October 25, 2016

German Swag 101: Visiting Vilsbiburg

The first thing to know is that you will not be limited to only visiting our little town of Vilsbiburg. Vilsbiburg, while maybe not ideally situated in the middle of a large transport system, is still in the heart of Western Europe. Planes, trains, and buses go out from Munich to the rest of the world, and Marc has a car that can get us anywhere we need to be.


We have now enjoyed the company of four visitors to our corner of Germany, and here is the basic rundown of what each of them got to experience during their trip.

Vilsibiburg


Marc's mom, Ingrid, got to experience the Dionysiusmarkt the weekend she was here. We had a parade of horses, bands, and carriages amidst a market that filled our small Stadtplatz with trinkets and street food. We try to get everyone involved on my gelato fix, find each person's favorite bakery goods, and walk along the river trail.


My friend, Kia, and I had the city pool to ourselves the day we went in August. Vilsbiburg is easy going and it's the chance to see how our daily lives really work abroad.

Landshut


About a thirty minute drive away, Landshut is what we consider the "city." Landshut has sushi, so it obviously wins my attention. The city center in Landshut is a bit more sprawling, there is a castle on the hill overlooking the town, and a few huge church towers to explore.


It's a bit of the bigger and better version of Vilsbiburg, and one of my favorite ways to spend an afternoon.

Munich


We do make sure to get our visitors to the largest city near to us, but I am personally still working on accepting Munich as a fun place to visit. It's tough to be compared to Paris! I think Munich is revealing itself little by little and I continue to be pleasantly surprised.


Ingrid's and my picnic lunch at the Viktualienmarkt proves that I can have an absolutely splendid time in the center, and I need to keep learning where I fit into the Münchner scene.

Salzburg


Salzburg is the highlight of everyone's trip. It charms no matter the season or weather, and the compact city center feels so easy to navigate and visitor-friendly that it's impossible to not be swept away by Salzburg.


The fortress on the mountain provides the perfect foreground to the soaring Alps in the backdrop, and, of course, every Sound of Music fan already has a soft spot in their heart for the city of the singing Von Trapps.

Neuschwanstein


This fairy tale castle is always going to be the Versailles of where we live. What I mean by that is it takes a really long time to get there (over two-and-a-half hours), it's overflowing with tour groups, and it's a bit expensive for the limited experience in the castle.


The bridge view is open or not open on an ever-changing basis, but we did find an incredible German restaurant (Gasthof Krone) in the center of nearby Füssen that will encourage us to return.

Chiemsee


Only Kia had good enough weather in August to warrant a visit to the largest lake in Bavaria, the Chiemsee. We even got to swim around, both by the Herrenchiemsee palace, and the shore by Prien am Chiemsee. Next time, we are renting a boat and hanging out on the lake all day long!

And More


We hope to also include Regensburg and Nuremberg in our visitors' itineraries, but it always depends on our own schedules and what time of year our visitors come. If anyone decides to come during late November or December, these two Christmas markets will shoot up the list because of their great seasonal spirit!

Ingrid was able to visit during our sports seasons, so she was able to see us at "work" at both my game and Marc's games over her weekend with us.

Kia's European adventure stretched from Holland to Germany, then onward to both Scotland and Iceland. She made this work through open jaw plane tickets and one way tickets within Europe.


My friend, Tanya, chose to fly open jaw into Prague, Czech Republic, then fly out of Paris, France. I was able to meet her in Prague, and she and her sister, Tessa, were able to follow me to Paris last May.

You can see why "visiting Vilsbiburg" is so much more than just hanging out in a little Bavarian village!

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