Germany 2001

We went to Germany for the first time together on September 12th 2001 for a week of our annual leave. We went to Munich and Freiburg. We also went again in November 2003, this time to Köln.

To view our pictures, please use the navigation panel to your left, or view our clickable map of Germany.

The rough itinerary for 2001 was:

Day 1-4:
Flew from Prestwick Airport (near Glasgow) with Ryanair to Hahn Airport (near Frankfurt). When we arrived there, we ate sandwiches at the airport (which were inexpensive and very good), caught a bus into Frankfurt and then a train to Munich. When we arrived in Munich, we got a cab to our accomodation, which Yves had booked over the internet. We stayed at Pension Amsel, which is similar to a B&B. We spent about 4 days in Munich.

Day 5:
We caught a train to Freiburg, where we stayed for two days and one night. Can't remember the name of the place we stayed at, but it had an enormous bathroom with a spa in it!! Heaven... :)

Day 8:
We caught a train to Switzerland where we met Yves' friend 'Scroc who put us up for a few nights.

Day 10:
We travelled with 'Scroc and his girlfriend Gwen to Paris, stayed the night, then headed for Brittany the next day for Alex's 30th birthday. Normandy was gorgeous!! We went to the Cote de Granite Rose, Ile de Brehat and more.

Day 14
After three nights in Brittany we caught a train to Paris, stayed a night there and then went to Rouen for Yves' cousin's wedding.

The day after the wedding we went back to Paris for a couple of days, spend a day at Disneyland and then back to Edinburgh in the first week of October.

Germany, from the few days we stayed there, certainly won a place in my heart. I'd love to live there! What I loved about the country was not only the culture, the food, the people, and the language, but the shopping!! Munich was especially wonderful for shopping. Whilst I like Scotland, I have to say, everything is overpriced and it's very hard to find decent looking clothes. The British fashion tends to lean more towards silly pink and glittery clothing... which, let's face it, you can't really wear in public! But Germany, now there's a place you can really get down to some serious shopping! The prices are about the same as you'd find in Australia (if memory serves me correctly), and the clothes are just fantastic.

The Germans really know how to cook. Their specialities may not be as sophisticated as French cooking (though the southern French speciality, Cassoulet, is certainly not sophisticated and yet very very good...) but they have a good sense of complimentarity and taste.

I recommend eating at Augustiner, which you'll find on the main street in the city centre of Munich. On our first night we arrived too late to order dinner, and so ordered the only hot thing available, Beef Goulash. Very nice! We sat outside on the big wooden chairs and tables and watched the world go by for the rest of the evening. Quite a relaxing way to end a long journey.