I read a whole lot of books during quarantine! How about you guys? I read a wonderful “proper romance” series by Josi S. Kilpack. If you have not checked out her proper romance series you really should! They are easy reading and a wonderful excursion into the London ton back in the 1800’s. SO fun! If you need somewhere to start, start with Promises and Primroses. This is also known as the Mayfield Family Series. I also started her culinary mysteries series but I didn’t love it very much. I found the main character to be annoying. I am a huge lover of the Joanne Fluke culinary mysteries and, in my opinion, this wasn’t even close. Now granted, I only read two of them so maybe they get better as they go and you really get into the characters. By far, though, my favorite book I read during quarantine was The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. This was probably the most creatively written book I have read in a long time! The imagination that went into each and every character and the story line had me turning the pages as quick as I could to see what would happen next. There was a fantasy vibe and a creepy vibe going on all at once. The descriptions of the characters and the scenes were on point and I could clearly see each wonderful scene in my mind. The story is about two young magicians, with clearly crazy adult figures in their lives, that are bound to each other in a dangerous but fantastical game of magic and wits. They don’t know the rules and they are unsure of how to determine a winner but they use all of their talents to outwit and out magic each other on the game board which is the Night Circus. Over time their respect for each other turns to love and now they need to work together to outwit and out magic the two men that are controlling the game. Along the way they make some amazing friends and the reader is introduced to characters that seemingly have nothing to do with the plot but through twists and turns end up being integral to the story. It was an adventure from beginning to end and this story allowed the imagination to soar. You know it is a good book when you think “I can’t wait until they make this into a movie!”
WHERE TO GO?
Munich Germany
This book is placed in London quite a bit, but I already did a blog on London so I am choosing to place this story in Germany. One of my favorite characters, Freidrick Stefan Thiessen, the clock maker, is from Germany. The description of the clock that stand at the front of the circus was by far one of my favorite descriptions and what made it even better is that an artist on ArtStation drew the Wunschtraum Clock so you get a really fun look at it! The artist did a great job! You can check it out at this link https://www.artstation.com/artwork/xym62.
So, Germany. Friedrick is from Munich Germany so we will go there.
WHERE TO STAY?
I like this blog https://www.timeout.com/munich/hotels/where-to-stay-munich. This blog was written last July about Munich so it is pretty new. I like that it has beautiful pictures and for each neighborhood in Munich it has where to stay, what to do and what to eat. Munich is the 3rd largest city in Germany so it really depends on what you want to do in Munich as to where you would want to stay and I feel this blog gives a great overview. As always, once you have picked a hotel make sure to research it on TripAdvisor!
WHAT TO DO?
The blog above talks a lot about what to do and this blog https://www.thecrazytourist.com/25-best-things-munich-germany/ is also really good. They have 25 versus 12 locations to visit with pictures and a little history too. I also really like Trip Advisor, of course. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g187309-Activities-Munich_Upper_Bavaria_Bavaria.html If it were me going I would have to visit this castle! This is the Neuschwanstein Castle. This castle was built by King Ludwig the second also known as the “mad king” It is known as the “Sleeping Beauty” castle. It cost around $70 for the tour. Check out Gray Line Sightseeing or Trip Advisor for more information.
There are also a lot of tours to do with Germany during WWII which would be of interest to me and a tour of the “romantic road” that looks really beautiful. Do lots of research and find things that interest you! It seems like you could spend a lot of time in Munich and not see it all! It was fun for me to research this and imagine Freidrick from The Night Circus in his element,but in the 1800’s not the bustling city that it is now. One thing that hasn’t changed is the beautiful views of the Bavarian Alps which would be absolutely wonderful to see! Happy Traveling and keep on reading!
The Traveling Bookworm 