The Hills are Alive with (the Soundtrack of) the Sound of Music

As readers of this blog, be happy that you are not able to hear our Sound of Music tour group singing along to the soundtrack in the confined space of our eight-passenger van.  However I hope you enjoy reading about my stories from Austria.

Our first day in Salzburg was spent exploring the city's never-been-penetrated fortress, where Sara and I probably spent more time taking silly pictures than taking in the building interiors and WWI artifacts.  We also stopped by Mozartplatz, the cathedral where Mozart served as organist (and got a look at its 4,000 pipe organ), and Mozart's house with a few of his pianos and letters to his sister.

We spent the next morning at Hellbrunn Castle and more importantly its Wasserspeile, which translates to trick fountains.

Water shooting out of the center of each "guest" chair!

 The story goes that the owner of the castle was a jokester and had fountains designed to get his guests wet.  The most entertaining was a stone table that had water spouts in the guest's chairs that would soak their bottoms when they had had too much to drink.  Sara and I did great job staying dry for the duration of the tour, until I got too confident that I could avoid the tour guide's efforts, and got hit on the last fountain while taking a picture!  Even a bit wet, we really enjoyed the tour.  Not having reached my Mozart limit the day before, I went to a concert that night in this very Baroque, very cool room where I heard a bunch of his works, some of which I knew well, some of which were obviously Mozart but things I didn't really recognize.

Salzburg's other claim to fame is of course the Sound of Music, and so we decided to see what kind of fun the tours offered.  Sara had seen the movie for the first time only the night before, and I was happy to have a refresher since it had been a while since I last watched it (and if I'm being really honest, since I had last sung along).  The sights were what we had seen in the movie: the backyard of the Von Trapp family's house, the gazebo, the church where Maria and the captain were married, the gardens through which Maria and the kids are running while singing "Doe, a Deer," and more.  They were all fun to see in real life.  However the real fun was totally unrelated to the movie.

About to head up to the top of the track!

We made a very good decision when we chose the mini-bus tour.  A smaller van meant we were able to go places that a tour bus wouldn't have been able to reach, which, as we found out, meant we got to go... luging!  (Yes, I do mean the verb 'to luge': to ride on a racing sled down a track (that's my version of the definition.))  It was an amazing experience, being in control of this wheeled sled, rushing down a metal track, trying to push the speed and not use the break, all the while praying not to lose control and wipe out!  That ride definitely made my day and topped the list of my favorite activities from our time in Austria.

A Science Nerd's Heaven

The Deutsches Museum is the world's largest science and technology museum.  Sara and I decided that going without a plan was easiest, since the list of areas we wanted to visit would have been ridiculous.  We spent more than five hours there, seeing tons, reading less (most of the in-depth plaques were in German), and taking fun pictures.  While it may be the largest science museum, many of it's interactive elements were not working, which was a bummer, and definitely would not have passed the mustard in the US!  Even still, we easily could have spent 5 weeks there!

Here's an abbreviated list of some of the things we saw: boats, airplanes, engines, cars, nanotechnology, bones, glass, printing, clocks, agriculture, mining, submarines, toys, the environment, musical instruments, ceramics, and energy.  I'm going to let my pictures do the talking for this one so you can see some of the fun we had exploring this museum.

A slice of an Airbus A300... very cool

A tiny German car

Vertebrae of a Whale - this was giant!

A Gutenberg Letter Press!

Foucault's pendulum - proof the earth rotates!

And the best for last...

A "foot massage" that really just shakes your body and doesn't make you feel refreshed as advertised in the poster!

Meeting for Beers in Munich

Moving on to Munich meant that I had a friend to travel with for a week!  All I had to do was get to Munich Airport to meet Sara, which shouldn't have been difficult since I was a two-hour direct train ride from the airport.

However nothing is ever as smooth going as expected, evidenced by my train stopping short of the city with announcements in German that they were diverting people by bus to another station.  The bus ride was much longer than I thought it was going to be, which pushed me back even later from when I was supposed to meet Sara.  Luckily she was able to call me and we changed plans to meet at the hostel.

An hour or two later, we were together, checked in, and on our way!  We took it easy, wandering down the main drag doing some shopping and just taking in the city.  Sara bought a dirndl, a traditional dress worn in southern Germany, which looked amazing!  (She's all set for Halloween 2010!)Dinner was traditional Bavarian food, which we ate at a table we shared with this couple who spoke limited English, making our attempts at conversation quite entertaining.

Ready to really explore Munich, the next morning we went on a walking tour around the city.  The highlights include a well-told story about the events leading up to and through World War II, a subtle reminder of German passive resistance, and small memorials to those who lost their lives.  We also heard a fun story about how the devil helped to build a church (ask me if you're interested, it's too long to type out).

Our afternoon consisted of climbing a church tower for awesome views of the city, visiting the Royal Palace (Residenz), and watching the Rathaus-Glockenspiel, which entails bells chiming and figures "dancing" and "jousting" (moving on a rotating circle) as a way of reenacting stories from
the 16th century.


After all that fun, our search of food brought us to the Viktualienmarkt, a beer garden surrounded by a farmers market for bread, cheese and Radlers, beer mixed with lemon soda -- much better than regular beer!  On a roll, we headed over to Hofbrauhaus, another brewery and beer garden, for more beer (a dark, 1L Radler this time - to split) and pretzels.  Yum!

We chanced upon some amazingly talented street musicians, who took well-known classical songs and put a funky, jazzy spin on them.  It definitely was a great ending to the day!

