The hills are alive…

The hills are alive… Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

The forecast was for rain today and sun the next two days. So we decided to see Salzburg first and save the mountains for the sunshine. The original plan for our day in Salzburg was for Mom & Dad to do the Sound of Music tour (because Salzburg is the city where it was filmed). And Derek and I wanted to go biking along the Salzach River. However, neither of us wanted to do that if it was raining. And there wasn’t much else to do that we hadn’t seen last year. So we decided to all go on the Sound of Music tour in the morning.

Sound of Music Tour

I will warn you right now that I will be going into quite a lot of detail about where scenes were filmed and what we learned about the movie. So if you’re not interested, please skip to the next section.

It was raining pretty steadily, although lightly, when we left the hostel this morning. And we had to walk all the way to the other side of the Alstadt in order to catch the bus for our tour. So we were all very happy that we would be spending most of the morning on a bus.

The bus first drove out of the Alstadt, with our guide pointing out the Nonnberg Abbey on the hill next to the Salzburg Castle. This is the abbey where the real Maria lived before going to the Von Trapp family. But only the outside walls were used in the movie.

Then we had our first stop, which was a short walk to a view of Leopoldskron, the stately home used as the house of the Von Trapps in the movie. It was also the original location of the gazebo where the “I am 16…” song was filmed. Luckily, it had stopped raining by the time we got there. So the walk was pleasant and I could see the joy on Mom’s face as we started seeing the Sound of Music sights (she’s a huge fan of the movie and that’s the reason we came to Salzburg). The view was from across the lake, so it wasn’t the closest, but it was still very pleasant. Our guide was an American woman who had lived in Europe for 17 years, but had only been a tour guide for 6 months. She was great, though, and she was wearing a traditional German folk dress.

The next stop was at Heilbrunn Palace, where the famous gazebo was now located. Apparently there used to be a school next to the original location at Leopoldskron, and they had to move the gazebo because of all the teenage girls that wanted to go “see” it. Derek and I had come to Heilbrunn last year, and toured the neat garden with lots of water contraptions. But we just took a quick walk to the gazebo, which was on the edge of the palace grounds. Everyone got their photos and quickly headed back to the bus because the sun was starting to come out and we were heading for the countryside next. But we also got to see the tree-lined lane, with the movie scene where all the kids were hanging from the trees.

We next took a drive through the Salzkammergut Lake District. But it wasn’t boring at all. Our guide would tell us stories about the filming of the movie, alternating with sing-alongs to all the songs. And the scenery was very beautiful with lots of mountains, lakes, and adorable Austrian houses. It was actually nice to just sit there and not be constantly walking. We stopped at an overlook of one of the lakes (Wolfgangsee), where there was a beautiful view. And then we drove by another lake (Mondsee) before our last stop of the day at the town of Mondsee. This was the location of the grand church used for the wedding at the end of the movie. And we also had an hour stop here so that we had plenty of time to walk to the church and spend money in the charming town. The main square was lined with picturesque Austrian buildings, and the church was grand as could be. It was lunchtime, but we already had plans for lunch in Salzburg. So we just got some ice cream to hold us over.

On the way back to Salzburg we took a much shorter route on the Autobahn. But it was still fun with our guide telling us the true story of Maria and the Von Trapps, and of course singing the most famous song in the movie – “Do Re Mi”. Our guide said that only two people on the bus weren’t singing and I’m pretty sure I know who they were (hint – two people in the Haas family, but not Mom or I).

So here’s where I’ll go into mind-numbing detail about what we learned on the tour:

1. Gretl almost drowned filming the scene where they fall out of boat. But her mother wouldn’t let them film it again, so they had to use clever editing so that you couldn’t tell.

2. The actress who played Liesl was an unknown before being cast. The director Robert Weiss had seen hundreds of girls and couldn’t find the right Liesl. Someone sent him a picture of her and said “wouldn’t she make a great Liesl.” But she had no experience with acting, singing, or dancing.

3. When they were filming the “I am 16…” song in the gazebo, Liesl fell off a bench, crashed through a window and really hurt her foot. She cut her foot so bad that she later needed stitches, and she sprained her ankle as well. But she continued dancing all day b/c it was the last scene filmed in the movie.

4. The boy who played Kurt had blisters on his head, that didn’t heal for a year, because they had to bleach his hair every two days over the three months the movie was filmed.

5. It took them 3.5 days to film the “Do Re Mi” song and the cast had to sing it over 170 times. When they had the 40th anniversary reunion of the movie, it was the only song that the cast refused to sing.

6. Christopher Plummer (a.k.a. Captain Von Trapp) was the only actor who didn’t do his own singing in movie.

7. The real Maria Von Trapp was hired to consult on the movie, but was fired for trying to make it too realistic.

8. There was a scene in the movie that had four Maria’s. When Julie Andrews (#1) gets off the bus from the Abbey and starts walking, there’s an old woman in the background that is the real Maria (#2). With her are her step-daughter Maria (#3) and her granddaughter Maria (#4).

9. Everyone was very worried about how well the movie would do because the movie had gone way over budget. 20th Century Fox had spent their last $8 million on the filming and were about to file for bankruptcy if the movie didn’t do well. And then Christopher Plummer publicly said that the movie was really bad. He said it was too sickeningly sweet and didn’t have enough plot. But it turned out to be 3rd highest grossing movie of all time (#1 = Gone with the Wind, #2 = original Star Wars). And it won 5 Oscars including best film, best director, and best musical score.

10. None of the actors made a lot of money from movie (they didn’t have any share of the proceeds, just salaries for filming).

11. Julie Andrews story – she started out as a very big star on Broadway. The main role in “My Fair Lady” was actually written for her. But when it was made into a movie, she was told she would never be a star on the big screen. Instead they cast Audrey Hepburn, who couldn’t even sing. Julie had just wrapped Mary Poppins before filming Sound of Music, and no one thought Mary Poppins would do very well either because it was a “kids” movie. One of the Oscars that Sound of Music was nominated for was Best Actress. But alas, Julie didn’t win it. She won for Mary Poppins instead. So the moral is – don’t believe what people tell you and always strive for your dream. Another interesting story about Julie is that she knew she needed the kids to like her in real life. Because that kind of affection can’t be faked. So when she first met them, she taught them how to sing the “supercalafragilisticexpialidocio us” song from Mary Poppins (which hadn’t been released yet).

