Munich/Bavaria (Wednesday):
We left Salzburg, Austria and took a train to Munich, Germany. The Munich train station was very big and the first thing we had to do when we got there was find a ‘water closet.’ When we found one we were discouraged that we had to pay to use it . . . and have the exact change on top of that! I was in such a hurry to get in, I threw some money in and the gate wouldn’t let me past. I was so frustrated I just squeezed past it only to be met by a not-so-happy woman coming at me from the other end of the bathroom demanding more money. Oh, the joys of learning a new culture!
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From the train station we rented a car so we could drive to Bavaria. Haley was so excited to drive on the Autoban and Mom was very nervous for the experience. We had also gotten a GPS system, which was a great help to us. We nicknamed her “Emily” as that was the name attached to the language we needed it in (English).
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Haley did a great job and we arrived at our hotel safe and sound. As soon as we stepped out of the car we knew we were in for a cold visit. We thought we had been cold for the first few days of our trip but we were so cold. Our hotel room was on an upstairs corner of the hotel and even though the heat was on, it didn’t stay in the room for very long. Haley and I had to cuddle up to the wall heaters to write in our journals that night.
Bavaria/Munich (Thursday):
In the morning we visited the Neuschwanstein Castle, the one Disney patterned his “Sleeping Beauty” castle after. It was very foggy so we didn’t get the best view of it as we approached but it is still an amazing site – outside and inside. The castle was built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria but wasn’t finished when he mysteriously passed away. Even today it is only 1/3 of the way completed. But what is completed is amazing. He had a grotto built inside and almost every room we went into had paintings from different Wagner operas. The only one I knew the story for was “Tristan & Isolde.”
[mygal=neuschwanstein]
Across from the castle is a bridge, Marie’s Bridge, you can go on and look at the castle from above. We happened to get there the same time a bus load of Japanese tourists did so the bridge was packed. Look at all the umbrellas!
[mygal=castle_bridge]
On our drive back to Munich we stopped at the “Church of the Meadow” (Wieskirche). It is a popular tourist spot because it is done in the Rococo Style. While we were there the organist was actually playing/practicing. It was fun to listen to and I still think it’s weird the organs are always in the back of the church, not the front.
[mygal=meadow_church]
“Emily” failed us on trying to drop our car off at the rental office. She must not have wanted us to leave her but she made us quite frustrated and lost in Munich. Thankfully, we finally figured out where we were on our own and got the car turned in. After checking in to our hotel (which we found quite easily on our own), we walked around and saw the Glockenspiel. It would have been nice to see it when it plays or to go up in it, but it was neat to see it just the same.
[mygal=glockenspiel]
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