I always enjoy celebrating birthdays, and not just my own. So, when a "big" one comes along, I'm all about a celebration - or in this case - several! Since my birthday was on a Monday, my two good friends Amy and Becca and I went to Germany to visit the Harle brewery in Leutkirch the weekend before my birthday. It was absolutely amazing! On my birthday, I had dinner with good friends at a fun pub with good food and 20 beers on tap (rare in Prague). Then the following weekend I had a party with friends in Prague at my house tasting Harle beer and hanging out at the beer garden. All were simply wonderful! I am so lucky to have made such amazing friends while living here!
 |
| Walking along the river in Regensburg, Germany where we stopped for dinner |
 |
| Regensburg - oldest city on the Danube River |
 |
| Regensburg |
 |
| Regensburg |
 |
| Regensburg
|
 |
Breakfast in Füssen, which our GPS couldn't pronounce, so kept spelling: F-U-S-S-E-N.
We got really good at spelling on this trip. |
 |
| Füssen
|
 |
| Füssen
|
 |
| Füssen
|
 |
| The sign reads "Born to Be Free" - I always enjoy a good USA shout out. |
 |
| Füssen
|
 |
| Becca preparing to try the "snowball" - think crispy pie crust covered in chocolate! |
 |
| Um, not so sure how to eat this... |
 |
| Delicious! |
 |
| Füssen
|
 |
| Füssen
|
 |
| Füssen
|
 |
| Füssen
|
 |
| Amy's happy as long as she has coffee and her camera |
 |
| Füssen
|
 |
| Füssen
|
 |
| Fountain in Füssen |
 |
| Füssen
|
 |
| Becca and Amy - fantastic travel partners |
 |
| Our awesome "free upgrade" Bertrand the BMW. The irony of driving a BMW and then staying at our hostel (left) was entertaining. |
 |
| Neuschwanstein Castle - the castle Disney modeled their castle after. Sadly, it's under construction... |
 |
| How it should look |
 |
| Horse drawn carriage up to the castle |
 |
| Neuschwanstein |
 |
| Beautiful area near the castle |
 |
| Happines = Haribo gummi bears |
 |
| Post castle apple juice and beer |
 |
| Amazing hats |
 |
| Love it |
 |
| Had to pinch myself - it was so gorgeous it didn't seem real! |
 |
| Our surreal picnic location |
 |
| We just had to go for a drive on this gorgeous afternoon in the mountains with our BMW |
 |
| Amy pointing out horses along the way |
 |
| Cousin Julia showing the menu at the Härle brewery guesthouse - YUM! |
 |
| My favorite wheat beer ever |
 |
| Nothing like good friends and awesome cousins enjoying
Härle beer on a warm afternoon |
 |
| Cousin Anne |
 |
| Brewery tour |
 |
| Interesting decoration made out of parachute material |
 |
| Anne, Mario, and Felix |
 |
| Härle Brewery |
 |
| Becca, Julia, Amy, and Gottfried |
 |
| Where beer begins |
 |
| Love seeing my last name everywhere |
 |
| My favorite beer - an organic unflitered beer sold only in these 5 liter mini barrels and on tap in local restaurants and pubs. |
 |
| Clemens Spezial beer toppers |
 |
| Gottfried showing us how hops are grown |
 |
| This was taken last August - so you can see how big they get! |
 |
| Hops ready to be harvested (also from August) |
 |
| Mario and Anne inspecting the beer |
 |
| Best birthday present - a case of Härle beer! |
 |
| The crew hanging out at the Mohren (guesthouse on brewery grounds) |
 |
| Cheese spaetzle (noodles) with pork tenderloin and Landzungle beer - delicious! |
 |
| A few varieties |
 |
| Mario gets sneaking in his photography skills |
 |
| Julia prefers wine to beer - but of course we only drink beer here! She started with a mini beer and ended the night with a half liter! :) |
 |
| Cheese spaetzle - YUM! |
 |
| Always end the night with a schnapps - for my dad! |
 |
| Flowers from my fantastic cousins who made a surprise visit! |
 |
| Love the painted beds in the guest rooms |
 |
| Cousins: Felix, Julia, and Anne |
 |
| Anne and Mario |
 |
| Prost! |
 |
| Family fun |
 |
| Bringing home a case of beer on public transportation? This is the place to do it - no one gave us any strange looks (for once) |
 |
| Post-gorilla run before the birthday bash in Prague - free gift: gorilla mask! |
 |
| Amazing blueberry and strawberry tart made by my awesome roommie, Jimmie |
 |
| Enjoying the wonderful food and starting to taste the great beers |
 |
| Katrina and me |
 |
| Getting excited for blueberry crumble |
You know you have good friends when you say its your birthday wish to have them try on the gorilla mask...and they do!
 |
| Jimmie the gorilla |
 |
| Simone |
 |
| Katrina and Petr |
 |
| Charles - one of my cool roomies |
 |
| John |
 |
| Robbe |
 |
| Becca |
 |
| Amy |
 |
| Marissa |
 |
| Mary Beth |
 |
| Katrina |
 |
| Ben - another awesome roommate |
 |
| Casey |
 |
| And then there was the beer garden - one of my favorite hang out spots near our house |
 |
| Jimmie and me |
 |
| Me, Katrina, and Casey |
 |
| Marissa, Me, and Amy |
 |
| Na zdravi! |
 |
| Me and Amy |
 |
| And when it was all over - a surprise guest in my bed. ;) |
Great fun this trip... even 2nd hand.
ReplyDeleteSo much looks like toned down Disney... too pretty to be real.
So happy you enjoyed all this... hugs to you