Wine and Wittelsbachs, part two

St. George slays the emerald dragon

We have Albert V, Duke of Bavaria from 1550-1579 to thank for the stunning collection on display in the Treasury of the Residenz Museum in the center of Munich. Albert was a patron of the arts, and he amassed great treasures from across Europe. He commissioned the construction of the cavernous Antiquarium to house his collection of Roman statues and busts, and it stands today as the largest Renaissance hall north of the Alps.

In a brilliant legal move, the Duke stated in his will that the entire collection of Wittelsbach treasures remain together and never be sold. Over 1,000 years worth of religious artifacts, crowns, swords, jewels, and priceless metalworks form one of the most important collections in the world. A prayer book from the Holy Roman Emperor Charles the Bald (great name, right?) dating from 890 is on display. Also in the collection is the oldest surviving crown of England from 1370, known as the Palatine Crown for Queen Anne of Bohemia. The crown is an intricate and delicate work of gold covered in diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and tiny little pearls.

Just what I need for the school run

The small and intimate presentation of the stunning collection is what appealed most to the little C&Gs. I think if we were in a big museum they would have skipped from one item to the next. But they really got a chance to press their noses up to the glass (bulletproof, I'm assuming) and examine each piece up close. They certainly don't let you get that close to the crown jewels in the Tower of London.

The highlight of the collection and what appealed most to the boys was the statue of St. George slaying the dragon. This gold reliquary was made to hold the remains of the legendary St. George, famous for slaying a dragon and rescuing a princess in the early Middle Ages. Chances are he was a purely mythical character but I'm sure he'd be pleased to know his remains would be guarded by this stunning statue covered with more than 2,000 emeralds, rubies, and pearls. The dragon is breathtaking, covered from nose to tail in emeralds with rubies dripping from his head to symbolize where he was struck by the sword. The little C&Gs loved the story and took turns making up their own knights and dragons stories with their action figures (bought in the gift shop) at the wine bar next door.

I swear that's grape juice Big C&G has in his glass

Just out the door of the Residenz Museum and half a block to the right was the wonderful Pfalzer Residenz Weinstube. The restaurant is run by a local wine collective, so there's no beer but plenty of delicious local wines and specialty grape juices. They have tables out front and in the back is a stone courtyard that's part of the Residenz complex. Inside are vaulted ceilings, long wooden tables, and no menus in English.

The dining room was incredibly noisy which was perfect for the medieval battle going on at our table. We sampled a large number of wines (they came in small glasses, really) while the boys toasted with their grape juices and sparkling apple sodas. The charcuterie plate got the evening started and we have no idea what we ordered after that. Partly from all the wine but mostly because we couldn't understand our waiter and he couldn't understand us.

Lots of wine and not a salad

Little C&G ended up not eating his flammkuchen, which we thought was pizza-like when we saw it on a nearby table. We ordered it with cheese and "pepperoni", but the pepperoni turned out to be green peppers. Thankfully he worked his way through the giant basket of German bread and we didn't have to find a hot dog stand on the way home.

Big C&G took a guess and ordered what he thought was steak. Happily he was right, but I wasn't so lucky with the salad I thought I ordered. It came out after everyone was done and turned out to be apple pancakes with blue cheese and grapes. After several glasses of wine and not a lot of food, it was the best pancakes I've ever had.

In such a beer crazy city the Pfalzer Residenz Weinstube was a delightful find. And even better since we didn't have to venture too far from the museum that we'd spent all day in. Most important, we learned our lesson that night with our inability to decipher German menus. As soon as we got back to the hotel Mr. C&G splurged on the $4.99 German to English dictionary app, as the free one certainly wasn't going to help us out in the flammkuchen department.

Wine and Wittelsbachs, part one

Bavaria's ruling family, the Wittelsbachs, called Munich home for more than four centuries. The Residenz in the middle of the city served as the political and cultural center of the Bavarian dukes and later kings from the 1500s up until 1918. Gilded, baroque, and over the top, the Residenz Museum is exactly what your kiddos picture when you mention the word palace.

