Salzburg

On the way to Salzburg we stopped by this really cool salt mine for a tour. It was pretty interesting. They make their cuts and holes underground in the mine, pump in fresh water, dissolve the salt, pump it out as brine, and process it into pure Alpine salt. Pretty cool!



Here we are in our "miner gear." They said it would be cold so I left my jacket and even my purse on under my outfit. I looked pretty big - it was pretty funny - but I'm not so crazy about the cold.



On the train (2nd car) ready to go in.



During the tour of the mine every once in a while you would get on a slide to go deeper into the mine. By the time we were done we had been on two trains, two slides, a boat, and an elevator. It was a good time! My Uncle John and cousin John work in a coal mine - I don't think I could ever do it. Knowing I was that far under the ground, all closed in, might get to me! :)



After the mine we stopped by Hitler's Eagle's Nest (we missed the last tour bus up and they don't allow cars up). It was so high - unbelievable. (Our camera zoomed as far as it could go.)



Then we headed to Salzburg, Austria - home of Mozart, The Sound of Music, and all things beautiful!



Salzburg is really so beautiful and so old (Nonnberg Abbey dates back to 714 AD). I loved every minute of Salzburg.









Some serious window shopping.



Our traditional dinner - sausage, sauerkraut, and potatoes for Layne.



Cordon Bleu and fries for me.



Our hotel.



A corner room on the 2nd floor with a fancy little balcony.



I went to bed this night anxious for a "dream come true" the next day!

Garmisch

When we got to Garmisch, Germany it was dark and rainy and we could not see too much, but the next morning this is what we saw out of our hotel window. So cool!



We set out to explore the Neuschwanstein Castle (inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle). It was built for King Ludwig II.





This is Hohenschwangau Castle - a 19th century palace. It was the childhood residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and was built by his father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria. Hohenschwangau Castle was built on the remains of the fortress Schwanstein, which was first mentioned in historical records dating from the 12th century.



We took a carriage ride up the mountain to Neuschwanstein Castle, which seemed a little fantasy like.



Then we walked the rest of the way and waited our turn to tour the castle.






In my own fantasy like way I picture a beautiful maiden running down these stairs to meet her knight. I don't think things like that really happened at this castle. Anyway, I love history, facts and what not, but I want to know the feelings and emotions that happened too. That to me, makes a place real - or maybe romantic! :)



(Kind of a goofy picture. You can definitely tell we were a little sleepy eyed, but we were having so much fun!)



You couldn't take pictures inside the castle, but you could take pictures looking out. So, check out the views from the castle windows.





Can you even imagine living in a place like that? Crazy...it seems a shame that King Ludwig II only lived there a total of 172 days.



After the castle, we got lost in some beautiful country back roads. Layne loved all the cows, especially the cows with bells. I thought it was so funny that he was trying for a picture of a cow with a bell and he got this one - without a bell.



We came across this fabulous restaurant and had to ask our waitress if we were in Austria or Germany. It was Austria, and they served some fabulous food. I had a white asparagus pasta dish that was so yummy. White asparagus (spargel) was being harvested and dishes with spargel were quite popular at this time in Germany and Austria. They also had this amazing bread served with different kinds of salts and oils. My favorite was the hibiscus salt with walnut oil. Kim and Layne took a liking to the coal salt. The coal salt looked like black sea salt, and had a smokey flavor. It was all so good even the water was cold!



Then we came across this gorgeous lake in the mountains. Holy cow, it was so pretty!



The water was amazing! It was like this cloudy green - blue color, yet it was amazingly clear. It kind of reminded you of a green quartz rock.



Layne spotted a rock in the water that he wanted. I just knew he was going to fall in. He didn't, but he didn't get the rock either. It was much too cold to take a bigger chance - but I was ready with the camera just in case. :)



Then we came to this monastery (Kloster Ettal), so cool! Sadly, we didn't get any pictures inside because they were about to start a service.



I love the look on Kim's face in this picture. I can't remember what we were talking about, but maybe it was the smell inside the monastery - it was gorgeous, but it truly smelled old and musty inside.



After a fabulous day we went back to Edelweiss, a military lodge and resort (I highly recommend it), and swam in the heated pool and took some time to relax.

Just two more pictures of the beauty of Edelweiss.

Munich

After a very somber and reverent visit to Dachau, we made a quick visit to Munich where we ate at the Hofbrauhaus - Munich's post popular beer hall with history dating back to 1589. Not that we care so much about the beer, but it was fun with the local people and Oompah band playing.







Check out this pork knuckle and potato dumplings.



There wasn't much time to sight see before we needed to get to our hotel in Garmisch, but we hurried down to the 19th century Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall).





On its central tower is a 43-bell clock (Glockenspiel). Unfortunately we were too late to see it "come to life" with its music and dancing figures, but it was still amazing to see.

Dachau

"On March 22, 1933, a few weeks after Hitler had been appointed Reich Chancellor, a concentration camp for political prisoners was set up in Dachau. This camp served as a model for all later concentration camps and as a school of violence for the SS men under whose command it stood. In the twelve years of its existence over 200,000 persons from all over Europe were imprisoned here and in the numerous subsidiary camps. More than 43,000 of them died. On April 29,1945, American troops liberated the survivors."


The train dropped the prisoners off here.



They were led into this gate, the only entrance to the prison camp.



"Work sets you free" was set in the middle of the gate. Ironic, huh?







The crematorium area.





"Every barrack was designed to accommodate 200 prisoners, towards the end of the war each barrack was catastrophically overcrowded with up to 2,000 prisoners."





There were 17 barracks on both sides of the camp road. The prisoners planted these poplars between the barracks. It was the main meeting place for the prisoners during the few free hours they had.



I had a wide range of emotions and thoughts as I walked through Dachau. The quiet sadness that still lingers there is not a good feeling. I can't even begin to fathom the terror, torment, torture and the utter devastation that these prisoners had to endure. There is so much more you could say and more opinions that one could throw out there, but I will end here.