As stated in the part 2 we got to the train station borrowing the shuttle from the resort one more time, and I drove it down the mountain. My father and brother came along as well. One of them was going to drive it back up the mountain and they also thought it was wise to get their train tickets for the next day at the same time as we were getting our tickets. My family then headed off for a train trip to Salzburg.
This was a two par train trip again, and a repeat of part of our trip to the resort. The first part to Villach and then changing trains to go to Salzburg. The trip to Salzburg was again a pretty train ride. It poured at times, and the train ended up running about 20 minutes late into Salzburg because of the weather (or some other reason). When we reached Salzburg we had to walk to our hotel in the rain. It wasn’t too bad (about 750m), but we were a little wet by the time we got to the hotel. We had 2 rooms and so we did kids in one and adults in the other. We basically dropped off our bags, went to the bathroom, and then then headed back out. We borrowed umbrellas from the hotel and then we caught a bus to the Mirabell Garden and Palace. The palace part was worthless, but the gardens were nice.
After that we wandered around that area a little, had dinner at an ok place, and then we went to our plans for the night. “B” and I had bought tickets for a marionette show in Salzburg. Salzburg was in the middle of a big festival while we were there all related to the arts, and so there were lots of different shows going on. When we looked there weren’t many left that had available tickets, but the marionette show had 4 tickets (all together as well). This was something “B” and I did when we were in Salzburg back in 2009, and we thought the girls would enjoy it as well. We got there and we were the youngest people there (at least my girls were by far) and we were the most underdressed as well in our zipper pants and wicking shirts. Most others were in suits and dresses. This was clearly “the thing to do”. Well, the show was, truthfully, a bit boring and not that great. The work by the puppeteers was great, but the storyline was boring and the puppets were not much to look at. Oh well! We then had to catch a bus back to the main train station and walk back to the hotel (yes in the rain still).
The next day we headed to the Hellbrunn Palace and Trick Gardens. This was something that “A” had found while doing so research about Salzburg. This time was a lot of fun. The person who built the place had installed fountains EVERYWHERE and in weird places. We wandered around the ground, and then all of a sudden water would start coming out of a statue, or the ground, or a deer antler hanging from the walls of the palace. It was fun. The garden area was nice, and the palace was better than Mirabell.
Then it was back into town to check out of our hotel room and head to Munich. This trip we had to make a train change along the way due to construction along the track. WOW, did this cause issues. At the town of the change we made it to the train and it was packed, and I don’t mean a little packed I mean so packed that we barely squeezed ourselves into the train to the have to stand in the doorways of the train for the entire hour and 20 minutes it took to get to Munich. It was like the pictures you see of trains in Japan where everyone if packed so tight you wonder how they breathe. But we made it safely, and then got to our hotel. Then we had to find dinner, and we found that we were in an ethnic part of Munich and there was a lot to choose from. We went to a Yemenis place. At first we weren’t sure what to order, but there seemed to be a lot of good choices. Then a gentleman came over and offered to help us understand the menu. We found out he didn’t work there, but frequented the place often. After a few minuted we asked him to just order us 4 things that were good, and he did then left. He also bought us a soup that was SUPER spicy to try, and we all decided we didn’t care for it. We got the food and it was all amazing. There were 3 lamb dishes and 1 chicken dish, and lots of rice. It was so good.
Then back to the hotel for sleep.
Well, almost time for sleep. When we were back at the hotel that night, after we put the girls to bed in their room (again a two room place for us), I went to find the tickets in my email for the next day. We had already told the girls all about how we were going to Neuschwanstein Castle (The one Disney based the Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty castle on), but I couldn’t find the tickets in my email. Sure enough I hadn’t bought them. Oh, and they were sold out until September 7. I had a bit of a panic attack, which is very rare for me. I didn’t know what to do. We had train ticket, which my brother had bought for me, but no way to get into the castle. Yes, you can still see it from the outside, but still that isn’t what I told the girls we were doing. Well, “B” stepped in and started calming me down and helping. We both did some looking online and found some third party tours that said they had tickets. The only issues were that they were all inclusive and included travel, a second castle, and they were expensive comparatively. Well, after a bit of talking (mostly me listening to my wonderful wife) we decided that it just made sense to buy a tour and do that so we did that.
The next day we had to wake the girls up earlier than planned so that we could eat breakfast and get to the tour on time. We made it to the bus on time and loaded up. It was a 2+ hour drive to Neuschwanstein Castle, and on the way the tour guide, Courtney, talked about things along the way and about the castle. We made it, and it was sprinkling some as we hiked up to the bridge where most people take a picture.
Then we went down to the castle to make it to our tour of the inside. No pictures are allowed inside the castle. It was a very nice and there are only a few rooms inside that were ever finished. Afterwards we hiked back up to the bridge and a second viewing area and then back down to the bus. We barely made it on time to the bus and they had to wait a little for us. Then it was off to a small town for about 30 minutes. After that we headed to a second castle (palace really) called Linderhof. This was a castle that was completed, and was very opulent on the inside. Like crazy opulent. Again, no pictures allowed inside.
Then back to the bus and an hour back to Munich. Then we had a traditional German meal. I didn’t care for my food, but it was fine. It was a good day. After everything that happened the night before the day turned out really well.
The next morning we got up and went out shopping. The ladies wanted to see about finding tradiational German dresses, and they did. Then we finished packing up and headed to the train to get to the airport. We found out the day before that we had been upgraded to Polaris (top of the line) seating for the long haul flight back to Denver. That was a big boon for us. my kids and I had never experienced it before. It was nice. I couldn’t put the seat into the laying position and get comfortable, but that was fine with me. I ate good food on a plane and as much snacks as I wanted. I watched some movies and it was nice being “alone” on the plane to be honest. The flight was good. Then we had one last flight from Denver back to Boise, and we made it home about 11pm. It was a long day.
It was a great trip. I really enjoyed spending time with my parents and brother’s family. And it was nice being in the Alps for almost a week.