On Thursday we were planning to wake up and head to Neuschwanstein castle (the infamous Sleeping Beauty castle I’ve been so excited to visit). We were a little torn about spending our last full day outside of the city, but we really wanted to see it. We called concierge first thing in the morning so they could reserve spots for us on the tour only to find out that the tour was a 10 hour-long tour and the bus left at 7:30 a.m. Well, it was 8 a.m. This was disappointing but now we have a reason to come back!

Speaking of the concierge… we bugged the poor guy to death! I don’t think we could’ve survived Munich without him. We asked him for maps, he helped us get metro ticket, he gave us restaurant recommendations and directions each night, and he even sent a postcard for me. I think he was afraid of what would happen if I tried to do it myself.

So we didn’t get to see the castle but on the bright side, we gained another day to explore the city. We hit Marienplatz first. It must be fate, because we got there right as the cuckoo clock was doing it’s thing at 11 a.m. We grabbed a few more souvenirs and hit the Viktualienmarkt for lunch. More Obazda and of course, more pretzels.

We got to the clock right as it hit noon and cuckooed again. Fate. Next on our list was Nymphenburg palace. This was the “suburban” castle for royalty, and to mix things up we used the tram today instead of the metro. This was nice because we got to see the city as we traveled around. The palace was stunning. The royal carriages and sleighs were amazing!

On the way back to town we stopped by Asamkirche, a Baroque-style church. This church was so over the top. I’ve never seen anything so detailed and gold. The highlight of my day was when I got a Bavarian felt hat, yep I’m a tourist.

We finished our trip with a delicious, amazing dinner. I got spinach dumplings in a bed of spinach and melted gorgonzola cheese with a side of roasted potatos, a beer and apple strudel for dessert. Trust me, it was delicious. Jenna was eyeing it over her stuffed veal with order-envy.

We were sad to go the next morning; somehow 4 ½ days wasn’t enough. It snowed as we rode the train to the airport. Oh, and thank goodness for kind men that lift my larger-than-life carry-on into the storage on the plane.

The one thing we won’t miss? The cobblestone sidewalks. Jenna’s weak ankles just couldn’t handle it. I think she almost wiped out about 20 times… a day. Thank goodness we didn’t pack heels!

Auf Wiedersehen Munich! xoxo.

-T