Munich - Day 1

Well we had a very lazy start today. Although Jackson did get us up early we went back to bed after he left for school (the joys of being on holiday). I don't think we were actually out of bed much before lunchtime. The house is lovely - very spacious and very warm. Houses seem to be heated so well in the Northern Hemisphere that you can get a shock when you go outside and realise that its only zero degrees as it was today. Your nose runs and you forget to take your gloves as Mark did today. Despite the cold, the day was crisp and clear. We are staying centrally near the River Isar (click here). From here we walked to the Englischer Garten which is an expansive park that follows the river. We were struck by how few people were around compared to London. In the Englischer Garten we found our first Christkindlmarkt. There were plenty of little wooden stalls decorated with christmas lights selling clothing, christmas ornaments and food. In amongst it there were people like ourselves trying to keep warm in the freezing cold by eating Baguettes with Weisswurst and drinking Gluwein. Both were very good. Afterwards we continued to walk through the picturesque Englischer Garten. There were pockets of snow, icy paths and crystal clear rivers and plenty of dogs out for some exercise. On one of the larger rivers we came across the amazing sight of several young men "surfing" in the river. It was slightly unbelievable so I've taken a picture. After our walk we headed back home and stopped at a local supermarket to buy supplies which carried home. Its 5:30 pm now and we're settling in for the evening. Mark is making a stew and Jackson is packing his bags for NZ. Paul and Jackson will have to leave pretty soon. I think we will "blob" on the couch and watch some DVDs since most of the TV is in german. All in all - a very nice day!