#175 Germany!

The wife and I went to Germany for a couple of weeks with her sister and brother-in-law.  We landed in Munich, rented a car and drove the autobahn through the countryside until we reached Berlin.  Following are snippets from our vacation:

• We watched 2 Germany World Cup games at local bars, including the 7-1 semi-final defeat over Brazil.  In Rothenburg, the entire town retired to their individual living rooms to watch the game.  We walked through the medieval town hearing the game blaring from each window as we passed through the ghost town-like atmosphere.  And when Germany won, the town woke up and stormed the streets with waving flags and honking horns!
• We visited several bier gartens.  One of them could seat more than 6000 patrons.  They were always packed and everyone drank beers out of gigantic glass mugs.  
• The bicycle tour through Munich.  The weather was perfect and town was beautiful.  The tour guide kept calling me the "Butt Babe" because I was the last in line and was responsible for everyone in front of me.  I received a frisbee for my troubles.
• We visited the German underground, a series of bunkers built during WWII to protect a small percentage of Germans during allied bombing raids.  I got reprimanded for taking a picture three seconds after he implored us NOT to take pictures.  
• Our car got a flat tire somewhere between Rothenburg and Heidelburg.  There was no spare.  We had to get towed to the nearest town with a Buch Binder, which was Wurtzburg.  It was not a glorious way to enter the town responsible for Dirk Nowitzki.  But it was an experience none-the-less.  The tow truck driver was sweet on my wife because she had her hair in braids.
• We visited the Memorial To The Murdered Jews.  It was a complete city block of pillars within which you could lose yourself.  It was a somber and meaningful experience.
• Glockenspiels:  Before leaving, my grandmother explained to me how great the clocks were in Germany.  So I made it my personal mission to take pictures of every clock we came upon.  The task proved to be too much for me to handle.  There are a hundreds of glockenspiels in Germany, all of them beautiful and worthy of being photographed.
• The Andechs: We traveled to a monastery where we drank monk beer and ate pig knuckles.  The beer was among the best I had in Germany.  And the pig knuckles were actually delicious. The town in the valley below was beautiful to witness from the monastery located at the top of the hill.
• The last pastry I will ever eat was in Berlin.  The pastry was good, but for some reason I vowed it to be my last.