Salzburg in a Day

Tips from 5-22-13:

When packing remember that when there are no escalators or elevators you will have to carry your bag down and UP the stairs …

You may not be able to check in to your hotel until 3 pm
Don’t EVER use the maps app on the iPhone, download GOOGLE MAPS ONLY (when it says your destination is getting farther away, something is wrong…)

And sometimes trust the opinion of one member of the group…they may actually be thinking more clearly than the group

On Wednesday (5/22) we began our sequence of trains before Rome. We planned to get to the train station in Munich (Munich: HBF) 30 minutes before our train. We probably needed more time to get there. You really can’t plan how long the subways are going to take. Sometimes you miss one and you have to wait 15 minutes. So we ended up getting there a little pressed for time but we made sure and validated our passes and we found where our train was.

I’m with Sheldon Cooper on this one, trains rock! You get to see the countryside between the big tourist cities. I looked out the window at the blue mountains rolling by and various farm animals popped up like cattle and sheep. Behind every hill that went by, a small town lay behind it and usually had an ornate church. I began to notice the signature red roofed houses everywhere. Listening to the soundtrack from the Pride and Prejudice movie hit the spot. ;)

We arrived in Salzburg slightly later than the predicted time but it was still only 11:15 am. So then we had to get to the hotel. We knew that it wasn’t that far. However, there is a big difference between knowing the general idea of where something is and navigating with a map. So we found where we were with the maps app because fortunately Anne bought a data plan for her iPhone. I suggest getting data even though it’s expensive. There are times when you will get in a tight spot and you won’t have a map or won’t know how to ask somebody how to get somewhere and just having that exact location of where you are can make a world of difference. So I’m not exactly sure if I just navigated us the wrong way or the apps map was showing me that we were going the right way when we weren’t but all of a sudden the hotel was not near our location anymore and we had went the completely opposite direction of the hotel for 20 minutes. So, dragging our 45 lb bags through Salzburg we had to double back all the way to the station and then walk to the hotel which wasn’t that far away originally. I have never been so happy to see a hotel. Of course, we couldn’t check in when we got there but fortunately they let us put our bags in a room while we went and found FOOD.

Then we wanted to head to the old town but we weren’t sure what street to take. Mark said, “There’s only one way guys…” and Anne and I were like, “no we don’t know which way it is!” Then all of a sudden we saw the giant fortress of Hohensalzburg on top of the hill and we were like, “Oh.” We continued to have a lot of laughs that day. The old town is so spectacular. We crossed the river and saw lots of classic old buildings. And of course because it was the home of Mozart there is a statue of him in the city. We got to take the lift up to the top of the hill that the fort is on and it was the perfect thing to do since we were only in the city for one afternoon because when you get up to the top you get a gorgeous panoramic view of the city of Salzburg. On the tour of the fort we learned that “Salz” means “salt” which makes sense. It was really important to have in the city and there was a room in the fort called the “Salt Room” where a ton of it was stored. There was a torture room too and we learned that they used to drop this wheel on parts of people’s bodies to break them…they had lots of forms of torture because they had to get a confession before they could be convicted. The fortress contained many rooms and towers, and I have no idea how they found their way around there at all because I kept getting turned around. There were so many ornate doors too with really cool handles. I wish I could have one in my house one day.

After we left the fortress we decided to grab a snack before we headed back to the hotel. We saw a stand with a ton of giant pretzels. Wow, he had chocolate, sugar, apple, raspberry, pumpkin, pistachio, sesame, and one Mother of All Pretzels. Guess which one Mark got…the MoAP. It was such a JOKE. It was probably as big as his body and it was 6.50 euros and I quote, “It was the best 6.50 euros I’ve ever spent, a multifaceted purchase.” Everyone around us on the way back to the hotel was pointing and laughing when Mark wasn’t looking and Anne and I were just cracking up the whole way back. He looked like such an American. That was probably the best part of the day.

We all had a blast today. We’re really getting the hang of traveling together. We had delicious Austrian food that night too. Anne and I got pork “Vienna Style” which is breaded and served with potatoes. We also shared the Sachre Torte which is a chocolate sponge cake soaked in apricot jam and topped with chocolate sauce that originated in Vienna. It’s really good! The people in Austria are really friendly. Our waiter was cracking jokes with us and there were a lot more shared smiles. We still stuck out like sore thumbs with our jeans and t-shirts but at the end of this crazy day we just wanted to be comfortable and fed. Success!

