I'd have to say that the most memorable part of my parents' visit to Germany was when we traveled to Munich and Salzburg, Austria. We had such a great time wandering through the cities!
We left Friedrichshafen early on the morning of August 5th. Our plan was to stop in Fussen to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle before we headed to Munich. We arrived at Neuschwanstein before noon and we headed up to the ticket booth. As we got closer to the ticket booth, we noticed an enormous line standing on the side of the road. (Now, in all of the times that I've visited this castle, I have NEVER had to stand in line for anything! I've been able to waltz right up to the entrance and wander right on into the castle... I've definitely been spoiled!) Mom, Dad, and I noticed the line at the same time, and Mom asked me if it was the line to the ticket booth... Being that I'd never seen a line there before, I responded with "No". However, I soon realized how very wrong I was as I got closer and closer to the entrance of the booth... I suddenly realized that the long line of people that we had just passed, was actually waiting to purchase tickets... Yikes! Before standing in line and waiting an hour just to get to the ticket booth, we opted to find the closest employee to question in the hopes of finding out how long we would have to wait before we could get into the castle. After searching through the mobs of people milling around the area, we finally found a nice gentleman who informed us that after all was said and done, we would have to wait 4 hours before we could get into the castle... Crazy!! (Now, Neuschwanstein Castle is a beautiful castle and all, but waiting 4 hours to get in there for a mere 15 minute tour is completely ridiculous!!) Upon hearing that, the three of us decided that we should just skip the castle and head to Munich where we could spend our time more wisely! :)
We had planned on spending the night in Munich before heading to Salzburg the following day, so before heading into the city, we stopped to check into our hotel. We had read on the internet that the hotel was a 15 minute bus ride outside of Munich, so we figured that we would just park the car there and take the bus into the city... Oh how wrong we were. Once we arrived and checked into our hotel, we asked the front desk where the nearest bus stop was. We were informed that there was no bus that went into Munich... Hmmm?? Instead, they told us to head to the next town over, which was about 5 miles away, and take the train into the city from there. Lovely! So, we hopped back into the car and drove into the next town in search of the train station... And after driving in circles for about an hour, and asking half a dozen people who kept pointing in the same direction, we never found the train station... Apparently it exists, but where it's at, we'll never know! :) After an hour of pointless driving, I made decided that I would just drive into the city of Munich... Fun, fun!
The drive through the city was quite entertaining indeed! I had Mom in the front street looking at a map of Munich, and Dad in the backseat looking at a different map of Munich. As I passed by roads, I would yell out the street name and Mom and Dad would try to find them on a map... Now, the entertaining part was that all of the names were in German and neither of my parents speak or read German... :) We eventually were able to figure out where we were in relation to the center of the city, and miraculously we found a parking spot not far from the city center... Let's just say that it was quite a memorable drive through the city... We dealt with alot of "geniuses" on the road that day (including me!)! :)
We spent the rest of the day wandering through Munich. I took them through the city center and showed them many of Munich's highlights. Plus, we were able to get a little shopping in as well. :) We had dinner at a very traditional German restaurant that evening... Their service here is definitely different from that in the U.S. (it definitely takes time to get used to...), and my parents got a true taste of German customer service while we were there. :)
The following morning we headed into Salzburg, Austria. The drive into Austria was very scenic and it was a beautiful morning so the mountains were in clear view. Our navigation system in the car decided that it would test my driving skills yet again while we were in downtown Salzburg... Instead of directing us to our destination, it stopped while we were right smack dab in the middle of a bridge and informed us that we had reached our destination... Lovely! I spent the next hour driving around trying to figure out where our hotel was... It's always a fun time when you're driving through a foreign city that you're unfamiliar with... NOT!! We finally gave up and parked in a parking garage and then set out on foot to find our destination. :) Lucky for us, we managed to park not to far from our hotel, so we simply opted to keep the car there for the rest of our time in Salzburg.
Shortly after we arrived in Salzburg, we hopped on a tour bus and went on a "Sound of Music" tour... That was such a fun time! The tour was four hours long and it took us to all many of the locations where they shot scenes for the movie, "The Sound of Music". It was such a wonderful tour... Being able to see all of the sights that I've seen so many times in the movie was pretty amazing! :) Plus, it also gave us a chance to see the city of Salzburg, which is absolutely beautiful! After our tour, we spent the rest of the day strolling through the city. Not only is Salzburg the setting for so many scenes from "The Sound of Music", but it's also the birthplace of Mozart. So, there's definitely alot of Mozart related sights there as well. :)
The next morning we traveled back to Munich, where we went on a guided tour of Dachau Concentration Camp. Touring through Dachau is such a powerful experience, and no matter how many times one can go there, it never gets any easier. It simply breaks your heart to walk through there, knowing just how much suffering took place there. :(
After our tour through Dachau, we headed back to Munich where we took one more look through the city, before having dinner at Hard Rock Cafe (YUM!), after which we headed back to Friedrichshafen (where we proceeded to get stuck in traffic on the Autobahn for almost 2 hours on the way back... Oh joy!). Overall, we had such a fun time exploring both cities. Mom, Dad, and I shared alot of laughs (especially when it came to my driving!) and so many memories that I'll cherish forever! :)
Neuschwanstein Castle...
Mom and Dad in front of the King's Castle...
Dad and I in Munich... And, of course, I had to get some Starbucks! :)
When walking past this lion, it is common to rub it's nose for good luck! :)
One of the many statues found around the building! :)
Mirabelleplatz in Munich...
Salzburg, Austria...
Salzburg, Austria... Such a pretty city!
The house which was used as the "backyard" in the movie...
Julie Andrews danced down this road on her way to her job as a nanny in the movie...
Mom, Dad, and I outside the pavilion used in the movie. :)
A lake which was used in "The Sound of Music"... Gorgeous!!
The town of Mondsee, Austria... So cute! :)
The Mondsee Church, where the wedding scene took place in the movie...
Inside the church...
A view of the back of the church...
Mirabelle Gardens which were featured in "The Sound of Music"
The entrance into the Mirabelle Gardens...
The area the children and Julie Andrews danced through while singing the "Do-Re-Mi" song...
Another fountain from the movie...
The fountain which the children danced around in the "Do-Re-Mi" song...
Mirabelle Gardens in Salzburg...
Making friends with a statue in the statue garden of Mirabelle Gardens in Salzburg... :)
Salzburg at night...
A Mozart monument...
A window display we passed as we strolled through Salzburg... All of the eggs are hand painted! :)
Mozart's birth house...
Personal possessions taken from prisoners upon their entrance into the camp...
A monument at Dachau which depicts the prisoners throwing themselves into the electric fence in order to escape the horrors they were suffering. :(
The entrance into the crematorium area...
A memorial to the Dachau prisoners... The prisoners of Dachau were required to keep their heads down and eyes cast downward when the Nazi guards were near. This statue shows his disregard for the Nazi rules, and he is standing with his head held high...
A guard tower in the distance...
While we were at Dachau, we witnessed this memorial to the Italian prisoners who were victims of the horrors that took place at Dachau...
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