Europe, Part 9: A few final "too-good-to-miss" pictures

I promise, this is my last post about our European adventure!On a river that runs right through Munich, we discovered these surfers! They were fun to watch.
A picture on the wall of our hotel room in Salzburg.
These posters were up at all the railroad stations - I think there is going to be a kind of Live-Aid concert coming up: "Bread for the World."
Close-up of a door somewhere in Germany or Austria!
The fortress in Bamberg.
A sign on the wall at a restaurant in Hannah's town of Amberg: something along the lines of "If Adam had drunk Bavarian beer, he would never have eaten the apple."
Hannah and me in Salzburg. The merchants really make a killing off of Mozart paraphernalia. This is an advertisement for candy.
A medieval torture chair we saw in a museum... just sit down and rest your back and arms for a spell! All for now - thanks for letting us share our trip with you!!! Hannah comes home tomorrow!!!

Europe, Part 8: The Third Reich tour

Following our tour of Dachau, we concluded our time in Munich by taking the Third Reich Tour. Many tourists in Munich do not realize that the city has a dark chapter in its history, as it was the birthplace and first headquarters of the Nazi Movement. Adolf Hitler's voice resounded around the public squares of Munich long before he was heard anywhere else in Germany. Our guide showed us some of the places where this hidden history took place. For example, many tourists to Germany want to head to the Hofbrauhaus, where crowds gather daily to drink very large containers of beer. What most people don't realize is that on the second floor of the Hofbrauhaus, Hitler gathered often with his followers to discuss strategy and philosophy.
The entrance to the Hofbrauhaus.
Musicians inside entertain the crowds with their Bavarian songs.
Second floor of the same place, where Hitler often held meetings with the other fanatics who would one day lead the Third Reich.
The building from where the Nazi Party was launched.
Hitler had been a student of architecture, and this is the back side of one of the buildings he designed and had constructed during his time of leadership in Germany. Look at the design on the ceiling, then at the picture below.
This is a close-up of the ceiling. You might not be able to see it clearly, but the swastika design is clearly part of the mosaic in the tiles.
This is the door to Hitler's private office, in a building that is now a music academy. The public is not permitted to enter.
Almost all symbols of Nazi power have disappeared from public view in Munich. Somehow, this Nazi eagle has survived on the side of a building. This tour was very interesting, and really complemented the Dachau tour we'd taken in the morning. Munich was indeed the "nursery" for a movement that would shake humanity with some of the most infamous and terrible events in history. The next morning we boarded a Lufthansa jet for our journey home, for which I have no pictures. The flight was uneventful, which is precisely the way I like my flights to be. Some final reflections and a few more pictures will be posted soon.

Europe, Part 7: Dachau -- Incomprehensible

On our last full day in Munich, we took two tours: the first was of the Nazi concentration camp in Dachau, and the other was called the Third Reich Tour - more about that later. Dachau was the first of the concentration camps, the model, or "showcase" of all of the camps, and the only one in operation from its inception until it was liberated by the Allied forces at the end of World War II, a time period lasting from 1933 - 1945. It will stand for all time as one of history's most gruesome symbols of inhumanity. I was nauseous from the time we entered the gate until the time we departed. All German school children are required to tour a concentration camp, and there were many school groups there the day we were there. I personally think it would be good if everyone on earth was required to see it - it is most unsettling. To say that it is horrible is obvious, like saying the grass is green, but it is compelling, and almost necessary, to see it and realize the horror that mankind is capable of inflicting.
The gate at the entry to the camp: Work will make you free.
One of many guard towers around the perimeter of the camp.
A reconstructed barracks, containing three-tiered bunks to house the prisoners, who were crammed in by the thousands.
Rows of toilets in the barracks.
The Crematorium, which consisted of a "changing room," a "shower room," and the cremation ovens.
Along the outer wall of the Crematorium are the "chutes" where poisonous pellets were inserted to gas the inmates when they were in the "shower room."
Notice the "shower heads" in the ceiling: the prisoners were told to enter the room to take a shower. In reality, while there were indeed shower heads mounted in the ceiling, there was no plumbing to them, and once they were stripped and locked in the room, the poison pellets were inserted from the outside and the prisoners died an agonizing death.
There were also drainage grates in the floor of the shower room, but, like the shower heads in the ceiling, these grates were not plumbed - just fakes to make the prisoners think the shower room was legitimate.
After the prisoners were killed, their bodies were crammed, three or four at a time, into the ovens for cremation. Their ashes are buried just outside the building. So... again, a very somber day. We went on the Third Reich tour in the afternoon - more tomorrow about that.

Europe, Part 6: Innsbruck, Hall, and the glorious Alps

On Sunday afternoon, Hannah, Mark, and I went to the Munich train station. There we bid Hannah good-bye (see you soon!), and she boarded a train to Amberg. Mark and I then caught a train a few minutes later to Innsbruck, Austria. Upon arriving in Innsbruck, we caught another train to Hall, a quaint village nearby, where we were staying for the night.

