Germany and Austria
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!
In between touring the two, we walked around the charming and equally fairy-tale-worthy town of Oberammergau. Oberammergau is famous for its frescoes or trompe-l’œil of fairy tales and religious scenes on many of its buildings and homes.
I am certain that this is where Hansel and Gretel lived.
To get to Zürich, Switzerland, and join up with our land-tour group, we had the choice to either continue to drive north through Germany or to go a more southerly route and hit Austria along the way. Austria it was!
We made a lunch stop in Austria and it was there that I discovered one of my new “favorite things.”
Throughout Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, when you order a beer and some other beverages, you get a bottle of beer and matching glass.
I suppose that happens in the States too, a bottle of Coke and a Coke glass. But I’ve never seen glasses as cute as these! If I’d been carrying a larger purse (snag-bag) you can bet I would have been tempted to take each and everyone I came across.
And I came across A LOT of temptations! As it was, I had to settle for pocketing the various beer coasters that are presented with each beverage.
I’ll be using them when I host my German-Swiss Dinner Party!
3 comments
That does look just like the Sleeping Beauty castle!
I loved the matching beer glasses at well. I am not a beer drinker but would order one just to be surprised by the vessel.
Kim, I’d not call myself a great beer drinker either, but I drank more beer in those two weeks than I had in the past 2 years!
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