Thursday, September 14, 2006
Paul and Sheryl and the kids toured the castle while Scott and I and the kids just viewed it from outside and enjoyed our walk down the mountain.
Wednesday, June 21, 2006
On our way back to Mannheim, we made one more stop along the way - Neuschwanstein Castle.
Back at the hotel the kids enjoyed a little time in the hot tub.
We then ventured on to the town of Mittenwald, Germany. It is a beautiful little town with frescoed buildings hundreds of years old. Here we grabbed some ice cream and pizza, did a little shopping and caught some of the World Cup games. Great day!!
The views almost look fake, don't they? But they're real!
Once we left the park we pulled over near one of the glacier streams for a quick picnic. The water is so clear and cold!
Of course, the day was not complete without a little bumper car action!
After he slide down, we sat down for some refreshments. Kaitlyn found a cute Austrian cat - made her day!
Here's Paul and Stephanie up at the top. Sheryl and Emily were waiting for us at the bottom.
Here we are with some Austrian Alps in the background - love it!
The height of the mountain we went up is 1130m. The Rodelbahn ride down was wicked!! If I can figure out how to download from tha camcorder to this I can show you some great footage, so check back again.
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
This morning after another great breakfast we drove over the border to spend the day in Austria! We arrived at a playpark in the town of Leutasch, took a ride up the lift and rode an alpine slide down the mountain!!!!
It was a full,hot day in Munich so we rode the train back down to our hotel in Oberau - here is a picture of the hotel.
We were here at 5 p.m. watching the Glockenspiele ring the bells while mechanical knights fight a tournament and a crowd dances! I think its really cool how so many clock towers put on a little show!
This is the Neues Rathaus - the new town hall! This one was built between 1867-1909. Its 330 ft high facade features statues depicting kings, dukes and electors, saints as well as lots of gargoyles!
Behind us in this picture is the Altes Rathaus - the old town hall. It was originally built in 14700-1475 but has been remodelled a few times since.
It was time for lunch and we thought we would have some lunch and a beer and the world famous Hofbrau Haus. It is the most popular beer hall in Munich. They have been brewing and serving since 1589. It is also a very popular tourist destination which is why after waiting at least 30 minutes - we had lunch at a different restaurant.
We liked this lion painted as a monk with his beer outside one of the biergartens.
Near the entrance of the church we saw this"The Black Footprint" As the legend is told: When the building of the church was finished, but not yet consecrated, the devil sneaked through the big gate, curious and angry watching the building; suddenly he started to laugh very loud and said a building without windows is not very useful. He stomped on the floor in triumphal happiness and made the footprint. But as he stepped further inside he saw lots of windows and realized he lost. Out of anger he changed himself into a great wind and hoped he could blow the church down. He failed and since that time there is always a wind blowing around the towers. Nice legend!
Sorry that this picture is a little out of focus but it shows how bright the interior is.
I loved the beautiful stained glass windows - they are from the late 1400s.
The church was erected in 1468-1488 and immediately your eyes are drawn up to the towers that were finally capped in 1525 with "onion" cupolas. The onion style is very popular in Bavaria and symbolized the wealth of the church.
From St. Michael's, we walked over to die Frauenkirche in Munchen ( the Church of Our Lady in Munich). This is the church that you usually see in any pictures of the Munich skyline - with its very recognizable towers.
Unfortunately, parts of the church were damaged during World War II.
The interior of Michaelskirche is awe-inspiring, with its wide, well-proportioned nave, three pairs of chapels on either side, and an elongated presbytery. In the crypt of the church among other members of royalty is King Ludwig II - the famous castle builder.
Here is the statue of St. Michael at the entrance to the church. It is huge bronze statue of St. Michael the Archangel and Lucifer built in 1588.
Along the main pedestrian zone is the Church of St. Michael. It's construction was originally done from 1583-1597.
Another one - you can see more at www.leo-parade.de
Monday, June 19, 2006
After a fabulous breakfast, we walked across the street and hopped on a train up to Munchen (Munich) for the day. The lion has long been associated with the kings of Bavaria.Now it is taking on a new role: posing on common city streets to liven up the cultural atmoshpere and to raise money for charity. The kids loved them! We spotted quite a few lions from this lion parade - turns out there about 495 throughout the city.
Here is a nice shot of Scott and Sheryl. We had some great food - we highly recommend the apple fritters!
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Gruss Gott! That's how you greet each other down in the Bavarian Alps! This morning we all got up and drove down to the Alps to spend a couple days in Bavaria. This picture is from the Biergarten at our hotel - The Hotel Forsthaus. The view is magnificent.
After some food and fun it started to get really crowded! Scott and I left with all the kids before it got to wild but it was really fun being out there for a few hours! Unfortunately, Italy won that day.
Even little Emily got in the spirit of the day!
Saturday, June 17, 2006
It's World Cup Day! Today we all drove over to Kaiserslautern for the USA vs Italy game. Paul and Sheryl had tickets for the game but we all went out to participate in the Fan Fest that was set up.