We also went around a garden that was nearby and it was rainy but so darling. The weather really held off for us today. It only rained when we weren’t looking out at the view or taking pictures or walking with our luggage to the hotel. Thank goodness! We all really enjoyed the city for the brief time we were there and couldn’t wait to see how Vienna compared to it.

Really cool door at the fort.

Not sure what this is...but it's the three of us reflected upside down in it.

Unicorns

Salzburg!

View from the top of Hohensalzburg

Anne!

Part of the museum in the fort.

Mark looking out at the view of Salzburg.

Statue of Mozart!

Hohensalzburg Fort

The wheel they broke people's bones with.

So much beauty!

 

**This is a photo of our group of friends we made at the tour of Neuschwanstein in Munich* (L-R) Anne, Julie and Margret from Austalia, and me and Mary on the bottom**

The Mother of All Pretzels

The Traveling Trio

Final Day in Munich

Fortunately, today was much less stressful than yesterday! We checked the weather and saw that it was supposed to rain later in the day so we went to the English Garden this morning when it was finally sunny.

The English Garden was absolutely gorgeous! It was very peaceful and there were lots of cute dogs. The woods were very rich in leaves and color and we strolled along until about noon. We also happened upon a naked man getting some sun... I'm not really sure why someone would be naked...in a park...on a chilly day... but we got a good chuckle out of it.

This is a river in the English Garden where people take turns surfing! I bet the water was really cold, but they did lots of awesome tricks.

                                                                                      

There were also many geese in the garden including babies!

I absolutely loved all the willow trees.

I'm not sure what this actually was but we walked up to it and the picture below is the inside.

This is the view from the structure above of the city of Munich.

A structure in the city that looks very similar to the L'Arc de Triomphe in Paris, except someone is holding lions at the top.

We decided to spend the other half of the day at the Dachau Concentration Camp just outside of Munich. It was very easy to get there by the subway system and then a bus. We got an audio tour and we had brought our U of A student IDs so we got a discount! I have learned so much about World War II, the Holocaust, and the Nazis in school, but actually seeing and standing on the ground of the places that these atrocities and murders occurred gives you a perspective that no book can. We went through every room in the museum and learned so much about how the prisoners lived, the tortures they feared every day, and the ubiquity of death. As I walked through and listened to these unbearable realities, I couldn't understand how anyone could remain hopeful in such circumstances. I really gained an appreciation for this Memorial Site. Even though I will never fully be able to comprehend the horrors and fears these prisoners felt every day, I was able to walk their path and made aware of the conditions they were in. The entire time I was kind of numb to what I was feeling inside. We walked down the rows of barracks and at the end there were three memorials. All of them were very well done and very touching. However, I still felt numb to any emotions. But when we walked into the Crematorium, every emotion that I had shut out washed over me at the site of human ovens. I took a look at the gas rooms and an awful feeling of dread went through me like ice. All of a sudden it all became real for me and I had to get out. I couldn't face the rest of it and my feelings and fears for all those people who became ash became tears. As if on cue, it began to rain. However, it felt like the Earth was trying to comfort me and I knew that it was okay and right to be sad.

This is a site of ashes of the many unknown dead.

This is a memorial designed by the Yugoslavian artist and concentration camp survivor, Nandor Glid. It looks like the skeleton corpses tangled in the barbed wire of the fences that surround the camp.

"Never Again" is this reminder with the ashes of an unknown prisoner.

This is the international monument that says, "May the example of those who were exterminated here between 1933-1945, because they resisted Nazism, help to unite the living for the defense of peace and freedom and in respect for their fellow man."

I have never seen or felt anything that powerful before in my life. Everyone should experience the sites in a concentration camp so that this, and other human injustices, should be understood and "never again" be tolerated.

On a happier note, we picked up each others' spirits on the return to our hotel. Anne and Mark were a little exhausted...

