Coffee, Laughter, and Friendship: Our Journey with Ingrid and Markus
Sometimes you meet people with whom every moment is fun. People who enrich you and share the same sense of humor. People who entertain you from the first to the last moment.
And that’s exactly what Ingrid and Markus are like. This post is about them and our fun encounters.
It started subtly and slowly. Over the years that Míša and I have been writing our blog and sharing our stories on social media, you realize you’re not alone. People like you are all around. You follow each other, write to each other, like photos. But you rarely meet in real life. And when the opportunity arises, you often hesitate. You don’t know each other, and apart from wearing skirts or dresses, you might not have much in common. There can be awkward silences and clock-watching.
It was the same with Ingrid and Markus, who contacted us via Instagram in June 2022, saying they were in Prague and asking if we wanted to meet. We had been following them for a long time, liked their style, sense of fashion, and the fact that, like Míša and me, they were married. They seemed nice and happy. But even so, we hesitated. In the end, curiosity won, and we decided that meeting for coffee wouldn’t hurt. And thank goodness we did.
We met wonderful, kind, and smart Ingrid & Markus with their beautiful friend Cathy and formed a friendship that we value. We found that we share a joy for traveling, discovering new things, and many other values. We were surprised at how much we had in common.
What started as a coffee turned into whole day of exploring Prague, and since then, we have visited each other several times and enjoyed our time together exploring Bavaria and the Czech Republic.
Our Very First Meeting in Prague – June 2022
As we mentioned earlier, our first meeting turned from a planned short coffee into a full day of exploring Prague with Ingrid, Markus, and Cathy. We visited classic tourist spots like the Old Town Square, the Prague Astronomical Clock, and Prague Castle, and eventually ended up in a charming café at the Písek Gate. This gate, built in 1721 by architect Giovanni Battista Alliprandi based on a design by František Vogot, was part of Prague’s baroque fortifications.
In 1741, during the War of Austrian Succession, Charles Albert of Bavaria stormed through this gate into Prague, which was defended by only a handful of untrained townspeople and students.
For Ingrid and Markus, this wasn’t their first visit to Prague – they first came shortly after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. They had plenty of funny stories from that time, reminding us of our communist past. We laughed at them, but also realized that we wouldn’t want to experience those times again.
September 2022 – Bavaria
Regensburg
Regensburg, known as Řezno in Czech, is the only preserved medieval city in Germany and one of the oldest cities in the country. The fourth largest city in the state of Bavaria is located in a bend of the Danube River, where the Naab and Regen rivers flow into it. The river Regen gave the city its name. Its older form is reflected in the name of the Celtic fortress Radasbona, which stood on this site, and around 70 AD in the name of the Roman military camp Castra Regina. This camp was expanded in 179 by Marcus Aurelius, but it was destroyed by the Germans in the 4th century.
On the ruins of the Roman settlement, a city began to grow again, where in 739 Saint Boniface founded a bishopric. For more than two hundred years, this diocese included the Czech lands until the Prague bishopric was established. In 788, Charlemagne made Regensburg a residence of the Carolingians, turning the city into the political heart of the empire and a flourishing trade center. Its peak of prosperity was reached in the 12th century when it became a free imperial city, remaining so until the end of the Holy Roman Empire in the early 19th century. From 1663 to 1802, the Imperial Diet even met here.
More than two thousand years of history are reflected at every step. In the medieval core, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2006, there are 984 protected buildings. These include the Stone Bridge over the Danube from the 12th century, the old town hall with the Imperial Hall where the Imperial Diet met, the cathedral with its amazing stained glass windows, a museum protecting church treasures, the historic Adler-Apotheke pharmacy, and the only preserved Roman gate north of the Alps called Porta Praetoria, which formed the northern entrance to Castra Regina. Also worth visiting is the museum dedicated to the court astrologer of Rudolf II, Johannes Kepler, who lived and died here.