12. The real Maria story – Captain Von Trapp was really a captain in the Austrian army and he did have seven children. His wife died of scarlet fever. But there was no Gretl. The youngest daughter was named Maria, who became ill with scarlet fever too. This is what prompted the captain to ask the abbey for a governess. He needed someone to nurse little Maria back to health and care for the other kids. There was also no Liesl. The oldest child was a boy. And in reality, the Captain was the loving one and Maria was the strict one. The contract with the Abbey was to get Maria for one year, but by the time the year was over the kids liked her so much that they asked to keep her. The captain said it wouldn’t be proper for a grown man and woman to be living in the same house (even though Maria was only a year older than the oldest child). So the kids said, “well why don’t you marry her”? And he said he didn’t know if she liked him. So the kids asked Maria if she liked the captain and she said yes. They married three Sundays later. Maria then had three kids of her own. The family did have to leave Austria during the war, but there was no Ralph. They left the country because of three letters. The first was asking captain to be head of Hitler’s submarine division, but he politely declined. The second was asking the oldest son to join as doctor. But he declined as well. Then the third was asking the kids to perform (because they really did perform as the Von Trapp family singers), but they couldn’t politely decline. Instead, they left with one bag each and hopped a train to Italy. Then they went to the US and eventually settled in Stowe, Vermont, where some grandchildren still run a hotel.

Salzburg Walking Tour

By the time we got back the Salzburg the weather had really cleared up and it was mostly sunny for the rest of the day. That was good because we planned to walk around the city for the rest of the day. We first walked through the Mirabell Gardens, which were right by the bus stop. It was also where a lot of the “Do Re Mi” song was filmed. There were the famous steps where the kids jumped up and down, the Pegasus fountain the ran past, the trellis the kids ran through, and the dwarf garden where Kurt stuck out his tongue like one of the statues. But the gardens were very pretty in their own right too. Although it was a little hard to tell through the hordes of tourists.

Our next destination was the Balkan Grill, a small sausage stand in an alley off the main drag of Getreidegasse. It was another Rick Steves recommendation that Derek and I had tried last year, and we had to return. Thankfully it was just as good as I remembered.

We next walked over to the elevator that would take us up the Monchsberg, the hill that the Salzburg Castle is on. There was a postcard-worthy view from the top, and it was also where a scene from the Sound of Music was filmed. We also walked over to the hostel where Derek and I had stayed last year. Then we went back down to start the circle tour of the Salzburg Alstadt. We started with a stroll along Getreidegasse, which was packed to the brim with tourists. But we could still see all the famous wrought-iron store signs that it’s famous for.

Then we took another lap through the main squares of Salzburg. There are four that are pretty much inter-connected. We went inside the Dom (the Salzburg Cathedral), which was just as beautiful as I remembered it. But the pictures inside churches never do them justice. So I just took a seat and rested my feet while admiring the gorgeousness. We also went to St. Peter’s Church and cemetery before heading back to the hostel. It was still a little early, but our feet were tired of walking and we needed a rest. And it was a good thing we went back because just before we got there it started pouring down rain. And it didn’t stop for quite a while. I actually got to hear some thunder! The reason that’s exciting is because we hardly ever get thunder and lightning in Seattle. There’s only been one major thunderstorm in the seven years I’ve been there. Otherwise, it’s extremely sporadic.

Anyway, we sat inside the lobby blogging for a while, and finally decided to drive over to the Augustiner Braustuberl for dinner. Derek and I had walked there last year, but we were glad to have a car. This would be our first real beer hall experience, and thankfully it wasn’t raining much anymore. But the beer garden was still wet so we sat inside. There was an efficient self-service beer line, where you got a beer mug from the shelf on the wall, paid the cashier for your drink, and then took your ticket to the guy who was filling the mugs directly from the wooden keg. This was also our first experience getting a liter of beer. The food was self-service also, with several food stands scattered through the main hallway. I wasn’t that hungry so I just got a piece of apple strudel.

After dinner we drove back to the hostel and blogged some more before going to bed.

Yet another castle, but the best one yet

Yet another castle, but the best one yet Salzburg, Austria

Salzburg, Austria

Today we headed over to Salzburg, Austria for another three day stay. “But first,” we had a few stops to make.

Our first stop was at Plansee (PLON-zee), a large and serene lake that the road went along. For those of you in Washington, it reminded me very much of Lake Crescent in Olympic National Park. And the reflections were beautiful in the calm morning light. But we just made a couple of quick stops to take some photos.

Our major destination of the day was Linderhof Castle, another creation of Mad King Ludwig II. I forgot to mention in yesterday’s blog, but he was the German king who built both Neuschwanstein and Linderhof in 19th century. At the time, Germany was a constitutional monarchy so he had no real power. But he was obsessed with the fantasy world of Richard Wagner’s operas and also the idea of an absolute monarchy. So Neuschwanstein was built in the style of a medieval castle, and Linderhof was modeled after Versailles in Paris.

We got to tour the inside of Linderhof on another 30 minute tour. But it wasn’t very crowded and we got on the next tour. Plus, our tour guide was a lot better. Partly because he spoke much better English – we almost thought he sounded American at first. But also because the palace was a lot smaller so it wasn’t as rushed as at Neuschwanstein. But the décor was more magnificent. Every corner of the rooms were dripping with stucco work and frescos. I especially liked the king’s bedroom, which was the largest room in the house. It had the largest blue bed that I’ve ever seen. It really was a bed fit for a king.

I also liked the dining room, partly because the dining table was built on an elevator. It could be lowered down into the kitchens, and raised back up when loaded with food. That way the king could eat alone without servants hovering around.

After the tour we walked through the castle gardens. And these were the reason we thought Linderhof was more enjoyable than Neuschwanstein. There was a water cascade coming down a hill in the back, and a couple of geometric gardens with golden statues on the sides. At the front of the palace was a beautiful terraced garden leading up to a Greek-like temple on top of a ridge. And the grounds were scattered with interesting buildings. There was a Moorish Kiosk and a Moroccan house. And there was a grotto and a hunter’s hut that were built to resemble scenes from Richard Wagner’s operas.

There was also a restaurant on the grounds, so we stopped there for some lunch before we left. None of us were that hungry, so we got two plates of wiener schnitzel and pommes frites (French fries) to split between the four of us.

Our last stop of the day was a brief look at the Ettal Monastery, which was very close to Linderhof and right next to the road. It was a beautiful building, both outside and in, and the fresco on the dome was amazing.

Then we had to drive about two hours to get to Salzburg. First we drove north through the mountains, but then we came out of them and caught up with the autobahn again. We had to stop at the Austrian border to buy a toll sticker for the highway, but it was really easy. And then we were in Salzburg. It’s literally right next to the border.

