Alison and I were told that we were the first Americans in history to fly into Munich, Germany the week after the end of Oktoberfest. Well, here's a secret that I'll share if you promise not to tell anyone: there is no shortage of beer in Bavaria, even after the conclusion of the Fest.
Alison and I spent two weeks in Europe. Our mornings were lazy, but our days were full and varied -- we did lots of sight-seeing, ran the Munich Marathon, hiked all over the Alps, rock climbed in Bavaria and northern Italy, visited a pool/waterslide with Malen Pichler (age 9), and practiced our German with the locals. Regardless of the day's activity, however, every afternoon or early evening we always seemed to find ourselves at a table like the one pictured above sipping a wheat beer or white wine and just enjoying being in Europe. Then we would find dinner and a Gasthaus, Pension, or a friend's house to stay, and repeat the whole procedure the next morning.
The highlights for me were running personal bests in the marathon (we both ran 3 minutes faster than the personal bests we set in our last marathon), staying with old friends the Pichlers in Ruhpolding, Bavaria, playing hockey and visiting with the Odies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, driving our rental car (a Mercedes hatchback -- not unlike our Honda Fit) over the craziest mountain pass I've ever experienced (or imagined) in the Italian Dolomites, driving the same rental car down a street with a width of 1.8 meters in Arco, Italy... well, forget listing the highlights. The whole vacation was a highlight!
Now we're back in Vermont, the snow is starting to fall, and we are ready for our next vacation.
Europa '08 Photos: Click here!
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