Hi everyone, Joe here again, back by popular demand! Okay, maybe there was only one person really asking for another blog post from me and maybe that person was my mom…. oh well, here I go anyway…

Thankfully almost everyone we spoke to in Germany spoke English. Made me wonder why we’re so bad in the US at teaching/learning a second language.

As you know from the previous blog post, I got to drive the Autobahn in a BMW. But to correct Merritt, at one point I got it all the way up to 170…kph. That’s still about 105 mph, btw. I didn’t feel comfortable going much faster than that with the whole family in the car. It was pretty fun.

Speaking of the Autobahn, if you drive in the fast lane, keep an eye on your rear view mirror. Chances are, even if you are going 90 mph, you still might be slowing someone down, and at those speeds they’re on your tail seemingly out of nowhere!

Given that I drove in Germany and today in Italy, I’m now very experienced with the roundabout. They’re pretty fantastic, I’m not gonna lie! I kinda cut someone off the very first time I entered one but now I’m a seasoned veteran. I’m with Marcel and the Mythbusters, they’re definitely more efficient than a four way stop light.

My favorite German word is “ausfahrt” which means “exit.” Thought you’d all like to know that.

Don’t tell anyone who is German, and I didn’t feel comfortable writing this until we left the country, but I’m not impressed with German beer. For the most part, they drink plain old lagers which I’d equate to drinking Budweiser. Boring!!!! Give me a hoppy IPA any day! Makes you realize we have an amazing variety of beer in CA.

What is impressive is the amount of beer they drink! Those 1L mugs are no joke!

While on our self guided walking tour through Munich we had to teach the kids a little about WW2. It was a somewhat emotional thing to do and we were proud to do it. When we told the kids that certain buildings had been badly damaged by the Allies they were happy to learn that we were actually the good guys. Obviously Tessa and Wyatt didn’t grasp the significance but Gus did and has expressed interest in learning more about it.

On our day trip to Salzburg we kind of hit our wall. At lunch Tessa tipped over in her chair, Gus accidentally knocked his drink off the table and then right before we left he also tipped over in his chair. They were standard four-legged chairs, not sure what the issue was other than their inability to sit still. That’s when I completely lost patience. Then we walked outside and it was pouring rain (luckily we had our Disney ponchos)! I think we were all pretty tired, so our Salzburg experience wasn’t that great. Thankfully we’ve got a week of relaxation in Italy in store!

Overall I think the kids have done a good job. It’s been a whole lot of walking and exploring in a foreign place with really no one to talk to or play with but each other and no break from each other. The boys really haven’t complained much at all. Tessa is another story…she’s the traveler I expected her to be but for a 4 year old I think she’s done a pretty good job.

Speaking of Tessa the traveler, one my favorite things to do on this trip is watch Tessa pull her suitcase through train stations, airports, and down cobblestone streets like a boss!

Did I mention Starbucks is everywhere?

Like a boss!She’s even got moves!

Pictures with lion statuesThis post is now finished, please ausfahrt!