Last Day

Quiet day today...woke up to rain again, packed our bags and got in the car for the drive back to Munich. It was about a 2.5 hr drive, but the weather and road construction made the route really congested. We hit Munich at lunchtime, but took the time to check out the road to the airport.

We stopped for the one and only time this trip at a McDonald's, as a restroom break was called for, and Ainsley got to see the differences between the restaurants- she didn't miss the ice in her drink until I pointed it out, but had noticed the 0.2€ charge per ketchup package, and said the wrap was better here.

We then next headed to find the hotel- and promptly went to the wrong town - but right address. Took a minute to figure out what the problem was, but got to the hotel 20 minutes later. I took a nap, and Ainsley surfed, before we headed to get our last dinner.....

We're checked in for tomorrow, and all is on schedule.

Salzburg Day 2

Day started with a quick drive to the cable-car Untersberg, which takes you up to Geiereck mountain station. We ended up driving to station as it was a 1/3 of the time to get there - and was essentially a straight shot down the road from the hotel. The lift ticket was part of the pass. We wandered the alpine for about 45 min, before heading back down the cable car. The views were astounding...we even saw local wildlife.

Next, we headed to Schloss Hellbrunner. The main focus is the Trick Fountains - all powered by water pressure. The tour was well done, and we had fun watching the water works.

The Palace itself was next. 

The monks retreat at the top of the hill was the last stop of the Pass - we clocked in at 2:20. The house is now a local folk museum, with 3 stories of Austrian folk furnishings, household goods and traditional costume and customs.

We were quite happy with our pass- we got at least 70€ worth out of a 35€ cost for two days. The evening was spent back int the town, where we hit our known restaurant for dinner. 

Salzburg

Woke up this morning to sunshine - and a plan, so we could see the fortress and the cathedral palace. Started with breakfast, then we headed towards the Hohensalzburg Castle. No bus, as it was longer to wait for the bus for one stop than to just walk the 0.5 km. We caught the funicular from the bottom, and did the tour of the walls first. We were early enough, there were only 5 people on the car. The tour was an audioguide, but with an escort for most of it.

After, we went to the state rooms - so long you were there before 11, they were included. Quite impressive, especially considering their age. The State rooms area lead directly into the museum for the area.

After finishing at the Castle, we caught the funicular back down and headed to the DomQuarter- the residence of the prince bishops. The tour was again impressive - and the Residence connected to about 3 sets of museums, and the second floor of the Cathedral. It took about 2.5 hours to go through and listen to everything.

After, we went Mozarts birth house- had the things that were replicas in the residence. Once finished there, we had a break. Ainsley had seen a cafe on the corner at the Salzburg Museum the day before, so we headed there. 

At this point, it was about 4:35, and we knew that there were no museums we would see, but the pass included a boat tour - so we went to see about tickets. We could either pay 3€ and sit outside on the deck, or wait until 6PM. We paid :) and enjoyed the 45 min break - and the breeze.

Once off the boat, we picked up some drinks, chips, cheese and chocolate at the grocer at the square and caught the bus back to the hotel, where we had the fun of watching BBC's The Three Musketeers, and there were some BBC soaps after which Ainsley wasn't impressed with.

Bad Tolz

Wet! We drove from here to Salzburg.

No internet at beginning of night - will post photos and update tonight.

We spent the night at a smaller German town, Bad Tolz. Why there? It was 1/2 way between Newschwanstein and Salzburg. Ainsley had to help read the menu, as there was no English, except for the proprietor. The place was a family run affair, as the older gentlemen who was serving breakfast was clearly the dad of the proprietor. We had thought that maybe we'd see the town center, but the day started out wet (and never truly got better) so we decided to go straight to Salzburg.

We had already reserved a pensionne for the next nights, so we just headed there, arriving at about 1:30. There is a car park, so we checked in briefly with the proprietress to let her know who the car belonged to, and headed to town...well, we were supposed to, but in the rain got turned around, so I had us walk about 2km more than planned. I say it was just to improve our step counts for the day.