The Wittelsbachs are the longest continuously ruling family in European history, although the last Bavarian King was deposed in 1918. Their former residence, the Residenz Museum was opened to the public in 1920 and houses a vast collection of portraits, sculptures, and porcelains (the family had it's own in-house porcelain works). The nearby Treasury contains hundreds of years worth of Wittelsbach family gold, silver, jewels, and crowns.

The 90 room Residenz is easy to tour around with the help of the free audio guide, about the size of a giant phone, and the boys loved following along at their own pace. I kept my Rick Steves Munich guide handy and used his room by room guide to the museum to fill in interesting details.

The Antiquarium is the oldest room in the Residenz and also the longest, it's still used today for elaborate banquets. More than 200 people can be seated in this room that stretches for more than 200 feet. The walls are lined with bucolic scenes of life around Bavaria in the 1500s and the small nooks house Roman busts, the Wittelsbach attempt to connect themselves to the ancient rulers of Rome.

Most of the artwork along the walls of the palace involve ancient members of the Wittelsbach families, and we had lots of fun making up stories about the dour faced Dukes and bewigged Kings. This was the first palace the little C&Gs have ever toured and it definitely lived up to their grand expectations.

Stay tuned for tomorrow when I'll show you the money. Diamonds, rubies, pearls, silver, gold, crowns, and all kinds of gorgeous treasures collected by Bavarian's royals for over 1,000 years. The small ten room Treasury is a wing off the main museum and was dazzling enough to keep the little C&Gs interested even after a few hours wandering the baroque palace. And of course C&G has the perfect place for wine and charcuterie within stumbling distance of all that opulence.

The Residenz Museum is open daily from 9:00am to 6:00pm from April through October and 10:00am to 5:00pm November through March. Admission for kids is free, and 11€ for adult admission to both the Residenz and the Treasury.

Hotel Review: Marriott Munich

In honor of Little C&G's favorite team, FC Bayern München, I'm focusing on all things German this week. On Saturday it's an all German   showdown in the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium, the first in history. Munich's home team Bayern München defeated Barcelona to earn a spot in the final against Northern Germany's Borussia Dortmund. Little C&G has Saturday circled in red on the calendar and has already requested ahead of time that his soccer (football) jersey is clean. Hard to do since he rarely takes it off.

Our hotel for the first leg of our summer 2012 adventure was the Munich Marriott, just north of the city center and conveniently down the road from the Allianz Arena, home to FC Bayern München. Had I known ahead of time that Little C&G would turn into such a soccer nut, I would have planned accordingly, bought tickets to a game and booked a tour. Instead we watched games from the comfort of the hotels' executive lounge (free snacks, beverages, and help yourself wine bar) every night.

Our room was never this clean, so thanks marriott.com

Marriott has a generous rewards program and we used a bunch of points to stay five nights in Munich for free. Located in a quiet neighborhood and just two blocks from the U-bahn (subway) it was easy to get in and out of downtown Munich. It was also nice to retreat to a lovely tree lined neighborhood after a full day of bustling about town.

Our room was a bit of a tight squeeze but we weren't there for much more than sleeping.We didn't have that extra space with the couch that shows up in the photo to the left, which we happily could have put to good use. When we needed some room to roam we headed down to the lobby or out into the neighborhood for a stroll. We arrived in Munich just as the Olympics were starting so there were televisions on and people congregating and cheering almost everywhere throughout the hotel.

The neighborhood was very residential so there wasn't a lot to do and very few restaurants, but we did find a delicious bakery between our hotel and the U-bahn. I thought it was a mirage when we got up out of the subway on arrival from the airport, and pretzels and coffee have never tasted so good. Most days we ate breakfast at the vast buffet in the dining room (included with the room) and then stayed out till after dinner.

Steakhouse 93 in the Marriott lobby

At the end of our day trip out to Legoland (trust me, I will post about it!) the four of us were completely exhausted and didn't want to venture any further than our hotel in search of dinner. We decided to try the American style steakhouse in the lobby, Grill 93, and we were pleasantly surprised at how good it was. Hotel dining isn't usually worth the calories (unless it's room service in the comfort of your bathrobe) but Mr. C&G and I enjoyed some great steaks and several glasses of very tasty local weissweins (white wines).