It was really weird driving into Salzburg, because Derek and I had just been there last year, and yet we didn’t recognize any of the mountains close to the city. It wasn’t until we were close enough to see the castle in the Aldstadt that I could tell we were really there. We were staying in a hostel while in Salzburg, for the next three days. It was within walking distance of the Aldstadt and had parking, whereas all of the hotels in the Aldstadt were really expensive and had no parking. It was a little bit of a shock for my parents, though. We were in a “family room” with our own bathroom, but there wasn’t a lot of space. It was actually quite nice for a hostel, though. However, just being there made me realize that I don’t really want to stay in hostels any more. I much prefer the comfort of a private room.

We had actually arrived in Salzburg fairly early, by 5 pm. So we decided to go out and get something to eat. We went to the closest of Mr. Steve’s recommendations, a place called St. Paul’s Stub’n Beer Garden. And it turned out to be very good. It was on top of a small cliff, and not very crowded. I got the Cheese Spatzle, hoping it would be like the amazing one that Dad had in Mittenwald. But it was disappointingly bland. Once again someone else got the best dish of the night – Mom had an amazing ravioli.

After dinner, we took a quick walk through the main squares of Salzburg, just so I could feel like we were really there. Then we went back to the hostel to work on blogging. We finally had internet access again, after none in Reutte, so we wanted to take advantage. But we could only get a signal for the wireless in the lobby. It was pretty hot inside, so we sat outside at some tables and enjoyed the cool evening breeze. And like all the best hostels, they had a bar. So we also enjoyed some liquid refreshment.

So the plan for the next three days was to see Salzburg, see the mountains to the east near Hallstatt, and see the mountains to the west in Berchtesgaden. Then we would head over to Munich for two days before heading home.

P.S. I am now safely home and am still way behind on blogging. We had no internet access and no time to blog in Munich. And then I didn’t have a power outlet on my 11 hour flight home. So I didn’t have enough battery on my netbook to do much.

1st a real medieval castle, then a fantasy castle

1st a real medieval castle, then a fantasy castle Reutte, Austria

Reutte, Austria

This morning we set off to hike up to the ruins of the two castles that we could see from the balcony of our hotel. The first was the Ehrenburg ruins. It was a fairly steep 20 minute climb up to the ruins, but the ruins were really neat. I always find castle ruins to be very evocative. It almost seems easier to imagine them as they were in the middle ages.

The view from the ruins was really great, too. We could see the whole valley that contains Reutte, and the mountains on both sides with a pretty green river slicing through the green pastures.

We decided to take the shorter 30 minute trail to the top of the second ruins, but I can’t remember their name. These ruins actually had an interesting story. The Ehrenburg castle was the first castle to be built in the area, in order to collect tolls along the important salt trade route. But the castle was in an area where much fighting went on and kept changing hands between Bavaria and Austria. And it was built before canons were around. But once there were canons, people took the canons up to the nearby ridge and destroyed the Ehrenburg castle. Eventually they built a castle there. But no one in the area knew about the castle until the last hundred years or so because it had become so overgrown by trees. And there was a big project in the last 20 years or so to dig it out and cut down all the trees, so that people could see it.

So the shorter trail turned out to be shorter for a reason. It was very steep. We had to stop several time to rest, and a big long rest once we got to the top. But we were glad we went because the views were even better. And there were several viewing platforms, including one at the highest point with 360 degree views. But the ruins themselves were not as interesting as the Ehrenburg ruins.

We were all pretty exhausted by the time we finally got back down from the castle ruins. It was a long hike down through the forest. But it was only 1 pm and we weren’t done for the day yet. Our next destination was Neuschwanstein (NOY-shvan-shtine), the fairytale castle that Cinderella’s castle was modeled after.

It was a short 30 minute drive to get to Neuschwanstein, but boy was the atmosphere different than our morning hike. This is the most popular tourist attraction in Germany, and there were hordes of tourists along with the prerequisite souvenir shops and restaurants. You could only see the inside of the castle on a 30 minute guided tour, so we first went to get our tickets. But the next available tour time wasn’t until almost 4 hours later at 5:20 pm. We were expecting that, and there was plenty of other stuff to do in the area, so we weren’t disappointed or anything.

Our first diversion was a stop for lunch. Derek and I had eaten lunch here last year at the Braustuberl, and I had fond memories of it. It was the place that I first tried a bratwurst and realized that I actually liked them (I was very picky as a child). But this time, it didn’t seem that special. The potato salad wasn’t as good as I remembered. And I guess I’ve had too many bratwursts since that were much better.

We next went over to the nearby Tegelburg Mountain and went on another couple of luge rides. This time it was a metal track that was set up kind of like a roller coaster. The luge sleds went in one continuous loop, up the mountain, down the luge run, and around again. It was pretty cool riding the luge up the mountain, though. The annoying thing was that the luge was really busy and they put us all way too close together. I wanted to go really fast, but both times I got stuck behind people with kids that were going really slow. So I would go really fast until I caught up, brake really fast, go really slow for a while, and then go really fast again when there was enough room. Etc, etc. The fast parts were fun, but it was annoying.

By the time we were done luging, we just headed back to Neuschwanstein. We caught a bus up above the castle (it’s on the top of a ridge below an even higher mountain). Then it was a short walk to Mary’s Bridge, which overlooks the castle. Last year when Derek and I came up here, we had been very disappointed because the entire back side of the castle was covered in scaffolding. So we were all very happy to see that there was only a small amount of scaffolding at the very base. And the castle, in all its glory, was gorgeous.

We walked back down to the castle with only a little bit of time to wait for our tour. It was a very rushed 30 minute tour, no photos allowed. I didn’t really care what our tour guide was saying, since I’d heard it all before. So I just made sure I found a good spot in each room to ogle at the opulence. And it was still amazing to see even though I’d seen it before. I was actually incredibly exhausted by the time we started the tour. It was partly from our invigorating hike in the morning, but also because the sunshine had become very warm and energy-zapping. But the castle rooms were so magnificent that I forgot about my exhaustion for awhile.

After the tour, none of us wanted to walk back up to the bus stop. So we decided to take a horse-drawn carriage instead. It was a short walk down, and we managed to catch the last one of the night. It was actually slower than walking, but none of us cared.

