Treasure hunting

Way back during our Christmas vacation, we visited old Hamburg friends Judith and Til and their daughter Lupine in the beautiful city of Munich in southern Germany. We packed a lot of sightseeing into two very cold sub-zero days:

Anna and Lupine navigating
the crowded downtown pedestrian mall

. . . ice skating on the frozen moat of a castle built in 1385, eating at an ur-typical Bavarian restaurant (massive slabs of meat with canned peas and powdered potatoes), and admiring the famous Rathaus (the city hall) and the cathedral that were completely destroyed along with most of downtown Munich during the war and then rebuilt down to the last detail.

The Rathaus

The kids were especially impressed with our visit to the Schatzkammer, the treasury created in the 16^th century to house the jewels and treasures of the Bavarian royal families. Lara was our photographer during the tour of crowns, necklaces, scepters and balls, and jewel-encrusted toiletry cases.

A delicate queen's crown

Jost was so impressed by the visible weight and majesty of this king's crown.
These heavy things must have caused headaches!

And neck-aches!

Anna was so impressed with the jewels in Munich that she went back to Berlin and got her ears pierced!

Now she carries around her own treasury in those beautiful little ears!