Austria's Flag
On Friday August 10th Wayne and I flew into the Munich airport, rented a car and drove to our hotel. We stayed in an absolutely gorgeous place just outside of Salzburg, Hotel Fuschlsee. We had lunch down by the pool. The view was incredible.
We got to the top of the mountain and looked down on this beautiful sight. It was the little city of St. Gilgen.
We pulled off on a viewing place and watched these parachuters. I can only imagine the thrill of a bird's eye view of these spectacular mountains.
We continued driving to Mondsee. This was the wedding church in the Sound of Music. It was very simple outside and small inside, but very ornate.
I love the colors in this city.
Germany's Flag
Saturday morning we got up early for our visit to Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein Castles. It was a long drive, but we wanted to get there early. We had ticket reservations for 10:25. It was suggested to arrived an hour before. It was a good idea since you have to hike to the entrance of the first castle and if you are not there on time you are out of luck. Hohenschwangau was the childhood home of King Ludwig. His dream was building Neuschwanstein. We were not allowed to take picture of the insides. They are both very lavish. He died before Neuschwanstein was completed. It has been left unfinished. Just a few weeks after he died it was opened for tourists. The Disney Castle's design was inspired by this castle.
The city has some adorable buildings.
We hiked up to Hohenschwangau quickly. We had a few minutes to rest or walk around the grounds. I was a little disappointed not only did the Neuschwanstein have scaffolding it was a very foggy day.
The tour inside Hohenschwangau lasted a little more than a half hour. The next tour was scheduled for 12:25. It allowed time for you to get to the top of the hill. There were three choices to get there; horse and carriage, bus or walking. We walked. It was a very steep climb. I was hot and sticky when I got to the top. As Wayne always suggests, I set my pace and stayed with it. Wayne stayed with me, but I'm sure it was not the pace he wanted.
Thank goodness, the front of the castle was not covered with scaffolding.
We saw Mary's Bridge from the castle's grounds. After our tour we hiked to the bridge.
You get a great view of Hohenschwangau from Neuschwanstein. It is a beautiful location. It is between two small lakes.
The fog lifted so the view from Mary's Bridge was fantastic.
The lake was also beautiful.
Our next stop was another of King Ludwig's castles. Linderhof Palace. We got there late in the afternoon so we didn't go inside, but I enjoyed walking around. Of the three castles or palaces, this one had the most amazing gardens. I think the king was trying to impress other country's royalty.
Great place for some ambiance.
We continued our journey back to Salzburg. We stopped at the little city of Oberammagau. It is famous for the painted building, wood crafts and the Passion Play.
This is the entrance to passion play. The play is put on once each decade, so this is used for many other plays and entertainment.
The flower boxes throughout the area help give it charm.
Each city has at least one church or cathedral. This dome was quite different from the others we have seen.
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