Germany
Germany’s Most Beautiful Attractions
With its vibrant cities, rich culture, beautiful natural sceneries, and castles, Germany has something for everyone. Berlin is the most popular destination in Germany because of its fascinating sceneries and natural attractions. But aside from this fascinating city, the country also has other major cities with proud histories.
Berlin – image via http://www.sueddeutsche.de
Berlin
Among all the cities in Europe, Berlin holds the third spot. The city houses around 700 restaurants and 170 art galleries and museums. It is also the best destination for people who are into card games like poker, since the city holds the most number of casino hotels in the entire country. Visitors can go to Casino Berlin & Forum Hotel Berlin if they are into playing slot machines and table games. Berlin also has one of the biggest casinos, which is Spielbank Berlin. For those who can’t join live poker games can still enjoy the game by downloading party poker app on their mobile phone. Poker websites such as partypoker de offer players with a mobile app that they can use whenever and wherever they are. So even if you are inside Café Jacques with your family, you can still play the game while waiting for your food to be served.
Munich
Known as a beautiful, ancient city located on the Isar River, Munich has this modern convenience that perfectly blends with the ancient Bavaria. During the World War II, more than 70% of the city was damaged. But through the years, the city has been carefully restored to bring back its appealing splendor. Visitors can enjoy a lot of activities in the city including shopping, museum hopping, and night partying.
Plönlein with Kobolzeller Steige and Spitalgasse, Rothenburg
Rothenburg
Many tourists love the authentic medieval feel of Rothenburg—a prototypical walled-town which has a dramatic architecture, good food, and interesting history. Rothenburg is also considered as the best paradigm of a medieval town in a highly-modernized country like Germany. It is a town that is well-known for its Christmas Market where shoppers can find different Christmas decors all-year-round.
Wurzburg
This is a place which offers visitors many historic attractions, including a collection of historic churches that has a very dramatic structure. Some of the most visited place in the city is the Prince Bishop’s (Residez) Palace, Court Garden and the Fortress (Festung) Marienberg, which can be reached by crossing a river and climbing a hill from the very center of the city.
Hofgartentempel, Munich
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The One Where Rachelle and I Meet – Part Two (Nuremberg)
Germany wouldn’t be Germany without the events and festivals it’s been known for…flooding beers and grilling sausages, rides and amusements – typically where you’d just spend a few bucks having fun while enjoying traditional food and going home with a loot (or a lot) of klumpert!
Rachelle and I along with my son, her hubby and two kids decided to see what fun is there at the Nuremberg Volksfest (Funfair). Quite late but, the sun was up at 7 in the evening so you can’t tell! The kids were as alive as it was earlier at Playmobil so we went about and had our share of laughs and fun shots.
Funfair
Bratwurst
Nuremberg, aside from the famous trial, is known for its Bratwurst, a type of sausage that is shorter than the usual ones and appears white instead of the usual flesh or darker color. Needless to say, they are my favorite sausages along with the Berner-Würstel – frankfurters filled with cheese and wrapped in bacon. 
Bratwurst goes well with sauerkraut, if you do not fancy this type of salad, mustard will do.
The Bavarian city is also known for its Lebkuchen, a type of baked goodies resembling gingerbread and has been around as early as the 1200th. Many attempts to translate the word citing “Leb” from the word Leben or life and Kuchen or cakes to mean life cookies but this is not so. Lebkuchen can usually be bought in decorated thin cans – which I love collecting but because my mother-in-law gives me them. 
Lebkuchen is usually soft, most of the time shaped as pretzels, flowers or hearts, but they could be of any shape and bakers make variation by putting on different chocolate coating. There are also the harder types of Lebkuchen, as you see below, the heart-shaped bigger ones (Lebkuchen Heart) hanging on the stall which were decorated with icing. They have sweet words inscribed in them so you can appropriately choose to give someone.
Lebkuchen and more sweets
Baguette Galore
Baguettes of your choice are sold at the stalls too! There’s quite a variety to choose from…and in big servings – you won’t go hungry here, for sure! But enough of the food talk, I am not as brave or adventurous as Rachelle so I just waited with the kids when she and her hubby took on the challenge of riding the double loop roller coaster. Uhhmmm yes, it’s a double loop, scroll below to see the second loop. I had the previous day enjoyed a roller coaster ride too but smaller and perhaps considered for kids. Teehee! In my defense, someone needs to stay with the kids. haha!
Rachelle’s up there somewhere….
see..double!
I will not divulge what Rachelle said after the ride (lol), that’s for her to disclose. But, I won’t wonder if she felt like seeing double after that double loop ride hehe.
The kids had their share of fun, whacking mouses as they come out of their holes and getting prizes worth 1€ or more. Teehee! They rode mini-trucks and cars – no bumpers though and bravely went down the giant slide. We would have done more should the time allowed us but it was getting quite late too. Rachelle and her family would travel a good hour plus a bit more home it is with heavy hearts that we left the fair.
Prizes from “Whack the mouse game”
Rutsch (to slide) – a giant one which all 3 kids dared!
It might have been a few hours spent but Rachelle and I talked as though we haven’t been chatting everyday – we definitely would have been having playdates if we only live close to each other. The kids hit it off too, even though they were shy at first, kids are really amazing when it comes to bringing down communication barrier and such.
Personally, I got the chance to take some night shots again some moving shots and those but what do you know, you can perhaps bump into a Paolo Coelho doppelganger in the most unexpected place! Scroll below…
no, I’m a scaredy-cat
doesn’t he resemble Coelho?
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The one where Rachelle and I meet – Part 1 (Playmobil)
hurrying up
For a year plus some months now, I’ve been blogging more than I usually do and I’ve come to know so many wonderful bloggers – around the world. Truth be told, I haven’t been to any blogging event where I get to meet like-minded writers or photographers. I am not even familiar of many keyboard-tippers around Vienna. I know, such a lame and unfortunate life I lead as a blogger.