It was pretty late by the time we got back to the Pension Garni Waldrast, and none of us wanted a large dinner since we had eaten a late lunch. So we just shared a topfelstrudel I had bought at a grocery store a couple days before. It’s a pastry that I discovered last year that has a sweet cheese in it. Afterwards, we blogged for a while on our balcony again before going to bed.

Oswald (not Lee Harvey)

Oswald (not Lee Harvey) Reutte, Austria

Reutte, Austria

I feel like I’m starting every blog the same, but we had another great German breakfast this morning. In case you’ve forgotten, that means rolls, jam, butter, meats and cheese. But this morning’s was better because we had a lovely view of the pasture behind the hotel.

The weather was mostly sunny this morning, with some clouds around the tops of the mountains. So we decided to try and go to the Zugspitze (ZOOG-spit-tsa), the tallest mountain in Germany. The mountain was also in Austria as the summit lies along the border. And there were gondolas to the top on both the German and Austrian side. Since we were already in Austria, we decided to go to the Austria side and see if the summit was clear of clouds.

We ran into some bad traffic leaving Reutte, because there were some bikes on the road through the mountains. But it didn’t last too long. And the drive was lovely. We went through valleys of green pastures with small wooden hay barns everywhere and the mountains rising all around. We also passed through several small Austrian towns, where the houses had windows with flowers spilling out of them.

As we got closer to the town of Ehrwald, where the Zugspitzbahn was (i.e. the gondola to the top), we kept wondering which mountain was the Zugspitze. And when we finally knew for sure, it was very massive, although just a dark mass because the sun was behind it. But the summit appeared free of clouds, so we decided to go ahead and try it.

The ride up took a long time and I got a spot near the windows. I was actually glad I wasn’t right at the window because I am a little bit afraid of heights. And it had been a long time since I had been on a gondola. The going up part wasn’t that bad, it was the going over the towers part that I didn’t like. Because the gondola would shudder and then swing back and forth a little as it got used to the new angle of ascent.

At first we just had views of the nearby valleys, but as we got close to the top we started being able to see the rocky summit of the mountain below us and beside us. We had one last tower right before the top where we had a very big swing and I was glad when we finally arrived.

We were soon on our way up to the observation platforms. And the view was amazing, although there were clouds above all the mountain tops. But it was cool because we were higher than the clouds. And we could see about half of the Zugspitze summit. There was a cloud in the west that blocked our view that direction.

After taking in the views from the Austrian side, we soon went across the border to the German side. It was neat because they had the official Austria and Germany signs at the border. And the German border even had a street sign telling us the direction and distance and Munich and other German towns. And as soon as we crossed to the German side it felt like Germany because there was a biergarten!

We bypassed the biergarten for the time being and went over to see the true summit of the Zugspitze. The observation platforms didn’t quite go all the way to the top. But there was a climbing route that had ladders, steps, and a wire guideline. So everyone except Mom decided to go up.

It was a little scary for me, mostly because I was wearing sandels. In case you don’t know, I’m still battling a foot problem left over from my trip last year. And I’ve been very thankful that I was able to find a pair of sandels I could wear that didn’t make my foot hurt. And I’ve basically been wearing them all the time. So they’re great for walking, but not so much for rock climbing. Especially because the rocks at the summit were very slippery. I’m sure Mom was very anxious as she watched my ascent. But I was very careful and kept both hands on the wire guide line at all times.

When I made it to the summit I was surprised to see that there was actually a little bit of a view to the west. The summit of the Zugspitze had just been hiding it. The view itself wasn’t really that great because mostly we could just see the observation platforms. But it was cool to say we’d been to the highest point in Germany.

After we were done climbing back down, it was lunch time so we decided to head back for the biergarten. We got bratwurst and beers and had a nice rest. When we were done we were able to get the next gondola back down to the bottom. We were almost a little surprised we didn’t have to wait longer because the summit had become very crowded by the time we left.

On the gondola ride down, I actually managed to get a spot right in the front corner. I was a little afraid that I would be really scared, but it was actually really cool. The heights didn’t bother me at all this time and the views were incredible.

Once at the bottom, Derek and I found some great music CD’s to buy that had Austrian and German folk music. We will both be making slide shows from all of our pictures and this was a great way to get good background music.

Our next destination was the nearby Bieberwier luge. If you’ve never been on a luge, it’s like a bobsled track except that you sit in a little cart that you ride down the toboggan run. There is a stick that you hold on to and you push forward to go fast and pull back to brake.

There were quite a few luges around the area, but the Bieberwier was supposed to be the best because it was the longest. It had thirty-six turns. We decided to each go on three luge rides (everyone except Mom). As Rick Steves says, “most are cautious on their first run, speed demons on their second, and bruised and bloody on their third”. And he was almost right.

We got to ride a chairlift to the top of the luge, and it took a long time to get to the top. Partly because the chair lift was slow, but partly because it was a really long luge course. I had actually been on one before, back when my family was on vacation in Vermont about when I was in third grade. All I remember about it was that it was really fun, way too short, and we only went twice. That, and my Dad had a spill on the second run.

So anyway, we got to the top of the chairlift, picked up our luge sleds and waited in line to go. They had a little stop light set up to tell you when it was okay to go. You had to make sure that there was plenty of room in front of you so that you didn’t catch up to the person in front of you. I was the first to go, and I was indeed pretty cautious on my first run. I mostly rode in neutral, going a little fast into the turns and braking a little out of the turns.

When we all got to the bottom, Derek said he had been pushing the stick down going into the turns and his sled would slide up sideways along the wall. So the next time around I tried that and I started going a lot faster. And it was a lot more fun.

The third time through I was even less cautious and didn’t really brake at all. I just went really fast through the turns. And boy was it fun! But none of us crashed. I kind of wished we had more than three runs because I felt like I had just really gotten the hang of it on the last run.

After luging we headed over to the village of Mittenwald in Germany, another place not recommended by Rick Steves. I had heard about it in another quide book and found pictures online that looked really great. It basically had a punch of buildings with paintings on the fronts. Just look at the pictures, you’ll understand. There was a similar village closer by called Oberammergau, but they were having a once in ten years passion play and I had been warned that it would be very crowded. So we went to Mittenwald instead.

The drive to Mittenwald wasn’t nearly as scenic as our drive in the morning. The first half went along a small river with trees all around. Then we crossed into Germany and went through the town of Garmisch, where they had had the winter Olympics in 1936.

When we got to Mittenwald we parked at the bahnhof (train station) and walked to the center of town. Then we spent the next hour or so walking around and taking lots of pictures of the very beautiful buildings. Even the church bell tower was painted. The thing I found really interesting was that the main street had a little enclosed waterway running down most of the street. It kind of made me feel like I was in Venice, except on a much smaller scale.

