Austria, Switzerland and Germany
So to continue on, once Adam and I left Switzerland, we made our way back to Munich Airport to pick up our friends, Theresa, Todd and Jason. We had hoped to meet them as they came through customs, but we were stalled by a major accident on the Autobahn and got there in time to enjoy a beer with everyone at a little bar in the airport.
We loaded up our Mercedes E Class with onboard GPS and made our way back over to Austria to check into our hotel in the beautiful city of Bregenz. We had hoped to ride the Pfaender Bahn up the mountain and have dinner while enjoying the view out over Lake Constance, but the restaurant had closed for the season just the night before.
In this picture, Jason, Adam and Todd are walking to a restaurant that had been recommended to us by the front desk staff. We ended up sitting outside on the terrace right beside the lake, with a lovely view of the city! After dinner and a few beer, we wandered into the city for an evening walk and made our way back to the hotel for a night-cap and to let our friends catch up on their jet lag!
When we got back up to our room, Jason seemed quite tired. He didn't even stir!!
The next day after hitting up the local grocery store for beer and snacks, we made our way to Switzerland to head up Saentis Mountain. Unfortunately, it was snowing at the top and we weren't able to see any of the view!
However, we decided to go up the gondola regardless and enjoy a beer at the top. This is Theresa looking very brave on the way up...she is not so fond of heights.
Todd on the Bahn
Adam looking thrilled!
Jason doing Blue Steel I believe...
We had a quick lunch and a lovely Appenzeller beer at the top in this restaurant (I found this picture on the Internet), where I had been 2 years ago with my family. We actually hiked out to it on a little snow covered path. I'm glad there were railings showing us the way, because I clearly remember a very large drop off on the outer side of the path and with the clouds and weather preventing us from seeing this drop, we fearlessly made our way to the restaurant.
Continuing on, we drove back into Austria through the mountains, via the Hochtannbergpass on our way towards Warth. It started snowing and we were stopped by construction for 1/2 an hour.
Luckily, we were able to see the crazy road and marvel at how these things are built!
While waiting for the construction, we were tempted to throw in the towel and try to find a room nearby, but the road finally opened and we carried on until we came to Warth. Because the weather wasn't great and evening was approaching, we decided to find a room here for the night. It ended up being the most expensive night of our trip, but it was SO worth it! We stayed at a beautiful place called Sporthotel Steffisalp. It was amazing! Dinner and breakfast were included in the price, as was the use of the sauna and infinity pool. I would highly recommend this Hotel to anyone interested in staying in the mountains of Austria.
It is located at the base of a ski hill as well, so it has summer and winter appeal. This was the view from our room. You can see the lift lines on the left/center of the picture.
The next day, we carried on into Germany for a little while before heading to Austria for another night. We came across Schloss Ehrenberg sticking out from the top of a mountain. We decided to see if we could explore it, but it was raining and the hike up to it was supposed to be about 1/2 an hour. There is an extensive museum and visitors are able to try on real suits of armour and explore the ruins of the castle. We decide to move on to our next stop instead, where we knew we'd be out of the rain!
Our next stop then was Schloss (Castle) Hohenschwangau and Schloss Neuschwanstein.
We took a horse and carriage ride up to both castles and toured inside with the masses of other visitors. I have been to these castles 4 times now and each time I've had a different tour guide and have learned something new each time. It's funny how some things just never grow old.
This is Adam and I in the carriage on our way up to one of the castles. On our second ride, our horses were pretty tired from hauling everyone up and the driver was whipping them and yelling at them in an extremely strong dialect that I wasn't able to catch. I managed to get a few words here and there and I'm pretty sure he was threatening them with the sausage factory if they didn't pick up the pace. This rant came shortly after 2 people passed us while walking...uphill...in the rain...
After the castles we took a scenic drive through small villages and came across this lovely specimen! The house, not Jason...
We stayed the night in Lermoos, Austria. Jason tried on traditional Lederhosen in the store beside our hotel. After he saw how many people were wearing them at Oktoberfest, I think he might have regretted not buying them after all!! Ha ha!
We made our way through Austria and back into Germany, where we paid a visit to Kloster Andechs. Our plan was to have a bit of lunch and a beer before heading into Munich for Oktoberfest celebrations that evening.
We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch of Schweins Hax'n, warm potato salad, brez'n (pretzels) and sauerkraut...Oh, and beer.
Mmmmm, yummy!!
Oh, the beer. So delicious. The weather wasn't that warm, but the company was fantastic! I'm not sure we stopped laughing for the time we were there!
We eventually found our way to my friend Tanja's house and checked into our hotel. We weren't sure what to expect from Tanja's description, but it turned out to be just perfect for our 2 night stay. We hopped the train for the 1/2 hour ride into the city and with Tanja's little piece of paper telling security/door guards that we had friends inside for a private party, we made our way into the Spaten Brau tent for the evening. It didn't take long before we all had beer and were dancing on the benches with everyone else in there!
