| Day 11 |
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| On the way to Salzburg, we stopped at the Neuschwanstein Castle. In the foggy, drizzly weather, we could hardly see the beautiful castle in the distance. After the tour of the castle, we speculated a couple of theories behind the �mad� King Ludwig�s and his physician�s death. The member who was hospitalized in Interlaken had rejoined us in Munich, but we were about to lose another member or two. On the way down from the castle, he blew his knee out. Now I had my poles to lend him. The bus driver took him (and his wife) to a hospital while we had lunch at the bottom of the castle. With illness and injury of our members, we learned how important it is to have travel insurance and how it works with the travel company. The rain canceled our stop at the luge course, but by then most of us didn�t mind. In Salzburg, we had an orientation walk before our group dinner. |
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| Day 12 |
| The owner/chef at Hotel Trumer Stube prepared a nice breakfast. The injured member and his wife decided to fly home the next morning, but were frustrated with the insurance company and the hospital. By now Rolinka�s phone seemed to grow out of her ear. The local guide gave us a very informative walking tour of Salzburg. Afterwards, Sara, Richard and I took a quick tour of Mozart�s Residence, where I bought a music CD played on Mozart�s original piano. (I used the music to make my DVD slide show after returning home.) |
| Gr�ss Gott! |
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| The City collects taxes from business signs. Even golden arches must conform to the traditional design. |
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| Salzach River -- used to carry salt |
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| Two angels at Salzburg Cathedral are crowning Virgin Mary. |
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| Virgin Mary has wings. |
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| Berchtesgadener Land |
| Hitler's Eagle's Nest |
| Sara then hurried to take the �Sound of Music� tour, and many of us took up on Rolinka�s suggestion to go and visit �Hitler�s Eagle�s Nest� on Mt. Kehlstein. How kind of Mark to take us on his bus to Berchtesgadener Station! From there, a shuttle bus driver took us up the private road, negotiating each curve without even slowing down. We were amazed at his driving skill and equally with the stunning views from the window. Unfortunately, we arrived too late to visit the Nazi Documentation Center and bunkers, but the magnificent views of Berchtesgadener Land were worth the visit. |
| In the evening, many of us attended the Mozart's dinner concert at the Baroque Hall. By then the insurance company had arranged business class flight home for above-mentioned couple and they too enjoyed the dinner concert. Rolinka and I wore our dirndls.
It was a long and full day for all of us. |