Posts from — August 2016

Our last night before joining the land-tour group was spent in Germany, in the resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

On the way there, from Munich, we stopped at Ettal Abbey, a beautiful Benedictine monastery.

One thing I noticed was that the monastery gift-shop sold not only wine but also beer. It was a pretty great gift-shop!

We stayed at Hotel Zugspitze, which is named after the highest Alps peak in Germany.

I really wanted to take the cog-wheel cable up to the peak, but at 49.50 euro per person (about $126 total) … on second thought… no thanks!

I can just image how packed this sweet hotel must be during the popular ski season.

Just as in Oberammergau, many of the buildings are covered in beautiful frescoes.

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As I mentioned in the last post, before we joined up with the land-tour portion of our river cruise, we were on our own. First in Munich with Hope & Nick and then in a rented car as we traveled toward Switzerland.

We visited two of the three castles of King Ludwig, king of Bavaria from 1864 until his death in 1886.

First, we toured through the Rococo-style Linderhof Palace.

The grounds were especially beautiful with a breathtaking fountain.

Next, we went through the fairy-tale Romanesque-style Neuschwanstein Castle.

It honestly looks like Sleeping Beauty’s castle!

Not surprisingly, my favorite part of this castle was the kitchen.

I’d love to get my hands on all those copper pots and the vast variety of vintage molds!

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