Haha! We had a wonderful time in Munich and I would highly recommend it to any traveler. Three days was the perfect amount of time to see what we wanted to. Tomorrow we are off to Salzburg, Austria by train. Hopefully I will be able to find some wifi to post again but if not, I will try to post when we get to Vienna, Austria on Thursday!

Auf Wiedersehen Munich!

The Blue Country

Today's topic: King Ludwig II's Castle Obsession!
Today's advice:

• Don't visit a city when their country has a national holiday (today was Ascension Day) because nothing is open...including places to eat.
• When you need to be somewhere for a tour and you don't know the city that well, leave with PLENTY of time to get lost
• Don't always trust Google Maps with public transport directions
• If you visit Munich, take a tours of the Linderhof and Neuschwanstein Castles of Bavaria. It is worth all the money in the world!

Let me explain some of this advice. Today Anne and I set off to take a bus tour with Gray Line Bus Tours to Linderhof and Neuschwanstein. We paid around $85 for the bus tour and the two tours of the castles. We printed off directions from Google from the hotel to where the bus was picking us up. We left at 7 am and tried to find breakfast. Of course, nothing was open and we hadn't eaten since 5pm the previous afternoon. So in our state of crazed-starvation we tried to find the bus that Google told us to use, but of course, it was only a night bus. Using our newly-found traveling skills, we quickly figured out the street we needed to get to and that we could take two U-bahn routes and then walk to it. We figured this out at 7:40 and we had to meet the bus by 8:30. Of course, the first U6 is 20 minutes away and we get to the next U4 at 8. And this one doesn't come until 8:19. The panic has set in but Anne's head stayed clear and she navigated us with Google Maps and we ran through the streets of Munich to make it just in time for the bus. I gave Anne a HUGE high five. Winning.

There were two seats left on the bus for us and we sat next to two women who turned out to be the nicest friends we could have made! My seat buddy was a woman from Australia named Margret. She had just spent a month in France and was an avid traveler. Anne's seat mate was a woman named Mary from France. She is in a master's program in Scotland and has traveled so many places including India, London, Kenya, Peru, Machu Picchu, Prague, and many more! I was so impressed by both of them and we spent the entire day with them and never stopped chatting. We all exchanged emails and maybe we'll cross paths again on our travels.

Our bus took the Autobahn south to the castles. Our guide informed us that there is a recommended speed limit of 78 mph for cars, so many cars zoomed by our bus. However, if a car gets in an accident going faster than 78 they will be charged for speeding because they are a danger to other cars. 
As soon as we left the city, the countryside took over and I have never seen so many different shades of green. There were so many fields, cows, and deep blue Alps. Our guide also informed us about the green energy that Germany uses, including solar panels that we saw on many of the roofs of barns.

The first stop was Ludwig's favorite castle and the one that he lived in the most, Linderhof. It is literally an mini Versailles. Many parts of the castle were a tribute to Versailles including statues of Louis XIV, a garden and fountain outside the front, a room full of mirrors, and other items that made this 19th century king seem like he was born out of a different time period. He was very secluded and loved to escape reality in these intricately designed castles.

I finally got food at a small town called Oberammergau. Upon Mary's recommendation, I tried goulash and it is delicious!

We went to Neuschwanstein, the castle that the Disney castle is modeled after. It was simply gorgeous. We traveled up the mountain and through dense forest. I felt like I was on my way to Hogwarts castle. This castle was not complete when Ludwig died mysteriously. However, we saw three levels and all the rooms were very intricately decorated with each room having a theme dedicated to Richard Wagner's operas. Another bit of information that was interesting was that Ludwig was declared insane without a doctor's check and removed from the throne. A new phrase I'm going to use around Anne is, "Sorry, I'm going a little "Ludwig" on you." Haha!

We ended the day at a local restaurant and had dinner with our new friends. The group sitting at the table next to us stared at us their entire meal like we were a traveling circus. Probably just because we were speaking English but isn't staring universally rude?

Anyway, we had a lovely time being princesses today despite the rainy and chilly weather!
Enjoy these photos from the day!

Linderhof

View of countryside

 

Front door of Neuschwanstein

(L-R) Anne, Me, Mary

View from Neuschwanstein

Neuschwanstein

Gotta call those Hogs when you see a Razorback!

