December 19, 2014

Munich Weihnachtsmarkt and Hofbrauhaus

December 19, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

After we were done at the Deutsches Museum, we decided to head over to the Munich Weihnachtsmarkt in Marienplatz. Being Saturday, in Munich, two weeks before Christmas, it was packed. Like, almost shoulder to shoulder packed. But, we were there and, gosh darnit, we (ok, I, Aaron wasn't all that interested), was going to experience the Munich Weihnachtsmarkt. So, that's exactly what we did.

But, before we headed to the market, there was, surprise!, another church we wanted to visit.

December 17, 2014

Deutsches Museum

December 17, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

This past weekend we went to Munich to knock a couple of things off our our European Bucket List. One of them being the Deutsches Museum. This is a HUGE 6 story museum, built in 1925, that focuses on anything and everything technology related. From mining to planes, trains, glass, paper, space travel, robots, and LOTS more. There is SO MUCH stuff here that it is impossible to see it all. And in fact, we didn't.

December 11, 2014

10 Things About Weihnacht in Deutschland

December 11, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

The Christmas season is in full swing here in Germany. With the opening of the Weihnachtsmärkte (pronounced Vi-nachts-mairkt-uh, or in English Christmas markets) a little over a week ago, Christmas cheer is everywhere. Each town, no matter the size, has at least one, if not more, Weihnachtsmärkte, they are not only a tradition, but a staple of the time leading up to Christmas. And most Germans we have talked with are shocked, absolutely shocked, that there aren't really Christmas markets in the US.

December 09, 2014

The Rest of Speyer

December 09, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Last week we showed you the Cathedral in Speyer. It is impressive, and easily the most popular attraction in Speyer. After leaving the Cathedral, we walked around the rest of the town. Since it was Sunday, nothing else was open, and the Christmas markets were not yet open. However, we were surprised to see how busy the city was!

I had been to Speyer a couple of weeks prior with coworkers, and we did a guided tour. I showed Aaron a couple of the spots that we went to on the tour. One of them

December 05, 2014

The Speyer Cathedral

December 05, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Five years ago, when Aaron and I vacationed in Germany after graduating from Michigan Tech, we visited a lot of cathedrals and drank a lot of German beer. We have since dubbed that trip ''The Beer and Cathedral Tour of Germany.'' On the Sunday after we returned from the Philippines, the tour continued. We visited the town of Speyer (pronounced Schpi-er), known for being an ancient city (founded by the Romans) and for having a very impressive Cathedral. Thankfully, it was close to home (only about 20 minutes from Mannheim). A few weeks ago, I had visited the city with work colleagues. I thought it was really cool and wanted to go back with Aaron, so we did.

December 04, 2014

Post Vacay Catch Up

December 04, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

While we were in the Philippines, we came to a startling realization: we haven't been accomplishing things on our Bucket List very quickly. We both worry that *poof* it will be the end of our assignment here and we won't have much to show for it (and empty passports!). With that thought, we had originally planned to head to Basel, Switzerland for a night the weekend after we got back from the Philippines. Well, life managed to get in the way, planning was too rushed, and so we decided not to go to Basel at the last minute. Instead, we caught up on the boring stuff - laundry, cleaning, sleep, that sort of thing.

December 01, 2014

Travel Review: Deep Blue Adventures and Atlantis Resort, Puerto Galera, Philippines

December 01, 2014/ Meghan Oaks

Over the past week or so, we've told you all about the diving we did in the Philippines and some of the stuff we did outside of the water. One of the things we haven't talked much about is the place we stayed, and who coordinated it all for us.

Back in the US, we met Cheryl Patterson who owns Deep Blue Adventures through friends of ours (she's a hoot by the way!). They focus solely on dive travel so when we decided we wanted to take a dive trip this fall, naturally, we contacted her. Our agent was Terri and