Here is our hotel in Hall, the Gartenhotel Maria Theresia. It was lovely, and we were treated like Tyrolean gentry. They even had a small zoo in the back gardens, complete with monkeys, parrots, goats, and ponies.
Of all the things I expected to see in Austria, a monkey wasn't on the list...
Another funny thing about this place was that across the street from the hotel, there were chickens. Their "coop" was a converted travel trailer, and sure enough, in the evening, all the chickens went dutifully into the trailer to roost, or whatever chickens do at night.
Monday morning, we thought it would be fun to go up into the Alps themselves. We took a tram from the base (near the river in the map above), and the tram took us up a short way. From there, we took a gondola all the way to the top (upper end of the black line on the map). Very fun and such a breathtaking view from the peak.
Here's the view of the city of Innsbruck when we were about halfway to the top.
The city of Innsbruck from the top - it was seriously like the view from an airplane!
Once we got off the gondola, we hiked up a bit further, being very careful to obey the signs - it seemed like it would be far too easy to fall all the way down! There were skiers and snowboarders a-plenty, and other crazy tourists as well.
Here I am at the top of the gondola ride. It was very cold, and the snow was deep.
And here's Mark! We had to keep our backpacks with us all day that day, as we had nowhere handy to check them.Once we got back down the mountain, we looked back to see where we had been. If you look carefully, you can see the building that serves as the end point at the top of the gondola ride. It's along the ridge line just right of the center of the picture. Hooray - we are alpine climbers!

Europe, Part 5: The Salzburg Fortress and Neuschwanstein

Following the Sound of Music tour, we decided to explore the hilltop fortress in Salzburg - this is the same fortress that can be seen in the background of many scenes in the movie. There was a tram available to whisk you straight to the top, but, being the adventuresome types, and at the urging of Hannah, we decided to take a hike. And it was quite a hike, as you can see from the picture below, taken from a bridge in old town. Yep, we hiked to the top!
The fortress was so amazing and well-preserved. Below is a picture of the king's personal toilet, which at the time represented the latest in technology. This little "bathroom" is built on an outside wall of the castle, so the king's um... waste would just go into the toilet and then fall to the ground far below. Sort of gives new meaning to the king "sitting on his throne."
Back in old town Salzburg, we saw this building, which is Mozart's birthplace (Geburtshaus). Being a huge Mozart fan, I needed this picture badly.
Next it was off to southern Bavaria to see Neuschwanstein. This castle, built by "mad King Louis," was the inspiration for Walt Disney's Cinderella's Castle (or is it Sleeping Beauty?) at Disneyland. We took a guided tour here, and the rooms were really over the top. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed inside.
Below is Kevin, our trusty guide at the castle.
A view from the castle to one of the nearby lakes.
Sad tale: Mark really wanted to purchase a genuine German hat, complete with the little side feather. He found the perfect one, and wore it proudly for a day, until he accidentally left it behind on a train in Austria as we were rushing from one train to make our next connection. At least we got one picture...
And one last shot of the castle - this was one of the places I was most looking forward to on the entire trip, and it definitely did not disappoint.
So, now we're headed back to Munich. More about the last few days of our trip soon!

Europe, Part 4: The hills are alive...

Mark, Hannah, and I checked into Der Salzburger Hof hotel in Salzburg. Our room: the Sound of Music room, of course! Complete with pictures on the walls depicting scenes from the hit musical.The next day we embarked on the official Sound of Music tour. While Hollywood took many liberties with the true story of Maria and and Von Trapp family, we were still able to see much of the city of Salzburg and scenes from the movie. Below is the gazebo used in the film. This gazebo was used for exterior shots, but for interior gazebo shots, a larger half-gazebo was constructed in Hollywood.
Here is the interior of the church where Maria married Captain Von Trapp. It seems smaller in reality than in the movie, but it was fun to see it nonetheless. It's beautiful.
The film crew used scenes all over Salzburg for the "do, re, mi" song, and here are the steps Maria and the children climbed in the climax of that scene. In the background is the fountain the children were running around during that sequence, and in the rear, on the right, is the arbor they ran through - you can see it bigger if you double-click on the picture. Hannah and I are doing our best to re-enact the moment.
And here is the bus we took for the tour - kind of cheesy, but hey - if you're going to do the official tour, you might as well go all the way! The bus also played songs from the Sound of Music sound track as we traveled along. We resisted singing along...
In the afternoon, following the tour, we bravely climbed to the hill-top fortress, which can often be seen in the movie. More about that tomorrow!

Europe, Part 3: FINALLY, we meet up with Hannah!

After leaving Rothenburg, we stopped at several small towns, including Creglingen, where we visited Herr Gottkirche. This 14th-century Gothic chapel is home to the 33-foot high Marienalter, which was carved by Tilman Riemenschneider (pictured below). Other stops included Weikersheim, Wurtsburg, and Bamberg, where we returned our Mercedes rental car. :-( Then it was off to the train station to Amberg to see our Hannah!Hannah greeted us at the train station, took us to her school for the grand tour, then we headed to Old Town Amberg for dinner. Her little town is very quaint and beautiful. Mostly, though, it was just wonderful to be with Hannah.
Below is a picture of the room where the five girls in the Ambex study program sleep. The girls call it "the orphanage." Five beds all in a row, and five armoires line the other wall. Hannah's bed is the one closest to the window. Sleep tight, ladies!
Another view of Amberg, this time by day.
Brian, one of the guys in the program, who happens to be a fellow Philomath High School grad in Hannah's class. It was fun to see his familiar face.
That afternoon, we three boarded a train to Salzburg, Austria. Up next: the Sound of Music tour!