This morning we climbed the 1 mile ascent from Schangau to Neuschwanstein Castle.
The sickest little member of the family (Kara) found it tough going and wished we had bussed or horse-carted up. Unfortunately they were not very regular and we were working to our tightest schedule to date today. It was a simple tour but so worthwhile. Ludwig sure liked his operas! What grand ideas he had and the finished rooms in his castle are breathtaking. He died before he even got to see a performance in his music hall.
We pretty much ran down the hill and got going to try to reach our next appointment on time: Hallein Salt Mines.
Unfortunately our GPS has made it her mission to take us on the most roundabout route everywhere we go- not just the scenic route, but the I-think-I’m-Bear-Grylls route.
We were already time poor and we were going on streets that were playing twister with each other. It was crazy!
I kept looking out for the border to take a photo of the Welcome to Austria sign and I had plugged the GPS to take us along the toll route. We still thought we were in Germany till we got pulled over by uniformed men ( police or traffic) and fined €130 for evading the toll. !!!!! We never even saw the toll!!! Or the border!!
Very annoying and a letter will be written, mark my words!
GPS- Bear took us down a double lane that became a single lane that became a skinny dirt path that you could only walk single file on. I was sure we’re were lost. Hallein is a tourist spot.
Then we suddenly tumbled into the right place and saw the big shiny highway that everyone else had come from! Oh my word- that stupid GPS!!!
What would a trip be without the adventures though? The things that rile at the time but that you laugh at long after.
When we got to the mine, the guide was waiting on us.
We were still 10 minutes early but getting changed into the overalls for entering the mine takes time.
It was a really fun experience that I recommend for the young at heart. There are long slides deep into the mine and there is a cheesy, yet really fun boat ride across an underground lake with music playing as you cross. We enjoyed it and the youngest was super happy we had done his choice of activity. Rick Steves actually recommends a salt mine tour in his videos. This particular mine, Hallein, is no longer in operation, but I believe one of the three in the area is a working mine.
We checked into our second Meininger. This one was even nicer than the one in Munich. More a hotel style than youth hostel. The wifi was great.
The downsides were that not only is the kitchen cramped and understocked with cooking utensils, but the washing machine and dryer ( the latter didn’t seem to be working) are right in the cooking part of the kitchen. Just bedlam!
I cooked dinner in the kitchen and only beat the rush. The dining facilities are nice so we sat down there and munched on marinated steaks and fried rice.
26 June
We got up early this morning due to our tours. We split up and covered visits to both Eagle’s Nest and The Sound of Music.
Our Guide was fantastic. I was initially skeptical because he seemed rather elderly, but his story was fresh and engaging. He gave us a a real behind-the-scenes look at how the movie was made and had a natural charm enhanced by his accent.
We sang less than I expected but only because people were self conscious. At one point out tour guide walked down the bus eyeballing everyone to check that we were all singing.
We saw all the major locations and left, very satisfied.
The Eagle’s Nest tour guide on the other hand, apparently was not up to scratch. The weather didn’t help, but he spoke very little and when he did it was mainly to give directions about when to meet back with the group after the fee time. He also spent a significant amount of time playing on his mobile phone.
After disembarking the bus, our awesome guide took us to see the Mirabell gardens where lots of scenes were shot.
We had a quick walk through and then went back to meet the others returning from the Eagle’s Nest tour.
On our minds was finding some real Vienna Schnitzel. All the prices we saw in the city were out if our budget so we caught a train back to our hotel’s street and went searching out the couple places recommended to us by our receptionist.
The first one was closed and we wearily walked nearly an extra kilometer to the next beer garden.
We were nearly the only clients, the food was prompt. I can’t rave about the schnitzel- I think our local German Harmony Club in Canberra does the best German meal I have ever had, but the salad bowls that came with our meal were fantastic. Beautifully dressed salad leaves, German potato salad, sauerkraut and grated carrot. Yummmmm.
And the sultana shredded pancake: kaiserschmarrn ( Austrian dish served with sweet rhubarb) was absolutely amazing!!)
Our lunch was particularly late and must have got home by about 4 pm.
We were so weary and Zac was struggling with a cold and popping ears.
I fried up a late dinner of meat and something else ( can’t remember what). We really needed to do laundry but the kitchen was so very crowded and that is where the washing machine was. There was already a laundry queue, so I instructed everyone to wash their delicates in the shower. We knew they at least would dry before our 1:30 train to Venice the next afternoon.
We were just settling down for the night and the lights had gone off, when an inner alarm started to sound in my brain. Thinking about the train to Venice. It was 1:30 pm, right? I mean no idiot catches a train at 1:30 am. That would be madness.
I got out the ticket and took it to the bathroom to have a look. It was all in Italian, so I fetched my Google Translate app and some my camera over the ticket.
Dear reader, our tickets were for 1:30 am- in 2 1/2 hours.
Not for the first time this trip, and probably not for the last time- hysterical laughter bubbled up in my throat. I was going to have to tell my family that we needed to rise and pack and catch a train to the start ion to catch a night train. The fact that I didn’t realize it was a night train also means I hadn’t booked sleeping seats!
Oh my! After the shock, we hastily packed, culled and shhhhed the distraught 10 yr old who was now going to miss out on buying a toy he had seen and wanted (but I had told him to sleep on the impulse of buying it).
The trains were no longer running, so we caught a taxi to the main station.
Man, oh man, dear reader! Don’t travel with a planner who has a poor memory. This was very stressful.
When the train finally arrived, a gaggle of drunk, foul mouthed English lads hovered around the toilets. I really wanted to chuck them all off the train.
The train sat there for ages before it finally moved off. We were all in a carriage with fully reclining seats but they were 3 facing 3. It was a long,long uncomfortable night full of moving limbs trying to find a comfortable position, foul mouthed idiots staggering past, long stops and tiny pockets of snatched troubled sleep.
Dory the Explorer 