A person cannot buy beer from any of the waitresses without having a seat at a table. We lucked out with Jason grabbing the attention of a lovely girl who dragged us into a row of tables and took our beer order. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't have had anything to drink. Here is a little footage of the craziness inside the tent.
Once they stopped serving beer and we were ready to go, we decided we weren't too drunk to try out this swing. I know there is a similar one in West Edmonton Mall. Adam and I, along with Tanja and Todd got strapped into the chairs for a very quick trip on the ride. Theresa and Jason stayed at the bottom and held up the fence.
Here we are on the 2nd night of Oktoberfest. We toured around the city for the majority of the day, after having a lovely breakfast at Tanja's apartment. We tried to get in the Hofbrauhaus, but the line up was ridiculous, so we finagled our way into the Spaten Brauerei (I believe) before heading to the Wiesn. Theresa bought us all Canada shirts which came in handy when we were trying to get inside the tents for the evening. We found out that the doors to all the tents had closed by 4pm!! because they were already full!! I think we tried for over an hour to get into any tent at all and managed to find an outside seat under a heat lamp before sweet talking our way inside.
Adam and Jason on the "boat" ride we took at the end of the night.
My favourite shot of Theresa, with Todd in the background, during the boat ride. We went on to ride the biggest roller coaster in Europe and the Drop of Doom before heading back to the train.
Here is a view from outside, looking in, at the very empty tent. Cleaned up and ready for the next day. Such a contrast from what it was only 1/2 an hour before!
The next morning we drove into the city to do a bit of shopping before heading home the next morning. Adam and Jason by a lovely water fountain...
We stopped for lunch at a local pub and ordered up a big serving of sausages, sauerkraut and some beer. We were sitting on an outdoor patio just beside the Frauenkirche, a major landmark of Munich.
For dessert, Theresa and I shared this...Apple rings, deep fried in batter and served with vanilla ice cream. D-e-l-e-c-t-a-b-l-e!!!!!
This is normally the site of the famous Munich Glockenspiel. Unfortunately, it was under renovation. The rest of the building now houses Munichs' townhall.
This is the back side of the beautiful Frauenkirche. I wasn't allowed to take any pictures inside, so I took some of the outside instead! There was a service going on when we looked in.
The other view of the Frauenkirche from our lunch table. It has so much history...
On the way home, between Toronto and Montreal, we managed to get First Class seats on the Boeing 777. The first class section is quite a concept with angled seating. You can see another picture at the bottom of the link I provided. The seats fold down flat and there are little foot rests to ensure a comfortable rest, duvet and pillow included, as well as personal tv's with touch screen activation and many other features. It's just a shame we couldn't enjoy the ride all the way from Munich to Montreal. I suppose there is always next time!
We loaded up our Mercedes E Class with onboard GPS and made our way back over to Austria to check into our hotel in the beautiful city of Bregenz. We had hoped to ride the Pfaender Bahn up the mountain and have dinner while enjoying the view out over Lake Constance, but the restaurant had closed for the season just the night before.
In this picture, Jason, Adam and Todd are walking to a restaurant that had been recommended to us by the front desk staff. We ended up sitting outside on the terrace right beside the lake, with a lovely view of the city! After dinner and a few beer, we wandered into the city for an evening walk and made our way back to the hotel for a night-cap and to let our friends catch up on their jet lag!
When we got back up to our room, Jason seemed quite tired. He didn't even stir!!The next day after hitting up the local grocery store for beer and snacks, we made our way to Switzerland to head up Saentis Mountain. Unfortunately, it was snowing at the top and we weren't able to see any of the view!
However, we decided to go up the gondola regardless and enjoy a beer at the top. This is Theresa looking very brave on the way up...she is not so fond of heights.
Todd on the Bahn
Adam looking thrilled!
Jason doing Blue Steel I believe...
We had a quick lunch and a lovely Appenzeller beer at the top in this restaurant (I found this picture on the Internet), where I had been 2 years ago with my family. We actually hiked out to it on a little snow covered path. I'm glad there were railings showing us the way, because I clearly remember a very large drop off on the outer side of the path and with the clouds and weather preventing us from seeing this drop, we fearlessly made our way to the restaurant.
Continuing on, we drove back into Austria through the mountains, via the Hochtannbergpass on our way towards Warth. It started snowing and we were stopped by construction for 1/2 an hour.
Luckily, we were able to see the crazy road and marvel at how these things are built!
While waiting for the construction, we were tempted to throw in the towel and try to find a room nearby, but the road finally opened and we carried on until we came to Warth. Because the weather wasn't great and evening was approaching, we decided to find a room here for the night. It ended up being the most expensive night of our trip, but it was SO worth it! We stayed at a beautiful place called Sporthotel Steffisalp. It was amazing! Dinner and breakfast were included in the price, as was the use of the sauna and infinity pool. I would highly recommend this Hotel to anyone interested in staying in the mountains of Austria.
It is located at the base of a ski hill as well, so it has summer and winter appeal. This was the view from our room. You can see the lift lines on the left/center of the picture.
