Second to Last Day in Europe

February 16th began with breakfast in the hotel restaurant--we had eggs and bacon! This was the first breakfast that we had the option of eggs and bacon the whole trip so I was very excited. After breakfast we loaded up our instruments and went to a school in downtown Salzburg. There were about 200-250 students at the concert and they were very...rambunctious. The principal of the school couldn't even get them under control. We played a somewhat abbreviated concert because they didn't seem to really enjoy the music. After the concert, we went back to the hotel to change and then we were back on the bus. 

We stopped in Berchtesgaden for lunch on the way to the Salt Mines. Brad and I tried a donner sandwich for lunch. It was delicious!! A donner is lamb meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie sliced with onions and served on a yummy bun with cabbage and a yummy Greek sauce. Sooo good. 

After lunch we got to the Salt Mines! We got in the front door and were asked to put on dark blue jumpsuits so that we wouldn't get out street clothes dirty while we were exploring the mines. We boarded a  tiny train and were taken hundreds of feet underground. We had a special two hour tour of the mine that included giant wooden slides to get you from one level to the next! It was really interesting and also really fun! After the tour we got free salt shakers and looked around their gift shop. 

(I wasn't very excited about the jumpsuit...)

(Eric on the other hand...)

(On the way underground on the little train)

(Getting on the slide!!)

(A room in the mine, mimicking salt crystals)

 

(Beautiful scenery on the way back to the hotel)

We left the salt mines around 5:30 and went back to the hotel to change for dinner. We were scheduled for the Sound of Music Dinner Show that evening at Sternbrau. It was so much fun! The dinner was turkey...AGAIN...but the music was good. It was a little cheesy but I think shows like that should be cheesy because its a tourist attraction. I don't mind it. Some other people in our group (*cough*the director*cough*) left early because of the music. Super embarrassing...Oh, well. I enjoyed it! :) 

Eric and Brad both wore purple shirts...on purpose.

Neuschwanstein Castle

On the morning of February 15th, we had a quick breakfast in Tettnang, packed up all our luggage and instruments and boarded the bus. Every time we packed up and moved to a different hotel it was a little bittersweet. I would have loved to stay a little longer in every city we visited but I'm glad I got to see so much in the short time I was there.

This morning we were heading to Austria to see the Neuschwanstein Castle, a castle that was later used as a model for the Disney Land Castle. The castle was built by King Ludwig II, the king of Bavaria in the 1840s-1880s. He was a very gentle king who had a passion for building castles rather than going to war. He wanted to build seven but only saw three completed before he died at the young age of 39. He had taken his country into bankruptcy because of his beautiful elaborate castles so he was "diagnosed" mentally ill. Soon after his diagnosis, he and his doctor were called to Munich. They were later found dead in a river and the official story was that Ludwig killed his doctor and then drowned. His death is very controversial because Ludwig was never known to be violent and was also very good swimmer.

We arrived in Fuessen, Austria around 11:00am and rode a horse and buggy up the hill to the castle. The last 600 feet is too steep for the horses so we had to walk it ourselves. This was the most beautiful day of the trip. It was still about 30 degrees outside but it was a clear, bright day and the castle was so majestic. It was like a fairytale.

We weren't allowed to take pictures inside of the castle but there was a book of postcards in the gift shop with photos of the interior. Every room was dripping with beautiful art, jewels, and intricate details. The king had an infatuation with swans so one room had swans in every nook and cranny. He even had a recital hall built into his castle where concerts are put on several times a year. Ludwig unfortunately died before the hall was ever used. Ludwig's mentor was Richard Wagner, the great composer. Wagner actually lived in the castle for a few months and much of the art features scenes from his operas.

After our guided tour of the castle we walked back the hill and did a little shopping and ate lunch. Brad had a schnitzel sandwich and I had a small hamburger. While we were eating a cat wandered over for some scraps. He was so cute but he looked so cold in the snow!