After we walked all the way down the main street, we went back looking for some place to eat dinner. And we all liked the first place we had seen, right by the church and the little waterway. And, as luck would have it they served Augustiner (Ah-GOOSE-tin-er) beer (a favorite of Derek and I from last year). And the food was amazing, although my meal was just so-so. I got the cheese dumplings because Mom had some spinach dumplings last night that she said were amazing. But these were kind of bland. But Dad got the cheese spatzle with onions which he shared. And it was amazing.

The best part about dinner, though, was that we made a friend. We were at a large wooden table and some other people sat down shortly after us. The guy next to Mom asked us where we were from and after she said Ohio they were fast friends. It turns out that he used to be a professional body builder and had been to Columbus several times for the Arnold Classic (a professional body-building competition). He actually blew out his elbow while in Columbus, which ended his career in body-buiilding. Before that, he had been a horse jockey until he blew out his back.

All of this we had to gather from his limited use of English. He was very excited that we knew a little German as well, but he was obviously a lot better than us. He later told us his name was Oswald (not Lee Harvey) Stadler, and asked us all of our names. When Dad said his name was Larry, Oswald’s response was, “not Hagman.” He was obviously familiar enough with American culture to know that Larry Hagman was the star of the old TV show Dallas.

Oswald also asked us our professions and Mom & I were happy to be able to answer him in German. Mom is a retired Lehrerin (teacher), and I am a buchhalter (accountant). Oswald said he is a metzger (butcher) and his specialty is a sausage called weisswurst (it’s a very white, very spicy sausage). Actually, Dad was able to answer in German too because the German word for computer is…computer.

Later Oswald wanted to have a toast, but all of us were done with our beers. So he actually poured a little of his beer into all of our glasses so that we could all toast!

Oswald also became very enamored with Mom. He started saying things like, “I love you so much,” and, “I love you in my heart.” And when he found out Mom was going to London before flying home to Ohio, he joked that he would meet here there. When we eventually said goodbye, Mom even got two kisses on the hand.

When we finally left Mittenwald, it was about an hour drive back to Reutte. But first we stopped at a gas station to get beers to enjoy on our balcony. It was just about dusk by the time we got there and the moon was just rising over the mountains. The two castle ruins were also lit up beautifully.

We all sat out on the balcony blogging until it was time to go to bed. I am woefully far behind and I’m not sure I’ll have time to really catch up until I get back. It doesn’t help that the hotel in Reutte doesn’t have interent access, so we won’t be able to post anything for the three days while we’re there.

From medieval towns to mountains galore!

From medieval towns to mountains galore! Reutte, Austria

Reutte, Austria

This morning we had one last breakfast at the Gasthof Goldener Greifen in Rothenburg before leaving for the Alps. But first we were headed for another well-preserved medieval village at Dinkelsbuhl. Derek and I had actually heard about this town on our trip last year. We were eating dinner at a restaurant in Munich, and the guy beside had told us it was better and less touristy than Rothenburg. And he was right.

We parked outside the town walls and walked inside to the tourist information center to buy a brochure with a walking tour of the town. And then we set off. It was great walking around in the sunshine, admiring the beauty of the town.

I thought it was better than Rothenburg for several reasons:

1. There were no hordes of tourists clogging the lanes

2. There were more half-timbered houses

3. There was more variety in the color of houses

4. There was more variety in the towers along the town wall

5. There was a moat around the outside of the town walls.

6. I hadn’t been there before!

The only thing I liked better about Rothenburg was that you could walk along the top of the town walls. And the only thing that detracted from Dinkelsbuhl was that there were a bunch of metal heads walking around clad in black clothes, long hair, tattoos, piercings, and muddy boots. Apparently there was some rock festival going on nearby. If I had been there by myself, I might have been a little bit scared to walk around. But then again, part of me wanted to go join them 🙂

So after we saw everything in the town, we headed off down the Romantic Road. It’s a stretch of road that begins at Wurzburg in the north and goes down to the southern edge of Germany at Fussen, which is where we were headed towards today.

We stopped briefly in another nearby medieval town called Nordlingen. It was another town that was completely enclosed by town walls, which were all walkable. But our only destination was the town church in the center to climb up the bell tower. The really interesting thing about this town was that it’s located in the middle of an old meteor crater. And the town walls are almost perfectly circular because they line the edge of the crater. Otherwise, the town itself is not that special.

So we parked right outside the walls again and headed straight for St. Georg’s church. The bell tower was quite tall and we had to climb ~350 steps to get to the top. It was a really neat climb because it started out a really tight spiral stone staircase. Then we went over to the bell tower itself, which had wooden stairs built into it. And the stairs got progressively narrower as we went up.

We had to pay our 2 Euro at the top, and it was weird because the guy taking our money asked where we were from. And when I said he Seattle, he asked where I lived and if it was Bellevue. He was obviously familiar with the area, but he was also obviously German. So we all had a good laugh at what a small world it was.

The view from the top of the bell tower was amazing. We could tell we were in the middle of a crater because it felt like we were in the middle of a big bowl. And the view was great. The city was spread around us, with great views of the countryside beyond. We could also see a couple of storks that had a nest on top of the town hall.

When we left Nordlingen our plan was to take the Romantic Road all the way to Fussen and then 20 minutes further to Reutte, Austria, where our next hotel was. But we got stuck behind some really slow traffic for a long time and we had soon had enough. So when we got to the city of Augsburg we decided to hop on the Autobahn.

I had been driving since Dinkelsbuhl and was already getting tired of it, so I decided to be go with the flow and drive a little faster on the autobahn. Derek had been driving about ~120 kph which is ~75 mph. But he kept getting stuck behind trucks waiting for other cars to whiz past us. So I started going 130 kph. But that soon crept up to 140 kph, which is ~87 mph. But it didn’t seem that fast because there were still plenty of cars whizzing past us. We just weren’t getting stuck behind trucks anymore.

The drive on the autobahn was pretty boring at first. So far on the trip the land had all been pretty flat and not that interesting. But when we started to get close to the German border, we started seeing mountains in the distance ahead of us. They got closer and closer and then, at the Austrian border, we went through a tunnel and bam—we were surrounded by mountains! It was great.

We were soon in the town of Reutte (ROY-ta), where we would be staying the next three nights. We once again had a little trouble finding the place, but eventually we made it to the Pension Garni Waldrast. And it was awesome. Our rooms were on the first floor with balconies overlooking a big field. And high above us were the ruins of two castles, on the tops of two mountains.

