My Family Visits Munich

The night before my entire family arrived in Munich to visit me for the first time I was a huge ball of emotion. I was excited, nervous, happy, giddy, stressed… Something I know about myself is that I get really paranoid that my guests aren’t having a good time when they visit. I was worried I would ruin the experience for myself if that happened. With the jetlag and my niece and nephew being here, and so many people in one house…there was no telling how things would go. People kept reminding me that my family is coming to Europe, how could they possibly have a bad time?!

Alex and I decided the only way to greet them at the airport was to do it properly. In traditional Bavarian dress! So in the morning we woke up feeling like it was Christmas morning (well I did, Germans celebrate Christmas at night), I put on my dirndl and Alex put on his lederhosen and we hopped on the train. This was my neice and nephews first plane ride and I was anxious to hear how it went. We waited for them outside the gate and I don’t think I could’ve been anymore excited. Having my whole family walk out of the baggage check exit is something I won’t soon forget. I just couldn’t believe they were all here with my in Munich.

We had rented an apartment for Lauren’s family through Airbnb and Mom, Dad and Kristin were staying with us. Everyone took naps as soon as we got back from the airport. That was really hard for me to handle since it meant having to wait longer to hang out with them, but I knew it was for the best.

Alex and I had a list of potential things we could all do. However, we really only had one day to do them. They arrived on Wednesday and we took it easy at home that day and had a BBQ. So then we just had Thursday for sightseeing since Friday we needed to leave for the wedding. Because we knew they’d be jet-lagged and since we had two small kids with us we didn’t set anything in stone and instead just picked some things off the list that seemed to fit with the mood and the day. The only unfortunate thing was the heat. I’m not 100% sure but I would guess it was one of the hottest weeks of summer. If not the hottest. By the end of the day Alex and I were both exhausted so I can’t imagine how my family was feeling. All I can say is that they were the biggest troopers!

As we always do in my family, we ate and drank well throughout the visit. We served up a big Bavarian breakfast complete with weißwurst and beer to start the day. The we all hopped on the train to Nymphenburg Palace and walked around the grounds. I think for Brayden he would’ve been happy enough just riding the trains, trams and buses all day. He loved that we were riding the train underground. For the rest of us though we could’ve done without the stifling heat on the public transport. Since we were all about to die of heat stroke we headed to Augustiner Biergarden to have some lunch in the shade. We order a bit of everything to give them a sampling of Bavarian food. Some fresh whole trout, a giant pretzel, obadza (a camembert cheese spread), and a variety of meats. Of course we all had to order a Maß to rehydrate. The kids enjoyed the playground while the adults rested. Once we were somewhat revived we headed into the city center, starting at Stachus where we played in the fountain a bit to cool off. Then walking through the city, we checked out some churches, street musicians, and entertainers until we made our way to Marienplatz and the Rathaus. Then it was a short (some people would probably argue that it wasn’t short) walk through the Hofgarten and into the Englisch Garten where we stopped to watch the famous surfers on the Eisbach. Finally we cooled off in the shade with a few beers. At that point we were all ready to head home and have a nice BBQ on the terrace.

My brother-in-law, who is an incredible photographer captured the entire trip and left us with some amazing memories. Just to give him a little plug, more of his work can be seen here: Jeff Massey Photography The following photos are all credited to him.

The visit continues with our wedding festivities. Click here to read on.