Every time I go home to Regina, without fail, several members of my family make some crack about how it's about time Neil and I have kids. I always just roll my eyes and say, "maybe next year."

In particular, my mother is really subtle. You see, she has a 4 year old grandson courtesy of my sister and is ready for more grandkids. She was forever making comments like, 'oh, Neil just seems to glow around Harry [my nephew]'. Then my sister-in-law went and had a baby so now Neil and I have a niece. This summer, my mom laid in on really thick... 'Neil looks so happy around Ashley. He just loves kids. I think he's ready to be a dad'. Again, my eyes were rolling.

Then this picture surfaced. Look at Neil's expression. Note the glowy complexion.

I'm not even sure who pointed it out to me... might have been Kathy, might have been my mom.

All I can say is that right this second, my eyes are rolling and I'm telling y'all, "maybe next year."

It is taking a seriously long time to write up posts about our trip. I wish it had been practical to take Neil's laptop with us and write these up as we went. As it was, we had to content ourselves with the hotel lobby terminal which was always lined up and you felt obligated to be as quick as possible. We usually checked our email and signed off.

Ok, OKAY!! I'll admit it, I've just been super lazy when it comes to posting -- I really should be done this already!! Arghh!! Well here goes:

After Salzburg, we spent four days in Munich. We paid a premium to stay in Munich at this time (Oktoberfest about to start) and because of the cost, I feel compelled to say that I was a touch disappointed ~ Austria had been beautiful/amazing AND considerably cheaper. That said, Munich during Oktoberfest is a sight to be seen and I'm glad I can say I experienced it - even if I can honestly say that I don't think Oktoberfest is worth what you pay for. Then again, maybe that is just a sign of the times and the times are saying, MSK, you are old and lame. Sadly, that's probably a big part of it.

Upon arriving in Munich, the first thing we did was take a 1 hour bus tour. Yes, lots of people think bus tours are lame (oh no, my lameness is being brought to the forefront in this post...) -- and to a certain extent they are but I find them great in the sense that you quickly get your bearings AND you see the major sites. This is great as it allows you to really decide what you want to go back and see and what you can skip. This one wasn't particularly great but being that Munich was a lot bigger than any destination we'd been to thus far -- just getting a sense of direction made the tour worth it.

During WW2, much of Munich was destroyed and afterward there was a vote as to whether to rebuild or to build anew. The Bavarian people in Munich chose to rebuild, thus making Munich absolutely beautiful -- trust me, the skyscrapers of today can't hold a candle to the ornate buildings of the past. Thus the tour also allowed us to see a large area of the city in a short period of time.

After the tour, we pretty much spent all of our time in Munich's Old Town. This area has the remnants of three gates that are all that remain of the demolished medieval fortification: the Isartor in the east, the Sendlinger Tor in the south and the Karlstor in the west of the inner city.

This is the Karlstor gate in Munich. From here, you can shop along pedestrian-only streets that lead straight to the Marienplatz, the city's main square.

From the Marienplatz you are within walking distance of many of Munich's main attractions. We saw the Old Town Hall, the New Town Hall (pictured at the top of the post), the famous Rathaus-Glockenspiel, and the Frauenkirsche -- just to name a few sights.

The first picture shows the New Town Hall and Rathaus-Glockenspiel (surrounded by scaffolding). The Second picture is of the Frauenkirsche -- no building in Munich can be built that is taller than it's spires.

We ended our first night in Munich at the world famous Hofbrauhaus. It has been called the World's Largest Beer Hall and I think I heard that it seated ~6000. The menu is traditional (mmm pretzels!), the drink du jour is beer served in one litre steins. The staff is dressed in traditional Bavarian garb. There was a horn band playing ditties. We went on two different occasions and both times had trouble finding a place to sit down. The first time we sat with a group of regulars... they taught us the proper way to toast... which is to look the person you are toasting straight in the eyes (very disrespectful not to) and proclaim, "Prost!" This group was very friendly. The second night, we ended up outside on the patio -- beautiful night -- but our table wasn't as friendly or boistrous. Plus, you couldn't hear the horn band outside so Neil was a little bummed out. Here's a little video.

It was amazing to watch the waitresses bustling about with 10+ 1L steins of beer in the hands. That is one heavy load and these ladies could move... I never got a clear shot but take a look at these skills...

That sums up day 1 in Munich. We did a series of Day Trips while in Munich. Next up, our trip to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial.

To see our Munich pictures, click here.