We had already looked into how we wanted to do Salzburg, and headed first to the Mozartzplaz Residence - and then walked to the hotel across the street to buy the Salzburg Pass- we knew we wanted the pass, but didn't realize they were only sold at hotels. Back across the square, and started our 48 hr pass at 2:35. After the Mozart Residence, we walked across to the old town and the Salzburg Museum for the second use of the day (most all museums closed at 5).

Wandered around the old town, and found a restaurant for dinner - I had a good roast pork and bread dumpling, while Ainsley had a turkey-snitzel and parsley infused potatoes. We got public transit with the pass so hoped the bus for the 3-stop ride back home. We didn't post then as upon getting into the hotel room, missed the little piece of paper that had the password on it.

Castles

15972 steps- But many of those were uphill or up steps - we saw Newschwanstein and Hosl....n castles today.  Tried to stay at the same place, but no luck - so off we went at just before 8 to get our tickets. Were in the line at 8:10 am, when the ticket counter opened at 8 - but as only two ticket sellers, we were not at the counter itself until 8:40. At 8:41 we had tickets in hand for the two castles, and for the museum. 

The first tour was at Hohenschwangau, for 10:55. Since we had time to kill, we went slowly up the steps, wandered the garden and fountains, then grabbed a soda from a vending machine. At that point, the time was at hand for the tour.  Ainsley said the castle felt homier than most castles - it was an awesome visit, she said. 

A quick WC pit stop, then down the mountain and up the other side - they gave a 45 - 50 min timeline, we had finished in 30. Ainsley was happy we had stopped climbing uphill. Again, had about 15 minutes to cool down before heading in for our tour. This castle was very princessy, according to Ainsley, and it was a real bummer that he didn't get to live in it longer considering how much attention he put into the design and decoration.

As the tour lets out at the base of the castle, at the path towards the bridge, we then headed over there next. The bridge was spongy as it is wood planked, and you could tell this really unnerved a lot of people as they wouldn't actually cross to the other side - most stayed in the first 20 feet, meaning there was a lot of unnecessary congestion. Ainsley also took control of the camera!

After, we made our way down. On the way up, we had noticed there was a seller of what we called 'donut holes on steroids' - about 2-3X the size, but a light cake-batter type. We had a treat walking down the rest of the way - and as they had just come out of the fryer, they were really hot!

The museum was interesting - telling the story of the Wittenberg family from the first duke, to the split in the line, it dying out and the resurgence of the other half of the family, along with the story of Ludwig II and some of the memorabilia that existed. The section on the family in the 20th century was interesting- I had not known that there were members of the royal family that had ended up in the concentration camps.

Once done, we headed to Bad Tolz for the night. Why here? It was halfway to Salzburg. Had a good dinner at the hotel.

Augsburg

Woke up this morning after the worst sleep yet - as we went more rural, there was no air conditioning. In the middle of the heat wave. Yesterday at Dachau it was at least 35, and overnight it did not drop below 25. We had a ceiling fan, but did not help much. We headed down for breakfast, at about our usual time, and picked a table- I did as usual when at breakfast, putting the room key down on the table while Ainsley and I went to get juice etc. As we did so, Ainsley noted that someone was taking our table. All I could do was walk up, without saying a word slide my room key from underneath the guys plate, give him a frown and go take another table.

We put our stuff in the car, and then went and wandered Augsburg, a smaller local but still a city. It had quite a few churches, and large pedestrian areas. 

We finished about 1ish, then drove to Fusen, about 1.5 hrs away. Checked into the hotel, and then went for a wander up to the lake, where Ainsley found a Berner. Walked back to the main square, and then into the old town of Fusen itself.

We finished the night having dinner at the hotel- one of the best meals I've had. Ainsley rated her burger an 11 out of 10. The meal I had was spinach & cream stuffed chicken with pan saluted onions and tomatoes on a bed of seasoned soft polenta. 

Tomorrow Neuschwainsein- if we can get another room here tomorrow night, we will do one castle and museum, leaving the other for Sunday - if we can't, we are likely to do both possibly skipping the museum, and start heading to Salzburg. Bonus - Ainsley is free there too!

Dachau

This morning we had the same spread of various fruit, bread, cheeses and meats as yesterday, and Ainsley found pancakes. A pack of our bags later, we walked to the opposite side of the train station, where Hertz was located. After securing the keys, it was then another 600m walk to where the parking garage was. Ainsley and Google Maps kept us on track, and 30 minutes later we were at Dachau.

