Our driver from mydaytrip.com arrived at our hotel and we left Salzburg and headed to the gorgeous Lake Königssee in Germany, nestled at the foot of the imposing eastern wall of Mount Watzmann in the heart of the Berchtesgaden National Park.
Lake Königssee is beautiful, and just what I expected to see in the Alps. The water was crystal clear and cold, but there were swimmers in the lake. We walked around the small town, and settled in at a beer garden for drinks and lunch.
We hopped back in our vehicle and after 90 more minutes of driving, we made it to Munich and the Platzl Hotel, and checked in to our rooms. Our room was a nice size, with queen bed, side tables, a desk and chair, plenty of cabinet storage for luggage and clothes, and a decent sized bathroom. The hotel is located near the Marienplatz. We found the staff to be very pleasant and helpful.
Shelly and I headed out to explore. We weren't very hungry, so we went to the Hofbräuhaus, a famous tavern and tourist spot just down the street from our hotel. It was quite crowded, but three nice guys motioned for us to sit down at their table. The guys were from Liverpool, England, (being a huge Beatles fan, I loved this!) and we chatted with them for a bit.
Shelly had a pretzel, which you can find everywhere in Bavaria.
We walked to Marienplatz and took some photos before heading back to our hotel. We had an 8:30am tour scheduled and wanted to get a decent nights sleep. Here's a photo of the New Town Hall, which looks quite old but was built in the late 19th century.
July 1 Tour of Bavarian Royal Castles - Day Trip from Munich
Today we were taking a tour of Bavarian castles on a day trip from Munich. Our tour guide, Thomas D., met us at our hotel at 8:30am. It was a 9 1/2 hour tour, so we loaded up on eggs at breakfast. Our first stop was at the famous Neuschwanstein Castle, which was one of the inspirations for the castle at Disney World.
We took refuge in the Hotel Muller Café while it was pouring rain, and arranged for a carriage ride to the castle.
You can walk, take a bus, or a horse carriage to the castle. We took a horse carriage.
Here's Lani, John, Shanna, and Janine in the carriage. We masked up per our guide's recommendations.
A nice view from the castle grounds.
Ken and Shelly in front of the castle.
Janine, Lani, John, Shanna, Shelly and Ken with the castle in the background.
Part of the castle interior. There was no photography allowed in the castle, but it was beautiful.
A view of the town and the Hohenschwangau Castle.
We had lunch at a café near the castle.
We then drove back to Munich and on the way, stopped in Oberammergau, where the annual Passion Play is performed. We visited a craftsman's shop where the proprietor was retiring. He had beautiful wood carvings, mostly of nativity sets and other religious depictions. We bought a beautiful nativity set with about 20 pieces and had it shipped home. Here's a photo of it.
July 2 Tour of Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial
The last tour of our trip was to Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. It was a very somber visit, but I feel I need to experience this history so I am aware of it's origins and realities, so that I can help ensure if never happens again. Most of the original camp was torn down in the 1960's, and a barracks has been rebuilt to demonstrate what it looked like.
The area on each side of the trees had barracks for political prisoners, soldiers, and Jews.
A reconstruction of a barracks.
The International Monument was inaugurated on September 8 1968. It was designed by Nandor Glid, who himself was persecuted as a Jew by the Nazis in his home country of Yugoslavia and had joined the resistance to the German occupation forces at the end of 1944.
We returned from the tour and had lunch near the Viktualienmarkt. We made it to the glockenspiel in Marienplatz for the 5:00pm performance. Here's a video.
July 3 Walked Munich and Relaxed at a Café for the Afternoon
We were scheduled for a Third Reich History Walking Tour but the guide got COVID so it was canceled. We decided to have an unstructured day in Munich and explore the city on foot.
In the morning, Shelly and I walked to the English Garden, the largest park in Munich.
There was a stream running through the garden, and we saw dozens of locals surfing near a bridge in some rapids. It was really cool to watch.
We spent the afternoon walking around near Marienplatz and relaxed at a café for the afternoon. We met some couples from the U.S. and chatted, and Pat and Lani joined us. We met a really nice dog named Echo too!
We made it to the end of our trip, and had a fantastic time. Pat, Lani, John, Shanna and Janine were great travel companions. Thank you to the wonderful people of Vienna, Prague, Salzburg, and Munich for being so welcoming and helpful.
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