We didn’t get to the hotel until about 5:30 pm and I didn’t feel like having another late night. So I stayed at the hotel while everyone else went out to dinner. I also needed a little break from vacation, so I didn’t catch up on blogs like I should have (I was ~2 days behind). Instead, I sat out on the balcony and watched some more episodes of Breaking Bad, which were awesome. Have I mentioned that I highly recommend it?

Anyway, after everyone else got back at ~8 pm, we stayed up a while longer before going to bed.

It’s a good thing we got lost today!

It's a good thing we got lost today! Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

This morning we had another good German breakfast in Rothenburg and we were all very happy to see that the skies were clear and the sun was shining! We had actually been really lucky with the rain so far, and it hadn’t been that bad. But we were glad to not have to wear any coats!

After breakfast we headed off on a day trip to Wurzburg. It was only 40 minutes away on the autobahn, and we were again amazed by all the fast cars going by us. We were going about 130 km/hr and some of those cars must have been going ~200 km/hr.

When we got into Wurzburg, we made another wrong turn and it took us a while to get back on course. But we finally made it to our first destination of the day – the Residenz. This is a very opulent palace, built to rival Versailles. And it was definitely the best I’d seen in Germany. We had to go on a guided tour of the rooms inside, in order to see the best rooms. But it was very interesting. I apologize in advance, but I’m going to go into lots of detail about the tour. I want to remember what I learned, and I took notes J If you want to skip it, just continue to the next section.

Residenz Tour

The rooms were inside the Residenz amazing. Many ceilings had beautiful frescos, done by a famous Italian painter named Tiepolo. But he was actually the second painter they hired. The first was fired because he painted some wings on the shoulders of a man instead of the back. And they wanted a good painter so badly that they paid him seven times the salary of the architect.

There was also lots of stucco work by Bossi, who later went insane like many artsits do. The best stucco work was in the White Hall, which was actually rushed to completion in 6-9 months. This was to impress the Empress Maria Theresa, who was not a fan of the Prince Bishops that ruled in Wurzburg. The room also included what looked like draperies hanging from the corners of the room. But we learned that they were actually made of a mixture of cardboard and water.

The thing I found really interesting was the one room where the fresco on the ceiling had elements in three dimensions that came out of the ceiling. There were a couple of draperies, and several feet sticking out of the ceiling. And there were places where heads or musical instruments stuck up in front of windows. There was also an optical allusion where a dog looked very young and viral from one side of the room. But as you walked across the room, he got progressively fatter and older.

There was also an amazing Mirror Room, which was reconstructed from one fragment, one black & white photo, and one watercolor painting. Most of the palace was destroyed in WWII and was reconstructed later. In fact, most of the city of Wurzburg was bombed flat during WWII. We learned that the mayor of the city was actually given permission to surrender, because it was near the end of the war. But he was too stubborn and didn’t. Plus, he didn’t warn anyone that the attack was coming. So of the 108,000 people that lived in town, only 6,000 survived the attack. But there was an American soldier who was able to save a lot of the historic places in Wurzburg.

Another interesting room had some disguised holes into the servant corridors. People used to think that these holes were used for eavesdropping. But it turns out they were used to spread perfumes throughout the room. This was because everyone would sit next to the fire, in their heavy medieval clothing, and sweat. So after awhile they would start to smell a little ripe.

After our tour was over, we got to go see the rooms in the north wing of the palace on our own. And they were very beautiful too. Then we went around to walk through the gardens. They were very pretty, but fairly small.

City Walk

Our next task of the day was to do our first Rick Steve’s walking tour, which would take us by all the major sights in the Aldsadt (old town) of Wurzburg. Luckily, the Residenz was close by so we just left our car there and walked. We went to a few churches, the town hall, and then out to the Alte Brucke (old bridge) over the River Main. I was actually pretty unimpressed with the city of Wurzburg. It was obvious that most of it had been rebuilt since WWII, so it was very modern and not very historic at all. The churches were pretty, and the bridge was neat because we got to see a couple of barges going through a lock.

The one thing I did like about the city was that it was surrounded by hills, although farther away than in Heidelberg. And there were vineyards on the hillsides. There was also Festung Marienberg (Marienberg Fortress), which sat high atop the hillside opposite the Aldstadt, with vineyards on the steep hill below. And that was our next destination.

Festung Marienberg

After walking all the way back to the car, we drove over to go see Festung Marienberg. We actually got to park in what looked like the moat surrounding the fortress, enlocsed by massively high walls. Then we walked up to the fortress and decided to go in the City Museum that was there. It looked like there were some interesting rooms inside. But we had to rush to make it inside because it was getting late and they were only letting people in for the next five minutes. So we rushed through the courtyard, barely looking at the cobblestones and tower, and made it inside. But then the museum was really boring because it was all in German. And the rooms weren’t that interesting. We soon saw the view of Heidelberg outside the window, and an outside terrace. So we found the exit as quickly as possible.

And the view of Heidelberg from the terrace was amazing. We could see the River Main cutting through the Aldstadt, with the vineyards on the hills rising in the distance. It almost made me like the city.

Our last stop at Festung Marienberg was the biergarten with a great view of the nearby countryside. The beer was good, and we didn’t think we’d be able to find a better biergarten in Germany. But they were closing at 6 pm and we were the last to leave.

On the way out of the city, we actually went by where we had gotten lost earlier in the day. And because of that we knew which lane we needed to be in to go the right way. And so we were actually a little glad we had gotten lost earlier, because otherwise we probably would have gone the wrong way!

Dinner at Altfrankische Weinstube am Klosterhof

When we got back to Rothenburg it was late and we were all hungry. So we went to a Rick Steve’s recommended place that “seems designed for gnomes to celebrate their anniversaries.” And he was right. It was dark, and quaint, with only candles lighting the room. Just look at the picture. And the food was great. I got some pork covered in mushroom gravy and some spatzle, a German noodle. Both were really good, but the best thing was when I combined the gravy with the spatzle. It was amazing. We also had some starter salads, and for the second time in my life, I said, “wow, I really like this salad.”

By the time we were done with dinner it was really late, yet again, so I only had a little time to work on blogs before going to bed.

Visiting the Seckel ancestral home

Visiting the Seckel ancestral home Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

We had another traditional German breakfast this morning – rolls, jam, meats, and cheeses. Although, we were all confused at first, because we only saw cereal sitting out. So we all got bowls and sat down. But then they brought us out a basket of rolls and a plate of meat and cheese.

