Ok, so we are on our way to Innsbruck, Austria. The ride through the mountains - well more like around them - was beautiful, although not as beautiful as the drive back to Asolo, but that's coming later. :) The Italians seem to build bridges just off the side of the mountain instead of carving into them like in Colorado. You feel a lot safer I must say.
So we got to Innsbruck and planned on hanging out for a bit and grabbing lunch. We couldn't decide on a restaurant so we ate wieners and potatoes from one of the street vendors. It was REALLY good. We walked around for about two hours and dad snapped photos like he was the paparazzi the entire time... this was a recurring theme. Too hardly any of the pics are of actual people. :)
From Innsbruck we head up to Munich. Sadly we were bumper to bumper traffic for most of the way.It took us like two extra hours to get there. We were not very happy campers when we arrived. So we decided to go eat then walk around the center and sight see the following morning.
We went to the Hofbrau house for a few beers and had dinner there. We luckily sat in a random table with the most amazing people. The bad news starts when I go to pay the bill... my card was MISSING! I'll cut this part short and tell you I dropped it at a gas station in Innsbruck.The man at the station gave it to his bank so no fraudulent charges or anything. Hopefully a new one is in the mail!! After dinner with our new friends dad and I decided to start heading back to the hotel... too bad my purse was not on my shoulder when we got back - too many layers of clothes! It was freezing that night! I'll cut this story short too... someone stole my purse rifled through it then left it in the men's restroom in the Ratskeller restaurant. We didn't even go there! The owner found it, called my house phone in OK... it was 4 in the morning Okie time. Successfully flipped out the family at home then failed to report it to the police. Meanwhile dad and I hitting some serious pavement looking for it, we even filed a police report!
Anyway we got it back a few days later wiht only $200 gone... they left the euros and the English pounds. I just hope I let someone feed their family. They didn't take my dad's camera - although I don't know who would, the thing is like 5 years old!
We actually had to leave Munich without it because we were already running behind and we thought we'd never see it again. So the story continues... We head to Regensburg at this point. And we had traffic again. We are both thinking that we can't get any more unlucky! Then miraculously the traffic clear, I mean it was when we almost there, but it was something positive. For the record, I was positive Patty through all this. Dad will understand this next comment: I was out of the box!
Oh I almost forgot, on the way out of Munich we did stop at the concentration camp in Dachau... if you ever get a chance to visit one, DO. Its not so much what you see, but its how you feel. Its a very humbling, serene feeling. It was my second time seeing one and I think it hit me more this time, because I had recently heard stories of friend whose family lost many in those camps. We basically just walked in read a few signs and walked out. Dad and I just couldn't handle it.
Alrighty, Regensburg, it was starting to snow pretty heavily so we just drove through. It was a beautiful city... dad said it reminded him of Hanzel and Gretel! It didn't get bombed in the war so it still had its charm.
Then we headed to Nuremberg. Dad is a nervous wreck at this point... driving in the snow, with no camera and my purse was missing plus we still hadn't figured out what happened to my check card. We arrived at our hotel, the Hilton in one piece. We pulled the ultimate lazy evening. Ate dinner in the hotel and talked to the family back home - we had to calm them down and reassure that we were not lying in the ditch somewhere.
The next morning we woke up early and went out sight seeing. Oh I have to tell you about the breakfast!! If you ever stay at a Hilton do NOT miss out on the breakfast. It was AWESOME. They had salmon, eggs, grilled mushrooms, sausages, grilled tomatoes stuffed with cheese... and SO much more. YUM!
Ok, so back to Nuremberg. We spent the entire morning walked around the old city center. We did not get to go into the tunnels under Nuremberg but that just means I'll have to go back. We climbed up to the castle, saw the lucky golden ring on a beautiful fountain, and hung out in the main square for a few seconds. Really a neat city but its actually a large city, we just stayed in the center.
After Nuremberg we had to make a detour trip to Munich to pick up my purse. We had gotten a hold of the restaurant and they were holding it for me. This is when luck really started to shift. We left in a snow storm and traffic and just a few miles outside of Nuremberg the skies cleared and NO more traffic!! I think dad almost started crying - and if not then when we found out his camera was still in my purse!
OK OK, enough making fun of him for now. While in Munich we saw the BMW Welt but didn't get to see all the antique cars because the museum was closed. We did get to walk around the Olympic area. Dad showed me the apartments where the hostages were held, another sobering moment in my life. I just can't imagine the anger some people harbor for complete strangers. The buildings were kind of funny looking. I don't remember if any of you guys remember them but its like cranes holding everything up... designed like that. Dad has multiple photos. I also was surprised to see how close together everything is in the village. We peeked into the swimming building and people were actually swimming in there. Kind of odd.
From here we move on to Fussen. We had more clear skies and no traffic still, dad has his camera and finally a smile on his face. Life is good on this drive. We even pulled into a little place to get a snack, sausage cheese and a piece of bread. It was amazing. We did well. All the small towns on the way had churches with the same kind of steeple... there was always a big ball on it! Bavarian styled but I didn't know that's how Bavarians built things - it looked very Middle Eastern to me. Beautiful.
So we got to where we were staying, which was a tiny little town a stones throw outside of Fussen. We had a view of one of the castles and everything! We were very lucky with our views of things in all the places we stayed. And the bed at this place was SO comfy!!
That night we decided to try out a place the owner suggested. When we finally found it we were banned to the beer garden - apparently there were no tables available on the inside. At least they had heaters and tent where we were! The portions were huge and the beer was good. They even pour a shot of sherry into your mouth directly from a little barrel! We had to test that out. :)
The next morning we were up and off to the castles. Tickets - check, 30 minute walk up a hill - check, noticing when your tour starts so you don't have to go with a later group - NO check. Oops, we were hiding in the gift store because it was so cold and we missed our tour! Good thing there was anotehr one like 30 minutes later. We toured King Ludwig's personal castle - not his parents one, which is a stones throw away.
After our tour we scooted down the hill pretty quickly and we were off! We stopped in Garmisch to eat... it was delicious. Dad had trout and I had a sampling plate of Balkan foods. I do not know exactly what I ate besides a lot of pork, but I do know I want the recipe!
Finally it was time to head back to Asolo. This is Tuesday afternoon and we had a four drive then I had class at 9 on Wednesday morning. The way back was so peaceful. All our drama behind us and I think we are closer than ever now. We shared experiences that can never be replicated and I'm grateful I had that opportunity. I love you Dad!!
He snapped pictures the whole way back and told me I missed beautiful scenery - I'm sure I did, but scenery is not what I'm taking from this "vacation".