The little C&Gs kept busy with their Legoland purchases while we sat back and enjoyed our wine. They were so happy to see a menu in English filled with all their favorites, and even more amused that each dish had a silly cartoon name. The boys got a kick out of our waitress' strong German accent when they ordered the "Schpunge Bob" of grilled sausages and french fries. The perfect ending to our long day was heading over to the lounge after dinner to watch Bayern München defeat Dortmund, and we all have our fingers crossed they'll do it again on Saturday!

Maine Monday: Mocktails du jour

David's Opus Ten is a unique and intimate dinner experience in downtown Portland. And definitely not a bring your kids to dinner kind of place, no matter how well behaved they are or how fancy their collared shirt. Chef David Turin opened Opus Ten in the back of his already very successful David's on Monument Square, focusing on flavor, beautiful presentation, and regional cuisine.

It's a nine course (seven during the week) prix fixe menu of whatever the talented chef puts together from the day's freshest ingredients. The cozy dining room is tucked away in the back of David's, and with only 18 seats and a small dedicated kitchen, you feel like you've been invited to the most elegant dinner party.

We spent a lovely evening at David's Opus Ten recently, and the food was beyond amazing. Each course was so different from the last and small in size but huge in flavor. Quail's egg ravioli, presented in a small dish while the chef comes out from the kitchen to pour the steaming butter and egg emulsion over the ravioli, completing the cooking process right in front of you. Butter poached lobster (and I'm not a fan of lobster) sitting on top of a crispy tiny risotto cake, and seven more delicious dishes rounded out our three and a half hour dining experience.

Blueberry Mint "soda"

But the most surprising part of the night was that I didn't have to bow out of the beverage pairings of the evening. I offered to be the designated driver, which next time I'll need to remember to do only after I've seen the wine list. Several of my favorites were on the list, but it can't always be cocktails & Chassagne-Montrachets.

The brilliant chefs at Opus Ten have thought ahead and prepared very interesting non-alcoholic mocktails to go with each course. The drinks were all delicious, and I didn't have to miss out on the pleasure of having something new and colorful placed in front of me before every new dish. It was certainly a lot more fun than sitting there sipping my Pellegrino while everyone at the table swirls and sniffs their way through the wine pairings.

All my drinks were so bubbly and fun (except for the Smokey Apple, that got passed over to the peaty Scotch loving Mr. C&G) that I never missed the alcohol. The Verde Mary was delicious and if I thought we'd have even a chance of recreating it at home I'd get my live-in bartender right on it. The rest of the mocktails look pretty easy to turn into cocktails, and you can be sure I'll put my best researchers right on it.

Cocktail du jour: Parisian Cocktail 2.0

We have some houseguests this weekend, Ammah C&G (my Mom) and her BFF are coming to visit. For some strange reason they're expecting a vast array of cocktails when they arrive. I can't imagine why!

I thought this would be the perfect welcome drink to meet them at the door with. Light, fruity, and just a wee bit of tartness. Just like my Mom. . .

Parisian Cosmo

1 1/2 oz Chambord vodka

1/2 oz Grand Marnier

1/2 oz cranberry juice

1/4 oz fresh lime juice

Combine all ingredients in a martini shaker filled with ice

Shake it up and strain into a martini glass

Cheers!

Back to the Books

It's very unusual for me to plan out our restaurants so far in advance of our summer travels. You never know where your day will take you or what your gang will be in the mood for.

In the past I've done some research ahead of time, copied all the details to an email (which drives Mr. C&G nuts, he'd prefer it as notes on the iPhone) to print out and carry with me. Then as we're wandering I can check to see what's recommended nearby. When we leave that particular city, my notes go in the garbage (recycling of course) and I no longer need to tote the information around.