Befreiungshalle Kelheim, Altmühltal Nature Park (Liberation Hall)
The Liberation Hall on the Michelsberg near Kelheim is one of the most important buildings of the 19th century. century in Germany. Built by King Ludwig I and designed by Leo von Klenze. It is one of the large, architecturally designed national monuments, in this respect only comparable to the Walhalla near Regensburg, also built by Klenez, the Völkerschlachtdenkmal and the Kyffhäuserdenkmal.
Kloster Weltenburg, Danube river
Weltenburg is truly a special place, one in which the artistic impact, the clerical and intellectual power of the Abbey and its church meet the beauty of the river landscape of the Danube Gorge and the force of nature that is the Danube.
On a culinary level, this matchless beauty is optimally complemented by the oldest abbey brewery of the world, with its premiered beers, and our Klosterschenke restaurant.
June 2023
Kitchen Prelude 😀
We had arranged for Ingrid and Markus to come over on Friday around six in the evening. But we also had some workers coming in the morning to fix our poorly installed kitchen. We asked the workers how long it would take, and they estimated about 2-3 hours. So we thought it would work out perfectly – the kitchen would be done by lunchtime, we’d clean up, and when Ingrid and Markus arrived, we’d be all set.
But as things often go, it didn’t quite turn out that way. When the workers arrived, they realized they couldn’t just fix it; they had to basically dismantle the whole kitchen and then reassemble it correctly. They said they should be done by six. So we hoped for the best. As six o’clock approached and the kitchen was still far from finished, our nerves started to fray. It looked like the installation would be delayed by about half an hour, which would still be okay.
In the meantime, Ingrid and Markus arrived, and we seated them in the living room, where the entire contents of the kitchen were spread out on the floor. Luckily, we have a big living room, so everything fit.
Everything seemed fine, the guys in the kitchen were packing up, and one of them had the bright idea to secure the side panel of the dishwasher with one more screw into the wall. And as he did, he… drilled into a water pipe. 😀
Try finding a plumber on a Friday evening. It all turned out fine in the end, but the kitchen wasn’t finished until ten o’clock at night. 😀
Konopiště Castle
Konopiště Castle was Franz Ferdinand’s favourite home
This building that started as a late 13th century Gothic castle belonged over the years to some of the most prominent historical figures. The last owner was the heir to the Austro-Hungarian crown Archduke Franz Ferdinand d´Este who, was, together with his wife Sophia, assassinated in Sarajevo in 1914.
The picturesque Konopiště Castle is located just a short distance from Prague, but most tourists who visit Prague never make it here. This is a great pity because the castle has a rich history and well-preserved interiors and exteriors, including a beautiful botanical garden and a castle park. We were glad to have secured the last three tickets for the second castle tour – the private rooms – in English. So, in the end, Míša had to wait for us in the castle courtyard.
Interestingly, we had prepared a Viennese breakfast at home before our departure in the morning, and then during the castle tour, we came across an almost identically set table.
Prague – Day 1
Fun fact, in case you didn’t notice – Ingrid and Markus swapped clothes during the day. 😉
Prague – Day 2
August 2024 – Bavaria
Walhalla
In a high position, which dominates the surrounding landscape, the Walhalla rises near Regensburg over the Danube. With this classicist building in the form of a temple surrounded by columns, one of the most important German national monuments of the 19th century was created here on behalf of the Bavarian King Ludwig I. (r. 1825-1848).
As you can see in the photos, our tour was a blast, not just for us but also for the other tourists who thought we were an attraction. One lady even asked Markus if we were some kind of “movement.” We laughed and said we definitely were, because we had to move a lot to climb all those steep stairs. But the funniest part was taking photos outside, where Markus’s hat kept flying off because of the strong wind. Míša was holding it from the back, Ingrid from the front, but she had to let go for the photo, and the hat immediately flipped up, making Markus look like Speedy Gonzales. 😀
Nepal Himalaya Park
This visit was really hectic. In one day, we managed to visit the Bavarian Walhalla, the Nepalese Himalayas, and on our way home, we also stopped in Italy (a large Italian store in the center of Regensburg). We don’t have any photos from our visit to Italy, so please enjoy the ones from Nepal instead.
As you can see, it was challenging 😀
Although we just came from our last visit, we are already looking forward to the next one. Sort of… 😀
