On June 2nd we boarded a plane at the RDU Airport for Newark and then on to Munich, Germany. After a nine hour flight we landed in Munich to begin our week long adventure in southern Germany and Austria. On the last day of the trip we also spent about four hours in the city of Bratislava, which is the capital of Slovakia.
Upon landing we were met by "Tom" our taxi driver sent to transfer us to our hotel. He piled our luggage into the Mercedes station wagon taxi and took off toward the center of Munich. In just a few moments he was speeding down the autobahn and Connie was amazed when the speedometer topped 180 km/hr. That translates into 111+ mph. It was quite a ride!
After some rest and a welcome dinner to meet the rest of our 36 Globus tour group members, the next day we boarded our comfortable motor coach that became our rolling home for the week.
Our first morning of our activity was a bus tour of Munich. The most notable stop was to see the Nymphenburg Palace. This palace was the main summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria, and it was huge. The palace extends to a length of over 7 1/2 football fields in a panoramic layout surrounding the extensive grounds. A misty rain did not dampen our spirts.
We headed for the center of the city in order to see the famous Rathaus-Glockenspiel at 11 a.m. On the walk to the center square we saw this mass of bikes parked in orderly fashion. In all the towns that we visited bicycles were everywhere. One has to constantly be checking the bike lanes, which parallel all sidewalks, for whizzing bicyclers.
At the center of Munich is The New Town Hall (new as of 1874, that is) that houses the famous Glockenspiel in the center tower of the building.
Every day at 11 a.m. the Glockenspiel chimes and re-enacts two stories from the 16th century to the amusement of the crowd that gathers. The figures move and interact as the chimes play and the crowd is captivated by the spectecle. It is interesting.
Then it was off to the Bavarian countryside to visit the Linderhof Palace. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see complete. It is relatively small, but very ornate and in a beautiful setting.
King Ludwig II was arrested and declared insane shortly after completing this Palace. He mysteriously died by drowning in a lake not far from this castle. He certainly left a significant monument to his memory.
Then it was on to see the famous Neuschwanstein Castle. Our first glimpses of the castle seemed to be straight out of a Frankenstein movie. But as we got closer the mists cleared and the castle was truly magnificent.
The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II as a retreat and as a homage to the German composer Richard Wagner. The palace has appeared prominently in several movies and was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle. It also appeared on an early edition cover of Positive Action's Building Life's Castle 4th grade student workbook.
Leaving the castle we headed south and crossed into Austria and soon we were in the midst of the majestic Austrian Alps. Absolutely gorgeous and awesome!
Our final stop that day before heading to Salzburg was in Innsbruck. We loved this picturesque city of over 100,000 population that lies in a long valley with mountain ranges on both sides. We did some quality shopping here and learned to love the ice cream -- Italian Gelato -- which we enjoyed several more times on the trip. Good stuff!
NEXT INSTALLMENT: Salzburg -- The Sound of Music
1 comment:
Although it has been nearly 25 years since we visited these cities, it brings back alot of memories. We were in Munich, Innsbruck, Salzburg, Vienna, and saw many of the same palaces:-) What a great trip you had!!
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