Bavarian Honeymoon

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When we arrived at the hotel we entered the front door to find the place empty. Hearing some talking behind a door, I opened it to see a meal being served. I spotted someone who seemed to be in charge and told them that we had reservations. She said, "Alpenrose?" and I said "Yes." She told us to go back outside, down the driveway and into another door. So we did this and once again encountered an empty hotel. A phone had a sign on it in German with a phone number to call. We called it and the owner answered. She said she would be right down. She got to the desk, checked us in and gave us our key. Her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend came in and she told them to show us our room. We followed them outside again and into the boyfriend's car. They loaded our suitcases and us into the car and drove us two doors down to Christina's Guesthaus. The daughter pointed to the building and told us our rooms were upstairs. By now we were REALLY confused. We went into the hotel and there were no lights on and no one was there. Our key said "Wiesensee" so we began to search for the room with that name.

We climbed up three flights of stairs (there was no elevator) and found our room at the very top. We opened the door and found ourselves in a very large suite. In the ceiling there are two skylights which open up and show us a view of mountains and the town below. One skylight was over our bed. We looked at the stars for hours. The room also included a full kitchen, which we didn't use. We still are not sure on why we weren't staying at the Alpenrose, but we are glad that we were able to stay in such a beautiful room.

Please don't visit Dachau expecting to get some great historic photographs. It was very disheartening to see families snapping pictures of the "kids in front of the ovens." This is a memorial to the thousands who died on its grounds, not a tourist attraction. Please visit it with respect and rememberance.

Your first stop is the museum and bunker system. David breezes you through the museum, only looking at Berchtesgaden-related information (you can use your ticket to come back again the next day to see the rest of the museum). Then you are led into part of the underground bunker system while he explains how and why they were built.

You then board a special Eagle's Nest bus which drives you up the 27% grade mountain to the Kehlsteinhaus (Eagle's Nest). You walk through the tunnel and take the brass elevator up to the top. David shows you the inside of the haus, which is not open to anyone who isn't on a guided tour. The building is now a restaurant whose proceeds go to charity. The view from the top of the mountain is amazing and there are plenty of opportunities for great pictures. We were lucky enough to be there on the very first day of it's unseasonably early opening. There was still mounds of snow on the ground.

David's tour is the only licensed tour of the area, due to the fact that German's do not want to give Nazi sympathizers any pilgramiges to these sites. If you plan on going to the Eagle's Nest, you should take this tour. You will not be disappointed. The cost is 36,00 Euro per person and it includes all transportation and entrance fees.

This once ´free imperial city` is known over the world and ranks among Germany`s most frequented towns. It lies on a plateau at the intersection of the so-called ´Romantic Road` and the ´Castle Road` 425 m above sea level. Below the town flows the Tauber River in its 180 ft deep valley and this is the reason why the town has the additional ´ob` or ´above` the Tauber.

We found that we were dodging Japanese people and their umbrellas up and down the streets. If you do not like over crowded or "touristy" areas, then Rothenburg is not for you. But if you love history and souvenier shops then you will love this walled-city. Many of the shops are filled with the typical German souvenir: cuckoo clocks, beer steins, Christmas ornaments, etc. But among these stores we were able to find some of the more unique places to shop. We found our most prized take-home in Rothenburg. A shop there makes wooden signs for your home which are hand-carved and can be personalized while you wait.

The town square has its own version of a Glockenpspiel, but this one displays two men: one drinking a beer and one eating a pretzel. We made our way over to the wall for some great views of the Tauber River and also to see the Romantik Hotel Markusturm. The hotel has been in existence since 1264 and is actually built into the wall that goes around the city: a very impressive site.

When you arrive to the town of Fussen, you must buy a ticket for the bus to take you up to the Hohenschwangau ticket center. Then you have to walk up hill past shops and restaurants to the Ticket Office where you have to stand in line for an IMMENSE amount of time. They sell tickets for both castles (Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein) by languange and time. For example, we got an English-speaking tour at 1:40pm. Don't worry, they give you plenty of time to get up the hill to the castle before your tour time. We were unsure of how long it would take to get up the hill, which turned out to be only 15 minutes. You can either walk up, which seems to be the most popular choice for everyone but Americans ;) or you can take a bus or horse-drawn carriage. We took the bus, which also requires a ticket. After it was all said and done we had bought 3 separate tickets to get to see the castle. It is an expensive endeavor, but WORTH IT! When you get up to the castle you can walk around the courtyard where lines are set up for the different tours. While you are waiting you can catch some marvelous scenery of the surrounding area, such as the waterfall. Each line is labeled with your tour time. When your tour time shows up above a line you can get in it and you are taken into a long hallway to wait yet again. We were met with a tour guide who hurriedly draged us through the five rooms of the castle that are finished. The tour isn't long. You can't take pictures and most of the time someone is in your way. The tour itself wasn't the best I have ever been on, but the castle was amazing. If you have trouble walking up or down stairs, this tour isn't recommended. There are plenty of opportunities to purchase souveniers, so don't feel like you have to do this in Hohenschwangau. There is also a snack shop/souvenir shop up at the top of the hill where you can grab a hotdog and a coke for a "small" fee.

The transportation within Munich is very convenient. You can purchase tickets for the S-Bahn (innercity train) and U-Bahn (outer city train) for a reasonable price. A two day partner ticket for the innercity is $7.50. To get to the airport, it costs a little more. Train tickets can also be used on any bus or trams as long as it hasn't expired. We never were asked for our tickets on any Munich public transportation, but don't try to go without a ticket. The cost without one is 30,00 Euro per person.

Before we left for Germany, we bought a four-day partner ticket for the German Rail. You can use it for unlimited travel until midnight of that day. We never had any problems using it and actually got away with no one checking it most of the time. We ended up using it again for an extra day because the conductor had not stamped it.