When does royalty not come with a lion?

Fountain at Linderhof

Linderhof

Lots of Catholicism in Oberammergau

Oberammergau

Hohenschwangau Castle

Neuschwanstein

And the Adventure Begins...in Munich!

I am finally settled in the hotel and done traveling for a couple days. Mark is currently passed out on one of the beds. He didn't sleep a wink on the plane so he's been awake for over 24 hours and is finally dead to the world. Anne and I both slept on the plane for about 5 hours so that we would adjust to the time difference. However, when I was trying to sleep in the upright position of my seat, I felt like an iPhone being charged at night just waiting to light up from a text. I couldn't get much deep sleep going because either my head would slide down the wall of the plane, my butt would start to cramp up, the fasten seat belt sign would ding, or the TV screen would flash with a movie. Somehow I didn't get too sleepy today though and right now it is 7:30 pm in Munich, so I should be going to bed soon...haha.

But we had very safe and efficient travels on all three flights. We had very little time in between each flight so we didn't have to wait around. Customs into Dusseldorf were also a breeze! Then when we arrived in Munich we had to navigate the subway system (aka the U-bahn). Fortunately we had printed out directions and were able to use some gut instinct to interpret the German signs and we made it to our hotel without any wrong trains or turns! By the time we got checked into our hotel we all hit a wall. Nobody wanted to move or do anything but we had to get out of the room and go explore! So we grabbed some cappuccinos, and hit the tramway and subway to get back to Munich and when we finally reached the surface again we looked upon amazing architecture...

  Anne walking the narrow streets.

 Lots of German musicians were playing in the city.

 The tramway that runs by our hotel

 Scooters and beer...enough said.

 I love how the buildings curve with the streets!

 Mark enjoying the view of part of the city of Munich

We had a little trouble getting something to eat later in the day when we realized we didn't know how to read the German menus. Lots of restaurants were surprisingly full on a Sunday at 4 pm. We did find a small restaurant that had English translations in the menus and we tried to be really polite to the waitstaff because they didn't seem too excited to serve some young Americans. However, they were very nice and I got to eat a pretzel with real honey mustard and German sausage. I thought it was interesting that this item was listed under "Brunch" in the menu but the waiter said we could order it even though it was the afternoon.

We started our trip on a good note and wide-eyed at all the beauty. I can't wait to wake up to more experiences every day the next 7 weeks!

Danke!

Viaggio sicuro!

Today we leave out of XNA to fly to Chicago at 12:50 pm.
We are all meeting at 11 am to make sure everything goes smoothly at the airport. I am hoping for no delays, missed flights, or lost luggage. We won't arrive in Dusseldorf until 8:15 am tomorrow and hopefully we can get through customs and onto our plane to Munich in an hour and fifteen  minutes! Adjusting to the time difference will be tough as well but I don't think it will take us too long. We've got a lot to see!

I'm going to miss my family and friends but I can't wait to send postcards and tell them all about my adventures when I return in July.

Next time I post I will be across the pond!
Arrivederci!

One Word: Packed

Today I successfully packed everything I need to take on my trip!

 Before:

 After:

As a rough overview I'm taking nine shirts, five shorts, pants, and five dresses. Everything is very interchangeable and light. I'm probably not going to look like an Italian but I can't change the fact that I'm bright blonde and don't tan...haha. My camera and three travel lenses are ready to go and all my toiletries are bagged up so they won't explode all over my clothes! The hardest part was trying to figure out what to put in my carry-on backpack instead of my suitcase in case it gets lost. I'm packing my electrical cords, adapter, medicines, and an extra pair of underwear in my backpack for safe keeping! I have a feeling I'm going to be really sick of my clothes after 7 weeks...

We don't leave until 12:50 pm on Saturday but we're meeting at the XNA airport at 11 so that we have plenty of time for security. I'm praying for no delays and hopefully we will get through customs in Dusseldorf in the hour we have between our landing and our flight to Munich.

Traveling with peers is a lot different than traveling with family. We all have to agree on what we do and nobody wants to plan anything. We all just want to get there and enjoy being together on an adventure.

I hope I can keep track of everything while I enjoy myself!

3 more days until takeoff. Salve!