OKTOBERFEST

This year we decided to properly celebrate the arrival of October by visiting the land of Bavaria!  That’s right, we’ve returned from a little jaunt over yonder to the lands of Germany, Switzerland and Austria.  Brent had a few business commitments, and so we decided to add in a few days of sightseeing too.   The last time I was in northern Europe was 26 years ago, so it’s been a very long time.  We were able to use our timeshare connection and get a place for a few days in Oberstaufen, Germany, about 2 hours south of Munich, which we made our “home base.”  We rented a little car (had to laugh that it was a Chevrolet – we were looking forward to driving around some sort of import, but to be honest, the little car did just fine), brought along Martha, our GPS—she’s always been Martha—her voice just sounds like a Martha (I think I'm still hearing 'recalculating' even today) and set off.

We didn’t have any real itinerary planned.   There were several places we planned to visit for sure, but otherwise we were just vagabonds.  It was a fun way to travel, and with just 2 of us, it was easy. Being the first week in October, we were so lucky with the weather.  It was gorgeous most of the time—even a little too warm several days.  It did rain towards the end of our trip, but all in all, Mother Nature cooperated.    This part of the world is so beautiful.  Most of the time we were in the countryside rather than the larger cities.  Having a car and being able to drive anywhere gives you a great sense of what the country and the people are like.  I was impressed with how clean and kept everything was.  Litter is virtually non-existent, homes all look like they just were repainted, and there really are flower boxes full of beautiful blooms on all the windows.  Simply spectacular.  German is a crazy language, though--boy are those words long!  We were surprised by just how little English we found.  Occasionally we would find signs, instructions, information, menus, etc., with English translation, but much less than we expected. 

So, with that introduction, be forewarned!    What follows are lots of pictures and a travelogue of sorts.  I know details of other people’s vacation can be boring, so just know that this blog entry contains lots of details—mainly for our kids.   As a family we highly value traveling and vacations, and there were so many times that we said “We’ll have to bring the family back here sometime.” 

Near our place in Oberstaufen was an area called Hundel--a ski resort.  We took a chair lift to the middle point of the mountain and then hiked the trails all afternoon.  It was a public holiday in Germany, so there were a lot of families and people around--beautiful weather too!  They love their "alpine walks" there.  All over the mountain were "alpine haus' " with food and drink.  We ate lunch at one with authentic German food and entertainment.  It was lovely.

  

This is in the middle of our hike and one of the haus' where you could buy food.  Notice the cute little swing set and the children playing--the kids were darling.   The sun is hitting Brent's backpack just right--it looks like he has a solar-powered battery operating or something!

Also on the hike.  Notice the green hills--they all look like they are mowed weekly.  All the mountains look like this.

This was the view outside our timeshare unit's window.  So beautiful!!

Bern, Switzerland Temple.  Beautiful smaller temple.  We did an Italian session--it was interesting to be the ones with the headsets.  One of the temple workers thought Dad was Italian!  He was so flattered--he's always said that in his next life he wants to be Italian. 

Zurich, Switzerland.  We only spent a few hours here.  They have a waterfront we walked along, and we also visited a church.  We attempted to see an art museum, but it was closed that day. 

This is in the shopping district of Bern.  It was so cool!!  The storefronts are all the old architecture, but inside are all the new shops.  It was probably a mile long with a clock tower in the center.

The Clock Tower in Bern.  It even sounds beautiful when it rings. 

Interlaken, Switzerland.  We spent the afternoon walking around here.  There were paragliders coming of the mountain intermittently and landing in the park.  It was fun to watch. 

By the lake in Interlaken.  The city is between 2 lakes--hence the name "Interlaken!"

This is by the waterfront in Interlaken and is a picture of the car we rented--a Chevrolet Orlando--whatever that is.  It did really great though.  I think one of Brent's favorite parts of the whole trip was the driving.  He loved driving the switchback roads in the mountains and the stretches of no speed limits! Next time you see him ask him how fast he drove!

When we left Interlaken, we took the long way back--we took the scenic route through the Swiss Alps.  We literally went up and then back down FOUR mountains.  At the top of one of them was this lake and this hotel built on an "island/rock" in the middle of it--so crazy!  The water for some reason looks dirty and grey but it wasn't.  It was beautiful.

A closer view of the hotel.  I'm not sure I could stay there!  I probably wouldn't dare leave my room.

A restaurant at the top of one of the mountains. 

Eating my breakfast yogurt with my neighbors, the milk cows!  BTW, the yogurt over there is sooooo good!

This is downtown in Oberstaufen, Germany, our home base.  It was totally charming.

One day we went on another hike in Steibus, Germany at the Hochgratbahn Ski Resort.  We hiked for over 2 hours and most of the way it was a very vertical climb up.  Can you see where I'm pointing?  That little place on the top was the ski lodge with the gondola to take us down.  At this point we were already half way, and still had a long way to go.

Finally there!  I just have to say that although Brent started out strong,
 he faded and I beat him up there!  Just saying!

