Germany II

Day 3 (Monday) - We woke to find that Elizabeth had prepared a full German breakfast for us. It was quite the spread and delicious. There is just something that can't be beat about eating Brotchen for breakfast! We did some touring of Leipzig, headed back to Elizabeth's for lunch, again a very generous meal, and then did a little touring of Dolzig. Elizabeth showed us the church and cemetary. Mom got some great photos of family grave sites for her geneology stuff. After dropping Elizabeth off again, we headed back to Leipzig and toured the Hauptbahnhof, largest train depot in Europe and then walked around the city center.

This is Elizabeth's house from the front. Dolzig is a very small, quaint town, exactly what you would expect. I have video of the inside, but haven't figured out how to add that yet.

Couple shots of the train station. It was huge! Lots of stores and places to eat, much like a mall, just that it has a train station attached!



Michelle and mom looking for money to go to the bathroom. The sign says that to use a urinal, it's only 70 cents, but if you want to use the toilet, it's 1.10 Euro. Totally not fair and sexist - but what do you do, when you got to go, you got to go!

Anyone that knows me, knows I love Starbucks. I was disappointed that the sign only said coming soon. But I had to show my affection anyway. Fear not, I did find Starbucks in Munich!


Pictures from the inside of the church that we saw in Leipzig.

Getting back that night to Elizabeth's we had yet another communication break down as she was not at home at the time that we thought we were to meet. We had thought we would pick her up at 6:00 to go to dinner, but she wasn't there and the house was locked. So, we thought she might be at a restaurant waiting for us. A horrifying thought that your hostess is sitting somewhere, who knows where, waiting for her crazy American guests to come and meet her! We drove ALL over trying to figure it out, drove back to Dolzig and by the second time we returned to her house, she was there. By then it was 7:00, we were starving and ready to go to dinner, but of course, she had prepared a meal for us. We still don't know where she was or how we got mixed up, but I guess that's all irrelevant, we just smiled and nodded in agreement when she tried to ask us how we were doing.

Day 4 (Tuesday) - We left Elizabeth's that morning and headed to Munich. This was the only day that we had inclement weather to that point. It rained pretty much the whole drive there. It was still a beautiful drive, despite the rain. We stopped along the way and had a small meal at Burger King of all places! They actually have quite a few Burger King's and McDonald's here, even Pizza Hut, but so far we have only had BK. After getting settled in our hotel, we walked down by the underground tunnel and ate at a neat German restaurant. Michelle had the full interest of the italian guys sitting next to us. I told her she could come to Germany and go home with an Italian husband...

Day 5 (Wednesday) - We drove down to Austria and toured Eagle's Nest, Hitler's last retreat. The drive in the bus up to the top was amazing. We had lunch at the top and walked around for a while before returning on the bus to the bottom. It feels kind of wierd to be touring that place given the history behind it, but it was still an interesting place to go.

View from the top.


Mom and then a group shot at the top of the mountain.

Michelle and I at the top. One problem we have with both Donna and Mom is that they take pictures before we are ready. This is a prime example of that!


Me on the way down to the bus. Mom and I actually raced a little going down, but I won that one. I kept telling her that if she fell, I wouldn't be able to pick her up, and she needed to slow down. But she wouldn't! I am amazed she didn't break her ankle.

After leaving Eagle's Nest, we went to another part of Salzburg and did the Salt Mine tour. This was a lot of fun and we got some fun pictures of us dressed up like Salt Mine workers. By the time we were done, it was after 8:00 and we were hungry again, so we headed into Salzburg proper to find something to eat. After spending ages trying to find a place to park, we walked a short distance to an outdoor courtyard that had several restaurants combined. It seems at some point like that is all we are doing is eating! (Drinking some too...) Heading back to the hotel was probably our longest day as it was after 11pm before we returned.

We have been eating a lot of ice cream. But who wouldn't when it is served like this?!!


I know, we look great don't we? Getting ready to go into the salt mine.

Day 6 (Thursday) - We drove south again to the Neuenschwanstein castle. I had been there before, but it has been about twenty years, so it was pretty cool to experience it again. We got rained on while waiting for our turn to go into the castle. Of course, the view from the castle and the whole area surrounding it is stunning. It's very easy to see why they call it the Fairy Tale Castle. The entire castle is breathtaking inside. I didn't remember as much as I thought I did, so it was kind of like seeing it for the first time. When we got out of the tour, it had pretty much slowed to a drizzle so we started the walk down the hill. Donna and I decided to take a short cut, which was fine, but it was extremely steep. It wasn't until we got out of the car after returning to the hotel that Michelle and I about fell over because our legs were so sore. Seriously, we could hardly walk!!!

Me at the bottom waiting to go up to the castle. Behind me is the other castle that we didn't tour, Hohenschwangau.


Me at the top, going over Mary's Bridge. Neuenschwanstein is in the back. We still had to walk another five minutes or so to get there.

Castle shots from the top and from Mary's Bridge.

Donna wasn't feeling well either so she opted to stay in the hotel while we went for dinner. We ate at "Block House" It is a steak place founded by Eugen Block. Who knew?!!! I thought Brad would be proud, Michelle and I shared a ribeye that was delicious. And for the first time, we had a salad and baked potato. Michelle even had New York Cheesecake. She remarked that it is the best meal she has had since she has been here. Imagine that, and especially at a place with my namesake!