Getting There: Germany/Austria/Denmark Part 1

It's time to dive head first into my trip recap!  I'm not sure if I'm completely ready, but here it goes!

We met at the airport at 4:30 a.m. for our 6:30 flight to DC.  Once we got to DC, we had an enormous layover, so, after we waited for a young man from Tampa to join us, we left the airport and went to the Air & Space Museum Annex.  It was pretty cool to see the Space Shuttle, but other than that, I think I've seen most of the aircraft (or some similar) at the Army Aviation Museum near my in-laws' house.


Since we left the airport, we had to go back through security.  Everybody got through without any hassle, but YS did have a tiny bit of a delay.  Apparently he hadn't worn his jacket since last Labor Day, when he had his first shooting lesson while we were camping with friends.  He had an empty bullet shell in one of his pockets, and it showed up while his bag was going through the x-ray machine.  Wonder why they didn't catch it when we left our home airport?
The employee said something to YS, and they started laughing, so I guess it wasn't that big of a deal.  I told him to go ahead and throw it away before we went any further.

The flight to Munich was uneventful.  Once we got there, we hit the ground running.  It was 8:00 a.m. when we arrived, and we had a bus waiting on us.  Most of the kids slept once we got on the bus, but I didn't want to miss a thing.
The view as we left Munich:
The scenery was just beautiful as we made our way to our first stop:
Our first stop was WiesKirche.  To read about the history, click here.  It is a story worth reading.  This church is in the middle of nowhere, and from the outside, it doesn't look that spectacular.
But once you step inside, there are no words to describe it:
These pictures just don't it justice.  It was just amazing.  And, we got to hear some music while we were there.
If that wasn't enough, the view from the outside of the church, when I looked around to the other side:
We loaded back on the bus, and went to Neuschwanstein.  This is the castle that Cinderella's Castle is based on:
Halfway up the road to the castle, I was really wishing that I had opted to ride the bus up.  It was a long way up there, and it was steep.  I had to stop a few times, and my heart was beating a mile a minute!  But, I made it, and the views were spectacular:
Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures while we were inside the castle, but take my word:  it was beautiful.  This castle was Crazy King Ludwig's, but he only lived in it for a short while.  In fact, the castle has never been finished.  You can take an online tour here.
Another reason I wish I had ridden the bus up:  In the top right picture, you can see a waterfall with a bridge over it.  The teacher and most of the kids opted to walk back down through the gorge.  3 of the kids rode the bus with me & the other adult (MN).  I had been in Germany for 8 hours, and hadn't had a beer yet!  
We crossed the border into Austria and got settled into our Hostel.
(One place I've always wanted to visit, but didn't think I'd ever have the opportunity.)
For future posts, I'm not going to take the trip day by day.  We saw so much and were on the go so  much, I could write posts for a month!

8 comments:

  1. Wow! Those are some amazing places! And that was just your first day?

    ReplyDelete
  2. We were at Neuschwanstein one February, and when we got out of the car the temp was at least 20 degrees colder than in Munich. We rode a horse and wagon up-too cold and icy to walk, but covered in snow was positively magical. I also love Austria. Salzburg is one of my favorite cities in the world.

    So many little churches tucked away in every town and village of Europe it seems. Such beautiful architecture and evidence of care in construction. I know churches are not about the building, but a beautiful church does help you feel a sense of awe and reverence I think. I'll look forward to your recaps...I'm sure if it were me I'd be recapping for the rest of the summer : )

    ReplyDelete
  3. AWESOME pictures, sounds like a fantastic trip. I've probably missed when you first posted about this. Was this a group thing? You mentioned kids etc. Were you able to sleep on the flight over? We're currently planing a trip to Spain for next Spring...
    Wraping Up June

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gorgeous castle! Let's see---walk up the really big mountain or ride the bus...no brainer. LOL The views are spectacular for sure! Too funny about the empty shell in the pocket!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Your pictures are great and I look forward to seeing more pictures. I love traveling but have never been to Germany which is one place we have wanted to go.

    http://thefabulouswoman.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  6. Fantastic pictures ... I cannot wait to see/hear more. I don't expect to ever get to Europe, so I'm enjoying it vicariously through you.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Love the photos and that church is gorgeous. The castle looks magical. What a view! With such an amazing trip it's okay with me if you write for months. Love living through your posts.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Wow; the beauty of it all. Seeing other parts of our world is always a fun adventure. Love the photos and the fact that everyone made it through security. :)

    ReplyDelete

Popular Posts