This is at Neuschwanstein Castle by Fussen, Germany.  It is the famous "Cinderella's Castle."  It is amazing!  Again, we had wonderful weather and we able to see far and wide from the view points.  It was built by King Ludwig II.  He was definitely an interesting character--somewhat crazy, but he sure had good taste in architecture. 

 One of the views from Neuschwanstein Castle.  In the background is another one of Ludwig's homes--Hohenschwangau Castle.  Aren't the mountains and the lakes absolutely gorgeous?

 A view of Neuschwanstein Castle from Marien-Brucke Bridge.  Absolutely stunning!

 That's me waving at Brent from the side of the bridge.  It is a suspension bridge that moves a lot and everyone knows that I don't like heights.  Well, just when we arrived a busload of Japanese tourists joined us!  The bridge got a little crowded for me, and it didn't help that Brent kept teasing me saying he wasn't sure it could support all of the people.  I can report, however, that I did cross it several times!

 See!  I'm on the bridge!  I think Brent is laughing because I probably left fingernail grooves in the railing. 

 This is the view of the backyard of King Ludwig's "Summer Home," Linderhof Palace.  It was very cool too!  It is about 1 hour away from Neuschwanstein Castle.  The gardens and the grounds were amazing.  He even built himself the ultimate "man cave" into the side of the mountain with an artificial pool and staging area for operas.  He mysteriously died by drowning at about 40 years of age after the government declared him insane.  A conspiracy for sure. 

 Another view of Linderhof Palace and it's beautiful gardens.

 Linderhof Palace as seen from the front.

 This is St. James Cathedral in Innsbruck, Austria.  Brent is a church guy!  He LOVES touring all the churches he can find. This church allowed photography, so we snapped a few pictures.  The handicraft and artistry are amazing. 

Also inside the cathedral.  You'll notice that we now have our jackets on.  This was the day the weather changed on us.
 Storms came in and we had intermittent rain.  Unfortunately, due to cloud cover we never did get a
 good view of the mountains in Austria.

Don't we look stylin??  This is from the Salzbergwerk Salt Mines tour in the Salzburg, Austria/Berchtesgaden, Germany area.  It is a fully functioning salt mine and you go on a tour deep inside the mountain.  It was interesting.  We look particularly pudgy because we had our bags on inside these jumpsuits!  Because of the weather we were unable to visit Eagle's Nest (Hitler's Hideaway) and see the beauty of the area.  Oh well, maybe next time!

On Sunday we went to church in Salzburg.  It is so great to go to church  and feel right at home, even when the whole service was in German!  The Elders translated for us through a cool translation device, so we were able to understand most of the service. 

 After church we headed back up to the Munich area and went to the Dachau Concentration Camp.  How somber and sobering it is to learn about the atrocities committed at these places.  After our time admiring the beautiful handiwork of God in nature, it is sad to see the evil inflicted on others by mankind.  Very educational.

 These are the ovens they used for cremations.  At Dachau they did not have mass gassing or burnings, but used these ovens to "bury" the dead who died from overwork and starvation.  The camps in Poland are the ones that did the really terrible things. 

 A memorial to the "Forgotten Dead."

 In Munich we visited the Munich Residence, the "home" of the Kings and Royalty of the 18th century.  It was huge and so interesting.  We toured the King's Palace and the Treasury.  We had these cool translation devices that you held to your ears so you could walk around at your own pace and listen to just the things you were interested in. 

This was one of the halls in the King's Palace with hundreds of busts of various important people.  I felt like we were in a
 Harry Potter movie or something. . . I sort of expected the heads to all start moving and talking!

 This is the Grand Square in downtown Munich.  Munich is a very beautiful, busy, cosmopolitan city.  Notice the green clock area in the center.  On the hour the wooden German statues come out and play a tune. 

Another view of the Grand Square.  The shopping was wonderful!  They have very beautiful clothes over there and most people are dressed just a tad nicer than I think most Americans do--especially the young people.  The young German men are very fashionable and handsome.  The girls are as well.  They do like black, however!  Oh, and scarfs are very big.  Everyone wears a scarf--even the younger children.  It is their "splash of color" I suppose. 

 On our last night there we went to an authentic German restaurant called Ratskeller's.  It is in the cellar of that huge Grand Palace building and we actually found it by accident.  Brent ordered a typical meal--bratwurst, sauerkraut and potatoes.  I had a goulash soup.  I will say that you don't go to Germany for the food.  Of course European bread is amazing, and we all know
 about the chocolate, but they eat lots of meat and potatoes, pizza and sandwiches.  The only American/fast food we found was McDonald's and Burger King.  We actually had McD's twice (simply because we couldn't find anything else open
 after 6 pm)  and the burgers were very good!  They have better meat and bread than we do--more of a gourmet style burger. 

So there you have it!  If you're still reading this you're a champ--quite the travelogue I know, but I warned you!!  We had a great time and always love to travel, but it's always good to come home too.

 Auf wiedersehen!
(That's Goodbye in German)