The next day, we carried on into Germany for a little while before heading to Austria for another night. We came across Schloss Ehrenberg sticking out from the top of a mountain. We decided to see if we could explore it, but it was raining and the hike up to it was supposed to be about 1/2 an hour. There is an extensive museum and visitors are able to try on real suits of armour and explore the ruins of the castle. We decide to move on to our next stop instead, where we knew we'd be out of the rain!
Our next stop then was Schloss (Castle) Hohenschwangau and Schloss Neuschwanstein.
We took a horse and carriage ride up to both castles and toured inside with the masses of other visitors. I have been to these castles 4 times now and each time I've had a different tour guide and have learned something new each time. It's funny how some things just never grow old.
This is Adam and I in the carriage on our way up to one of the castles. On our second ride, our horses were pretty tired from hauling everyone up and the driver was whipping them and yelling at them in an extremely strong dialect that I wasn't able to catch. I managed to get a few words here and there and I'm pretty sure he was threatening them with the sausage factory if they didn't pick up the pace. This rant came shortly after 2 people passed us while walking...uphill...in the rain...
After the castles we took a scenic drive through small villages and came across this lovely specimen! The house, not Jason...
We stayed the night in Lermoos, Austria. Jason tried on traditional Lederhosen in the store beside our hotel. After he saw how many people were wearing them at Oktoberfest, I think he might have regretted not buying them after all!! Ha ha!
We made our way through Austria and back into Germany, where we paid a visit to Kloster Andechs. Our plan was to have a bit of lunch and a beer before heading into Munich for Oktoberfest celebrations that evening.
We thoroughly enjoyed our lunch of Schweins Hax'n, warm potato salad, brez'n (pretzels) and sauerkraut...Oh, and beer.
Mmmmm, yummy!!
Oh, the beer. So delicious. The weather wasn't that warm, but the company was fantastic! I'm not sure we stopped laughing for the time we were there!We eventually found our way to my friend Tanja's house and checked into our hotel. We weren't sure what to expect from Tanja's description, but it turned out to be just perfect for our 2 night stay. We hopped the train for the 1/2 hour ride into the city and with Tanja's little piece of paper telling security/door guards that we had friends inside for a private party, we made our way into the Spaten Brau tent for the evening. It didn't take long before we all had beer and were dancing on the benches with everyone else in there!
A person cannot buy beer from any of the waitresses without having a seat at a table. We lucked out with Jason grabbing the attention of a lovely girl who dragged us into a row of tables and took our beer order. Otherwise, we probably wouldn't have had anything to drink. Here is a little footage of the craziness inside the tent.Once they stopped serving beer and we were ready to go, we decided we weren't too drunk to try out this swing. I know there is a similar one in West Edmonton Mall. Adam and I, along with Tanja and Todd got strapped into the chairs for a very quick trip on the ride. Theresa and Jason stayed at the bottom and held up the fence.
Here are Todd and Tanja enjoying the ride!
Here we are on the 2nd night of Oktoberfest. We toured around the city for the majority of the day, after having a lovely breakfast at Tanja's apartment. We tried to get in the Hofbrauhaus, but the line up was ridiculous, so we finagled our way into the Spaten Brauerei (I believe) before heading to the Wiesn. Theresa bought us all Canada shirts which came in handy when we were trying to get inside the tents for the evening. We found out that the doors to all the tents had closed by 4pm!! because they were already full!! I think we tried for over an hour to get into any tent at all and managed to find an outside seat under a heat lamp before sweet talking our way inside.
Adam and Jason on the "boat" ride we took at the end of the night.
My favourite shot of Theresa, with Todd in the background, during the boat ride. We went on to ride the biggest roller coaster in Europe and the Drop of Doom before heading back to the train.
Here is a view from outside, looking in, at the very empty tent. Cleaned up and ready for the next day. Such a contrast from what it was only 1/2 an hour before!
The next morning we drove into the city to do a bit of shopping before heading home the next morning. Adam and Jason by a lovely water fountain...
We stopped for lunch at a local pub and ordered up a big serving of sausages, sauerkraut and some beer. We were sitting on an outdoor patio just beside the Frauenkirche, a major landmark of Munich.
For dessert, Theresa and I shared this...Apple rings, deep fried in batter and served with vanilla ice cream. D-e-l-e-c-t-a-b-l-e!!!!!
This is normally the site of the famous Munich Glockenspiel. Unfortunately, it was under renovation. The rest of the building now houses Munichs' townhall.
This is the back side of the beautiful Frauenkirche. I wasn't allowed to take any pictures inside, so I took some of the outside instead! There was a service going on when we looked in.
The other view of the Frauenkirche from our lunch table. It has so much history...
On the way home, between Toronto and Montreal, we managed to get First Class seats on the Boeing 777. The first class section is quite a concept with angled seating. You can see another picture at the bottom of the link I provided. The seats fold down flat and there are little foot rests to ensure a comfortable rest, duvet and pillow included, as well as personal tv's with touch screen activation and many other features. It's just a shame we couldn't enjoy the ride all the way from Munich to Montreal. I suppose there is always next time!
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Good Times
M-J