Don't Bother Saying Fussen or Neuschwanstein - Go Straight to Cinderella's Castle

Cinderella only had to take a carriage to get to her castle, but for me to even get from Switzerland to Fussen, a nearby town, I had to take a gondola, bus, and five trains.  That was one of the longest travel days I had - an entire day on spent on the road.  Even with wiping out on train platform, ripping a hole in my jeans and cutting my hands and knee, the trip was worth it when I got to Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles the next morning.

For those of you who may not know, Walt Disney based Cinderella's castle on King Ludwig II's Neuschwanstein castle, a German king who ruled in the late 19th century.  He was potentially crazy, or at least an eccentric who was less than willing to deal with reality, and therefore had this fantasy castle built.  He died before it was completed and as a result it was never finished.

The castle is now a huge tourist location, and I joined the masses to see what the real Cinderella's castle is like.  However before going up to Neuschwanstein, most everyone (myself included) visited Ludwig's childhood home of Hohenschwangau, where the historical information about Ludwig and his father that was shared on the tour was much more thorough.  Neuschwanstein was impressive even as you walked up the hill to the entrance - and it was fun to see the real version of Walt Disney's creation.

Both castles were beautiful and were filled with all kinds of lavish decorations, as you can imagine.  However the best part of the day for me was the walk up to Mary's Bridge and the views back to the castle.  It was there that Neuschwanstein really looked like Cinderella's castle, in a way more beautiful setting than at Disney World!

The walk back down to the bus stop was a well-worn trail following a giant waterfall and fast-moving river.  So pretty!

Home Sweet Home

My journey has ended, but now comes the fun of sorting through pictures, doing exactly two loads of laundry, and catching up on my blog and journal.  While I loved seeing new places, I must say that it is nice to be home.  The best parts?  Seeing my parents, having clean pajamas, and having home cooked food.

As you all know, I neglected my blog near the end of my trip, and as a result have much to share with you!  So in the next few days be on the lookout for more stories from Europe, which include drinking beer, wiping out on a bike (no, the two are not related), and seeing how wooden clogs are made.  Also, if you haven't received a phone call or email yet, don't feel unloved -- I'll be in touch soon!

Walk-Behind Waterfalls and Adventures with Auzzies

The View from my Bed

Even after an exhausting day hiking up and down the Shilthorn, I was still awake at 7am the next morning. It is impossible to sleep late when the view from your bed is a beautiful, giant mountain. So while the day started early, it was a rather lazy day, at least in comparison!

Two of my new Auzzie friends and I went for a "short" walk to this waterfall you can kind of walk behind. The 2.5 hours there and back were well spent! However Jane, Jeannie and I decided to use the afternoon to ride to Murren, get some cheese for lunch, and go for a swim and hot tub at the sports complex. Fun times on giant noodles... if only I had a picture to share for that one! A thirty minute walk back had us arriving in time to join our other Australian friends for a campfire.

That night can be summarized as such: a respectable fire on which brats were cooked, hands were warmed, and ghost stories told; a potentially dangerous decision to shoot off fireworks in a small clearing (I stayed away and prayed for no forest fires); a few lessons on key Auzzie phrases including "she'll be alright, mate" in proper Auzzie accents, and a walk back up to the hostel with only my tiny LED reading light flashlight leading the way.

My last day in the Swiss Alps was spent hiking along a trail that provided awesome views of the surrounding peaks and took us to this roaring waterfall that reminded me of the one in Last of the Mohican's where they hide behind a sheet of water. I could barely see the mountains through the water, which actually added to its allure.

Happy Cows

I wish pictures and words could accurately represent the beauty of this place, but since they can't, I'll just say you have to go yourself!

Mountains Touching the Sky

I've been very negligent as you all know and for that I apologize. I have been in locations (hostels) with limited Internet access and then with my friend Sara and now aunt and uncle in the last three countries. Yes, I'm that far behind in writing!

So Switzerland. I made it to this beautiful, remote village high up in the Alps called Gimmelwald. You have to take a gondola (cable car) to get there, which really limits access by less determined tourists. I was in love with the town and the mountains as soon as I arrived, even though it was a bit of a rainy and foggy afternoon.

My first full day was spent climbing the Schilthorn, one of the tallest mountains in the Berner Oberland, with new Australian friends from the hostel. The hike was a full five hours of uphill hiking, with a wonderful break at a mountain hut halfway to the top. The sights only got more amazing as we gained in elevation - more waterfalls, valleys and peaks, and of course cows and sheep! My climbing partners for the day were four Auzzies and one west-coast American.

New friends and awesome views

 The last half mile was straight uphill in snow, mud and ice along practically sheer cliffs, and so that slows down the less experienced hikers in our group; one Auzzie and I pulled ahead and got to the top a full 30 minutes ahead of the others, which was long enough for him to enjoy a beer and a hot tea for me. Once the group was reunited we ate at the revolving restaurant at the top, which was in some Bond movie.

The gondola ride back down would have been $40, so I opted to hike back down. However what should have been a 3 hour downhill became a four hour up and downhill because signs were missing and we (the American girl and I) got lost. We made it back just as it was getting dark and our friends started worrying about us. It was a long day, but we had some beautiful views as we walked along a ridge line with two valleys on either side.

A beer, some wine, some Spanish honey rum, pizza and pasta rounded out the night with new friends. I definitely slept well that night!

Pictures will follow later and sorry for the delay; I know how eager everyone is to read about my life!