Not a place for a lot of photos. We actually spent about 5 hours on the site. Half away through the museum, Ainsley had a bit of a surprise- she saw Mrs. Deam, her debate coach! The exchange group from the Ames high school had split up for the day, with some of them at Dachau, so it was a surprise for all. As we were at the end of the camp road, we were there for when the bell went off.

After, we had wienersnitchel and fries at the cafe on site as we were both hungry, and it was very tasty. Getting back into the car, the thermostat read 35C. We drove about an hour, to Augsburg where we have a very nice old hotel (wood paneling in the whole room!), and will visit the town in the morning ( as it will be much cooler the, before heading south to Schwangau and Newschweinstein castle.

LL- second time driving on the Autobahn, and I'm again driving a Ford!

Munich

Today started with the best breakfast yet - the hotel has some odd color choices, but the food this morning was great. Fresh cantaloupe, pineapple, watermelon along with boiled eggs, multiple breads, cheeses, and sliced hams and salamis, along with cereal and a cappuccino machine. After that feast, Ainsley and I headed out to the town. First was the Marienplatz, and the Glockenspiel.

We arrived at 10:55, just in time for the first performance of the day. After, we got some information from the tourist center on walking routes, and to take care of another chore. Taking care of that, we headed to the Frauenkirch - the windows are a very interesting mix of new and old. Ainsley took the time to light a candle.

Next, we headed down to the open air market, before wandering through the pedestrian zones by the Opera house and old Royal residences, and ending up in the Englishergarden. Enjoyed our walk, and got the thunderstorm that had been predicted. We stopped at the central Chinese Pavilion Biergarden and had lunch - I had a radler, a beer with lemon soda, while Ainsley had a currant soda and we both had bratwursts. Taking our time to finish the drinks, we were there when the brass band started playing.

Out and around the pond, we then headed back towards the town, and after watching the locals do one of the original river floats, Ainsley had to put her feet into the water!

Enjoyed our walk back to the hotel, doing some window shopping and people watching on the main shopping street before an earlier night than the past few. Ainsley did have a little issue with the local wildlife....

Garden

We said goodbye to Paris today, packing our bags in the morning with one last trip out on the town.

We decided to visit the Luxembourg Gardens, and ended up also going to the Musee d'Luxembourg, as the were a close walk away and we knew we would have shade. Paris is going through a heatwave, and the temp was expected to reach 34C.  The museum was not only on an impressionist master, Camille Pissarro, it was also air conditioned. I hadn't realized that he had done things besides the oil painting- many drawings, a few watercolors, and his eldest son ran a printing company that he did many drawings for.

After, we headed back to hotel and picked up our bags to hard to the train station, for our 15:55 train to Munich. We repeated the route we took to get there when we left for Arras. Stopped at a local shop to pick up sandwiches and drinks for the train, the went to look at the screens... the only 15:55 train showing up was for Brussels. Hum...took a second look at the itinerary- Paris Est station, not Paris Nord. We had not used the last metro ticket we had since Google said it was faster to walk back than take the metro, which was a good thing since we now had one to use to go back down one stop on the metro. This is why you give plenty of time - we arrived at Paris Est with 10 min to spare.

Then only 5:45 later, we arrived in Munich. A short 6 min walk to the hotel, with a minor scare as the front desk was saying I had only booked for one person- but then the clerk realized she had picked up the wrong reservation. All tucked in for the night, and will go explore Munich tomorrow.

Giverney

Started at the usual 8, headed out after breakfast towards Spain Laurent station- a much more modern station than expected. We had already bought tickets on the website, and had downloaded the train app for the trip to Arras, so it made it easy- just had to remember to bring the iPad as my unlocked phone too old to run it. A pretty full train - and we were right to board when we did, as the train was essentially full.  45 minutes later, we were at the station Vernon-Giverney, where helpful little footprints led us directly to the shuttle bus we wanted to catch.

