Hi all,
Well as the name suggests, we have just returned from a whirlwind trip that took us through Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, Italy and Switzerland. In fairness, we only drove through the top of Italy and if we blinked we would have missed Liechtenstein but we did manage to get a glimpse of the Dolomites and get a stamp in our passports from the worlds 4th smallest country. All this was done by car and our total km’s was somewhere in the vicinity of 2300 (Thanks Al for all the driving). The four of us did this in just nine days but it took us to some amazing sites in the process. Along for the trip were me and Robs, Allison (Robyn’s Sister) and Nick (her fiancée).
Germany - We flew into Frankfurt am Main, which is now where at all near Frankfurt (damn Ryanair) but we had prepared by organising for a car to be waiting for us. From here we head to Augsburg which is the starting point for the Romantic Road. The Romantic road is touted as one of the best drives in Germany and it definitely didn’t disappoint. It took us all the way to the Bavarian alps with plenty of stops in between. Of the highlights, Rothenburg and Neuschwanstein Castle were the highlights. All the towns were medievil in look and feel and most offered something new to see. Rothenburg was a walled town that basically summed up our expectations of Germany (at lest the ones that school German gave us). Neuschwanstein Castle was personally one of the highlights of the trip. We have been to a few castles now and none can match the splendor of the site, exterior and interior. For those who are unfamiliar (or studied French instead) it is the castle that Disney used to model the Sleeping Beauty one on. The photos will do it more justice than my fumbling words will so check it out. From here we headed to Munich (a week to late for Oktoberfest… Damn…) for our first look at a big German city. It was pretty cool, but the main thing to mention is the Hofbrauhaus. One of the biggest and busiest pubs in the world. Here I had my first Stein (1 full litre of beer serve in an arm breaking glass). There was also a traditional Bavarian ‘oom-pah’ band playing many a drinking song, it was great. The rest of the city was explored in the morning before heading off to Austria.
Austria - We arrived in Salzburg late afternoon, and gave the city a thorough exploring. It didn’t really matter where we went, all we were reminded of was that the Sound of Music was set here. The castle on the hill, the Dom cathedral, the Mirabella gardens, it was all there. That’s not to say anything bad about the place as I don’t think we could if we tried, it was fantastic. We even got into the spirit of things by watching the movie that night. Its played everyday, no matter what. I wouldn’t want to work at the hostel, but if I stayed 3 weeks, I still wouldn’t have seen it as many times as my Dad. After another quick explore in the morning we headed back into Germany to visit the Eagles Nest, Hitler’s getaway nestled high in the mountains of Berchtesgaden, South East Germany. The building itself was nothing amazing, but the view and the atmosphere was something. Once we got dropped of by the bus, we made our way along the original tunnel, to the original 140 metre brass lift (all used by Hitler himself) and were lifted to the panoramic views of the region, like I said, it was something. After that we were back into Austria and on to Eisriesenwelt Werfen, the world’s largest ice cave. After driving up what had to be one of the steepest roads we have ever been on, we were taken by a gondola to the entrance of the caves. The views from there rivaled our last stop, but it was inside the mountains that we had come to see. We were given our oil lamps and in we went. Not surprisingly, it was dark inside, but every now and then our guide would stop and light his magnesium flares, which would reveal the ice sculptures. Hopefully the photos will show how unique these were as when lit up they turned blue and were a sight to see. After our 1400 steps were concluded, we were back in the car and off again. After a night in one of the best hostels we has ever stayed in, we set of to drive through Hohe Tauern National Park. The draw card of this was Großglockner, which at 3798m above sea level, is Austria’s highest mountain. The whole drive was really amazing. The site just went from strength to strength and we hadn’t even made it to Switzerland yet.
Switzerland - After brief detours through Italy and Liechtenstein, we were in the land of cheese and chocolate, and boy did we indulge (but that’s another story all together). Our first destination was Zermatt. Many of you would not have heard of Zermatt, or even the name of the draw card (but I guarantee you will have seen it), which is a little peak known as the Matterhorn. If you’ve ever eaten a Toblerone you will have see the mountain on the box, which funnily enough is also where the shape of the snack was born. Zermatt is one of the worlds most exclusive ski resorts and offer year round skiing. I’d love to say that we joined in with the hoards, but we didn’t manage to fit any snow sports in. Instead we were able to walk the 5 lakes walk, which afforded us some of the best views of said main attraction. Once again, the photos will show you the splendor so I’ll leave it up to them, as I could not do it justice. On the trip down we opted for a path that we probably shouldn’t have as when we got to the bottom we discovered it was used as training for climbing the Matterhorn, at 4,478 m, you can imagine how hard training for that would need to be. We left Zermatt the following morning and headed to another mountain range, Grindelwald. I’ll spare you walking up stories (once again the views were amazing, this time emerging from a blanket of fog) and skip to the method of decent. So we made it to the top and after a short walk down (especially after the previous days decent) we decided there was a better way and hired some scooters. These were not your run of the mill aluminum variety, but basically bikes with standing platforms. The road down was shared with pedestrians and also cars. I think we sliced 90% off the time we would have spent walking and sped down at speeds I don’t even want to describe. Needless to say, this is easily in my favourite moments of the trip. From here we slowed down the pace of the trip and drove through a few towns on our way back to Germany to fly out. Of note, Lucern and Zurich both offered us enough to keep us busy.
Before I leave you, I have to mention some of the food we enjoyed. Each country had their specialties. Germany had bratwurst, beer and large pretzels. Austria had apple strudel. Switzerland had rosti (grated fried potatoes with assorted toppings, mmm), cheese, chocolate and fondue. It would probably be modest to say that we had at least 250g of cheese each when we indulged in the later. All in all there was enough culinary delights to satisfy our taste buds.
There, I have probably bored you senseless, if you got this far but hopefully the photos make up for that. We have no immediate plans for another trip but something always pops up. We have booked a trip to Egypt with Davo and Michelle for next February so there is at least that for us to look forward to. At the moment Robyn’s other sister Louise and her boy friend James are staying with us, and my parents are arriving next Tuesday along with both my brothers so I’m sure I will have something to report on soon. Till then, stay well and have fun.
Glen and Robyn