The plan for the day was to walk around Rothenburg in the morning and then go to Schwabisch Hall in the afternoon, because we had skipped that the day before.

Our walk through Rothenburg was a shortened version of what Derek & I had done the year before. We walked around the town walls. We went out to the castle garden, which had good views of the Tauber river valley. We also went to St. Jacob’s church and then went up the tower in the town hall.

Most of this was not very exciting for me. I get bored really easily and I’m always looking for new and exciting things to do. And Rothenburg had been exciting last year. But it wasn’t new anymore. I did, however, still enjoy climbing up the town hall’s tower. First we went up a wide stone staircase that spiraled up the side of the town hall. Then we had to walk across the attic to the base of the tower. We actually had to wait a little bit because they only let 20 people go up at once.

But we were soon on our way up the increasingly narrow wooden steps. At the top we first had to pay our two Euro (after we had climbed up!), and then had one last ladder to go out on top. But the view was incredible. It was windy and cold, but we didn’t care.

The best part of our tour of Rothenburg was visiting the lunch spot that Derek and I had discovered last year. We each got a half-meter long Feuerwurst sausuage baguette, and sat outside to enjoy. Although Derek had to kill a bee with his camera first. Then we went back to the square and got some fresh apple cider that someone was selling.

After lunch we headed to Schwabisch Hall, which was a short 45 minute drive away. It was another cute, picturesque village, full of half-timbered houses. But the main reason we were going is because my great-Aunt Ruth’s family is originally from there. She even had a picture of the Seckel family crest in the local church. So we wanted to go try and find it.

When we arrived in Schwabisch Hall, the parking lot I had picked out on the AutoRoute program was being turned into a bus station or something. So we had to stop for a second and figure out where else to park. But there was another one that was close by and easy to get to.

We were soon on our way and walking to the main square, where the church was located. It was an interesting church because it was on the top of a hill that was covered with the most massive staircase I’ve ever seen. But the square was also lined with beautiful buildings.

When we first went inside the church, we didn’t see any family crests on the walls anywhere. Then Dad & Derek found a place near the altar where there were a ton of small crests on the wall. Aunt Ruth had given Dad a pin that had a picture of her family crest on it. And Dad was able to find it on the wall! At least something that was almost the same. Some details were different. But it had the same blue diagonal line with a lamb on top. We also found three other Seckel family crests, although the diagonal line was the opposite direction.

The church itself was very beautiful too. Every time I go to a new church in Europe, I’m always amazed that the architecture can be so varied inside. And they’re always beautiful.

After leaving the church we walked over to a pedestrian street that had some neat half-timbered houses, as well as a really neat tower. It was a stone tower with a little half-timbered house on top.

We next went down to a park by the river, where there were some great views looking up at the town. We all thought it was great to be in a “real” German town, where people lived and worked like normal. Rothenburg is awesome, but it’s full of tourists.

By the time we got back to the car, we were glad because it had been raining off and on the whole time we were in Schwabisch Hall.

When we got back to Rothenburg, we had dinner at the hotel we were staying at. Because we were staying three nights, we had gotten a special room rate that included one dinner. We were expecting to order off the menu like normal. So we were surprised when they just brought us out this huge platter of German meats and a basket of bread. Apparantly we didn’t have a choice. Neither mom or I were really happy with the food. We had both wanted something. But the big platter of meets is a traditional German supper, so we couldn’t complain too much.

The meat platter had four pieces of each kind of meat – one for each of us. I didn’t really like most of them and one I didn’t like at all. The only one I actually liked was the big piece of ham. So I had a couple pieces of bread & butter.

Our plan for after supper was to go the internet café that Derek and I had been to last year. But when we got there they said they didn’t have wireless. We were surprised because they had wireless last year. So we just left.

We were just in time to catch the Night Watchman’s Tour that started on MarktSquare. For those of you who read my blog last year, you’ll remember that the tour is done by a guy who dresses up like the town’s night watchman. And he takes on a tour around town, explaining the history and what it was like in the middle ages. I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it too much, because I had just seen it a year ago and I remembered all the major points. But it was still very enjoyable. There were a lot of jokes that I didn’t remember, and all of the details were still very interesting.

If you’d like to know what we learned on the tour, please go read my blog from last year. I went in to excruciating detail.

By the time the tour was over it was 9 pm, so I just worked on blogging for awhile before going to bed.

Visiting the Haas ancestral home

Visiting the Haas ancestral home Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Germany

This morning we had another great traditional German breakfast before leaving Heidelberg. We were soon on our way to Ochsenbach, Germany. For those of you who don’t know, my great-great grandfather Haas immigrated to America ~1870. And my Dad’s Aunt Ruth found a newspaper clipping several years ago that stated he came from Ochsenbach, Germany. It was fairly close to Heidelberg, so we had decided to go check it out.

Our route took us through quite a few small, German towns. And after going through about two of the towns, I’d already decided it was way better driving than taking trains. Trains always go around the outside of towns, so you don’t get to see their cuteness.

We only got lost once, and that was because the road we were supposed to take was closed. We were supposed to take a road around the outside of a town, so instead we had to go straight through. And I couldn’t figure out where we were. We went by the Bahnhof (train station), so we stopped for a little bit until I could figure out where we were and how to get back on course. And we managed it okay.

It was only about an hour total until we got to Ochsenbach, which was the most amazing of any of the towns we’d seen so far. It was set amid rolling hills of trees, vineyards, and fields. The whole town was basically just a main street. But it was a long street and it was lined by half-timbered houses, with more colors and varieties than I’d seen anywhere else.

We found a place to park right in the middle of town, and soon went out to explore. It had been sprinkling rain the whole drive there, but thankfully it was dry the whole time we were out walking.

We first saw the town church, and the Rathaus (town hall), which was a beautiful half-timbered building. Then we started walking back out toward where we entered town, to get a picture of the “Ochsenbach” sign. We passed by a bakery that said it had been there since 1738 and I imagined that my ancesters probably ate there. When we got to the “Ochsenbach” sign, we also discovered some very large snails littering the roadside.

We walked back through town, being amazed at all the beautiful houses. We were pretty much the only people on the street, aside from a few locals, and it felt really nice to be in a beautiful town not filled with tourists. We also passed the old school house and again, I imagined my ancestors probably went to school there. It was pretty surreal.

When we got to the other end of town, there was a great vista looking out on the surrounding hills and a nice walking path that looked like it went to the next town. But alas, we had places to be so we headed back to the car.