A short 20 min drive later, we were dropped off at the parking area across the road from the little town. We followed a nice path under the road, a new pedestrian underpass, to the little village, and 10 min later we were walking into the garden.  We started with a visit to the house, but it was packed - not with tourists as much, but different school groups -with groups of kids from 3or 4ish up to 11 and 12 year-olds- so didn't linger, but took note of the things that surprised us. Things like the Japanese etchings that were predominant in about 4 of the rooms. 

We headed back out to the gardens, and took our time wandering and enjoying the stroll back under the road and to the water lilies pond. We actually made two circuits of the pond, then back around to the main garden. We wandered the outside edge, and came across the fowl we had heard, as the rooster was crowing. They are some heritage breeds of chickens that are being raised.

At this point, we took our second circuit of the house as the school groups had finished. Second loop allowed us to see details we had missed the first time, like several of the photographs on the desks. At this point, we were finished with the garden, and so headed through the little town to the Impressionist museum, where they were in the final days of an exhibition of impressionist paining where the unifying theme was musical instruments and music.

Continued a bit further through the town, the headed to the bust of Monet installed at the park before catching the shuttle bus back. We took care of a little chore fore Uncle Harley, and then caught the train back - it left the station on time, but then was delayed due to an incident on the Champs-Elysee, so we were later getting back to the hotel than planned.

One sink-full of laundry done, we hung it to dry and are relaxing for a bit of the evening for once. We will pack the bags in the morning, and we head to Munich tomorrow on the 15:55 TGV.

Tour Eiffel

Up a little later today - we needed a little extra rest. This meant Ainsley was awoken at 8:30....unlike the 6 and 7 of prior mornings. After our breakfast we headed up to the Muse d'Orsy, to see the impressionist works that we weren't able to see at the Louvre since they were renovating that section. We got there about 10 ish, again after the first rush but before the rest of the crowd.

They had just opened an exhibit covering the 'Le Paysage Mystique (Spiritual Quest) de Monet and Kandinsky' had just opened. We started with Monet, and ended with Georgia O'Keeffe. In between, we were treated with Van Gogh and the Group of Seven. Who knew I would have to travel to Paris to see Lawren Harris and Emily Carr?

After, we headed over to the Van Gogh permanent section, then up to the Impressionist gallery and (another newly opened) an exhibit on the portraiture of Paul Cezanne. Stoped for a quick break, then finished off the museum on the main floor with some other paintings and furniture. After a stop at the bookstore, we headed back to Notre Dame.

Third time was the charm. Ainsley was pleased as her candle from Saturday was still burning, and she added another one next to it, before we walked the circuit. The cathedral is now 850 years old (original church buildings - 1163). They are planning on 9 new bells to be cast.

We next hopped back on the metro, and headed to the Tour Eiffel. We decided that luck must have been with us, as we got in line for tickets and it was only one there-and-back in the line. Bought our tickets, and headed up the tower to the '2eme Etage', where we switched our elevators. In line for the summit elevator, Ainsley called her dad to wish him a 'Happy Father's Day' - we had tried to plan it that we would call him from the top, but fell just short.

After enjoying the view, we went back down, wandered a bit more stopped for a break- Ainsley now called and chatted with her mom for a bit, but the connection wasn't great.

We headed down to the Premier Etage, where they had some exhibits set up for the Paris bid on the 2024 Olympics, and a few other screens showing the tower over history - construction, maintenance, and famous visitors. After a quick stop at the glass floors, we headed to the metro station, walking along the Seine.

At the metro station, I bought another book of tickets, which we have been using. Ainsley noted a girl about her age lingering, trying to get through the turnstiles without a ticket, but unsuccessfully. I went through, and the girl managed to get through, as Ainsley saw as she was headed in. As we started up the escalator, about 1/3 of the way it stopped- we glanced at one another, and started walking. Ainsley felt the girl behind her, then a tug on her purse - which she promptly pulled in front of her. The girl rushed past her, and Ainsley said she had her hand on the back of my purse- but since the only zipper was to the front (and I had my camera cover clipped to it an on the inside) she couldn't get it. Ainsley said my name then, and I pulled the bag forward; the girl running back down the escalator. A reminder to her about how vigilant you have to be in a city like Paris.

Tomorrow - Giverney, and Monet's Garden.