After lunch we got back on the bus and drove to Steingaden, Austria to visit the Pilgrimage Church. The church was in the middle of nowhere and didn't look like much of anything from the outside. But once we went inside we realized why we were there.

The church, however beautiful, was not heated so you could see your breath. We were about to leave when we noticed that the holy water was frozen solid!

We arrived at our hotel in Salzburg around 8:30pm and ate dinner in the restaurant downstairs. This hotel actually had a bowling alley in the basement! It wasn't quite the same as American bowling but it was still fun!

Switzerland Pictures

I'm finally loading pictures from the Day 4 in Switzerland...

During our trip we usually had to be at breakfast around 7:30 or 8:00am but on the morning of February 14th we were finally able to sleep in! We didn't have anything on the itinerary until 1:45pm. So Brad, Eric, and I went to lunch in downtown Tettnang at a place called La Piazza. The boys ordered pizzas and I ordered gnocchi in a formaggio cheese sauce. Their pizzas turned out to be HUGE and delicious and my pasta was melt-in-your-mouth yummy. It was so rich I only ate about a third of it and took the rest back to my hotel balcony to leave in the snow.

After lunch, we changed into our concert blacks, loaded the bus, and headed into Ravensburg, Germany (pronounced Raw-vens-burg). We arrived at a beautiful protestant church where we were to give our concert and it was heated!! The last one we played in was so cold that it was hard to concentrate let alone stay in tune! Not only was it heated but the pastor was very thoughtful and had snacks and water prepared for us. After our rehearsal he even brought some warm pretzels from a local bakery around for us. We had a quick break before the concert was supposed to start so we explored the church a little.

The jazz combo played a set while the audience came in and got settled and then the chamber ensemble played two movements from Charles Gounod's Petite Symphony. The pastor gave a short speech followed by the mayor (or Burgermeister) of Ravensburg. After the warm welcome we gave our concert. We finished with The Stars and Stripes and they went CRAZY! We got our first standing ovation of our tour and we even played an encore. The pastor came up after the encore and presented us with candy from the area and Ravensburg "Gold Medals." They were big pretzels hanging on blue and white ribbon and everyone got them!

Traveling was really starting to wear us out so that concert was just what we needed to lift our spirits! My friend Jessie and I talked to the pastor afterwards and were able to take a picture. He was such a sweet and caring man.

We ate dinner right across the street at Nudelopen where they had all you can eat pizza, pasta, and mexican food for 7.77. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant because it was REALLY overpriced and the service was terrible but the pizza was good. :)

After dinner we went back to Tettnang and went downtown to see if anything was open. There was a HUGE party going on in town square and everyone was in their pajamas--even the statue! Lots of music and dancing...it was really fun!

Day 4...sorta

[I just got home from SFO and I finally have internet access!! I wrote this entry a few days ago in word. I will continue posting until I'm completely up to date, so you can keep checking in. I think I'll wait until tomorrow to post any pictures...SLEEPY).

I am soooo behind in posts! It’s now day six of my adventure but I still need to tell you about Switzerland.

The morning of the thirteenth we ate breakfast early and began our journey to Appenzell, Switzerland from Tettnang, Germany. It was a really beautiful drive along the shore of Lake Constance, the largest inland lake in Germany. Austria, Germany, and Swizterland are so close that they actually share the lake. We also crossed the Rhine River which flows through France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland. We passed through Austria and we were never asked to show our passports or exit the bus. It’s been really interesting to see the differences in travel over here.

Once we arrived in Switzerland we had four hours to eat lunch and do some souvenir shopping before heading back to Germany. It seemed like no time at all when we left the bus but once we entered the town we realized that all but like two shops were closed for lunch. Ilse reminded us that shopkeepers in small towns close up shop at noon for two hours everyday so they can eat and take a nap before finishing out the workday. It was actually really frustrating because we only had a few shops to choose from and they were really touristy. One of them actually had a lot of costumes for sale because there was some kind of carnival/parade going on that day. When I was in line to buy a small souvenir there were three clowns in line behind me buying red noses.

