Here's the Munich gang in the beer garden at our headquarters at the Hotel Henry in the small town of Erding, about 50 km northeast of Munich.  Standing on the right are Ralph's cousin Paul and Ewa, in front of them are Marisa's cousin Marty and Mary Janice, and next to Ralph & Marisa are everybody's cousins, Chris and Barb.  We all enjoyed a great long weekend together exploring Munich and Erding.

On our first night in, we took a walk into the center of the small town of Erding.  We found the Erdinger restaurant right in the town square, and sat down for a great German meal.		The restaurant is owned and operated by the Erdinger brewery, who produce what many consider the best Weiss beer in the world.
	Needless to say, we sampled a generous amount of their freshly brewed offerings.

Chris shares some of the hard choices that life brings while Marty learns that choosing a Pilsener means less of a good thing. We just about closed the Erdinger and topped off the evening with a walk back to the Hotel Henry in the rain!

Above, a typical day in Europe starts with a big German breakfast buffet, and Fraulein Marisa is beckoning for the start of another typical European day.
		Saturday morning we began our trek into Munich via the U-Bahn.  It was a forty minute ride through the countryside and Munich's suburbs.

We exited the train from the subway at the Marienplatz stop, the center of the city.  Barb later called walking up the stairs and seeing the square for the first time the highlight of her trip.  The first thing we, like many visitors, did was watch the famous Glockenspiel, which plays several times a day.  We spent the day checking out Munich's city center, packed with fun-seeking tourists.
"Standing in Marienplatz, you find yourself right in the heart of old town Munich.  The square is dominated by the monumental New Town Hall, built in the late 1800's.  At 11, 12 and 17 o'clock each day, visitors can watch the famous Glockenspiel. The figures perform the Schläffertanz or cooper's dance, which was originally performed in 1517 at the Marienplatz to commemmorate the end of a plague.  Above the dancers, other figures hold a tournament,  originally held in 1568 at the wedding of Wilhelm II and Renata von Lothringen in 1568."

After checking out the market at top left, complete with oompah band playing at the center of multiple beer gardens, we wandered and came upon the Augustiner Bierhalle, one of the traditional beer halls of Munich, considered by many not as touristy as the Hofbrauhaus, and with better beer and food.  The hall is huge and very traditional and nice, and the excellent Augustiner beer is freshly brewed nearby.  And Marty did his best to overcome the ribbing about his small Pilsener selections by finding a pretzel that was giant even by Germany's standards.

	Berlin's bears are Munich's lions.   Henry the Lion, one of the most powerful German princes of his time, founded Munich  in 1158.

We ended our day in Munich at the outskirts of the Englische Garten, Munich's famous central park.

Back in Erding after the long day in Munich, our next mission was to find a place to watch the U.S.A vs Italy game that evening.  Good fortune was with us as were adopted by the instantly legendary Erding native "Guenther" who brought us to his favorite pub, showing the game outside their establishment complete with bleachers and big-screen.  Too many stories to tell in this space, but suffice to say this was one fun and unique evening spent among the locals in a typical small Bavarian town.  (And no, that is not Ernie Grant next to Guenther, upper right)

Sunday was World Cup day in Munich for Ralph, Marty, Paul, and Mike.  The scene upper right is the train station delivering the teeming masses of Brazilian and Australian fans to the stadium.

We enjoyed watching a hard-fought match that saw Brazil escape a tough Australian side with a 1-0 victory.

Monday morning we bid 'Auf Wiedersehen' to Paul and Ewa and Mike and Marty and Mary Janice, and together with Barb and Chris, we rented a car and headed... On to Ingolstadt!

	Ingolstadt is Ralph's mom's hometown, about 75 km northwest of Munich.  We spent a couple hours in the blocks around her birthplace and the home she grew up in, which is the last house on the right on the picture on the right.  We happened to be in Ingolstadt exactly on what would have been Ralph's mom's 80th birthday.   The Zoepfl family home was located just inside the gate shown in the picture on the left, called the Kreuztor.
	The Kreuztor, once part of a massive ring of fortifications, is Ingolstadt's most famous landmark.  This most beautiful of all preserved gateways leads into the old town from the west. Four small corner towers and sparingly used limestone decorations embellish the brick-red gateway tower from the late 14th century, a romantic witness to medieval architecture.

Directly to the back of the Zoepfl house (shown at left, above and below) stands the Cathedral, built in the fifteenth century.  The middle top picture shows us standing in front of one of the cathedral doors, which we were surprised to find open.  We were able to go in and look around this massive beautiful church and light a candle for Ralph's mom.  It was a very cool experience.

	At left, Ralph talks to his Uncle Joe and Aunt Erika.  Uncle Joe is Ralph's mom's brother, and grew up in the house also.  We wished they could have been here with us, but talking to them on the phone was the next best thing. ----- At right, we enjoyed a beer at the outdoor cafe on the corner.

We still had a week to go, and lots still to see!