Today I rode a cable car, hiked down a mountain, saw a massive gorge, visited the tiny village, walked around a Bavarian town, and attended a choral concert. Here are the highlights:
Author: Laura Irwin
Germany/Austria 2019: Day 11
What did I do today? I dropped my phone and cracked the screen. How did that happen? I was trying to take a picture of my kücherl (German-style fried dough). End of story.
Just kidding, but that sort of soured the day. My phone still works, and it can probably be fixed, but it shouldn’t have happened because I didn’t need the picture. I already had one on my camera.
Anyway, I spent the day driving up to Wieskirche (the Pilgrimage Church of Wies) and then made stops in Oberammergau and Ettal on the way back. I’ll just give a couple of highlights of each place.
Germany/Austria 2019: Day 10
Any guesses about the weather today? Clouds, rain, clouds, rain, and a couple of hours of sun to end the day. Despite the weather, I spent the day touring the two castles everyone who thinks of Bavaria knows: Schloss Hohenschwangau and Schloss Neuschwanstein. Neuschwanstein is obviously the more famous, and you’ll no doubt recognize the picture of Mad King Ludwig’s prize castle high on a hill. But it was actually Hohenschwangau that I enjoyed more.
Germany/Austria 2019: Day 9
The day has finally come. You know which one I’m talking about: the day when I’m ready to go home. I love all the places I’ve seen, but the weather forecast calls for more rain and clouds the next few days, and I just want to sleep in my own bed and stop living out of a suitcase.
Hallstatt was a great little town, and being able to wander the streets without the crowds this morning was very peaceful. I did manage to grab the iconic photo with a little sun before the clouds set in.
Germany/Austria 2019: Day 8
This morning I had to pack up and leave Berchtesgaden. I could easily have spent another week there. The sun was shining, the temperatures were in the low 50s, and it was a beautiful morning in the mountains. The rainy days had their beauty too, but this is what the pictures in my head looked like before I came here. After breakfast, I walked around the town taking pictures and then saw a sign for a hike up to a lookout point.
Germany/Austria 2019: Day 7
The hills are alive! Can you guess what I did today? Yep, a Sound of Music tour in Salzburg! It’s touristy and semi-cheesy, and… well, I felt like I needed to play tourist for the day.
Germany/Austria 2019: Day 6
Today’s adventure was to Lake Königssee, just a few miles outside of Berchtesgaden. The lake is long and narrow, about 5 miles long and 1 mile wide at its widest point, and crystal clear. Thanks to electric boats which carry passengers to a couple of stops around the lake, and the absence of any development, the lake water is unpolluted and said to be the cleanest in Germany. The small tourist village of Königssee where you catch the boat is filled with souvenir shops and restaurants, including everyone’s favorite Bavarian restaurant, McDonald’s.
Germany/Austria 2019: Day 5
Today’s weather certainly didn’t cooperate with my outdoor plans for the day. I couldn’t decide what to do this morning because in the span of time it took me to use the bathroom and put my laptop away, it went from pretty clouds hanging over the mountains to torrential downpour. After much internal debate, I decided to just go with my original plan for the day and head to the Dokumentation Obersalzberg, a museum/archives dedicated to Hitler’s use of the Obersalzberg region (the area around Berchtesgaden) as a “getaway” and propaganda location during his reign. I downloaded the audio guide to my phone before I left my hotel and found the whole exhibit fascinating, aside from the crowds thanks to the crummy weather. Hitler basically started using the area as a vacation spot and eventually turned it into his Nazi headquarters, forcing out all of the other landowners. During his visits there, he used the opportunity to have pictures taken against the mountain backdrop to let his people know that all was well in Germany.
Germany/Austria 2019: Day 4
I didn’t realize how much of a non-city person I am until I picked up the rental car this morning and set off on my own to explore Bavaria. Once I was out of the city (and its traffic!) and driving through quaint Bavarian villages and towns, I couldn’t help but smile and relax. After the horror stories I had read about rental car companies forcing you to take their insurance, or involving hidden costs in their pricing, I was a bit anxious about how the whole thing would play out. I’m pleased to report that my experience was nothing like what I had read about. Quick, easy, and no hidden costs. In fact, I got an upgraded car with built in GPS, and they actually took off the cost of the GPS. Of course, they also wrote “full risk” in big letters and made me sign to decline all their coverage, but still. I picked up the car at the airport, which added both time on the train and time in traffic to my day, but it worked out fine.
Germany Austria 2019: Munich Thoughts
It’s time to move on from Munich, but first a few final thoughts about the city. It felt very European, but not necessarily German. I don’t know that there’s anything about Munich that would make me come back, but that doesn’t mean I couldn’t find things to do here if I were to come back here again someday. Here are a few random things I noticed:
Traveling with Laura 