This plan of attack won't work for us on our adventures this summer. One of our stops is a major bustling city, and I don't want to be stuck with hungry munchkins and a two hour wait for tables. I also don't want to waste our travel budget on meals that aren't worth it, or restaurants that are miserable tourist traps. Recipe for disaster.

So I've been spending the past few days checking into restaurant options and making reservations online (thank goodness for the internet). I've been combing my usual sources and searching for restaurants that get mentioned more than once in a variety of places. I grabbed the Where Chef's Eat book off the library shelf the other day and so far 4 of my choices show up in there. That's a good sign!

Where Chef's Eat highlights restaurants from around the world (and close to home), and while the descriptions aren't all that informative at least you have the name and location for starting a google search. It's also a nice mix of high and low end recommendations. Noma in Copenhagen (named best restaurant in the world in years past) is just a few paragraphs away from Ahaaa, a great Copenhagen falafel joint.

Of course the first page I turned to when I got home was the Portland, Maine section. Otto's, Boda, and Bresca are all favorites so I knew this would be a good guide. If the travel books (or websites) you're using list the Hard Rock Café or Applebee's, then you know it's not where you want to get your recommendations from. But chef's know their food, and they're not ones to be wasting their hard earned dough on meals that aren't worth every penny, kroner, euro, or pound.

The Meals That Changed It All

Big C&G used to be a picky eater, which as you can imagine is not a good personality trait in a world traveler. The four major food groups of hot dogs, pizza, mac & cheese, and french fries don't really exist outside the borders of the US.

After booking our tickets to Scandinavia for the summer of 2011, I immediately had a panic attack over what on earth would we feed our kids on our two week adventure. Little Scandinavian children always look like the picture perfect visions of health, with their ruddy cheeks, bright eyes, and luminous skin. No doubt from their abundant diet of fresh from the arctic ocean seafood and antioxidant rich fruits like lingonberries. None of which would fly with our little C&Gs. Oddly, smoked salmon is a favorite of both boys, but any other kind of fish will not pass their lips voluntarily. Thank goodness for Mexico.

In March of 2011 were on our annual vacation in Mexico with Ammah C&G (my Mom) and BBC&G (my amazing Grandmother) when Big C&G decided to venture out of his very narrow comfort zone. Maybe he was getting tired of cheese quesadillas, or it could have been the mariachi band and the sombrero. Big C&G leaned over to Ammah C&G and asked to try some steak off her fajita plate. We were all shocked, but probably not as shocked as he was when he discovered he liked it. It was as if he realized what he'd been missing for the past eight years of his life, and he's been an adventurous eater ever since. Hard to believe my little Big C&G has branched out to octopus, prosciutto, and caesar salad.

Fast forward to our summer in Scandinavia, and the meal that Big C&G still talks about. We found the small bistro P.A. & Co tucked away on a hidden street in the Gamla Stan neighborhood of Stockholm, far from the usual tourist crowds. We were the only non-Swedes in the restaurant, with the exception of a German couple trying to order in their limited English.

Menus weren't in available in English, and Big C&G decided he liked the sound of the dish "Skomakarlåda". We were all shocked, but he was game to try something unknown. And you can tell from the smile on his face he absolutely loved it. Steak, smothered in leeks and bacon, what's not to love! Mr. C&G looks at the ready with his fork, but I'm pretty sure he barely got a bite before Big C&G gobbled the whole thing up.

I think when you take your kids out of their comfort zone and there are limited choices, they will truly surprise you. It make take a few times of trying, and Stockholm was the second city on our vacation, but Big C&G has been much more open minded ever since. At some point they realize they need to be more flexible, and nowhere is that more apparent than when they're confronted with a menu full of strange things and a rumbling tummy. Big C&G is happy to try anything you put in front of him and I no longer worry about finding something he'll eat on a foreign menu.

We've still got a bit of a challenge with our Italian child, Little C&G. He rarely ventures beyond pasta, but he's now the same age Big C&G was when he had his food epiphany. With Italy not on our agenda anytime soon, we have big hopes for him branching out this summer. No pressure little one. . .