You Go Nate!: July 2009

THEY CAME FROM ANOTHER WORLD....

On July 4th two visitors arrived in Munich from another land.

They were my good friend Kjersti and her friend Brandi from Utah. Kjersti and I go way back to high school, and when she decided to plan a trip to Europe we made sure she came to Munich to visit for a few days.

They had just gotten off the night train from Paris when I picked them up from the Munich train station.

It was their first time in Europe! So I made sure to give them a proper European experience. So we went to the grocery store and bought a few things...

We had a traditional Bavarian breakfast of white sausages, sweet mustard, and pretzels, along with some grapes and brie cheese.

Here we are with our breakfast in my apartment. My roommate, Boris, is taking the picture (you can see him in the mirror) and he and his son Robin also had breakfast with us.

Another angle...

Robin loaded up on the Nutella...

It was very good...

After breakfast we headed over to the apartment of my friend Katherine. She was kind enough to let Kjersti and Brandi stay for a few nights on her sofas. The girls freshened up and got ready while Katherine got ready for work...

And then we went out into town to see the sights.

First we went to lunch at a fun Italian place near the river. Here we are waiting to get served...

After lunch we walked back over the river and into the old town passing Isartor (Isar Gate) along the way...

Then we visited the Marienplatz and the City Hall...

Then we went inside the Frauenkirche and sat for a bit...

We visited the Opera House...

Next to the Opera House is the Residenz, the city palace of the Wittlesbach family. It has been under renovation since before I got to Munich. The outside is covered with a drapery that looks like the façade to hide the scaffolding. Can you spot the prince and princess peeking out their window?

We took a break at Odeonsplatz...

Then we went into the Hofgarten which was bustling with activity. We walked to the center gazebo...

where a model was posing...

And a cellist was playing...

And photographers were photographing...

And this boy was interested in all of it...

Whoah! HELLO!

Next we went into the Englischer Garten and saw some sights (including some we didn't want to see... the weather being so warm and all...)

Then we did some souvenir shopping and ended up at the Hofbräuhaus...

We sat right behind the band so it was a little loud, and it was quite crowded...

But we had some nice Bavarian food in a fun atmosphere...

After dinner we took the U-bahn to the north of Munich where a very special concert was being held.

Brian Wilson, the genius behind all the great music of the Beach Boys was in town for just one night, and since I was a fan, I just had to get tickets and go. The girls were good sports to come along and we had a lot of fun.

I bought the tickets weeks ago, and I thought I was buying the "cheap seats." But when we got there we found that the seats were actually quite good. We even got to move a little closer once the concert started...

Brian and his band sang many of the old Beach Boys classics...

He's getting older and has to read the lyrics on the computer monitor, but he still got into the music...

The girls and I were really excited when he sang this one...

Brian is a genius but he's also a bit weird. Here he is trying to fraternize a bit with the audience...

Many of the 20th centuries greatest musical minds, including the Beatles, Leonard Berstein, and Elton John, have expressed their admiration, respect, and even envy of Brian Wilson's great talent and body of work...

Dancing a jig at halftime...

It was actually a fun way to spend the 4th of July...

Of course one of Brian's signature classics...

It was rather hot and you could tell old Brian was getting tired by the end...

But it was a thrill to hear these great songs from the man who wrote them...

Here's the final song of the evening in full...

They took their bows and the concert was over...

We went outside and around to the side of the arena where Brian and band would be getting on their buses, hoping maybe to get an autograph. Unfortunately Brian and co. just got on the buses and waved as they passed by.

The next day was Sunday and I picked the girls up from Katherine's apartment and we went to church. We got rained on a bit on our way, but by the time church was over, the sun was starting to come out again.

We then took a Sunday stroll through Nymphenburg Park.

We started by the schloss (palace)...

Nate made new friends...

We hung around the back porch for awhile...

Nate got his cool on...

Then he took it off for this picture...

We found the statue of Triton.

"We are the daughters of Triton..."

"Great father who loved us and named us well..."

"Elixir... Amixer... Donner... Nabisco..."

"And then there is the youngest in her musical debut..."

"Our beautiful young sister we're presenting now to you..."

"To sing a song Sebastien wrote, her voice is like a bell..."

"She's our sister..."

"Arie..."

A moment of mystery on the bridge...

After our stroll through Nymphenburg we went to Katherine's where we met up with some of the other young adults and made a scrumptious Bavarian dinner...

And we partied like it was 1999...

It was good food though...

On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I had to work but the girls enjoyed visiting Salzburg, Neuschwanstein Castle, and Dachau from their home base here in Munich.

On Wednesday after work I met up with them and they were so nice to take me out to dinner...

Then Katherine came from work and we said farewell to the Marienplatz...

And then we went to the train station and got the girls situated for their overnight train ride to Copenhagen.

We loaded their luggage in the compartment and then got off the train for some pictures. Kjersti and Brandi got off the train first and asked the first passer-by if he would take a picture for us. As I got off the train I realized that the passer-by was actually a former English student of mine from a few months ago. It was crazy! Small world...

So long, farewell, aufwiedersehen, and stuff...

We were bored...

The girls wanted a picture together and so they gave me the camera...

And then they danced a jig...

We posed for some serious farewelling...

Then Kjersti and Brandi boarded the train and photographed and filmed us doing weird stuff from on board (all to the weirding-out of the other people in their compartment)...