Our next destination was Rudersberg, where we were meeting Steve, a friend of my brother’s, for lunch. Steve had been a foreign exchange student to Ohio in high school, and had met by brother a few times on return trips. So he had invited us to come spend some time with him while we were in Germany. And we were able to fit it into our itinerary.

So we arrived at Steve’s house, and then we went out to a local restaurant for lunch. Steve’s wife and son, Martina and Marco, came with us but neither really spoke English. It was a great meal full of nice conversation. It was nice to actually know someone in Germany, and not feel like such tourists.

After we said goodbye to Steve, I decided that now was the perfect time for me to start driving. We were on little country roads with not very much traffic. Our car was a manual transmission and I hadn’t driven one in ~15 years. So I was a little worried about remembering how. So I hadn’t wanted to start driving while in the middle of a big city. But I was surprised at how easily it came back. It helped that the clutch was very forgiving. But I even remembered what gear to shift into when slowing down, without having to look at my speed. I guess there are some things that you never really forget.

Our original plan had been to stop in Schwabisch Hall on our way up to Rothenburg, where we were staying the next three nights. But we didn’t leave Rudersberg until 4pm and we decided we didn’t want to have another really late night. So we drove straight to Rothenberg. Derek and I had visited there on our trip last year, and it was very surreal to drive through the town gate and over the cobblestone streets.

Rothenburg is the best preserved medieval city in Germany, chock full of historic buildings, towers, and walkable town walls. It’s a tourist’s mecca. Our hotel was just off the main square and conveniently had parking behind it. After we checked in they showed us up to our rooms, which were the two first floor rooms with windows looking out on the street. They were great! The doors were really short, though. I could just make it under without having to duck.

We decided to celebrate our arrival in Rothenburg by having a beer on the main square, even though it was pretty cold outside in the wind. We also went to see one of the nearby picturesque spots – the Plonlein . It was weird being back in Rothenburg after only a year. And I was so used to seeing it in pictures, that it felt odd seeing everything in three dimensions.

After our beer we decided to have a light supper and try Rothenburg’s specialty baked good, which is called a Schneeballen (snowball). It’s basically strips of pastry that are shaped into a round ball. They come in many varieties. I hadn’t tried any last year because Rick Steves said he didn’t think they were anything special. But Mr. Steves was wrong once again. We all quite enjoyed our schneeballs. Of course, I got the Appel-flavored one that had a lot of sugar on it. But I even liked the doughy inside bit.

After our “dinner”, I really wanted to blog. But our beer on the square had turned into two and I was very sleepy. So I just downloaded pictures and then went to bed early.

So much for getting away from the Seattle rain

So much for getting away from the Seattle rain Heidelberg, Germany

Heidelberg, Germany

I woke up at 4 am this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep because my bed wasn’t too comfortable. But that was still 8 hours of sleep. It’s funny, we all remember hearing the 8 pm church bells ringing just before falling asleep last night.

But I was kind of glad to have woken up so early because I had plenty of time to download pictures and work on my blog.

Everyone else ended up getting up about 8:30 am and we all went downstairs for a very traditional German breakfast – rolls, jam, butter, meats, and cheeses.

Then we headed up to see Schloss Heidelberg (Heidelberg Castle). It was midway up the hill behind the Aldstadt, and we got to ride a funicular up the hill. It was much larger than any funicular I’d been on last year, but also very empty.

The castle was very beautiful, even though it was sprinkling rain the whole time we were touring it. And the views of the city were great. First we saw the outside, which was massive and ruined. Then we toured the inside courtyard, which had a few very ornate sections with many statues dotting the walls.

And then we got to see the Grosses Fass, the largest wine barrel in the world. Apparently the King used to get paid taxes in wine, so they needed a very large wine barrel to store it all in. It was funny, though, because they had a really large wine barrel right inside the door. And we all thought it was the one and we were amazed. But then we went back and saw another one that filled an entire room. And our jaws all dropped.

We also heard the story of Perkeo, the court jester who took care of the Grosses Fass. According to legend he drank 3 to 8 gallens of wine a day. Whenever he was asked if he wanted wine, he would answer “perque no”, which means “why not” in Italian. And that’s how he got his nickname.

The last part of our castle tour was a walk along the castle terrace. This took us over to an amazing view of the castle and city. And we got to see some sheep!

By this time we were all hungry for lunch, and our plan was to stop for some gelato and then take a boat cruise on the river. The gelato was amazing. But when we got to the river boats, we discovered that they only did one way cruises on Monday. But we weren’t too mad because it had stopped raining and we’d had a nice walk along the river. We had also gotten to see the town’s old stables and hay barn.

Since we couldn’t do the boat tour, we decided to just relax for a while and go have a beer on MarktSquare. We had a good time and then decided to go look at all the souvenir stalls lining the church. And I found a beer stein that I wanted to get. It showed the Alte Brucke and Heidelberg Castle, as well as the Grosses Fass, Perkeo, and some wine grapes.

We next went on another walking tour to see a few things we’d missed the day before. We saw a couple more churches and a couple of university buildings. And then we stopped at a bakery for some apple strudel. We had seen a couple this morning and realized the reason we hadn’t been able to find any last night was because they were all closed.

Our last adventure for the day was a walk across the river to the Philosophenweg (Philosopher’s Way). It was a walking path up on the hill across the river from the Aldstadt. But first had to go up the hill on the “Snake’s Path.” It was partly cobblestone path, partly stairs, and it was enclosed on both sides by six foot tall stone walls. When we got the the Philosophenweg, there were several places with good views of the city. And the last viewpoint had a great little garden full of flowers.

By the time we got back to the Aldstadt it was after 7 pm and we were ready for dinner. But first we wanted to stop at an internet café to post our blogs. We were supposed to have internet access at our hotel, and I had paid this morning to get a password for their wireless. But when I tried to use it, I was unable to connect to any US websites. I could get to German websites just fine. I was even able to go to a German-translated version of Travelpod. But when I tried to sign in, it wouldn’t work. So that wasn’t very helpful.

We went to dinner at a place called Vetter that looked really interesting. The interior had lots of dark wood, some large copper brew kettles, and dried hops hanging from the ceiling. I got the Schnitzel, but it was covered in a beer-flavored sauce that I didn’t enjoy. The fried potatoes were excellent, though.

I got extremely tired near the end of dinner, but before we went back to the hotel we wanted to see the city all lit up at night. So we went out to the Alte Brucke one last time and had a great view of the castle illuminated above the city.