with a non-dairy milk, lunch will have the traditional yogurt and fruit - peaches in this case (with the exception of Saturday... I have plans for Saturday's lunch) and dinners will consist of finishing my lasagna and also using up the rest of my barley which I plan to make with a vegetable medley. I leave the house around 11:00am local time, so before I leave I plan to pick up my last Bavarian organic pretzel before I head to the airport. More packing and airplane fun Holly factoids in a later blog post.

As far as plans go, I have one final, final thing I want to do and I plan to do this on Saturday. I do have my special Holly lunch/treat on Saturday as well, and I also will be picking up a special bag of tea to take back with me to the States (black currant... my fiance's favorite fruit flavor... say that five times fast). I also have the boring things to do, like closing my German bank account and doing my own recycling. I'll keep everyone posted. Other than that it's packing, packing, packing for the most part.

I plan to do at least two more blog posts before I head out of Munich. One will be on my weekend and status updates and one will be my Holly's Fun Flying Factoids (the letter of the day today is 'F,' but only good words please). The latter will be my last blog post while I'm here in Munich... this time around anyhow. I'm denying my sadness.

I hope everyone things of something to be happy about today.

Schönen abend!