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Before we left Salzburg to head to Munich we decided to go on a Salt Mine Tour (which was actually in Germany). We took a bus through the Bavarian Alps and arrived at the mine where we got to put on some awesome miners clothing - similar to what astronauts would wear. Dana in particular really liked it :) We loaded onto a train to head 600 meters into the mountain with a gaggle of 30 Chinese tourists. Good thing we had audio guides for us English-speaking folk. During the tour we got to go down two wooden slides which the miners used to go down into the mine. We also got to go on a boat across a mini lake that was 27% salt, it felt like we were in Harry Potter searching for a horcrux. Our tour guide would make a popping noise every time we moved on in the tour, much to the delight of our fellow travellers. At the end of the tour we were given small shakers of "the world's best salt." White gold as they call it in Munich. After the tour we took some pictures with the mountainous scenery and drove to a small Bavarian town for lunch. As we ate we had a breathtaking view of the mountains! Not to mention Melissa finally got some spatzle.
We got back into Salzburg and headed to the train station to await our ride to Munich. The train was double decker so we got to sit on the second floor! Oooohhh. We got to our hostel and got ready just in time for the local beergarden crawl. We met in the bar in our hostel and met one of our roommates and some of his friends he met earlier that day. Our first stop was another hostel where we met some guys from Ireland. We stuck with them most of the night and played some drinking games with them at the largest beer garden in Munich (it can hold 3,000 people! It felt like we were at a town festival). The steins were 1 liter and we could barely fit our hands around them! Don't worry, we only had one : ) We even stopped at Hitler's favorite beergarden back in the day. We ended up back at our hostel and hit the hay.
Wednesday morning we got up and joined our tour group on a train to Neuschwanstein, one of Ludwig's castles. This is the castle Disney modeled Disneyworld after and the scenery around it was so beautiful it can't be described in words. We walked a mile and a half uphill (while avoiding the presents horses left behind) and went inside the castle. Only 1/3rd of it was actually finished but the rooms we saw were so intricate. Every wall had a painting or a mosaic and the woodwork in the King's bedroom took 14 men 4 years to do... and he only lived there for 120 days before he was murdered. All the paintings portrayed scenes from fairytales and operas from Ludwig's favorite composer. We learned some interesting stories about Ludwig himself, including how he invited a horse to dinner. Only a mind that crazy could design a castle like that. After our tour inside we walked around the castle to Marian's Bridge. We were over a waterfall and got to see the whole castle from a great perspective. Even though the bridge looked like it could have been in an Indiana Jones' movie, we braved it of course. We even walked all the way down to the bottom of the waterfall to get another scenic view. All in all by the time we got back to Munich we had been a part of the tour for 10 hours! Definitely time for dinner! We went to a beerhall by the most popular Munich brewery: Augustiner. We were seated at a long wooden table (which was propped up by beer kegs) next to some German men and were given bread baskets filled with soft pretzels. All the waiters and waitresses were wearing traditional German garb and we saw a lot of guys wearing leiderhosen. Sexy! When the waiter came to take our order he asked what we would like to drink, which was followed by him saying 3 beers and asking what size we would like. I guess you don't come to a beer hall and get a water... or anything else to drink for that matter. Our "small" beers were 1/2 liter but were delicious with our schnitzel and pork dishes. Good hearty German meal and experience.
Thursday morning we had our last breakfast at this hostel and checked out. Dana and Kristi headed with a tour group to Dachau, the first concentration camp. It was very educational and thought-provoking experience they will never forget (Melissa had been already so decided to take a walking tour in Munich instead). Not only did they learn historical facts about the Holocaust but they also got to hear personal stories that made it all too real. The weather was fitting for the somber tone of the trip as it was cloudy and rainy all day. Melissa got to learn more about the city of Munich and got to see the major sights (which honestly were not many, the history was the best part). After the tour she walked around a little and went to the Englisch Garten where she witnessed "urban surfing" aka German men in wetsuits surfing on a permanent wave by a bridge in the park. Today is Corpus Christi (a Catholic holiday) thus everything was closed. Literally, everthing except for the beerhalls and fast food restaurants. This morning though we all got to witness part of the procession in the main plaza in front of the Glockenspiel and the gigantic gothic-looking town hall. After spending some time in the 3-story McDonalds avoiding the rain we did some last minute errands and headed back to the hostel. Tonight we have our last overnight train that doesn't leave till 10:45... but when we wake up we'll be in Amsterdam!
Auf Weidersehen Deutschland!
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Audrey Just sounds fantastic!!! Counting the days until you get home! Had dinner at Pizza Hut with Deb, Mary, Ed & Patti. Somehow, it just dousn't compare, but, was nice, anyway. Hugs, Grandma & Grandpa
Aunt Donna awesome trip -- now you are off to the city of VanGogh and Heineken !!! - Enjoy Cannot wait to here ALL of your stories