After checking out the shops we got some lunch at little café. I actually got a hot dog because I knew it would be faster and it was but it was also amazing! Instead of a bun or a round piece of bread, like we have been seeing, it was actually one oblong piece of bread that had a hot dog shaped hole through the middle of it. So my hot dog sort-of had a cocoon! It was creative AND delicious.

Brad, a few other friends, and I were strolling back to the bus when we heard a marching band. We stopped long enough to take some pictures of the crazy little parade and then we kept walking. We were almost to the bus and then a man in a scary mask (who I guess was with the parade) walked up to my friend Jessica like he was going to hug her. She thought, “Okay, I guess I’ll hug you” and instead he grabbed her, wrapped a rope around her and proceeded to walk away with her. I freaked out and ran after her and finally got her out of his grip but he had taken her a good 15 feet before he let her go. We were both really worked up about it but everyone just said it must be part of the parade. Either way, it was scary! Jessie’s boyfriend Shawn actually rented skis and went skiing on the Alps while we were there.

After our trip to Switzerland we rode the bus back to Tettnang, ate dinner, and went to bed. Our hotel in Tettnang had a restaurant in the lobby so we were able to eat there every night. It was really convenient and yummy actually.

[By the way, if anyone wants the names of the hotels I stayed in, just let me know. I also highly recommend my tour guide, Ilse, if you like group tours).

Day 3

After breakfast this morning we packed up our luggage, loaded the bus and began our journey to Tettnang, Germany. It was a four hour drive so we stopped for lunch on the way in Ulm. Ulm is famous for its HUGE cathedral in the center of town. The cathedral’s tower is actually the tallest in the world and you can see the tower from pretty much anywhere in town. We took a quick self-guided tour of the sanctuary and then had fish and chips for lunch at a street vendor. It was really yummy! I had calamari with remoulade sauce and Brad had regular fish and chips. After lunch, we window-shopped for a little while and I bought a hat and scarf at the New Yorker store. I thought it was kind-of ironic that I came all the way to Germany and shopped at a store called New Yorker… Our director stopped at DVD store on the way back to the bus and bought the movie Hancock for us to watch for the rest of the road trip.
We arrived in Tettnang (pronounced tet-naw-ng) around 3:20pm and we left on our one-hour walking tour at 4:00pm. The tour guide was really sweet and gave us a lot of information. Apparently Tettnang is known for growing hops, whereas all the other cities we have visited were known for their vineyards. It has been ruled by many countries/people and we got to visit the ruler’s palace on our tour. The palace is built in the Baroque style, meaning everything is very extravagant but with great attention to symmetry and detail. One of the rooms had walls painted in solid gold. The ceilings were covered with intricate plaster designs and sculptures. One of the rooms had flowers painted on the walls and then green glass over it so it looked like stained glass.
After our quick tour of the town, a small group of us found a rustic little restaurant for dinner. The waitress was really nice and even taught us a few words in German. I had Hungarian goulash because my Grandma used to make it, or at least talked about it and Brad had roast beef and French fries. I think it’s interesting how popular French fries are here. I thought I would see more sauerkraut on the menus.
Apparently there was a carnival here just recently so there are still flags hanging throughout town and people wearing all kinds of silly costumes. We were kind-of sad we missed it because it looked like fun! We also found out, after coming back to the hotel, that Ulm is also famous for being Albert Einstein’s birthplace.
Tomorrow we are going to Appenzell, Switzerland for the day! We have to get up really early to get there before all the shops close. We might also go sledding at some point!
I will hopefully be able to post more updates these next couple of days because our new hotel has wireless internet in the restaurant downstairs. The pictures take a while to upload and I can’t figure out the captions very well but I’m working on it!

Guten Nacht!

Day 2 Pictures

The Nazi Forum


Seats in the Forum


Close-up of the forum where Hitler spoke


St. Elizabeth Church where we played our first concert


The old mote in Nurmberg