As mentioned about Koeln, Sundays are very quiet days in most places in Europe so you have to be somewhat strategic in what you do. I headed out to Dachau in the morning. I had been in Auschwitz a few weeks earlier so I knew somewhat what to expect but was interested to see the memorial and museum at the camp where my grandfather was part of the liberation, it was also the first concentration camp and first memorial. I walked around without a guide or audioguide and found that the Auschwitz experience was much more moving, not to compare concentration camp museums or anything, but if you're going to for an understanding of the start, go to Dachau, if you're going to understand the scale and human cost, go to Auschwitz. Two very different approaches and my preference was for Auschwitz however I was very glad to see some of the information about grandpa Robert's experience in the war.
Sunday afternoon, in direct contrast, I checked out the Munich Residence where the ruling Bavarian family lived while conducting business in town (read: not hunting in the country). I also toured the treasury and theater of the family. Basically more mind boggling extravagance and I was gearing up for more Monday when I had reserved tours at Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau.
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| At 7am after driving for an hour, that is a very exciting thing to see! |
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| Partway through the hike I got a little excited and took a selfie. |
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| Hohenschwangau from above |
Since I clearly didn't see enough opulence, instead of my original plan of going to
Walchensee for a late lunch on a nearby mountain, I drove further out to see
Linderhof, the only finished palace of
Ludwig II. Because you really can't see all that and not finish it up. I even thought of hiking up to
Falkenstein but didn't really have time for that and no building was started there. So I'll save it for the next trip. Linderhof is absolutely crazy extravagant (again, no interior photos), the grounds are also crazy, the whole place was dedicated to
Richard Wagner and his operas as Ludwig was his greatest patron. There's the largest fake grotto in Europe, a model of the opening scene of Walkerie. So much in a small space. It wasn't just extravagance in gilt molding and porcelain chandeliers, but also in scientific innovation.
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| The swan is like their mascot |
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| Yes, that fountain sprays 98 feet in the air and it was so refreshing in the heat |
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| Linderhof from above |
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| The Venus Grotto, colors change, waterfalls start on command |
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| I love this tree |
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| One of the temples on the grounds |
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| The forbidden gate |
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| Crazy...or so it seemed |
After all the castle craziness I ventured out to Muenchen again to explore the old city, have a meal at the Hofbraeuhaus, watch the joust in the clock of the Rathaus (which I mistakenly thought was an actual joust, not just the figures in the clock), toured a number of interesting churches I'm glad Rick Steves put on his city walk.
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| The "Joust" |
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| The maypole of Muenchin |
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| Asam Brothers church |
Then back to the train station and off to Austria again. I assure you, I'm going in a very well thought out path, Austria is a very differently shaped country. This time I went to Salzburg for the obligatory
Sound of Music tour in the rain (apparently the same weather plagued the cast/crew for their 11 weeks in Austria). I have seen that movie maybe once in its entirety and that was only a few years ago, so I'm not a huge fan, I don't even know all the songs, but I do like movies and couldn't pass it up. I spent the next day or so sharing all the information from the tour with my dormmates who were glad they didn't spend the money on it :).
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| That lake looks familiar? |
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| Small Gazebo used for background shots |
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| Doe a deer, jumping up the steps in Mirabell Gardens |
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| I have confidence? At the abbey |
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| Going on a picnic, over this bridge and apparently 50km away |
I spent more time than usual with the women in the dorm, which I probably owe to Dani and Haein (Aussies are always the life of the party). We had picnics and watched the random movies I downloaded before leaving home.
Bride and Prejudice is always random enough to captivate the audience. Until they pointed it out though, I didn't realize just how annoying it is that Bollywood films don't show couples kissing--it is the culmination of the plot in the romantic genre, so how on earth do we get closure? It makes me laugh a bit.
You've Got Mail is adorable enough for everyone to sigh at.
My last day I started off early so that I could get into the Swiss Alps before dark. It was over 9 hours of travel. I started off by helping 4 different American families figure out the train system and talking about travel together since we were the only ones in the car on my first train. By the time I'd taken four trains, a bus and a gondola to get to my hostel, it was the most amazing sight. There is a way to do rustic and these people know how. I hope those people in Muenchen someday figure out the magic these folks have.
The lessons
- Pick one concentration camp to visit if you are so inclined to make those trips.
- Don't play Would you Rather with Texans, they are really good at coming up with scenarios.
- I love the Swiss Alps/Jungfrau region...I will be back and for more than 2 days.
- If you make it clear to your guests what there is to do and what is expected of them, life is a lot better for both of you.
- I miss the cold.
- Maybe I should watch the movie again if planning to go on a tour about it.
- Rainy days can be treated like rainy days, even when abroad. I stopped and took a 3 hour nap in Salzburg and stayed in that night.
Interesting
- Best compliment: "You can't be American. You say things correctly"
- So say the Aussies as I told them where I'd been so far--mostly in reference to city names (Budapest, Koeln, Melbourne)
- The hostel was run by Petra (a different Petra) who was just fabulous and strong like the last Petra I met and they make me remember that my chosen name in German class was Petra at least for a few years in the 10 or so I studied the language.
- Oddly enough the Swiss make delicious pizza--or at least the hostel in Gimmelwald did.
- The top of Schilthorn mountain has a James Bond world where you can play in some of the props and learn about the films, very cool...one of these days I'll watch those movies. I think I've seen a recent one.
