Day 2

Today was our first full day in Germany. We started out with breakfast in the hotel – which was cold cuts, crusty rolls, hard-boiled eggs, and yogurt. In the morning we saw the Glockenspiel at the Marienplatz, which is like a giant cuckoo clock with mechanical people that act out a duel and a wedding celebration twice a day. We took an elevator to the top of the Neus Rathaus tower for nice views of the city and the town square below. After that, we walked to the Residenz where the ruling nobility used to live. It is a whole complex of buildings all turned into a museum and tourist attraction. Some of the rooms are huge and elaborately decorated, and there were a lot of old treasures like jewels and crowns on display. Abby was hugely disappointed that there weren’t any real princes and princesses around, and we had to answer questions about why the they were dead for the rest of the day.

We got pizza for lunch and paid 3 euros each for four waters – ouch! We walked through the Christmas markets again and then walked the main shopping strip and pedestrian plaza. We bought a bunch of candy and an advent calendar at a department store and we found a German toy store and spent some time there buying some extra Christmas presents. Abby and Olivia found a lot of toys they liked, including little doll stroller that they pushed around much to the displeasure of the store employees. Apparently, kids playing with toys in a toystore isn’t acceptable in Germany. At the end of the shopping area, we found and ice skating rink. I thought Abby might have fun so we rented skates and got out on the ice and Abby was terrified. They had kid size polar bears on skis with handles for kids to hold onto, but she was scared of that too so she only made it around the rink once before giving up. Olivia was going crazy the whole time because she couldn’t be with me (on trips she only likes me and treats Mary like a total stranger) so I had to hold while I finished ice skating. Abby got dinner at the nicest McDonald’s I’ve ever seen (three stories, plasma TVs, leather seating, and a large Espressor bar) and we grabbed curry bratwursts for dinner on our way back to the hotel and then went to bed.