So last year, I ‘met’ a momblogger who is nearer where I am than those others I’ve been interacting with. Rachelle, a mom of two based in Aalen, Germany, was like the constant blogger present on chat, on groups and those other social networks we utilize – we immediately became friends, albeit online. That includes hours of chit-chat, question and answers, sharing blogging tips and tricks, laughs, guffaws and sometimes sharing sentiments. Oh, don’t forget exchanges of German words and sentences too. ^_^
Since Aalen is very near Nuremberg and Fuerth, which my family and I visit almost every year, we set a date to finally get to see each other personally…I anticipated it would be fun since my kids would also be able to meet hers, so we decided to rendezvous at someplace where the kids would enjoy: Playmobil! Kids at heart (read: us) will surely enjoy it there!
Rachelle’s son (in red) and mine – Rachelle’s daughter (yellow) and mine.
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It was a Saturday, day prior our scheduled trip back to Vienna when we met up. Surprise! There, even though it was the first time we met we were talking like we’ve known each other for so many years. Well, the fact that we have been like in contact almost every hour is no surprise and we talked about topics on end, you’d think there’s nothing more to talk about…wrong! It was like having to be reunited with a friend that one hasn’t seen for ten years and were keeping up to the stories during their absence from each other’s lives (read: chismis)!
I also get to meet her very reserved-man of a husband and two adorable kids. They were speaking English mostly, a relief for me – I was able to practice English the whole day without hearing replies of three languages in one sentence! My kids were fascinated at how they don’t speak Tagalog but their parents do. ^_^
staying balanced
trying to hit the cherry…or dragon
We let the kids roam around and enjoy the big slide, going up the castle, balancing on a log raft, pretending to be pirates on a ship, climbing up the nets, riding on wooden horses, arrow shooting with a terrifying dragon as a target and do whatever they fancy. The highlight of course would be finishing the golf course. There were 18 holes which each of the kids patiently finished. We had our laughs during the span of more than an hour – as the kids went about their rounds, counting and scoring and committing bloopers.
It was a fun Playmobil adventure albeit the day started gloomy, it turned really nice and but it didn’t actually ended there. We parted for just about an hour…then we went to Nuremberg’s fest (but that’s another story). Germany wouldn’t be without beers and sausages and those so we took the kids to a one final treat before calling it a day…
picking up a golf ball
goofing and taking a break from golf
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Log raft @Playmobil Funpark
Im no Gremlin but the sight of water makes me churn — add a log raft to it and I’d probably run away. Had I not been tasked to take photos, I would have gone to the farther end of the man-made river.
It’s a good thing though that the kids got their adventurous attitude from their Dad…everyone’s aboard except me! ^_^ And as if I had a premonition there was a kid who fell down into the water, good thing she can swim!
Also I’m joining Weekend Blog Follower Caraven sponsored by yours truly via Travels and Mom R’s Familia Wanderers. click on the badge to join us in this bloghop.
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Playmobil Funpark, 6 years after
For the kids, visiting their grandparents means fun…Aside from their oma’s cooking (grandmom) they enjoy walking around the place and swimming at the nearby pool. There’s also almost always a mention of Playmobil Funpark. It’s just a few minutes from their place. Just like before, dad-in-law would bring the first batch there (car is small for all of us) then come back for the second. First batch this time were mom-in-law, daughter and our youngest. Kuya C (my older son) stayed behind and went with hubby and I next. It was unusual since he is my mom-in-law’s favorite and he would always go with her without a doubt when invited.
aged 8 and 10
Daddy and D
The last time I was there was 6 years ago and I posted about it here…look at the photo of my 2 older kids in that post…They were then 2 and 4! Now, they’re 8 and 10…I was pregnant then with my youngest but he’s 5 now…I specifically asked them to pose – the two older kids together as a comparison to how young they were when we went. Although they went here 2 summers ago without me – only with my in-laws, I never saw photos.
lograft
that big ship
Little boy wasn’t in the mood for photos, Daddy has to convince him to. The place is as colorful as I remember, Playmobil giant figures multiplied in number, a lot more water-play sections were added, there’s a mini-golf course now and if you haven’t been to our new blog, please do, we’re having a giveaway there.
We did a lot of stuff, kids played to their heart’s content and I took photos as long as the battery lasts. Will show them here as the days progressed. This is surely another trip where hubby and I released our inner child. 
The place is not only fun it was also very scenic. It rained a bit in the morning but the sky was a lovely blue at noon.
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Playmobil Funpark
Brandstätterstraße 2 -10
90513 Zirndorf, Germany
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Nuremberg Zoo and Dolphin Lagoon
bambie, they said
This is one of the most memorable vacations we had, not just because of seeing a lovely place but because our daughter was left behind – for the second time. We visited the Nuremberg Zoo and Dolphin Lagoon (Nuremberg, Germany) and stayed there for half a day before going out to eat and play at a park.
That was one of those “doki doki” (Japanese heartbeat) moments that I felt real fear. It was also one of those times that my imagination was running much faster and beyond the years I normally would. If she’d been gone, I thought, how could my life be – would I be able to sleep thinking that she’s out there somewhere yet we’ve been robbed of the chance to take care of her and see her grow.
weasel?
dolphin
I sometimes hate myself for having that kind of imagination. Hubby went back to the dolphin show we watched with the whole fam (with mom-in-law and her husband too- who both joined the hunt as I stayed behind to wait). He found dawty sitting where she was earlier, still waiting if there are more shows. It’s a good thing that no one came to take her or ask her to come with them…there was not even a sign of fear to be seen in her…she was so calm.
dolphin showing off
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