We arrived at Barbara's house on the afternoon of Wednesday 5 December to find it quite covered in snow, which was great! We unpacked our things and relaxed for a short while, and then caught a ride into town where we just browsed around while Barbara ran some errands. We all met up later that evening for another delicious traditional meal and then wandered around the streets a bit before heading home - we just happened to pass the house where Beethoven was bo...

We arrived at Barbara's mom's house in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe just after the sun had set on Moday 3 December, and found her to be super kind and welcoming, making us feel right at home! After settling in and chatting over some drinks, we were treated to an incredible dinner - the table was beautifully set and the food was simply delicious. We were amazed that one person could put all this together in one afternoon! After desert we had coffees and chatted som...

We arrived in Landsberg Am Lech just before midday on Saturday 1 December. It was cold and overcast, but we still ventured out to explore the town and it's beautiful old buildings. We then drove South to see the Wieskirche, a beautiful, old, Baroque style church in the small town of Wies. The whole countryside was blanketed in snow - it really did look like something you see on a postcard. After a quick look inside the church, we warmed up with some traditional...

After an unexpected delay on the tracks just outside the station, our train eventually rolled into Munich at around 16:00 on Thursday 29 November. Even though it was her birthday, Barbara kindly met us at the station and even treated us to a quick coffee and cake :-) We drove back to the hostel to get cleaned up and then all met up with some of Barbara's friends (Gordon, Wilfried, Norbert and Thomas) at a nearby restaurant for an amazing 5 course dinner (prawns...

Our train pulled into Berlin Oestbahnhof in the late afternoon on Friday 23 November. The journey from Amsterdam had gone pretty smoothly apart from a short-ish delay at a tiny station somewhere in Germany while we waited for a delayed connection :-/ Fortunately, our hostel was just a short walk up the road, which meant that we were quickly able to dump our bags and hit the supermarket across the street. After another one of Monique's delicious meals, we spe...