Day 9 - Fairy Tales and Salt
On day 9, we left Munich and headed to our last country of the trip, Austria. Much of Germany is the stuff that the fairy tales are made of, including the Black Forest and Bavaria. No trip to Bavaria is complete without a stop to see the most Fairy Tale castle of the all, Neuschwanstein.
We stopped in Schwangau and hiked up to Neuschwanstein for our tour. Afterwards, we had a picnic lunch in Schwangau before heading back on the bus for Austria. After checking into our hotel in Salzburg, we took a short orientation walk to Old Town, where we had a group dinner at S'Herzl. It was time to have the Salzburg treat - Wienerschnitzel! Following dinner, Katie and I walked around Old Town. It was a great time to get pictures without a lot of people around. The next day, we found out that our decision was even better since the town was starting to prepare for some event that prohibited us from getting as clean of pictures - scaffolding everywhere! |
Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau, and Schwangau
Neuschwanstein was one of several castles built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. It was built from 1869 to 1886. Most of the interior was never finished due to the death of Ludwig II. The castle is truly a work of art and was the inspiration for the castle in Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty. There are no pictures allowed inside. This was my second visit to Neuschawnstein, my first being in 1997. I was very excited to see the castle again and to get the iconic side picture of the castle from Mary's Bridge. However, that picture must wait until my next trip, as the bridge was closed for repairs while we were there.
Hohenschwangau (the yellow castle) was orginally built in the 12th century but was rebuilt by King Maximilian II, Ludwig's father. Ludwig spent a lot of time here as a child and built Neuschwanstein nearby. We did not visit this castle, but I was able to tour it as a teenager. It is well worth the visit and definitely has a lived in feel to it.
Schwangau is the little town that is mainly tourist shops and stops for visitors. We had a picnic lunch prepared by Daniela at the side of the lake.
Hohenschwangau (the yellow castle) was orginally built in the 12th century but was rebuilt by King Maximilian II, Ludwig's father. Ludwig spent a lot of time here as a child and built Neuschwanstein nearby. We did not visit this castle, but I was able to tour it as a teenager. It is well worth the visit and definitely has a lived in feel to it.
Schwangau is the little town that is mainly tourist shops and stops for visitors. We had a picnic lunch prepared by Daniela at the side of the lake.
Sledding!
After visiting the castle, we stopped to do a little Alpine sledding. Thankfully, the weather held out as you can't sled in the rain. Not all of our tour members were up for the sledding, so I gave my camera to one of them to get the action shots. Katie did have a bit of a wipe out on both runs - giving her a little track burn.
This is me riding up the hill on my sled. |
Dinner and Old Town
Day 10 - Salzburg
Day 10 began with a guided walking tour of Salzburg with our local guide, Brigite.
After the walking tour, we were on our own for the rest of the day. Katie and I spent our time with some shopping for Mozartkugels, followed by lunch, St. Peter's Church, and the Dom Quartier Museum. We had hoped to visit the fortress, but it rained most of the afternoon. |
Guided Tour
St Peter's
Food and Mozart
Katie and I purchased some Mozartkugels - both for ourselves and those back home. We were sure to purchase the Fürst kugels to take home - they are the best after all. We also purchased a mass-produced kugel to compare. Really, don't waste your money. Buy Fürst, or buy none.
We enjoyed a nice lunch at Cafe Mozart. The waiter was so tickled that I spoke a bit of German and was excited to learn that we were from America. He was very nice to us on our visit. For dinner, we went to the Stiftskeller St. Peter restaurant for a 3-course meal with Mozart's greatest hits. It was a lovely evening and the performers were tremendous. There is a very short clip of the singing. |
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